need hosting help........

[Frosty]

has anyone heard anything good or bad about his web host?www.hosting24-7.com

I`m very curious because i called them and they said that had unlimited bandiwdth and that no matter how much bandiwdth i use they don`t charge.
They seem to be good, but i`m a little wary of their bandwidth advertisement.

A friend of mine wanted to sign up with this hosting company because their site uses 35 gigs of bandwidth sometimes. But i really don`t like hosts who advertise unlimited bandwidth becase it`s bull@#$, but this host said that they rarely have bandiwdth problems and that they don`t charge extra and that they have their own data center.
And that if my site uses 30 gigs per month (that should be fine).
so what`s the verdict?

[Martie]

I have not heard of the company and I havent visited the site...but without even doing so, I would be VERY careful!
Did you ask specifically that you need at least 30GB transfer per month? LOL!
I would look through their site, and see if they have a terms of service page, or an acceptable users policy.
Its probably buried in one of those 2 pages..what their limits may be.
Unlimited just doesnt exist, period!!
It is a sad marketing trick. Too many people have fallen for that hype, and then usually you see the same people posting in forums, about that unlimited host, that cut off their account. Some do it, with no warning too! There are plenty of good hosts that state what their limitations are.
Buyer BEWARE!

[Frosty]

this sucks, i hate it when i`m not sure if i found another good host or not. But when i called them, i specifically asked what would happen if my site used 50 gigs per month and if they would charge extra. They said that they don`t EVER charge extra and that it would be fine. They also said that if a site was causing bandwidth problems then they would just move it over to another server without charging.
Screw it, i`m calling them back a seond time to really make sure.
I looked at their site and couldn`t find anything in their TOS. Did you go to the site yet to check it out? So you don`t think it`s a good host then?
(i know that they don`t use VDI as a data center, which is really good). And that they have their own data center.

[Martie]

You have to make the decision for yourself.
I looked over the site briefly and didnt find any limits regarding bandwidth. I cant judge what kind of host they are, but you might want to check with some other forums, if you dont find some actual users here.
Personally I would not sign up with a host that doesnt clearly state bandwidth/and disk space.
What is the point for them NOT stating it? This is where users get in trouble! No straight answers!
frosty...you can contact me through my website if you need to...good luck!!

[Edited by Martie on 04-21-2001 at 02:19 PM]

[Jaiem]

I agree with Martie. Regardless of what they say there must be some limit. Bandwidth costs!

[Frosty]

bandwidth/resources cost money. But the man i spoke to said that they even have sites using 100 gigs of transfer per month at NO extra cost. They said that when a site starts using an unusually high amount, then they just move it to another server at no extra cost.
But it doesn`t make any sense.
What would make sense is if they had unlimited bandwidth BUT for example: after 30 gigs they would start to charge you about $3.00 per GB after that limit.
He also said that they rarely have an bandwidth problems. I mean, the man i talked to seem very nice. But it`s always better for them to at least just say a blasted limit. If someone`s bored, go ahead and called them and ask about their bandwidth. Tell them you have a site that definitely uses 30 gigs every single month and see what he says. Because i`ve already called twice and talked to the same person. I don`t wanna called up again like a retard.

[akashik]

Well he may be telling you the truth. There's a saying called 'Playing The Numbers'. What that means is within their real limit of bandwidth the server has, 99% of accounts aren't using anywhere near their limit. Say there is 200 accounts on a server, all small and using less than 10 meg a month. That's 200meg, or roughly 2gig. The server has 40gig set on it. So, that's 38gig to play with. If you use 30gig a month then they're still 8gig under.

No problem.

The problem is when one or more accounts goes into overload. Say 10 of those accounts install a forum, and suddenly lots of people show up. 10gig a month isn't too hard to get running an active forum. 4 accounts later using that, servers bandwidth is full. The accounts get shuffled (one to each server), to get them under the limit again. Either they get more servers, or start to pay for the extra bandwidth somewhere.

As long as *most* accounts are small and don't generate much traffic it's sustainable. Of course Murphy's Law is rife on the internet as any host will know, and playing the numbers can be a pretty big gamble. People who set limits on accounts are doing so to provide a sustainable long term business approach. People who allow unlimited space and transfer (I believe), aren't looking too far ahead and compensating for future problems. THE most expensive part of hosting is bandwidth. It's quite easy to spend more on that, than the hardware itself. The telcos and upstream suppliers make a nice profit out of bandwidth, and I can't see that changing any time soon.

