Just wondering since I know a shared host just wont cut it, what would be the best type of web server for a website giving away free music files. Would like to give away .wav, .mp3 as well as zipped packs that might exceed 1gb in size. Looking for the best cost efficient/cheapest way. I have several shared host but I do expect a lot of traffic since people do like my instrumentals. I have xfinity comcast service and it does come with a web server just not sure if it's shared or what not. Also I wouldn't mind hosting the files at home since I have the fastest comcast/xfinity service there is under t1 and business class. I max out at 20 Mega Bites or it might be Mega Bits. I have seen a lot about virtual servers and also server hosting in other countries that are real good prices although my target area in the United States I know the cons of hosting off shore! Any help would be appreciated!
You don't want to host at home. 20 mbits is VERY slow by server standards, and most ISPs have rules against hosting a server. That's why they offer you web space. You want either a VPS or dedicated server. I would start with a VPS first (it's going to be considerably cheaper) and upgrade if/when your site gets busy enough. As long as these are legal MP3s that you own the copyright to, there is no need to host offshore, as it's perfectly legal for you to distribute your own content in the US. If you are distributing copyrighted MP3s, you are going to be shut down no matter what host you choose in the US.
Oh ok I did mean 20mb of UPLOAD speed on my home network and I max out at 150mb download, but I get it. Also the .mp3 files will be my own copyrighted work I was only looking at off shore due to the prices are cheaper that I have been searching for. So do you know about how much traffic a vps server can handle? I'm sure I will have at least 10 to 20 different users downloading files at one time. And I really haven't seen any unlimited bandwidth vps servers. Also do you know where wis the best place to hire someone to build my website or custom web scripts?
2 The 20 mbits is what you would use to serve files. The download speed is going into your computer. The upload speed is going out from your computer. So your home server would be 20 mbps, which is extremely slow for a server. There is no such thing as unlimited bandwidth. Unlimited disk space or bandwidth do not exist. You can get unmetered connections on VPSs, but it's likely not going to be much faster than your 20mbits. If you want an unmetered 100mbps connection, for example, you're probably going to need a dedicated server, as most VPSs have limited transfer. As far as how much it can handle, it just depends. If you have a 100mbps connection, for example, are allowed to use the entire thing, and have 10 people downloading at once, each user will only be able to download at about 10mbps. It will actually be less, since 100mbps is only theoretical. The actual speed is going to be less. If you have a 1gbps connection, those 10 users will be able to download at about 100mbps, etc. etc. It isn't going to be the VPS that limits you, it's going to be the connection speed.
Oh ok. Thanks a lot. Just trying to figure some things out. I think I ight just host the streams and sell the actual files on disk via ebay or something. I think that would be better option right now then paying for a dedicated server as I am low on funs and just want to get a website going right now, which I could just use my shared host that I already have. Even though it is very limited it has truly been no downtime that I have ran into. My current shared host is ipage. lol. I know I know please dont laugh but it was pretty cheap for a 2 year agreement! lol. --- Now I just need to find out the best place to find someone to build me a custom website with everything I need! Preferably an offshore person for a better price!
I personally would stay away from eBay for things like that, as most people aren't going to buy discs these days. 99.9% of the people are going to want to download something immediately, if they are truly interested in your files. Does iPage allow you to host the files? You could always start that route, and then upgrade as you make sales and have the money to purchase something better.