Need a Web host - Suggestions?

So I need a web host for myself. I'm probably going to use BlueHost.com for basic web hosting, but I also need a dedicated box for myself. Ideally, one that is located in Toronto, supplies physical access, and has no problems with me running a torrent client on it.

Additionally, does anyone know how colocation works? I'd like to get a server of mine hosted (I'd imagine colo is cheaper than renting a server), but do providers require that the box can be 1U or 2U mountable, as opposed to in a cardboard shoebox with fans on the side.

Right now i'm using DiligentHost. They're great. Speeds arent slow at all and they've got really really great support. I've had no problems with them so far.

if you're looking for a domain host I'd recommend namespro.ca

Do they allow seedboxes, and colocation of cereal box / shoebox computers?

Originally Posted by Seiphas

So I need a web host for myself. I'm probably going to use BlueHost.com for basic web hosting, but I also need a dedicated box for myself. Ideally, one that is located in Toronto, supplies physical access, and has no problems with me running a torrent client on it.

Additionally, does anyone know how colocation works? I'd like to get a server of mine hosted (I'd imagine colo is cheaper than renting a server), but do providers require that the box can be 1U or 2U mountable, as opposed to in a cardboard shoebox with fans on the side.

1. toronto doesn't have a lot of data centers, the only major one i know of is 151 front st.

2. colo is very expensive.

3. having a server that's not 1u or 2u means you're paying by the square footage, in a data center, that translates to $$$$.

4. for what you want to do, its better to just buy regular hosting and set up a vpn tunnel.

just like you, i also wish for a host to allow consumers to take any junky server they can cobble together and get 100 mbps connection and pay by the gigabyte for a low price. unfortunately, that's not gonna happen anytime soon.

Price isn't necessarily an issue. The trick is to get the server to pay for itself, and as I said, I do web dev. Getting clients paying for hosting would allow me to afford a box I can do whatever I want with, with no monthly expense.

As for the VPN tunnel? Unfortunately, that won't do what I want. I need a seedbox for private trackers. There's one that I'm a member of that has several hundred gigabyte torrents, and being able to download them and seed them on a 100MBit line would be rather nice. Not to mention, that when you need to get a terabyte to a seedbox, it's easier to just take a bus downtown with a drive than it is to find a way to upload it.

It's a sad truth, but Bskll is right. 151 Front is top quality as far as a DC goes and you pay for it. Your best bet is just rent a dedi and split it with a group of people you trust. Generally, if you're paying for a dedi and on a private tracker, hosts won't care what you do so long as they aren't getting complaints. However, if you put clients of yours on the same box and something happens, it could tarnish your services in the future - unlikely, but something to think about.

As far as colo goes, it isn't that expensive for a 1U rack but you'll only get 1Mbps and then get billed at the 95th percentile which will cost A LOT for torrents (premium bandwidth with 100Mbit commit, last I saw was like $3000 CAD). They're require you either be in a proper desktop case or then rack mountable - shoe box won't cut it. Remember, they're putting your server in a rack with other people's servers above and below, they have to make sure your server won't catch on fire and toast all the other servers in the rack. Don't bother looking at plans, you'll need a custom plan to handle your needs so you'll have to talk to them. Also, there's no reason to mention you're running a torrent client - it's a personal project, that's it.

Another possible way is to find someone that has a octal/quarter/half cabinet that isn't using their full space and then rent the space from them and see if they can work something out with their host as far as a port speed and bandwidth. There are other DC's around/in Toronto besides 151 Front, but I'm just not aware of any off hand.

What do you mean by bandwidth in the 95th percentile? Also, I was looking at dedicated boxes, and it looks like they'll be around $90. I saw this at Moxie Communications:

Intel Celeron 2.6 1024MB 160GB 10mbit Unmetered (Shared)

What does the 10mbit Unmetered (Shared) mean? Or does anyone know a cheaper dedicated server provider? And does anyone know if Moxie allows torrents? Also, with a dedicated server, does that give you physical access to go in? Are there any datacenters that would allow you a dedicated server with your own hard drive in it?

Originally Posted by Seiphas

What do you mean by bandwidth in the 95th percentile? Also, I was looking at dedicated boxes, and it looks like they'll be around $90. I saw this at Moxie Communications:

Intel Celeron 2.6 1024MB 160GB 10mbit Unmetered (Shared)

What does the 10mbit Unmetered (Shared) mean? Or does anyone know a cheaper dedicated server provider? And does anyone know if Moxie allows torrents? Also, with a dedicated server, does that give you physical access to go in? Are there any datacenters that would allow you a dedicated server with your own hard drive in it?

95th percentile: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burstab...5th_Percentile

10Mbit shared means that the total bandwidth is share between several servers. For example, a cluster of 13 10Mbit shared servers is fed through a single 100Mbit link. Generally, not everyone is going to be using a full 10Mbit so it's fine, however, you cannot expect to pull 10Mbit 100% of the time. If you want 10Mbit 100% of the time, then you get a 10Mbit line (e.g. non-shared).

