Non-Commercial Colocation? 27
ASyndicate asks: "I've been looking for a Cheap Midwest (Michigan) Colocation provider for NON-commercial use, and I have yet to find one. All of the providers that I have found are more geared toward businesses (Understandably). Is colocation so Outrageously expensive that I should just purchase Business Class Cable or DSL? The Cheapest I have seen is for $99/Month, 15GB Transfer on a DS-3 (Dantor Communications) But they would not let me run a game server. I intend to use it for a game server and for hosting email. Does anyone know of cheap, fast, colo-providers or should I be looking for a different service?" Come to think of it, are there any services like this for locales outside of Michigan, USA? I'm sure others might appreciate such services as well.
Try this: (Score:1)
It's a database of colocation providers and sellers (if you have extra space). Hopefully this can provide some leads for you.
Re: (Score:1)
Try hooking up with a locak ISP (Score:1)
-- TIm
Why not residential DSL (or maybe even cable)? (Score:1)
Before everyone starts going nuts because I just asked if a T3 is better than a DSL, let me just say that I mean, how much would the gameplay be improved? Would it mean that you could handle more 'players'? Are you sure your hardware could support more users than the DSL could?
I'm not giving you a hard time, I'd really like to know how all this stuff works. I just play games, I don't host them
ISP From Hell (Chicago) (Score:3, Informative)
Basically, you buy in as a member of the co-op, then pay at cost. Excess funds are returned to the members. You can do as you please, so long as it doesn't harm anyone else. (Full details in their AUP.)
ISPFH's bandwidth isn't oversold (except 2x on DSL), and I've heard nothing but good things about them. Me, I'm still doing the speakeasy DSL thing - cheap, fast. But if covad ever goes belly up, ISPFH's my next step.
Why colocation? (Score:2)
And if your budget is limited, you should consider doing without a dedicated server. Not all virtual host providers would let you run a game server -- but there are a lot of providers!
Perhaps CoLo isn't what you need (Score:2)
From what I'm reading, it seems to me that the poster simply wants to run a game server. This really only requires two things: a place to put the machine, and an ISP with a big pipe and easy-going attitude. CoLo is usually only a good idea when you absolutely, positively have to have a server (or several) running 100% of the time. CNN is a great example. Companies that don't want to waste employee bandwidth sometimes choose CoLo as well. It's pretty rare for individuals to get CoLo service, mostly because it's so expensive but also because it's not quite as important that the server be accessible 100% of the time.
Almost certainly, you can find an ISP in your area that will give you a fat pipe for an extra $100 a month from what you pay now. Since it would be a business-type of connection, you would be allowed to run any type of server you wanted... though with some exceptions (kiddy porn, spam, etc). The actual server would be your business, so you would have to ensure availablility there. This is almost certainly the cheapest solution one can find.
On the other hand, if you desire to have the security of having the server located remotely; then by all means find someone to do colocation for you. Heck, for $100 a month I'd let you put whatever machine you want in my basement with my other servers (though I'm in Columbus, OH). I'd place bets that some of your friends would feel the same way.
Re:Perhaps CoLo isn't what you need (Score:2)
As an aside, this is the problem facing one of the ADSL companies in the UK; with uptake in demand, pings have risen and customers are unhappy. They managed a network change which increased gaming performance but killed downloads. This means your game server might not work as well as you might hope, but it'll be difficult to get a company who will configure the network to optimise for games.
Rent a dedicated server (Score:2, Informative)
Rackspace offers similar services, but I think they're a bit pricier.
Rackshack.net (Score:1)
Re:Friend of a Friend does cheap colo (Score:1)
You're either Dave or JC. : ) Thanks for the plug. You pretty much hit the hammer on the head with my pricing. I'm doing a box for $50/month for the local scouts and an Amiga(!) user group from Texas, too. I've been really flexible with the pricing, pretty much depends on the size of the box and power consumption (larger power supply = more UPS and genset load). Bandwidth isn't much of an issue for 98% of my customers. No warez, no porn. No public kernel or iso mirrors. : ) Not for my lowest prices anyway.
My website had become really outdated, so I yanked most of the content. I'm working on an update, but have been busy with equipment upgrades and some local projects.
For some *really* cheap hosting, check out istop.com in Ottawa, Ontario. I see someone else has mentioned them too. I can't match their low prices, but it's worth a shot.
Colin Anderson
colin@beyondboxes.com
Tried a co-op (Score:1)
I've thought quite a bit recently about putting together some cooperative stuff for all kinds of computer parts and services... but I'm afraid that no one will buy. Do we _really_ like local providers? If so, why do we all go to pricewatch first, and not the local computer store? It's these small local providers that are most apt to meet these low-end colo needs, etc... not the big guys.
-jbn
Re:Tried a co-op (Score:1)
Mind you, the price per member is about UKP120.00 each (about $250) per year.
JJ
Try nyi.net (Score:1)
i've used....
Yes, am partly biased, i did work for them
http://nyi.net/ [nyi.net]
how about decent hosting prices? (Score:1)
i am interested in getting somehosting. I want he.net cause they rock but they are a little skimpy on space. I am not looking for huge data transfers just a little space. Any good hosting company suggestions?
colocation tips (Score:4, Informative)
1) "Mom and Pop" vs "Brass and Glass"...
