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  1. #1
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    Dec 2013
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    Should I hire a Server Admin? How?

    I have just started learning Linux, Command Line, etc.

    Have setup 2 servers with Linode now, and might setup another 2, for a total of 4 servers, to run what I hope will be fast growing site.

    It's taking allot of my time/effort to do this, so I would like to hire a Server Admin, but not sure how to go about it, and have a very tight budget.

    Ideally someone part time, on call, who could jump in if there is a issue and fix it.

    Should I hire locally? Or is there a service that can do this?

    The other option would be to use Linode's "Managed" service, which would cost $400 per month total for 4 servers.

    Any input is appreciated.

    P.S. I am in Utah

  2. #2
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    Quote Originally Posted by Arteia View Post
    and have a very tight budget.
    How much is tight?
    UK Based Proactive Server Management.
    Zabbix Enterprise 24/7 Monitoring.

  3. #3
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    I have no budget right now, but once the site gets going and generates an income, I will have a budget.

    For now, I would have to put it on credit cards. So, looking for the most economical and minimalist solution possible to get it to that next phase.


    Quote Originally Posted by cd/home View Post
    How much is tight?

  4. #4
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    Moved > Managed Hosting and Services.

    Specially 4 U
    Reseller Hosting: Boost Your Websites | Fully Managed KVM VPS: 3.20 - 5.00 Ghz, Pure Dedicated Power
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    Debian|Ubuntu|cPanel|DirectAdmin|Enhance|Webuzo|Acronis|Estela|BitNinja|Nginx

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Arteia View Post
    I have no budget right now, but once the site gets going and generates an income, I will have a budget.

    For now, I would have to put it on credit cards. So, looking for the most economical and minimalist solution possible to get it to that next phase.
    I see so you'll want someone who's not only going to provide admin time but one that would bring new ideas to the table and help push the project forward so it starts to generate the income sooner rather than later?

    How will everything be setup and what is the site/project?
    UK Based Proactive Server Management.
    Zabbix Enterprise 24/7 Monitoring.

  6. #6
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    Dec 2013
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    I know where to take it from a development and marketing standpoint, but to create and manage the hosting infrastructure, someone with experience could be a great asset.

    Hosting will be a big part of it's success, as it's a video site,

    The setup I'm going for is 4 Linode servers. 2 for the MySQL database, and 2 for the PHP Website, connected via 2 Node Balancers.

    Trying to do it myself, but it's very time consuming.



    Quote Originally Posted by cd/home View Post
    I see so you'll want someone who's not only going to provide admin time but one that would bring new ideas to the table and help push the project forward so it starts to generate the income sooner rather than later?

    How will everything be setup and what is the site/project?
    Last edited by Arteia; 12-15-2013 at 12:11 AM.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Arteia View Post
    I know where to take it from a development and marketing standpoint, but to create and manage the hosting infrastructure, someone with experience could be a great asset.

    Hosting will be a big part of it's success, as it's a video site,

    The setup I'm going for is 4 Linode servers. 2 for the MySQL database, and 2 for the PHP Website, connected via 2 Node Balancers.

    Trying to do it myself, but it's very time consuming.
    To keep costs down you might want to consider just starting out using 2 servers one for PHP and one for the database this would save additional money during it's launch stage. You might also want to consider using a cdn for the videos then of course you got treats like Nginx which work well with video sites, etc
    UK Based Proactive Server Management.
    Zabbix Enterprise 24/7 Monitoring.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by cd/home View Post
    To keep costs down you might want to consider just starting out using 2 servers one for PHP and one for the database this would save additional money during it's launch stage. You might also want to consider using a cdn for the videos then of course you got treats like Nginx which work well with video sites, etc
    I was going to keep it with a 2 server setup, but I thought of cloning those 2 into 2 more servers and going with a 4 server setup. Then I could scale the Ram/Bandwidth with a push of a button when needed.

    Then, I would not need to set them up additional servers later if things pick up, and in case there is an issue with one server, there would be no downtime.

    So some extra expense/time at the start, but then smooth sailing later(hopefully).