At the end of the day, it's a judgement call. If you feel a deal is to your benefit, then go for it. :) If there's any feeling it make come back to bite you, just make sure you have something in place to make recovery as painless as possible. Have a second choice you can move to fast, and have a regular local backup copy of your site ready to roll. It's seat of the pants action, but if saving a few bucks outweighs the stress then there's no reason not too I suppose. Were it me, I'd just find someone I could 'set and forget' the site with, feeling I'd made the right choice.

Greg Moore

[Frosty]

I just found another "unlimited" host: http://www.webhostaz.com
i`d never host my site there.

And i just went back to http://www.hosting24-7.com (to look at it)and when i went to a couple of their pages it said "website not responding..bla bla bla". Now that`s a bad sign isn`t it?
Even though i hit the reload button and then it worked. But a good hosts site shouldn`t be doing that, right?
So now i`m not even that worried about their bandwidth thing anymore, i`m more concerned about how good there speed and uptime really is. Because i do have a site (and i also know someone who has a site) that uses over 30 gigs per month. That`s why i was looking for a host that doesn`t charge.

[Martie]

Originally posted by frosty
I just found another "unlimited" host: http://www.webhostaz.com
i`d never host my site there.

Well look at this url...terms?

http://www.webhostaz.com/terms.asp
Read that page....here is a small snip!
When a website is found to be monopolising the resources available WebHostAz reserves the right to suspend that site immediately. This policy is only implemented in extreme cir***stances and is intended to prevent the misuse of our servers. Customers may be offered an option whereby WebHostAz continues hosting the website for an additional fee.

[Jaiem]

Frosty,

Are you familiar with the old saying about something seeing too good to be true?

If bandwidth is an issue for your site or you think it will be soon IMO it's better to know all the facts upfront than be surpised later.

[James]

Nice one Martie :-)

I'd looked them over but missed that one!

[Phoenix]

Originally posted by frosty
bandwidth/resources cost money. But the man i spoke to said that they even have sites using 100 gigs of transfer per month at NO extra cost. They said that when a site starts using an unusually high amount, then they just move it to another server at no extra cost.
But it doesn`t make any sense.

No, it doesn't. Somewhere, there's some fine print. As the man said, "There ain't no such thing as a free lunch." Something about what they said about moving the site to a different server smells a bit wrong.

One of our customers started an adult site, got it listed on something called the hun, and were using 1.5 MBPS of transfer during peak hours (we had the bandwidth throttled on their site, otherwise, they would have sucked up everything on the network, leaving all of the rest of our customers high and dry). Their overage charges were pretty steep, we include 50GB/month, but that was a drop in the bucket of their consumption.

Somehow I doubt that your sales rep offering unlimited bandwidth would be able to provide this amount of traffic free. Regardless of what server you put it on bandwidth is money, big money usually.

[Frosty]

i also just saw that this host has a three month contract for all plans. Why the heck do some hosts do that? If their service is good, then why tie someone down to a three month contract.
And i looked at their fine print/TOS but didn`t see anything about their bandwidth policy. But if you look at the page where it lists their hosting plans it says: extra bandwidth is FREE.
But that doesn`t make any sense what so ever. Hosts that claim unlimited bandwidth are idiots.
What host are you Phoenix? Are you at www.phoenix.com ?

[Phoenix]

Originally posted by frosty
What host are you Phoenix? Are you at www.phoenix.com ?

Nope, www.xensei.com.

And on this page is our product matrix with our traffic limits clearly indicated http://www.xensei.com/services/ipresence.html

Being open about what is included may cost us business to the guys who say they offer unlimited traffic, but we don't really compete on their level anyways, and the business they get, looks as if they only keep it until the first overage bill.

Honesty is still the best policy, isn't it?

[Chuck Roy]

Frosty,

Generally, I agree with akashik. In the short run, hosting companies can provide unlimited bandwidth, especially if they have a lot to spare. However, you can't forget the other resources on the system.

In order to use 30Gig bandwidth, you have to be getting a lot of traffic, either lots and lots of visitors accessing a few pages (small disk quantity) or a lot of visitors accessing a lot of pages. If the hosting company says you can have 30Gig, but each page takes 90 seconds to load you've got a major problem because their server memory, CPUs and disk channels are not geared to handle that level of traffic.

Even if they can swap you to another server, your web site is down while they make the switch, plus all of their other customers are mad as h... because their web sites are just creeping while you're getting your 30 Gig.

I personally would not consider putting a domain that needs 30Gig per month on anything other than a dedicated server. Whoops, there goes your hosting budget... :(

Good luck.