We're currently hosting a number of sites on a self-managed dedicated server

Some companies, however, offer a managed dedicated server hosting service. They offer:
- Roughly the same server spec
- Ticketing system support
- Managed daily backups
- Virtual firewall (but with a limit of 10 IP addresses allowed through at any one time)
Now, this managed hosting is at extra- somewhere in the region of $500 per month, and the limit on the number of IP addresses they'll manage on the firewall is also a real pain

My thinking is it would be better and cheaper to
- Stay with the same host since the dedicated box is fine
- Get an Amazon AWS account and use their server to manage backups; there are a number of good tools that can be used to automate the process
- Configure
iptablesso that I have complete control of the firewall
I want to know
**Is a managed virtual firewall likely to be more secure than me configuring**
iptables?
**Whether, in your opinion, it's best to let someone else take care of backups **If, from your experience, there's anything else i'm missing that warrants using managed hosting over a DIY service
I think there is some reluctance to not having managed hosting since a managed host in effect takes responsibility for your server, whereas any hardware or security issues with a server that
**we** manage would mean we are forced to hold our hands up when a client site goes down. **That said, I personally don't think a managed host does that much** in the day to day running of your server (backups are automatic, OS updates are carried out with ease, etc