Check out iweb.ca - they're pretty cheap if you look in the clearance section. There's other hosts, but check out webhostingtalk.com for way more help. Also, check out your site's forums for what they recommend... a lot of the people on WHT are the people that run the companies that are recommended in the forums.

Dedicated server does not give you physical access. Only time you get physical access is if you colo, own a cage, or own floor space. You can ask for a tour though. They won't use your hard drive, it's all their equipment if you rent a dedicated server.

Is there any way to get a server provider that you could get local access to, not necessarily physical? I'd like to be able to easily upload and download gigs of data, and I'd prefer not having to use the month's bandwidth to transfer it out. Any hosts that either offer local LAN access, or some other connection (USB)? Or is this kinda thing not done in the industry.

Not a direct answer but check a few threads on sitepoint --- there have been many discussions on this subject from some great web developers.

Originally Posted by Seiphas

Price isn't necessarily an issue. The trick is to get the server to pay for itself, and as I said, I do web dev. Getting clients paying for hosting would allow me to afford a box I can do whatever I want with, with no monthly expense.

As for the VPN tunnel? Unfortunately, that won't do what I want. I need a seedbox for private trackers. There's one that I'm a member of that has several hundred gigabyte torrents, and being able to download them and seed them on a 100MBit line would be rather nice. Not to mention, that when you need to get a terabyte to a seedbox, it's easier to just take a bus downtown with a drive than it is to find a way to upload it.

if you're thinking of putting your work and personal stuff on the same server, gonna be disastrous. DOWNTIME, HERE I COME. not pretty when your customers are wondering why their websites are giving them 404 errors. if you're making enough money to afford to colo server, might as well get yourself a better dedicated one.

IIRC, i used to have a friend who had a couple dedicated servers with theplanet in TX, and he used to courier down HDDs for them to put onto his server, might wanna look into that for the servers in Toronto.

Originally Posted by Seiphas

What do you mean by bandwidth in the 95th percentile? Also, I was looking at dedicated boxes, and it looks like they'll be around $90. I saw this at Moxie Communications:

Intel Celeron 2.6 1024MB 160GB 10mbit Unmetered (Shared)

What does the 10mbit Unmetered (Shared) mean? Or does anyone know a cheaper dedicated server provider? And does anyone know if Moxie allows torrents? Also, with a dedicated server, does that give you physical access to go in? Are there any datacenters that would allow you a dedicated server with your own hard drive in it?

95% percentile just means that you agree to stay under the listed value for 95% of the time, with the other 5% being the burst rate, usually 100 mbits. kinda useless for seeding torrents, as you're gonna have a constant rate for the time you're hosted.

that 10mbits unmetered means unlimited bandwidth for you, but you have to share the line speed with other people near you, which means most likely its gonna be saturated and you're not gonna get unlimited 10 mbit line.

Originally Posted by Seiphas

Is there any way to get a server provider that you could get local access to, not necessarily physical? I'd like to be able to easily upload and download gigs of data, and I'd prefer not having to use the month's bandwidth to transfer it out. Any hosts that either offer local LAN access, or some other connection (USB)? Or is this kinda thing not done in the industry.

if they took that much effort for you to have access via lan or USB, might as let you colocate right?

Firstly, I'd be keeping my customer's hosting separate. I'd have them all piled on a shared hosting box, and myself on a dedicated box for random projects and stuff (and torrents). That way, I don't need to worry about running the thing or locking it down, and I have a way to torrent all to myself.

As for colocation? I figured it would be cheaper than buying a dedicated, but I can't seem to find any providers that offer it. Maybe it's just the fact that all providers I've seen are offering 10U and up, and I only need 1U, or the fact that I'm doing something wrong. Is colo cheaper then a dedicated? I would go and buy a cheap 1U server if it was really cheap to host and I could pop HDDs in, but I can't find any place for under $100 in Toronto.

like i've said before, toronto is not particular to data centers, the best ones for that are TX and Cali.

from WHT, it seems this host is not half bad, and they are located in scarborough:


http://www.servertag.com/dedicated-servers.htm

here's a place with lot more listed, gonna have to do research yourself though:

http://ca.webhostdir.com/

hope these ones help.

Originally Posted by Bskll

from WHT, it seems this host is not half bad, and they are located in scarborough:

http://www.servertag.com/dedicated-servers.htm

What I don't get is where in Scarborough. From their site, I can only guess they're in the TATA building at Morningside and Milner.

For a 1U server you'll only be able to stuff 4 hard drives into it, just keep that in mind (don't know how much you're going to keep archived). Colo for under $100/month is very rare in Toronto. You'll have to talk to companies and try to work out a deal if you under that. Just wondering, what's your budget for this?

It really depends on your needs as to which is cheaper.