[aclug-L] Re: High-speed server access

[Jonathan Hall <jonhall@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

[ Much talk about reliability deleted ]

I would see an ACLUG Internet Coop taking one of two forms:

1) A low-cost, low-maintence, member/committee-run service run at (or
slightly above) cost, with an understanding that it's for "amateur" usage. 
In other words, occasional down time should be expected.  Don't run you
business web site there, etc.  In this scenario, very limited-access
colocation would be made available, and the main purpose of the project
would be to allow ACLUG members affordable access to a dedicated Linux
server they own, so they can setup web pages, mailing lists, POP3 server,
etc, for their own "private" use, and should be viewed primarily as a way to
gain experience running a Linux server.  I know I would have loved such an
opporitunity 3-4 years ago.  For the cost of 128k ISDN from SouthWind (or
another comparable company), figure $400/month.  For the line from SWB,
about $80/month.  That's $480/month.  With 10 users, that's $48/person per
month.  Add a bit for the admin's time and closet space, figure $60/month
for some low-end colocation.  That'd be a great deal for someone who doesn't
need anything high-end, and woul give them much more control and experience
than a virtual web hosting account from another ISP.  (Would anyone pay for
this?)

2) It could be viewed as a professional quality coop, pay an admin for
his/her time, say $10/hour or something.  Start with 128k ISDN, upgrade to
384k or 768k frame later on, as demand requires.  Set up a primary server
for web hosting, mailing list hosting, etc, etc.  Offer services on a
per-service pricing basis.  Allow for colo at a higher (but cheaper than
for-profit ISP's) cost.

On the small scale, I would see the former of these two options as the most
likely (which would then not really address your needs, Carl, which started
this thread anyway... :-)

Putting a machine in someone else's basement for $60/month and the
understanding that it should not be used for mission-critical applications,
could be a great opporitunity for someone... (but then, it may not be on the
scale we have here at this point).


> > I haven't checked, but that's most likely true.  
> 
> It's true with both SouthWind and RoadRunner.  

There is nothing in SouthWind's terms and conditions that says you cannot
run a web server (or any other type of server) on one of their standard
dialup accounts, to my knowledge.  I just reviewed the terms and conditions,
and found nothing to prohibit it.


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--
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  Jonathan Hall  *  jonhall@xxxxxxxxxxxx  *  PGP public key available
 Systems Admin, Future Internet Services; Goessel, KS * (316) 367-2487
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