-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1
On 2009/03/22 3:59 PM, Mike Raley wrote: > Is this something where a local Co-op model might be an efficient way to go? Find some friends to go Dutch on a used box (with some new HDs) and colocation fees at a local shop, then carve it up with [Xen|Virtual Box|etc.] into VPSes. I recommend ClearBearing[1]. Note: I used to own a significant chunk of ClearBearing, so I'm biased in that way, but that also means I know a little about the business. To wit: 1) They actually do have their own datacenter in Burlington. On 2009/03/22 4:17 PM, Bradley Holt wrote: > Data centers are massive energy hogs and I would imagine that there's > a certain level of energy efficiency in bigger data centers vs. small, > local, colos. I'd make the argument your making much less of an impact > on resource usage by going with a bigger data center. 2) The converse of that holds true: Subscribing to a smaller, local datacenter's services helps to reduce any such inefficiencies. Read: Using a larger, consolidated datacenter in hopes of making a "greener" choice nigh-on guarantees that local datacenters will never achieve "green" levels of efficiency. Yes, adding a box increases their power consumption slightly, but that's minuscule compared to the energy used for cooling. Until they run out of physical space (and need to increase square footage and, thereby, cooling), GMA's and CB's datacenters only get more efficient with every physical host added. > Keep in mind that most "local" hosting providers are simply reselling > a non-local service. 3) See #1, above. ;-) (Last I knew, however, they'd also resell some out-of-state colo services to you, if that's your preference.) FWIW, some buddies and I just procured a used HP rack server with 2 x 2.8GHz Opterons with 4GB and a 160GB HD for under $200.00. With a few extra bucks, it now has RAID1 and 8GB of RAM, and is about to play host to six Xen domUs, which it thusfar handles with aplomb. And when it's time to increase storage capacity, it won't be something that requires the sort of complex, delicate dance you'd have to do if physical access to the box is prohibitively-costly: I'll just drive a few new HDs down to ClearBearing, and bribe the doorwarden with the appropriate malted beverages... Cheers, - -sth [1] http://www.clearbearing.com sam hooker|s...@noiseplant.com|http://www.noiseplant.com I have received the love Internet dispatch. -spam -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.8 (Darwin) Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org iEYEARECAAYFAknIRPoACgkQX8KByLv3aQ1ekQCdHnhrBtDmZdyFm4Ey86yCTrBD rvcAoJ1EAsdFppCDCM1yZHcWrwWamW49 =cvEF -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
