On Getting a new server
.
When MT started 3 years ago, I never thought it would get as big as it has.
Its grown.
When I planned it out, I figured wed have a couple hundred members, 30 or so folks on at any given time, and maybe need a couple hundred megs of space for everything.
Right now, were a little bigger than that.
* Membership is about 3,400+ with a solid 800-1,200 regulars.
* We hit a new high point (3rd time in a month) on July 29th of 281 people on the board at the same time.
* Were moving over a Gigabyte of data every day (July average is 1.5GB/Day)
* MartialTalk is using about 1.5 Gigabytes of server storage right now.
* New signups are in the 10-20 per day point.
And this is the slow time for us. Summer in North America.
In otherwords were big, and getting bigger fast.
We need to move to a more robust server soon.
I hate to ask, Id love to fund the whole thing myself but I cant.
We have 3 options:
1-Stay where we are, and limit future growth.
2-Rent a new server.
3-Buy our own server.
Limiting MT isnt an option in my opinion. The new members bring new ideas, intel and fun with them. I dont want to lock new signups out. I also dont want to have to limit what we can do or add to the site. More features = more fun = more people, etc.
We can rent a new server. That is the cheaper option. The specs I have for a new server cover security, data backups, etc. To do this, we need to raise about $900-$1,200 to cover the setup, move and 1st 2 months hosting.
We can also buy our own box. This allows more flexibility in the design, and we can get a better server. It does place the hardware support on me, but the companies Ive speced out with offer 4 hour on site 24/7/365 service, so Im comfortable in looking at that route.
Going that route will require about $3,000-$4,000 to purchase the server, get it set up and installed in a datacenter, and cover the first couple months hosting.
Im looking for options and opinions here.
If we can raise the money, we can take things to the next level. A new server means faster response time, more room to add more goodies, etc.
Im contributing $100 out of my pocket. Whos with me?
Heres how to contribute:
1- Become a Supporting Member. Its only $12 per year, adds some nice perks to your account and goes right into keeping MT running.
2- Sponsor a forum. For only $125/year you get world wide advertising for your organization on one of the hottest martial arts sites online.
3- Host your website with us. For only $120/year you get a full featured hosting account.
4- Donate We accept donations as well.
5- Buy advertising MT servers over 500,000 pages each month. (July is over 800,000!). For a small fee ($25+) you can get year long exposure on our schools and instructors page. We also offer advertisements in the quarterly MT Magazine, as well as premium spots on the site.
The way I see it, if we can get the $1,200 we rent, $4,000 we buy, and if by some chance we hit $30,000 I become a full time MT Sysop and start packing this site full of goodies and features.
Please, let me know what you all think.
Thank you.
Bob
When MT started 3 years ago, I never thought it would get as big as it has.
Its grown.
When I planned it out, I figured wed have a couple hundred members, 30 or so folks on at any given time, and maybe need a couple hundred megs of space for everything.
Right now, were a little bigger than that.
* Membership is about 3,400+ with a solid 800-1,200 regulars.
* We hit a new high point (3rd time in a month) on July 29th of 281 people on the board at the same time.
* Were moving over a Gigabyte of data every day (July average is 1.5GB/Day)
* MartialTalk is using about 1.5 Gigabytes of server storage right now.
* New signups are in the 10-20 per day point.
And this is the slow time for us. Summer in North America.
In otherwords were big, and getting bigger fast.
We need to move to a more robust server soon.
I hate to ask, Id love to fund the whole thing myself but I cant.
We have 3 options:
1-Stay where we are, and limit future growth.
2-Rent a new server.
3-Buy our own server.
Limiting MT isnt an option in my opinion. The new members bring new ideas, intel and fun with them. I dont want to lock new signups out. I also dont want to have to limit what we can do or add to the site. More features = more fun = more people, etc.
We can rent a new server. That is the cheaper option. The specs I have for a new server cover security, data backups, etc. To do this, we need to raise about $900-$1,200 to cover the setup, move and 1st 2 months hosting.
We can also buy our own box. This allows more flexibility in the design, and we can get a better server. It does place the hardware support on me, but the companies Ive speced out with offer 4 hour on site 24/7/365 service, so Im comfortable in looking at that route.
Going that route will require about $3,000-$4,000 to purchase the server, get it set up and installed in a datacenter, and cover the first couple months hosting.
Im looking for options and opinions here.
If we can raise the money, we can take things to the next level. A new server means faster response time, more room to add more goodies, etc.
Im contributing $100 out of my pocket. Whos with me?
Heres how to contribute:
1- Become a Supporting Member. Its only $12 per year, adds some nice perks to your account and goes right into keeping MT running.
2- Sponsor a forum. For only $125/year you get world wide advertising for your organization on one of the hottest martial arts sites online.
3- Host your website with us. For only $120/year you get a full featured hosting account.
4- Donate We accept donations as well.
5- Buy advertising MT servers over 500,000 pages each month. (July is over 800,000!). For a small fee ($25+) you can get year long exposure on our schools and instructors page. We also offer advertisements in the quarterly MT Magazine, as well as premium spots on the site.
The way I see it, if we can get the $1,200 we rent, $4,000 we buy, and if by some chance we hit $30,000 I become a full time MT Sysop and start packing this site full of goodies and features.
Please, let me know what you all think.
Thank you.
Bob
to anyone who donates 100 bucks...
