Dedicated Hosting

[photomark]

I have become pretty tired of dealing with hosting companies and I have begun to wonder

what kind of interest there would be in forming a small group of people and going in on a

dedicated box--a kind of hosting co-op. The prices of bandwidth and unmanaged

dedicated servers have plummeted making this affordable (even cheaper than a lot of

regular hosting options) for a group of ten or twelve people.

<p>

A few concerns I have thought of:

<ul><li>It is still shared hosting. Since we would have a dozen or so people we would still

need to share resources and would need to come to some understanding on how to split

up space / bandwidth in a fair way. Most big hosts that offer shared hosting, however,

frequently stack a LOT of websites on one box. Considering that most photographer's

sites get modest traffic, I don't think this is a real problem--unless somebody is set on

making the next photo.net

 

<li>It is unmanaged, meaning we would need to administer the box ourselves. I run both

a BSD and a Linux server here and am happy to take on the responsibility of routine admin

stuff. This probably isn't a good option for someone who doesn't have basic linux skills

since there won't be any formal help for things a novice webmaster might encounter. On

the other hand, if we have some technically savvy folks we could always help each other

out.

</ul>

A few advantages

<ul><li>We can customize the server to our individual needs. On my server here, for

instance, I have written a few user defined functions for MySQL that I find extremely

useful. A shared host would never let their users install stuff stuff like this. If you want to

use special perl modules, a scripting language installed, or something simple like

mod_rewrite (which a lot of hosts have turned off) we can do it with no fuss.

 

<li>Although we probably don't want a dozen people with root access, if we had a small

group of trusted users we could relax some of the more draconian security measures big

hosts need to rely on.

 

<li>No monthly cost for new features--I just left a host that charged $2.00/month just to

turn on the referrer logs.

 

<li>No artificial limits on stuff like email addresses. If you want more than 5 email

address--hey it's your space.

 

<li>Significantly more space. Most entry-level dedicated servers come with 40GB hard

drive, which split among a dozen folks gives you a lot more space than you will get from

comparatively priced traditional hosting.

</ul>

So my questions are:<br>

Does anybody other than me think this is an idea worth pursuing?<br>

Are there any concerns I should think about before trying something like this?<br>

Is anybody already doing this?<br>

[._._z]

There are lots of excellent, cheap hosts around, and even many <u>free</u> ones for

those with artistic sites. <p>

 

I have a friend who's happy with a hist which offers 200mb Web Space, 4GB Traffic/month,

Unlimited Mail Boxes and5 MYSQL Databases for $65/year. This same host offers 100mb

Web Space, 2GB Traffic/month, Unlimited Mail Boxes & 5 MYSQL Databases for $32/year.

You need to determine what you can offer, what service (and time you'll spend) you can

offer, and at what price -- then see if you are offering anything not currently available.

[phule]

Mark,

 

Have you considered finding a provider that uses Virtual Servers? You'll get root access on the virtual server (not on the actual server) and would be allowed to install and manage nearly any piece of software you wanted. http://www.johncompanies.com/ is one such provider and has a good reputation with the kuro5hin.org crowd:

 

http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2003/4/14/104336/193

[qtluong]

Mark, I have a box at interland.com with 80G disk and 500G/month for

$80/month. It comes with an optional Plesk control panel installed, which sometimes is a nuisance for a single user like me, but

would make it really easy to create multiple accounts with quotas, and

no need for command-line administration.

You could easily create a dozen 5G/40G accounts at less than $10/month which would be an unbeatable value.

[photomark]

QT--that's the kind of math I was doing and it seemed a little shocking that you can get

so much more for the same price as a basic hosting package if you are willing/able to

handle the admin side of things and join up with some like minded folks. There are all

sorts of hosts offering dedicated servers for less than $100/month (some much less). A

entire box to myself is more than I need or want to budget for but it is easy to get spoiled

quickly when you can do anything with the server you wish.

 

Rob, thanks for the tip on johncompanies. I'll take a look.

[mike_fabricius]

Mark,

 

As you say, there are many good sides to dedicated servers (I used to have one). Just remember that if you form a group of people who all pay their share, and the box goes down on Friday night, it will most likely be YOU who has to fix it.

 

In the end I ditched my linux box and went for a hosting company in the UK that gave me a shell account, and had the other various bells and whistles I wanted. Although it cost more, I'm not responsible to anyone else anymore, and someone else can look after it while I take pictures.

 

I can certainly see the attraction of your idea though...

 

The idea could be a go-er if a few people were prepared to put the work in, and appropriate understanding was reched regarding level of service, uptime, etc.

 

Mike

[beno_t_marchal]

Mark

 

The math seem attractive at first but I'm afraid you will soon realize that it causes all

hidden costs which, I'm afraid, will eventually negate any benefit. I have seen many

similar attempts in the past (even has been part of one) and they eventually either (1)

turn into some sort of commercial hosting (with the same restriction, prices) or (2)

disband in frustration.

 

The sort of restriction that reliable hosts put in place exist mostly because you are

sharing a box with different-minded people so everybody need some rules as to how

to behave.

 

If you're not happy with your current host, look around. They are some respectable

and reliable companies.