The huge datacenter colo facilities make any geek drool and may even be a requirement for the hosting of a site requiring tremendous bandwidth and security, but are they what you need? For my business's servers we initially went with a mega-huge provider and were very dissapointed. "24-hour tech support" and "24-hour staffed datacenter" often required a daytime call back to reach a tech with any sort of skill, or more often, authority to make changes. Sales departments were often a nightmare to deal with. Change orders would take weeks for the paperwork to reach the proper people. We eventually tried another provider before finally switching to a small local internet services group that offered colocation at their office just 90 miles from here. Their rates are a good deal cheaper, their bandwidth is sufficent, and the ability to call their real techs at any hour of the day has been a godsend. Never again will I do business with the big boys when I can do business with a real person.
2) Bandwidth Usage...
Some providers have fixed rates for your monthly usage (often expressed in GB/month), other have a bandwidth cap (so many Kbps/sec). Often you can pay for more bandwidth or arrange to be billed depending on the month's usage. Understand what you're getting into. 10 GB/month might sound like a lot, but that's just 2500 MB/week. More than enough for most sites, but if you plan on shuffling a lot of data to your server every few weeks it may not be enough. Obviously you're not going to have a solid sustained rate over the course of a month, but if you were, that 10 GB/month would be just 32 kbps over a month's time. Again, this has no meaning for the average bursty website, it's just that a 33.6 kbps modem can transfer about 10 GB per month if it were dialed up 24-7. A major advantage to many "Mom and Pop" colo providers is that they have a very lax bandwidth policy. Typically if you stay away from kiddy porn, warez, and spamming, they won't care how much bandwidth you use just as long as it's not a tremendous amount for a tremendous period of time. My provider and I agreed to discuss any major changes and thus far things have worked out well. I have no bandwidth cap or monthly limit. Some months we use 25 GB other months it's 75. My usage is very bursty (new product releases stir up a lot of hits for a few days) but overall it's a general few-hits-a-second "noise" traffic. However, I'm quite certain that if I were to set up a huge FTP site on my server that would generate massive traffic around the clock, my ISP would call at the end of the month to request that we make changes for the following month.
3) The server itself...
Be upfont with potential providers with the size of your server. It does make a difference. A 1U rackmount server takes up much less space than a full tower ATX case. The size often has a factor on the price. Some providers don't care. It's best to ask right away. Unless your provider is nearby, you'll probably be shipping your server to him. For your benefit and his, enclose information with the server, including your name and email address along with any important setup instructions. **Test your server before shipping it** Be sure that it'll work properly without the usual I/O accessories hanging off it. Most providers won't plug every single server into a massive KVM switch. If your server does not work without a keyboard attached, then let the provider know and enclose something that can be plugged in and hang behind the server. Most providers will provide you with network config data (IP address, etc). You can attempt to configure this before you ship the server, but it may be best to leave it in the config that works in your home/office and include simple instructions for the provider to change the IP address for you. This prevents nasty config surprises. Again, ask the provider for more info on this.
From my experience and having talked with others, I would highly recommend a qualified Mom & Pop provider over the brass and glass type... unless you do need the level of security offered by the hardcore pros. If there is one thing I can stress, it's to ASK QUESTIONS! And take note of how many people you need to talk to for an answer. You should be able to get a solid price quote from no more than two emails. You should be able to talk with a real tech (someone that maintains the network and works with the hardware) without having to talk to several people inbetween. Basicly, if you can't get ahold of these important people now, as a business prospect, then why expect to get ahold of them at 4am when everything's going wrong? Again, ask questions and be somewhat patient. The big boys often have untrained people answering the phones and Mom & Pop are often busy during key hours of the day. Don't be afraid to send some emails, fax some questions, or leave a voice mail.
Virtual Linux server (Score:1)
It would seem like a good business idea for someone to sell 10,000 virtual Linux servers to amateur users for $10-$20/month.
/Krister
Re:Virtual Linux server (Score:2)
Not to proselytize free software, but if the poster is running an Open Source game server, it's possible he could modify the source to run on other architecture. This would probably be difficult, however.
Speaking of Alphas, does anyone know where to get some cheap? I'll bet they will flood the used market soon since Compaq killed Alpha in favor of Itanium.
Try to find a local ISP (Score:1)
If you're willing to travel to Chicago, DLS.net [dls.net] does 10mb/sec unmetered colocation for $300/month. I didn't go with them and thus have no personal experience, but they seemed pretty good, and they're much better-connected than most (100mb/sec to Genuity, 45mb/sec to UUNet).
BTW, I'm using my colocated box for pretty much what you're using it for -- a couple Quake III servers, e-mail, and whatnot -- and it works out pretty well. I pay $250/month, though, which is more than you seem to be looking for.
California Community Colocation Project (CCCP!) (Score:2)
We've found a real gem of a place in Palo Alto one block away from a major net drop that already is airconditioned and that we may be able to freely use (no rent!). We're putting together a setup where responsible admins can come, drop in a box (no commercial content, banner ads, pr0n, or warez) and be connected at 10mbps (unmetered) for less than $100/mo; we have a target goal of $50/month for our users, which should be low enough to not be a barrier to entry for interested parties, including individuals, nonprofits, open source projects requiring dedicated hosting, and independent researchers.
Send me an email at dweeklyATlegatoDOTcom to let me know you'd like to either help out or have your box hosted and I'll give you more information. We're probably having a face-to-face get-together next week in Palo Alto! If you know any lawyers who could do pro bono work on assisting our 501(c)(3) incorporation, too, that'd be a huge hand! =)
Cheers,
-david
Re:rackmy.com (Score:1)