I have been running 1 of the most expensive servers used for jr sites, but also consistently gets the best performance test ratings (peaked at 2700!!!) but have been spending 449 a month because my site is huge
I could no longer justify spending 3/4 of my low income (on disability) on the server and spent 6 months looking into cheaper options, and finding none at all that could be configured how i required (dreadlockssite alone is nearly 1 tb, i use a 650 gig ssd and 2 tb media drive /data/media mounted)
i found for most of you with lower requirements, purchasing a refurbished server can be from 200-500
I'm building a custom server as good or better then the 1 im on now, for 1400
after months of research i found that typically you can buy a server equal to what your using for what you pay in about 3 months.
things to consider:
1 if your not an expert with server admining you may want to find a volunteer among your sites members who is. not to be a server admin but to help out when you get stuck (you should try to learn to do as much as you can on your own)
2 bandwidth, know your sites requirelents, i found to get what i needed from fios business class it would cost 265 a month! but, other options exist like colocation wich is what i decided on.
3 once you have saved some money from not having high monthly bills, buy 1 extra of each drive, in case of drive failure so you wont have to wait if you need to swap drives.
to serve from home or collocate:
theres more factors involved in this decision then just bandwidth costs! but that should be looked at 1st, if you have low traffic, already have internet with static ip and fast up speeds (very few offer matched up and down speeds wich is crucial) then you might be able to host from home
power, does your power go out often? does your internet stop working often? these will cause down time
cooling a server should be kept in a cool temperature controlled room, often cooler then is confortable to most
colocation, why i chose it as best option:
1st, i found 1 close by that i can go to the server itself when needed
2nd colocation server farms have multiple redundancies, as an example, multiple routers in case 1 fails, multiple networks (using 5 or 6 diferent companies for network connectivity ) multiple cooling systems in case 1 or more fail, and finaly multiple generators (mine has 2 with 6800 gallons of fuel) this way your site should stay up even through natural disasters
os and configuration:
ofcourse Linux and in particular Ubuntu are preferred for web servers unless they require windows only software or apx pages, however Linux is cryptic and confusing and not easy fir windows users to grasp, but Linux and apache are free!
windows server versions using iis will do the trick, they might not be as reliable stable or perform as well, but the familiarity makes them easier for 1st time server operators
ofcourse it can be dual boot and use either os to do the serving
i would very much recommend Linux unless you are not at all good with pcs even under windows.. Linux is much better as a server platform but highly confusing if your a windows user.
form factor and chasis
if you are serving from home a tower or mini server is fine and probably preferred, but if you collocate the tower using much more space will cost you way way way more, a 1u rack mount servers going to be the cheapest option for colocation as they charge per u (1 u takes up 1 slot in a rack 2u 2 etc)
performance options:
if your happy with the performance your rented server has, then by all means try to get as close to that as you can within your price range. more ram means bigger file uploads so keep that in mind
if your wanting a performance boost in processing power (assuming you already use ssd drives) going from a 2 ghz to 3 ghz with same number of cores will certainly help, adding more cores however will help a lot more.
consider future expansion and even virtualization
your site may grow and require additional resources so make sure your system can be expanded with open drive bays, the ability to add a lot more ram and cpu cores
virtualizations an option to make your server profitable, you can divide the server into virtual servers and rent out 1 or more virtual servers on a monthly basis to cover colocation costs and bring in a lil profit. with what you save every month from not having to pay monthly server costs you should be able to save up and expand or buy a second server just for a vps to hosts friends sites
i will have my server in the next week to 2 and migrate to it in the next week to month (depending on if i can set it up before next server fee comes up next week)
i hope this helps some of you struggling to cover server costs month to month like i was
owning the servers going to be such a help financially
--
soaringeagle
head dreadhead at dreadlocks site
glider pilot student and member/volunteer coordinator with freedoms wings international soaring for people with disabilities
updated by @soaringeagle: 07/03/16 01:43:36PM
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