Web Hosting Lots of GB

[lionheart]

Hi Guys

I am trying to a find a company who can offer a decent amount of storage in a fairly standard package.

I need around 1000GB of storage initially, although I hope that this will double to triple (so I need to be able to upgrade).

Many of the companies who can make bespoke servers charge thousands.

Many of the companies who offer standard packages are well priced, but most offer a maximum of two 250GB HD's (500GB max).

Do you guys know of a company which can host multiple hard drives within a standard package, or at a realistic price? We need Linux too, and a REAL good uptime rate (guaranteed ideally).

We'd love to find a company who can host 5 - 6 hard drives for us in a single server, each of which being between 500GB and 1TB.

Any help much appreciated!!!!!

Thank you

Lionheart

[John Scott]

Yeah, I would think that would cost a couple thousand a month, min.

[chicgeek]

You're probably better off buying your own server....?

[lionheart]

Ouch. Thats 24 thousand a year. Are there really no cheaper ways for host a decent amount of space?

[lionheart]

Yes, we consider getting our own server.

The problem was the line lease price. £12,000 per year ($20,000)

And that was for a 2MB line.

We've found a company that can host 2 x 250GB drives for us (500GB) for £89 per month ($165), which isn't bad we thought. That's around $2,000 per year.

But that's only 500GB. We will soon need more. Four packages = $8,000 for 2TB.

Surely there must be a cheaper solution somewhere???

Lionheart

[lionheart]

Come on guys... any more ideas?

Surely this can't have you that stumped?

Lionheart

[chicgeek]

Sorry mate, you pray for what you get. If this is a multiple-year need, then it's definitely worth looking into getting your own server. If it's a company that will be around indefinitely, buying is over leasing.

Though, what am I talking about, I know nothing about servers...

[John Scott]

Seriously, you don't need to pay those kind of prices to connect to the Internet. A lot of companies have in-office servers connected to the Internet for $500 a month or so.

[lionheart]

Hi guys

Thanks for the input!!!

With regards to people hosting their own websites for $500. How??? Is this with their own dedicated line, or just via a broadband connection?

I enquired about getting our own dedicated line for hosting and the price was insane!

Lionheart

[John Scott]

Come to think of it, it may not be the best option. You would need in-house staff to maintain the server.

May I ask, how much is your budget?

[lionheart]

Budget is a major consideration. The popularity of the project is virtually impossible to evaluate accurately prior to launch and initial six months of promotional work.

If the project becomes successful enough then we can consider paying thousands for the solution (meaning we must take tens of thousands to make priofit). We hope this will be the case, but the project's success (unfortunately) cannot be assessed in advance.

So, we need a cheap solution, at least to begin with for the first year or so. So, our budget is as low as humanly possible really.

Any ideas?

Lionheart

[lionheart]

Also, was just thinking...

It seems logical to me that hosting companies are going to have to cater for people who want to store lots of GB in the near future, as video clips, moves and like like become more and more common place on the internet.

When I visit the online store I use for buying computer components, the standard HD size now is really 250GB. It is possible to buy the 80GB if you search around the store for a while, but they're only a fraction cheaper than the 250GB.

This leads me to suspect that the storage problem for hosting companies is not the physical storage size (a HD is a HD), but rather the connection speeds available to them. The actual cost of transferring large amounts of data.

Like I say, I think this will change very soon as video content becomes more commonplace on the internet (it's already 10x more common than it was a couple of years back!) and so these companies will have to offer these solutions.

What costs $10,000 a year to host now should, in theory, drop to a fraction of that cost within only a few years.

Do you agree? (fingers crossed!)

Lionheart

[John Scott]

Lionheart, do you need to start out with that much disc space? Why not start out with 250 GB or so and go from there? I mean, that is a LOT of disc space. This site (V7N) uses just 980.34 MB data, and 242.58 MB MySQL. And we have lots of pictures, some videos, and pages here.

[lionheart]

With regards to storage capacity required, yes unfortunately we will require that much space

Our clips will be an average of 150mb each and we will host 5,000 clips upon launch = 750,000MB (750GB).

This will be doubled within the first 12 months, if all goes well.

So we really do need at least 1TB to begin, but be upgradeable to several times that size.

I found a host that can host 500GB (2 x 250GB HD's) for £100 per month ($180) so maybe two of those packages ($360 p.m.) would be the best option for us?

Lionheart

[John Scott]

That might be the best option for you at this time. After launch, if you're making cash, you will probably want to explore an in-house solution.

[lionheart]

Ok, thank you for your assistance - very much appreciated!!!

Lionheart

[Optix]

As mentioned above I would recomend buying your own server. I have an uncle who owns a wholesale WebHosting business and I have asked him for his advice on this matter. He said basicaly that you are right about the video being more popular on the internet and also to invest in your own servers. HD are p*** cheap nowadays. A terrabyte you can pick up for around £400. Also buy a big server case - water cooling etc and a motherbored which can handle atleas 5gig ram 8 gig is the max i think. Invest also in a good fast RELIABLE broadband line.

Just my 2 cents ;p

Optix.

[lionheart]

Is a standard broadband line really capable of hosting a decent server??

I was recommended a 2mb dedicated line but told that the dedicated (leased) line was different to broadband as it's a pure 2MB or something???

What do you think?

Lionheart

[Optix]

Standard broad band line is capable of hosting a decent server. But what your asking for isn't decent its hell of a lot more!.

Before i go futher are the videos going to be streamed or downloaded?

Optix.

[lionheart]

Thanks for the reply

The videos will be downloaded, not streaming.

Thank you!

Lionheart