rent or buy a server?

Discussion in 'Site & Server Administration' started by emd023, Jun 28, 2012.

  1. #1
    I want to start a website that allows users to upload files and access them later at anytime and anywhere. I know it has already been done (dropbox). How would I go about doing this? Do I need to purchase my own server? Can I rent a server? Users will be uploading an average of 10gb.

    After I have my server can users upload their files through my website? or do I need to create a program that they must use to upload this amount of data?

    thanks
     
    emd023, Jun 28, 2012 IP
  2. Microsuck

    Microsuck Greenhorn

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    #2
    LOL. It's going to take a lot more than one server and one person. Definitely buy.
     
    Microsuck, Jun 28, 2012 IP
  3. emd023

    emd023 Peon

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    #3
    How much can a server hold? can I rent a server at first and if the website takes off buy my own?
     
    emd023, Jun 28, 2012 IP
  4. Microsuck

    Microsuck Greenhorn

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    #4
    Sure! It's up to you.

    A server "holds" different amounts based on the capacity of the hard drive.
     
    Microsuck, Jun 28, 2012 IP
  5. emd023

    emd023 Peon

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    #5
    So if i rented a rackspace server...how much data could I store on it?
     
    emd023, Jun 28, 2012 IP
  6. emd023

    emd023 Peon

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    #6
    actually it would be better to use amazon s3 right? they charge you just for the amount of data stored.
     
    emd023, Jun 28, 2012 IP
  7. Kaminski

    Kaminski Peon

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    #7
    ... buy it! ...

    first of all look for a colocation ...
    for a 1 Click Hoster you need a nice uplink port ... to start with it ... look for a 1 gb uplink port with MANY traffic!!!

    next step will be to buy server systems ...
    a nice layer 3 switch with BMC Modules ... and 16 Ports with 1 GB ...

    2 - 3 servers with SAS HDD and 8 GB Ram ...
    and than 3-5 NAS Server (Storage Systems) to handle the files ...
     
    Kaminski, Jun 28, 2012 IP
  8. livetecshosting

    livetecshosting Peon

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    #8
    You should have RAID5 for increasing your write speed. This is something I read on other backup service site that they are using RAID5 because 99% of tasks will be write only.
     
    livetecshosting, Jun 29, 2012 IP
  9. Hostwinds_Dan

    Hostwinds_Dan Active Member

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    #9
    Definitely buy. You will obviously need tons of disk space as well, with little to no bandwidth limitations. Running an upload/download business is very expensive, always.
     
    Hostwinds_Dan, Jun 29, 2012 IP
  10. linux7802

    linux7802 Active Member

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    #10
    In that case its always better to purchase the server on monthly rent basis with the managed service, so that you can concentrate on marketing and other issue and your server provider can manage server side issue for you and once your web site launched successfully in the market than you can purchase your own server ....
     
    linux7802, Jun 29, 2012 IP
  11. gombile13

    gombile13 Active Member

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    #11
    that's up to you, if you rent a managed server then it will cut off your initial capex, and convert it to opex which than you can pay it monthly, quarterly or yearly basis. it will save you much money for your initial time so you can use it on marketing and others, and after you got numbers of users then you can start buying your own server if it is required.
     
    gombile13, Jun 30, 2012 IP
  12. dom19

    dom19 Active Member

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    #12
    dom19, Jul 2, 2012 IP
  13. extraspecial

    extraspecial Member

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    #13
    It's better to rent because if you buy then you will pay for colocation each month...
     
    extraspecial, Jul 10, 2012 IP
  14. vidbull

    vidbull Peon

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    #14
    Looking at your first post I would say rent it first! You can always discontinue if the start-up goes south.
    Also there is a steep learning curve for any start up so when you rent you can always ditch the first choice and go for a better server later.

    100% rent!
     
    vidbull, Jul 18, 2012 IP
  15. AC36

    AC36 Peon

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    #15
    Renting is the best option.
     
    AC36, Jul 19, 2012 IP
  16. Humza

    Humza Peon

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    #16
    Personally I'd say not to rent, first of all it's all subject to your provider, you have less control over the servers, they could easily do whatever, I wouldn't feel as safe with my clients data on a rented sever as a collocated server. Also many rental providers do not setup nice RAID configs for speed etc, I would recommend you setup a RAID10 array with 4 disks, which is the minimum for RAID10, this would get you nice performance. Although to start out I would suggest something like S3..

    Just my 2 cents.
     
    Humza, Jul 21, 2012 IP
  17. cesurasean

    cesurasean Active Member

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    #17
    I would suggest starting off using a low-end VPS account, then upgrade it as need be.
     
    cesurasean, Jul 24, 2012 IP
  18. Evoluso

    Evoluso Greenhorn

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    #18
    If you do not have much experience, renting is the best option for you.
    When your project grow, then you will need to buy.
    :)
     
    Evoluso, Jul 29, 2012 IP
  19. Klar

    Klar Peon

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    #19
    I wouldn't go for a server based on this requirement. You should look into Amazon cloud servers. You can upgrade the storage anytime without any downtime. Their servers are also much more reliable than most datacenters.
     
    Klar, Jul 29, 2012 IP
  20. cesurasean

    cesurasean Active Member

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    #20
    You make want to look into a NAS ( Network Attached Storage ), or SAN ( Storage Area Network ) devices to build the space you will require. On the other hand, you can always use a cloud service tied into a purchased server to host the content. IE. Amazon Cloud Services....
     
    cesurasean, Aug 1, 2012 IP