Unlimited Bandwidth in Web Hosting

[ashish]

Bandwidth explained
Bandwidth is the amount of data transfer that you are allowed to have for a hosting package i.e. lets say you have a web page that is 48KB in size, now each time a user opens your site and goes to that page S/he downloads 48 KB of information on to his computer. If a 100 users view that page 100 times then there has been a total of 4800 KB of data transferred from the server on which your files are stored for the computer of users.

Size of web Page: 48 KB
Number of users who viewed the web page: 100
Total amount of data transferred: 48KB * 100 = 4800 KB

Bandwidth is the term that is used to denote the amount of data that has been transferred from your web space.

The amount of bandwidth that you require while choosing a host depends on two factors:

Ø The size of your site.
Ø The popularity of your site.

If your site is not very huge and you do not have any audio/video downloads and it’s not very popular i.e. not a lot of people visit your site then you do not really require a lot of bandwidth, on a average a web site uses up only 500 MB of bandwidth per month. Or if your site is small but extremely popular then you might have to go for a web hosting package that offers high bandwidth.

On the other hand if your web site is huge and you are providing audio/video downloads and your site is very popular then you would certainly require a huge amount of bandwidth. Let’s say you have a video file that is 150 MB in size and in a single day a 100 visitors download that file that means that 15 GB of bandwidth will be used. If you multiply that with 30 days for the month it comes to 450 GB.


The unlimited bandwidth controversy
For some time now a lot of hosting companies are supposedly providing "unlimited bandwidth" for their web hosting packages.

And it’s absolutely true, you can have unlimited bandwidth, but you will need unlimited amount of money by your side. Jokes apart, if you ever run into such a host, it would be best to turn and run back the way you came from.

Just think that if you can get unlimited bandwidth for $25-30 a month then why aren’t big companies like sun, Microsoft etc. not hosted there, in fact why isn't everyone hosted there or for that matter if unlimited is a standard feature then why don’t all the hosts offer that.

Is it because it is expensive and requires better hardware? No it’s because some hosts are honest. And don’t give in to such gim*****.

Statistically speaking, a T1 internet connection equals approximately 500GB per month and costs around $1200 per month. So how can it be possible to get the same or unlimited for $30 a month?

There are a lot of ways you can be duped by unlimited hosts; here are just a few of them:

The secret of unlimited is actually buried in the Terms of Service of the host, do not be surprised to find that unlimited = 15 GB.

The host may restrict the sort of files that you can host on their server, generally image galleries and audio/video files attract a lot of more downloads thereby resulting in higher bandwidth consumption. So if there are no files of this type your site won’t really require a lot of bandwidth.

Some newly opened hosts use it for a scam, they take your money and after a few months when their server starts to become slow or reaches its limit, they run… with your money.

Some hosts outline in their Terms of Service that you can have unlimited bandwidth, as long as you qualify for it i.e. your site must use less then, lets say 2 GB of bandwidth in order to qualify for the unlimited bandwidth feature, as soon as your site goes over that limit they either start charging you for it or cut off your downloads.


You always get what you pay for, it’s a universal truth and it’s no different for web hosting.

If a host is using a cheap advertising gimmick like unlimited bandwidth they maybe lying about a few other things too, their dedicated support team could be a single person (the hoster itself in most cases) sitting in front of a computer and taking your calls.

Do you really want unlimited bandwidth hosting from hosts that have very limited resources at their disposal? Or do you want to go for a host that has spent thousands of dollars on setting up a good network infrastructure, servers and a highly qualified and dedicated support team? The choice ultimately is yours and yours alone.

[HottWeelz]

I'm sorry, but I'm starting to see a commonality here.

This post was loaded with errors...

First of all. A T1 is not $1200 a month. Unless this post was written in 1998 in Kansas. It's not $1200 a month.

Second of all. Communciation companies, such as Verizon, MCI, Quest, are not allowed to set a predetermined amount of bandwidth. Look deep within the law books.

Thirdly, let's check your math: Page Load Size is correct. However you state a T1 = "Approximately 500GB a month"

Where do you get that number from?

