Hi,
I am currently a Links 2.0 user and looking to upgrade to Links SQL. Presently my hosting account is with OLM (olm.net), which I find quite good. Recently I saw an offer from CI Host, whereby they provide dedicated hosts for $59pm (http://www.cihost.com/?zone=products/dedicated_limited_time), with following configuration :

. Pentium 166 MHz
. Red Hat Linux 5.2
. 64 KB cache
. 32 MB RAM
. One 2 GB ATA/66
. 100 MBps Bay Networks Ethernet Card

Can someone advice me whether the above setup is sufficient enough to get maximum out of LinksSQL (ie. ~200,000 links with reasonable speed) and if anyone have any comments about CI Host.

Thanks

p.s : OLM's account offer me 300MB disk space but it's a virtual host. Is 300MB enough to run Links SQL with ~200,000 links?

Hi,

We also upgraded to Links SQL and made the BIG mistake of going with CI Host. They took 10 days to set up the server, their support was slow and often useless and the general customer support was poor. We cancelled and paid quite a bit more at Rackspace.com - one of the largest dedicated companies around. In the end of the day, you get what you pay for.

JeffB
Celebhoo.com

PS- These are my personal views only and therefore not necessailry a fair view of CI Host's products and services. (sorry to get all legal but I don't want to be sued for speaking out!)

If you look at the configuration, with a 166 Pentium chip, and chips now hitting the 1GB range, these are _old_ machines. They may be retired machines, or surplus, and the ISP is trying to cash in on them, because it's cheaper than simply throwing them away (they probably couldn't sell them, with out a tax hit).

There is absolutely no question you get what you pay for.

I'm still working on the mid to high end hosting solution for Links SQL, and am now just waiting for the specifics of configurations, services and prices.

Basically, the dedicated sites will be hosted on Sun Netra T1 servers, in a sun certified, networked and secured data center (I toured it last week and it _is_ cool!!!). Single machines and clusters will be available, as will higher end multi-cpu machines for those who need it. Shared hosting will be available, once we figure the pricing, but I need at least 5 people who want shared hosting to make it a reality to start. All the information will be available from the Links SQL FAQ (and in fairness, I'll link any other viable options there as well). We are not competing on price, but I don't think the service, uptime, and reliability can be beat. These people actually took over some of Exodus.net's centers down south. As I said clusters and load balancing solutions are available for high-end sites.

Anyway, the pricing will be reasonable, and include a certain amount of management and support for both the servers and Links SQL.

There are advantages to group buying power, and clustering groups of servers with similar needs (ie: database-backed links-type sites). Initially higher costs usually pay off down the road in big ways.



PUGDOG®
PUGDOG® Enterprises, Inc.
FAQ: http://pugdog.com/FAQ

I'm running my Links SQL site (OhioBiz) on their (CI Host) shared server service - $69/qtr. hosting, unlimited space, on much quicker machines (800MHz) and haven't had any problems. Customer service hasn't been a problem compared to all the yoyo DSL providers I've dealt with!!

Mark G.
OhioBiz
www.ohiobiz.com

All I can say is, price out the hardware yourself. Figure out the costs for bandwidth from a variety of providers. Then, add in the overhead (staffing costs, electricity, etc) to operate a facility and physically plug your server in. If that comes to $69/quarter something is wrong. My last 50 ft lan cable cost that, and it wasn't even a really high grade cable!

In the end, you get what you pay for. You might "luck out" and have a low cost for awhile, but someone is paying, and in the end, it's always you. You can't develop a business if you don't controll your costs -- and destiny.

If you are getting $800/month in hardware and bandwidth and overhead costs for $23, then someone is eating that $777 loss.

No company can take a loss on their services and then try to make it up in volume. Think about it.


PUGDOG®
PUGDOG® Enterprises, Inc.
FAQ: http://pugdog.com/FAQ