Hi There,

I've been doing some dedicated server cost/income calculations. I have done somre research into companies and come up with some prices.

I would like someone to look at these calculations and tell me if I'm off the mark somewhere.

Note:
1) These are prices I got from suppliers and I have worked out an average, ie: this is not necessarily a 1 supplier price so please do nt suggest specific suppliers as this is purely a maths exercise.

2) My calculations are based on complete outsourcing of server administration and user support. This is the way I have set this up so once again, please don't suggest other alternatives as this is a maths exercise.

3) The prices set for plans are also very much average +- guess so don't take them literaly.

4) Please don't think me as rude in the previous three points but I'm just looking for maths help and not an advertising frenzy.

Datacenters and server supplier / operators are also ignored for this exercise.

Some options has a setup fee but I will ignore them and write them off as startup expenses. So assuming U$0 setup fees in all cases.

Ok here we go:
*****************************************
FULLY Managed Server (kernel/security/firewall):
P4 HT CPU
512MB Memory
100GB Space
250GB Bandwith

Price:
Server: U$350 p/m
Customer Support: U$200 p/m

Total Cost: U$550

*****************************************
Completely unmanaged Server:
Dual P4 HT / Xeon CPU
1024MB Memory

200GB Space
2000GB Bandwith

Price:
Server: U$250 p/m
Customer Support: U$200 p/m
Server Admin: U$100 p/m

Total Cost: U$550


So very quick conclusion would be that unmanaged server with own admin organised is better value for money (Could be wrong).

Now the income:
(This is where I get very lost)

Assuming just one type of package:

20GB Bandwith / 1GB Space - U$20 p/m

Assuming no overselling:
Managed: 10 packages = U$200 income per month
ie: U$ 350 loss

Unmanaged: 100 packages = U$2000 income per month
ie: U$ 1450 profit


Ok here are my conclusions/questions:

1) Assuming the server costs and package costs to be reasonable, are my cost/income calculations correct?

2) Managed hosting is MUCH more expensive then unmanaged with own admin. (yes/no)

3) Point 2 is not always correct as the packages are from 2 diffrent suppliers of servers/bandwith and therefore we are not comparing apples to apples. (yes/no)

4) It's always best mo mix and match diffrent aspects of your hosting service then buying it all from one supplier. (yes/no)

And lastly any comments anybody could give here would be most welcome, apologies for the long post, but I needed to get all my ideas on the table.

I am only going to comment of the aspect of outsourced management versus management from the server supplier.

I believe that you will get superior service from an outsourced solution. Obviously you need to do your research and go with a proven a reliable management company. With the outsourced solution I believe you will find more personalized service than you will through your server provider.

Please try out this price template and modify it to your needs, I think you will find this very helpful. Please note that www.webhoststartup.com made this, and I did not.

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