Hi Guys,

I really appreciate all the info I've been getting from this forum so far. Thanks! :D

Anyway, my next question about starting up a hosting company is how many servers should I start with?

I will be selling shared windows hosting with ASP.Net, MSDE, MySql, etc.

The servers I'm looking at using are going to be Pentium D ~3Ghz, 1 gb ram, 250 Gb Sata Raid-1 HD(s), 1500gb bandwidth.

I'm really trying to decide if I should have one server for everything or split up the web host server from the DB server. Would it be worth having the second server when starting out? or should I just save the money and go with one for now?

I would appeciate your input. :D

Miguel

Hello Miguel,

Well, if you are just starting out, and you have the budget for it - go with 2 servers on an hsphere platform. This way you will be able to offer *nix and windows right from the start...

I am working on just starting out as well, and I am starting with just one server. Though it is a dual Xeon 2.4, 4gb ram, 3x 146gb scsi drives in raid5.

I am planning on going to 3 servers as soon as things pick up. One dedicated to the company website, billing, and control panel software. Those should always be up and don't really want them on a server where the users can muck them up. Then a dedicated DNS and mail server, and a web/DB server where all the user stuff lies. Then as I grow, simple add additional web/DB servers and my single mail server should be able to handle a pretty good load, as mail isn't very intensive and mostly just needs storage space. I always prefer to have DBs local to the webserver to reduce network traffic and latency for DB intensive apps.

You should go with 2 servers with Plesk.

I will be selling shared windows hosting with ASP.Net, MSDE, MySql, etc.
OT, but please be aware that you cannot provide shared hosting with MSDE as MS Licensing does not allow it to be used to provide a service. If you want to offer SQL Server databases then you need to license SQL Server (Single or Multiple Processor version) under the Service Provider Licensing Agreement, which is a monthly paid license that will then allow you to provide databases as part of your hosting service.

OT, but please be aware that you cannot provide shared hosting with MSDE as MS Licensing does not allow it to be used to provide a service. If you want to offer SQL Server databases then you need to license SQL Server (Single or Multiple Processor version) under the Service Provider Licensing Agreement, which is a monthly paid license that will then allow you to provide databases as part of your hosting service.

Really? So I need a full MS Sql license??? Is there any MS docs that explain this?

Thanks

Really? So I need a full MS Sql license??? Is there any MS docs that explain this?

Thanks
Yes, it's called the End User License Agreement and comes with every product. :S

Yes, it's called the End User License Agreement and comes with every product. :S

I'll have a look.

I guess that is just one more expense... Thanks for the info! :D

When I started out there was no debate over the platform - AMD64 on some flavor of Linux. Windows and anything from M$ just takes too much money and seems to provide a lot of problems and headaches (plus tons of license costs for each and every little thing).

I say whatever hardware you decide on, make the OS Linux or BSD. I run FreeBSD, and it has been nothing but secure and stable since day one.

When I started out there was no debate over the platform - AMD64 on some flavor of Linux. Windows and anything from M$ just takes too much money and seems to provide a lot of problems and headaches (plus tons of license costs for each and every little thing).

I say whatever hardware you decide on, make the OS Linux or BSD. I run FreeBSD, and it has been nothing but secure and stable since day one.

My problem with Linux is that I develop websites in MS.Net... which kinda screws me over. For now my primary focus is a Windows platform so I can host my current sites and add some hosting clients.


I think I'm going to go with just one server for the time being until things start to pick up a little.


I appreciate all the input so far, thanks! :D