A T1 is 1.54mb (MEGABIT not BYTE) per second.
60 seconds in a minute
60 minutes in an hour
24 hours in one day
30 days in one month (avg)

So in order to MAX out a T1 based on any kind of webpage load....
you are physcially hitting a cap of 84gb PER DAY!

This equates to 2,520 gb (yes GigaBit) per MONTH
or 2.46 TB (TeraByte) per MONTH

My second post here and I'm already quite dismayed at what I've read...

[HottWeelz]

Originally Posted by ashish

Bandwidth explained

You always get what you pay for, it’s a universal truth and it’s no different for web hosting.

If a host is using a cheap advertising gimmick like unlimited bandwidth they maybe lying about a few other things too, their dedicated support team could be a single person (the hoster itself in most cases) sitting in front of a computer and taking your calls.

Do you really want unlimited bandwidth hosting from hosts that have very limited resources at their disposal? Or do you want to go for a host that has spent thousands of dollars on setting up a good network infrastructure, servers and a highly qualified and dedicated support team? The choice ultimately is yours and yours alone.

I'm sorry but this is downright insulting
Are you a Professional Webhost? Are you a tech?
Are you a customer who got burned somewhere?
I've never joined a site and considered quitting in the same day LOL!

[genekurtz]

$1200 per month for a T1?

I have never paid more than $350 for a T1

and then there is Cogent...100 MB Pipe for $1000 per month. Yes...the equivalent of 65 T1s for $1000 per month. That is $15 per T1! The trick is that you have to be somewhere near a Cogent connection. The only people that cry foul about the bandwidth debate are the people that do not know enough about their own industry or how to get their expenses in line. The people that have not figured out how to do this are the only ones that are yelling about it. They can't do it so they say it can't be done.

[HottWeelz]

Funny, I actually left this site after being disgusted with the fact that some webhosts buy into this... thanks for refreshing me, I actually just logged in since that last post.

[genekurtz]

I get disgusted with that too but I kind of understand their mentality.

We are also system builders. That is what we actually started as and then branched into web design and finally web hosting. When we started building systems we had a hard time trying to match the prices of the big boys (Dell, Gateway, Compaq) which frustrated us greatly. Then we realized...they did not get there over night. They built their sales levels during times when there were great margins on computers still. Now they are doing such a volume that they can buy parts cheap enough to give those incredible prices. What we had to do was find a way to offer a little something extra to our product like going out and setting it up for them. That is what the smaller hosts that keep crying about the unlimited bandwidth should do. Find something of value that they can add for their customers rather than say "we can't do it so it must be a scam". I think the larger hosts could turn the tables on them by saying "if companies are unwilling to give unlimited bandwidth to the average consumers then it is because they are just too small to be able to handle your website so you better watch out for them".

Just my opinion!

[HottWeelz]

Something else is up as well. This person who posted this, posted the same exact thread on countless other hosting sites. Maybe he was burned... I find it everywhere

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[Eerk]

Being a host who runs an unlimited campaign I agree nothing is unlimited. What I believe a host is saying is that customers do not want restrictions on them and why should we do that?

I'm a-ok for a client to go over the normal bandwidth. I'm surely not hosting yahoo.com or any big to do website. Yes some of my clients sites are large but very rarely does one of these sites rake in more traffic then my servers can handle. I agree unlimited does have rules but any smart business man knows these rules are needed to stop illegal activities. Lets be honest 99% of website out there take very little resources. One or two websites really splurge on the bandwidth are you going to go belly up? No.

It's 2005 and the age of technology. There are 1,000 hosting providers out there many of them hungry to have your business. Hosting is cheap now a days and you can find some really great deals out there now. Why pay $25 a month when you can get the samething for $5/mo? I don't believe in the adage you get what you pay for. Bargain shop, do your homework and find someone hungry for your business. You'll get more for less.

Also find a host who gives you alot of free things just for being a member. It's not that they are hiding something. It's because they appreciate you being a client.

Justin Ledvina
www.eerk.com

[kibmly]

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