    Is that a good way to go about it, or is there a flaw in this thinking?

    Definitley using a CDN.

    Do you think Nginx is better than Apache for a pure PHP video site, where the videos are stored and served from a CDN?

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Arteia View Post
    I was going to keep it with a 2 server setup, but I thought of cloning those 2 into 2 more servers and going with a 4 server setup. Then I could scale the Ram/Bandwidth with a push of a button when needed.

    Then, I would not need to set them up additional servers later if things pick up, and in case there is an issue with one server, there would be no downtime.

    So some extra expense/time at the start, but then smooth sailing later(hopefully).

    Is that a good way to go about it, or is there a flaw in this thinking?

    Definitley using a CDN.

    Do you think Nginx is better than Apache for a pure PHP video site, where the videos are stored and served from a CDN?
    Linode is a good provider and downtime is quite rare with them but starting out you want to try keep things down on cost which money saved now can be spent later... We see it time after time people going out spec-ing there projects with huge load balanced servers only to notice the growth isn't as expected or the servers are too powerful and complex for there needs so they downgrade everything. With the CDN that would automatically take a good amount of the pressure away things and with a good server stack you'll be set for business. Nginx is great compared to Apache it's really light and perfect for this type of content then lets not forget MariaDB the performance alternative to MySQL. Most of your PHP files could most likely be served from a cache such as Xcache.
    UK Based Proactive Server Management.
    Zabbix Enterprise 24/7 Monitoring.

  10. #10
    Join Date
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    Quote Originally Posted by Arteia View Post
    where the videos are stored and served from a CDN?
    Its CDN and that is its use - serve static contents like images, videos, audio clips, CSS files and JavaScript. Additionally, you can use Youtube to load your videos ( which is free ), if that fits into your requirement and that will offload a good amount of load from your servers. Good luck with your setup

  11. #11
    Hi,

    It is better to signup with "Monthly Server Management" than hiring one system admin on call.You can get monthly management for servers starting from 19$/month..Please check list of companies providing server management

    https://www.webhostingtalk.com/wiki/...ver_management
    Ideamine Technologies
    http://www.ideaminetech.com, sales(a)ideaminetech.com
    Server Management|Outsourced WebHosting Support| Managed Cloud Services
    Skype: servernix|GTalk: servernix

  12. #12
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    short answer is if you do not get management included with your server's and you cannot do it yourself then Yes, it is in your best interest to outsource the management of the Server/s
    CPanel Shared and Reseller Hosting, OpenVZ VPS Hosting. West Coast (LA) Servers and Nodes
    Running Linux since 1.0.8 Kernel!
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  13. #13
    Nginx is a perfect solution for you @Arteia

    You can always hire a server admin when you actually need it, I think its not necessary to get Managed package from your hosting provider.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    May 2011
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    493
    I would always recommend you look into managed services with the company you host with.
    That said, I would advise you to keep your costs down as low as possible.

    I have seen too many times, that people invest heavily in their site development, and believe their site will go viral, but leave nothing leftover for advertising, and promotion, and their site just sits their unused. Unless you have money for large amounts of advertising, then it is doubtful that you will need more then 1 server to start off with. hell, it might be worth getting just a vps to start off with.

    One thing that happens often, is people will diss your site based on domain age. If your site is one that is monetized by payment, then they will look at your domain age to see what trust their is. Once your site has been around for a while (say at least a year) there will be more trust.

    also, with google ranking, they put little trust in new sites, which means it will be along time before you rank well in google.

    another thing I have seen numerous times, is people misjudging their potential income from sites. I have had popular sites, earn less then they cost to run. and if you are funding this all with a credit card, then you will be under pressure for instant returns. Twitter is one popular company that costs more to run then its income - thats just something to consider, is that several really highly popular companies, are running at a multi-million dollar loss

    so to sum up. Make sure you have a detailed business plan and test or research your monetization method. Start off with minimal amount of expenses. Have a clear cut budget set aside for advertising.
    .

  15. #15
    What's your budget, I wonder?

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