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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Aug 2002
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    What is unmetered bandwidth? Do I need it?

    Hi Guys,

    I've been using VPS hosting solutions for the last few years. I've recently started a site that has the potential to grow very big very fast, but it consumes A LOT of bandwidth. In a couple days, it can consume upwards of 500gb of bandwidth, and thats with little traffic.

    We've had to scale back some features to reduce bandwidth consumption (no longer offer image hosting which consumes lots of BW), but we feel that we lose a lot of value as a service by doing so.

    So we were looking into dedicated servers or other solutions that allow us to use the bandwidth we needed, and we've come across "unmetered" solutions. How do these servers work?

    10Mbit, 100Mbit, 1GBit, burstable, unmetered. Is this essentially no limit on bandwidth? What should I be looking for?

    We aren't making much money yet, but we'd like to have adequate hosting so that we can focus on making our product better rather than worry about hosting issues.

    Your help is appreciated. Thank you

  2. #2
    Unmetered for a low price (let's say below 2 usd per mbit) is almost always shared or limited in any other way.

    Personally i hate it when companies call something unmetered 1 gbit, sell it for 150 usd but cap you to 10 mbit as soon as you used 5 TB for example, that's not unmetered but pure scam.
    Web10 ict services - www.web10.nl

    Specialist in high traffic and storage servers, hosted in the Netherlands (EU). Own hardware, no reselling!

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
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    ask the provider exactly how many TB/month you can use (in and out)

    if they cant answer move on

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Aug 2002
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    And if the company is reputable like FDCServers.net?

    I'm still not sure about the limitations on unmetered servers.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    Chicago, IL
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    Hello,
    One thing you may want to keep an eye out for is there TOS. Some of them will state that hosting video files, image files, or file hosting in general is grounds for account termination.

    Be aware of that
    Jeremy Miller - Account Executive
    SingleHop Inc. - Dedicated Servers Exclusive Specials - www.singlehop.com/jeremymiller
    Phone: 1-866-817-2811 ext. 103

  6. #6
    Join Date
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    Quote Originally Posted by SingleHopJeremy View Post
    Hello,
    One thing you may want to keep an eye out for is there TOS. Some of them will state that hosting video files, image files, or file hosting in general is grounds for account termination.

    Be aware of that
    yep correct point you must read the TOS before signup
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  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by gt3n View Post
    And if the company is reputable like FDCServers.net?

    I'm still not sure about the limitations on unmetered servers.
    Only on their dedicated bandwidth dedicated servers you can use the full 100mbit (and they cost 399 usd per month), on the unmetered servers you have 1 gbit for 299 usd, do the math.
    Web10 ict services - www.web10.nl

    Specialist in high traffic and storage servers, hosted in the Netherlands (EU). Own hardware, no reselling!

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by gt3n View Post
    And if the company is reputable like FDCServers.net?

    I'm still not sure about the limitations on unmetered servers.
    They are quite reputable

    and FDC clearly state the limitations in black and white in all their ads and on their site, as well as multiple threads here on site over the years


    last I checked (long time ago)

    the 100 mbit un-metered "shared" can do 15-20TB out a month
    100 mbit "dedicated" can do as much as 100 mbit is capable of which is about 30TB a month
    and so on...


    whoever you go with ask a simple question

    "if I pay XYZ how many TB a month can i use if i decide to use as much as possible"

    FDC and other providers clearly mention these, 10TB.com spring to mind (hey its in their name ) as well for being upfront

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Aug 2002
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    Quote Originally Posted by mihd View Post
    They are quite reputable

    and FDC clearly state the limitations in black and white in all their ads and on their site, as well as multiple threads here on site over the years


    last I checked (long time ago)

    the 100 mbit un-metered "shared" can do 15-20TB out a month
    100 mbit "dedicated" can do as much as 100 mbit is capable of which is about 30TB a month
    and so on...


    whoever you go with ask a simple question

    "if I pay XYZ how many TB a month can i use if i decide to use as much as possible"

    FDC and other providers clearly mention these, 10TB.com spring to mind (hey its in their name ) as well for being upfront
    Thanks for the advice. So this means that at maximum, I could only use 20TB. How does that work if my server tries to exceed that? Does the server just shut down from lack of resources?

  10. #10
    This type of question comes up about once a month or so, so I have just copied an old reply from an old thread here. It might be more information than you were needing but like i said, i just copied and pasted. I hope it helps.

    XX Mbps unmetered dedicated- you have a 10Mbps, 50Mbps, 100Mbps etc.. pipe all to yourself and you can push up to 10Mbps, 50, 100Mbps etc.. anytime day or night. You do not have to worry about overage costs because you are capped at whatever size unmetered pipe you have chosen.

