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looking for advice about what kind of server to get
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looking for advice about what kind of server to get

Hi,
I am looking to start up a streaming radio hosting business with my friend, so was looking for a host for this.
I had thought about a dedicated server, but with (obviously) no money coming in up front that may be a little tough on the budget, and especially with the extra hd I'd probably want to purchase.
I had also thought about a vps, the upside here being that most providers will merge a new ordered vps with your old one, effectively adding space without having to migrate to a new server and rebuild everything, etc.
So my questions are:
1. Should I go with a vps, or a dedicated server, and why?
2. If I go with a vps, do you think the backupsy deal posted on leb would be a good fit, as it has a lot of disk space (good), a lot of transfer (good), and the ram is not the biggest issue. I would probably just go with this but the only thing I'm worried about is the CPU, although the extra V CPU cores is not very expensive anyway.
Note that I would prefer to have 500 gb or so for the hd to start with and the possibility of getting more hd as I go along, and more transfer. 1tb transfer would probably be the minimum I would want to start with as well.
Also if anyone thinks I should go with a vps and knows of a better deal than the backupsy with the regular usage addon let me know.
Thanks,
-Michael.

Comments

  • harispharisp Member

    @lilmike Hello, as you are starting with this then VPS is a MUST solution in my opinion. You don't want to end up paying expensive dedi and have failed project right? After you start with VPS if you see that all is going well you can upgrade to more powerfull vps , semi dedi or dedicated server :)

  • RelipRelip Member

    Broadcasting a radio doesn't eat RAM a lot?

  • What exactly are you marketing?

    Is it simply a dumb Icecast/Shoutcast server and people need to bring their own AutoDJ/DJ? If so, nix the disk space, get two BuyVM 256 or 512s (one in each location) and call it a day.

    If not, your life gets a bit more complicated, because my understanding is Backupsies (Backupsys?) are only for Backup use without shelling out a bit more -- and, more importantly, getting their preapproval.

  • Hey,

    I would be marketing a full internet radio hosting solution, that includes auto dj. That's why I need the disk space. I didn't know that you needed to get backupsy's preapproval, but yeah if you pay $2 extra you get regular use rights.

    As for if streaming radio eats ram a lot... The following link says no: https://secure.centova.com/pages/faqs/display/resource_usage_of_centova_cast_9

    Streaming Servers

    System Requirements

    The ShoutCast documentation advertises its system requirements as being very modest:
    •90Mhz or faster server
    •14kB of memory for every listener you want to broadcast to (i.e. 1,000 listeners means you need 14 Megabytes of RAM), plus whatever your operating system needs for overhead, plus 1.5MB for the server's base requirements.

    Thanks,
    -Michael.

  • Streaming source software is particularly CPU-intensive, and thus using auto-DJ functionality on the server may cause your server's CPU usage to rise dramatically. No formal benchmarks are offered by streaming source software vendors to estimate capacity, but on older servers a single autoDJ can use up to 50% of the machine's CPU resources.

    As a result, you may only be able to place a few autoDJ-enabled streams on a single machine. Many ShoutCast hosts disable autoDJ functionality to avoid this bottleneck.

    It is also possible (although often impractical) to use autoDJ functionality without the additional CPU requirements. If you do not require transcoding and/or crossfading effects -- i.e., if your DJs' MP3s have been pre-encoded at the correct bit rate and sample rate, which is unlikely -- it is possible to disable re-encoding to reduce the autoDJ's CPU usage to practically zero. More information about re-encoding is available in the following article:

    Enabling/disabling server-side media re-encoding

    I would advise getting a cheap dedi from Datashack, unless you can talk to a VPS provider (open a few tickets with the usual suspects - BuyVM, Catalyst, ChicagoVPS, EoR) and get their preapproval with that sort of thing.

  • Hi,

    Also, how would the upgrading process go if I got a dedicated server. E.G. if my disk space needs became more than the server had at the moment.

    Thanks,

    -Michael.

  • perennateperennate Member, Host Rep

    Personally I recommend the Quick Packet deal at http://www.lowendbox.com/blog/quickpacket-49month-dual-xeon-l5420-16gb-ram-1tb-hard-drive-in-atlanta/
    But DataShack, OVH, and wholesale are good for cheap, unmanaged solutions too.

    How CPU intensive is your program going to be? If the main requirement is RAM and disk space, check out RamNode's CVZ (SSH cached) plans or a BuyVM storage node. If you will be using the entire CPU core, try Digital Ocean maybe (although their CPU sucks, and network goes down often).

    Thanked by 1qps
  • Hey,

    Yeah that quickpacket deal looks really good, especially 'cuz it comes with 16 gb of ram and a 1tb hd.

    Thanks,

    -Michael.

  • @lilmike Just want to throw this out there you could go cloud with those kinds of storage space needs IMHO

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