Hosting Solution Inquiry
 

I am not looking to be spammed with host names or URL's. What I want to know is what kind of a server/hosting solution would I need to handle 50,000 downloads/month of a software package that is approx 2.5MB in size? What will perform and be cost effective?

Youre going to need a couple servers, and a gigE port as you'll be pushing 500Megs+ of bandwidth.

You can do about 100Megs per server, so 5-6 servers should do you fine

So I would need a dedicated hosting setup that is scalable

Magg that's wrong

50,000 downloads x 2.5MB = 125,000 MB or 125GB

You can easily get away with a medium sized Virtual Hosting account with over 100GB bandwidth.

I see magg still needs someone to do his homework for him :1orglaugh :1orglaugh :1orglaugh

Whoops... yeah it would be 125GB, you could do it on a virtual or a small dedicated

Most likely he misread and thought he said 50,000/day

Ugh

Jon

LOL - I realized this isn't overly huge on bandwidth...I was wondering about server load. Could I honestly get good performance out of a Virtual Hosting setup?

I wouldn't suggest a virtual setup, but a shared or semi-dedicated setup should more than likely be fine for you.

Honestly, for 125GB and that many downloads, I would just get a smallish dedicated server so youre already setup for expansion and you dont have to worry about what other users are doing to bog down the shared server you're on.

a semi dedicated with no more than say 4 users, and your golden

Sweet....great information. Thanks for all the help!

You'd be better off with a dedicated machine with its dedicated pipe in order to guarantee constant performance. Dedicated solutions are not that pricey these days anymore.

True story. Going dedicated usually won't cost you much more, if at all. some hosting companies will give you one of their servers using older technology (PIII's with IDE drives) for free with a couple mbps commitment.

Keep in mind, that is only 125 gigs per month there, but at the same time, its about x many per second being downloaded....

50,000 / 30 = 1666.66 per day downloaded
which translates to...
69.44 Downloads per hour
and
1.15 Downloads per minute

That turns into 1.15 X 2.5MB = 2.875MegaBYTES per minute

which further equates to: 2.875 / 60 = .0479 MegaBYTES per second

Which then turns into .0479 X 8 = .383 MegaBITS per second,
which is roughly one third of a megabit.

So a dedicated server with 500kbps bandwidth will do nicely for you.

If ya want one, let me know I have it ready and waiting online for you right now for 50.00 per month. :-) Older PIII, but PERFECT for you.

More info

In what time span are these downloads performed? Are they spread out pretty evenly over the full month or are they highly promoted at times and done predominantly in small windows of time during the month? This would help determine how large of a connection you need. If they are spread out, you can get away with a smaller connection. But if they are done in bulk during small windows of time, you will want a larger connection that allows your bandwidth usage to burst to higher levels.

From what it sounds like, you can probably get away with a reasonable Dedicated server. If you are making a lot of revenue off of these downloads, you might spend a little more to feel comfortable that your solution can support your needs now and in the future.

Yes! Downloads are not as taxing on servers as say php/mysql connections. You will need a large semi-dedicated, or virtual plan from a scalable host. If this is for a single domain I know where you can get a 12GB/250GB plan for only $39.99/mo.