dunwoody-ga,
There are primarily two ways, both which I will outline, for you to
scale up your hosting solution. That is either to outsource your
hosting requirements, or scale up the hardware.
In terms of cost and ease for your organization, I highly recommend
that you outsource your web hosting. Case studies have found that
savings of 30%-40% can be realized by doing this. Current studies
find that in-house staffing to maintain a high-traffic website costs
over three times as much/year, and coupled with reoocuring bandwith
and co-location costs, these costs can easily swamp you.
(http://thewhir.com/features/outsourcing_can_save_millions.cfm,
http://www.computerworld.com/managementtopics/roi/story/0,10801,63231,00.html)
Outsourcing also provides increased security for the actual server
machine, and most internet data centers (IDCs) provide the lastest
technologies and have direct access to carrier backbones. They also
take care of upgrades and maintenance, relieving much of these
responsibilities from you. These dedicated hosting solutions also have
a great deal of expertise and many offer 24/7 support for your site,
so down time is almost non-existant.
(http://www.digitaloutput.net/back%20edit/edittopic6b.html,
http://techrepublic.com.com/5100-6265_11-5093964.html)
There are some excellent dedicated server hosts available that cater
to your needs. Most charge a one-time setup fee depending on what type
of software you require (in your case, ColdFusion and Microsoft SQL
Server 2000). A small list to give you an idea of what's available:
American NetLink (http://americannetlink.com)
---------------------------------------------
Setup Cost: From $299
Monthly Cost: From $249
Supplying all the software you need, coupled with 500GB bandwidth,
upgradeable to 1000GB, American NetLink should be able provide you
with your hosting solution. They have multiple fiberoptic connections
to diverse backbones to guarantee you fast website loading.
http://americannetlink.com/windows_server.htm
APlus.net (http://servers.aplus.net)
------------------------------------
Setup Cost: Free
Monthly Cost: From $99
Offering 1000GB of bandwidth with economy pricing, Aplus.net may be
the hosting solution for you. They are also highly recommended by CNET
(http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6540_7-726639-2.html)
http://servers.aplus.net/page.php?pg=serv_dedicated_servers_compare#top
MIS Sciences Corporation (http://www.mis-sciences.com)
------------------------------------------------------
Setup Cost: From $649.00
Monthly Cost: From $899.00
MIS offers servers with dual XEON 1.8Ghz processors, as well as many
upgrade options for their servers, allowing you to increase hard drive
storage space to 600GB, memory to 3GB, and up to 3200GB of bandwidth
and a dedicated 10MB connection. They can even go beyond this by
providing custom server solutions if required (though 3200GB bandwidth
is 32x greater then your current throughput). They are connected to
the Qwest OC-192 fiber backbone, providing unmatched speed. MIS will
also install any software that you need.
http://www.mis-sciences.com/dedicated_standard.asp
As you can see, there are a large range of costs for hosting solutions
and choosing one would depend on your financial resources.
Hosting companies sometimes provide what is known as "colocation",
where you provide the server hardware, configured the way you want it,
and the hosting company provides a physical location for the server
and an internet connection to your specifications. MIS (above)
provides such services. Other companies that provide these services
are NaviSite (http://www.navisite.com/colocation-hosting.cfm), OC
Hosting (http://www.ochosting.com/hosting/colocation.cfm) and HubWest
(http://www.hubwest.com/prod_serv.php?host=coded) to name a few.
Typical costs are $200-$1000 depending on your needs, with some places
charging per square foot of space.
The other solution would be purchase additional server and/or purchase
new servers to expand your current hardware. Windows 2000/2003 can be
configured for load-balancing and thus, your current hardware won't go
to waste (http://www.west-wind.com/presentations/loadbalancing/loadbalancing.htm).
The advantage of this is that you retain full control over what goes
on inside and outside your server. However, you will need to configure
your own internet connection, which can be a hassle and quite
expensive.
Internet connections come in a variety of speeds (128K, 256K, 384K,
512K, T1 and more) and are priced according to your requirements, and
according to your location. A Frame Relay connection can grow with you
up to a full T1 without major upgrade of telco services and equipment.
HubWest (http://www.hubwest.com/prod_serv.php?connect=framerelay),
along with many other companies provide such services, though many are
area specific. Typically, T1 lines will go for about $800-$1500/month
depending on the provider.
For your reference, the speed of the faster internet connections (with
cryptic acronyms) are as follows:
DS0/DSL - 64 kilobits per second
ISDN - Two DS0 lines plus signaling (16 kilobits per second), or 128
kilobits per second
T1 - 1.544 megabits per second (24 DS0 lines)
T3 - 43.232 megabits per second (28 T1s)
OC3 - 155 megabits per second (84 T1s)
OC12 - 622 megabits per second (4 OC3s)
OC48 - 2.5 gigabits per seconds (4 OC12s)
OC192 - 9.6 gigabits per second (4 OC48s)
(http://computer.howstuffworks.com/question372.htm)
As you can see, outsourcing your hosting is probably the best way to
go, anything faster than a T1 line becomes prohibitively expensive.
I hope this helps. If you need more hosting companies, or more
information, feel free to ask for clarification.
tox-ga |
