Announcement! MiFbody.com Server Upgrade in the near future

[meissen]

Hey guys,

Our host, LimeStoneNetworks.com, is running a great deal on Quad Core processor servers right now. Currently we're using a Q9300 (2.5GHz) Core2Quad server with 8GB of ram. I was able to upgrade us to a Q9650 (3ghz) Core2Quad server for 1 cent more a month (from $139.99 to $140). We'll drop to 4GB of ram, but I believe we will still be OK with less memory running on the box. We also will gain a 5GB NAS storage for backup files which is something we don't have now.

The order was just placed so once the server is ready, I'll transfer all the files for the server over to the new box and then at some point within the next couple of weeks we'll make the cutover to the new server.

Part of the reason why I wanted to do the upgrade was to get us on a different physical box because the one we're on now seems to hang a lot - like it did this morning around 9am. I'm hopeful that this change not only will increase our performance but also increase stability so the site's uptime stays above 99.99%.

[98blackbeauty]

Maybe its starting to be a point in time to start charging for service like 10.00 a year to join. This would help with your expense of server fee's

[meissen]

Our costs went up one cent, I do not see any reason to start charging...

[nascarnate326]

Where is the box located? At your house?

[Lucky SOB]

Thanks Brian for continuing to make this place better and better!

[meissen]

Where is the box located? At your house?

Nada, LimeStoneNetworks is out of Dallas, TX.

But I decided to go a different route which is going to save on costs in the long run. I'm planning on buying a new Dell server and then renting rack space out of a data center located in Troy. That way I can have hands-on access to the server. It makes the most financial sense.

Our current hosting costs -- $140 -- over a 36 month period is $5,040.

If I buy my own server, I'm going to have an initial up front cost of around $2500 if I get a decently built server. Renting a 1U rack space in the Data Center I've contacted is only $50 per month. So if I figure paying off the $2500 over a 3 year period, plus the $50 per month it'd come to $4,300 or $119.45 a month. The real sweet spot, though, is that once the server is paid off then the only cost is the $50 per month for renting the rack space and whatever it would cost to keep the server under warranty for parts failure.

I *really* wish my office would cut me a good deal on one of the servers they have left over. We've got a room full of Dell servers that we're no longer using because we virtualized the hosts that were on the server. Hell, I wish they'd let me rent rack space out of our own data center... that'd be amazing.

[StoveBolts]

Honestly, what really amazes me is that your site isn't plastered full of advertising.

I know Vbulletin has a cost to it, but I had no idea you spent that much on hosting.

[meissen]

Most of the expenses are all out of pocket, but it's a hobby not a business.

[meissen]

Well I toured one of the data centers today and I'm not feeling great about the support they offer. There's other data centers around so I'll take my time and tour as many necessary to find the right one.

[Nocooler]

Brain......I might have something for you. Everything I have is 3-4 years old but it's all Dell gear.

Shoot me a pm on what you are looking for.....

[sman]

Brian, what did you come up with on this? I love the site and community, and with a little persuasion have something that id give up, im sure it would help

[meissen]

Not sure I understand what you're talking about for willing to give something up, shoot me a PM.

I've stalled out on the hunt for what I really want to do because I haven't been able to find an adequate data center in the Metro Detroit area that meets my needs. I only found one that was willing to give me a site tour but any support needed after 6pm (like if a hard drive crashes) it would cost $100+ per hour for them to escort me to the server and be on site while I swap hard drives or do whatever I need to do.

Ideally, I'd like to find a company that has staff on-site 24/7. If they were willing to help with simple tasks if needed, that'd be a plus, but if a hard drive crashes at 1am, I want to be able to just drive to the site and swap hard drives without worrying about setting up an appointment with the company.

[sman]

You have PM

[Gaspo]

i love the site. its pretty much the only fbody site i regular. i wouldnt mind paying yearly dues or something. sorry to say i've never directly donated to the site, but i've given a few things away on here, and asked the buyers to make donations. thanks for all the hard work!