    XX Mbps unmetered shared- typically you are sharing either a 100Mbps or 1Gbps pipe with any number of other customers. You will usually be guaranteed a minimum amount of bandwidth but there will be no guarantee on the max amount you can push. The size of the pipe you have available to you at any given time is directly related to what the other customers you are sharing that pipe with are doing. If everyone sharing the pipe has peak hours at 10am then everyone will probably not get as much as they need at 10am. If your peak hours are at 2am and everyone else you share with is has peak at 10am then you will probably have a ton of burstability and have a great deal.

    Dedicated unmetered will cost you more because you get guaranteed throughput 24/7. Shared unmetered will cost you less because there is less of a guarantee and its kind of every man for himself battle for throughput.

    Now to add one more bit of confusion, some companies will give you a Dedicated 10, 20, 50, 100, 200Mbps etc... unmetered pipe and NOT cap you at that amount and allow you to burst over. For simple terms, lets assume you have a 10Mbps unmetered pipe with 100Mbps burst. You will pay a fixed amount for the 10Mbps unmetered pipe and at the end of the month are billed at 95th percentile for your overage of that 10Mbps at $xx per Mbps.

    Good luck!
    Steve Eschweiler - Hivelocity.net - Since 2002
    The Bare Metal Cloud Co.
    Instantly Deploy Dedicated Servers in 30 Data Centers on 4 Continents
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  11. #11
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    Unless you are getting a dedicated pipe with a fixed Mbps you should stay away from unmetered claims. If you are a shared unmetered line then your connection will be subject to slow downs as the pipe becomes saturated. Better to be with a provider who manages their bandwidth more appropriately.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by gt3n View Post
    Thanks for the advice. So this means that at maximum, I could only use 20TB. How does that work if my server tries to exceed that? Does the server just shut down from lack of resources?
    i dont know. it could be more than 20TB by now. you would have to ask them as i dont have them servers

    i presume they send you an email if you are one of the heaviest users and ask you to update to dedicated un-metered

    dedicated un-metered means you can use as much as the pipe/server can push 24x7
    a 10mbit dedicated unmetered can push theoretically ~3.2TB in a month, a 100 mbit dedicated unmetered can push ~32TB a month and so on

    you really have to talk to the service providers and literary ask how much is expected and as usual read the small print

    so to sum it up theres a difference between shared and dedicated unmetered, and as always caveat emptor

    oh and steve above does a good job at describing

  13. #13
    What kind of website are you running that takes 500gb in a few days?

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
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    Quote Originally Posted by gt3n View Post
    In a couple days, it can consume upwards of 500gb of bandwidth, and thats with little traffic.

    10Mbit, 100Mbit, 1GBit, burstable, unmetered. Is this essentially no limit on bandwidth? What should I be looking for?
    In my opinion, if you are using 500GB of bandwidth in a couple of days, you need at least a 100Mbit connection. A 10Mbit connection is only approx. 3200GB of transfer for the whole month. And that assumes that you are using the bandwidth equally 24/7.

    You need to first get an idea of how much bandwidth you use in a day/week/month. Is your traffic pretty steady 24/7 or peak certain times of the day?

    As people suggested, fdc might be a good choice.

    I suggest you look at 10tb.com. For $200 you get a 1Gbit connection and 10,000GB outbound w/ free inbound traffic. They also have a vps with 10TB traffic on a 1Gbit link for only $99.

  15. #15
    Honestly speaking, you should investigate further regarding the bandwidth usage and based upon your monthly usage, only then take any further decision.

    Also, let you know, there are many companies who actually advertise false specifications of bandwidth and provide you with a complete different configuration. So watch out!

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
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    Seattle, WA
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    For your bandwidth consumption I don't think you should even direct towards the shared un-metered field.

    If you have the budget, do go with a dedicated connection. You basically get what you pay for.

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Aug 2002
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hostevery View Post
    What kind of website are you running that takes 500gb in a few days?
    Video conversion.

    I wish I could get a solo-dedicated, but right now that would a blackhole for money. I still need to scale up and try to make a break even profit before I decide to sink money in.

  18. #18
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    Mar 2006
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    i'm not sure if 10tb.com's unmetered bandwidth is shared or dedicated and i don't know if 'unmetered' has excess charges.

  19. #19
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    Sep 2005
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    Quote Originally Posted by ryan14 View Post
    i'm not sure if 10tb.com's unmetered bandwidth is shared or dedicated and i don't know if 'unmetered' has excess charges.
    10tb.com's bandwidth plans are all fully dedicated.

    So you can max out our boxes in Softlayer 24/7 if you like, with no extra excess charges - and full access to your 100mbit at anytime.


    D

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