Need Advice Pronto Please

[LeeRyder]

Hi all.. I have a current crisis in the mists blossoming.

The past 24hrs my site has had severe access issues. This is due to my host (who is great!) placing a cap on the bandwidth used every 10 seconds. Currently Im at 500Gigs bandwidth for the month (yes, Gigs) and need to know how I can help limit my usage because I feel it only fair. They sent me this message saying they may place my site in a lower volume server to help accomodate me, but to be honest.. I dont think they should have to, it is afterall.. a problem directly related to me and therefore I dont deem it fair for them to have to do more than needed to accomodate me. Here is a portion of the email I got as the explanation:

" Due to large access of the site, a throttle check was put for it to
make sure that , the site is not eating up the entire resources of the
server. The error message " Service temporarily unavailable" would be
seen by the user if the amount of data transfer exceeds the limit within
10 seconds. Currently we have increased the volume of data transfer
permitted , so that he would be able to see his site . However when the
number of access ( and in that case , the total volume of data
transferred ) exceeds the limit it automatically shows the service
unavailable message . The message goes of when the access goes back to
normal "

Ideas? Comments?

 

[InteractAsia]

seems pretty tight there about the bandwith

maybe you need compression for your site

not sure if this will help but..

http://www.hotscripts.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi?bool=AND&query=compression&catid=all

or

http://www.hotscripts.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi?bool=AND&query=bandwidth&catid=all

 

[identity_00]

maybe you can host on two servers and somehow split your downloads up. Or charge people a small fee for access of download area.

 

[LeeRyder]

Will that compression thing limit the bandwidth a bit?

Charging for the videos wont do any good.. no one would pay to watch these lol... they are just stupid little videos :S

 

[bensontwenty]

Originally posted by LeeRyder
Will that compression thing limit the bandwidth a bit?

Charging for the videos wont do any good.. no one would pay to watch these lol... they are just stupid little videos :S

Hey Lee - remember its all about end user need - these people that are uploading are basically getting to store stuff for free on your server aren't they - how about charging a nominal fee of $9.95pa or something for them to download - they can upload for free - but they can only download by being a paid up member.

Not looked to heavily into your site but it might be something that you can put to them - this would then cover your additional bandwidth costs - which if I read your site right, your members are getting a whole tunnel full of bandwidth for free!

 

[armstrong]

http://www.namepros.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=16519 :hehe:

Bandwidth costs at least 25cents per GB for high-volume hosts, and perhaps 50cents per GB for the "average" hosting company. The hosting provider simply got tired of subsidizing your customers.

As long as your service is free, you can expect your bandwidth requirements to keep growing. While you can (and should) ease the burden by seeking compression methods, eventually you'll have to figure out how this site can sustain itself. Determine who will eventually foot the bandwidth bill.

And awesome videos, by the way, specially the MTV-Matrix spoof and the "American Jedi". Best of luck!

 

[LeeRyder]

well about the pay to download, its not really like that. Im allowing hotlinking which is what most of these files are. (not the videos). So it would be difficult if not impossible to have the images to be paid by people to see a hotlinked image lol

Armstrong..I was hoping that other thread would be long forgotten lol.
9.95/anum to watch these vids is something I've pondered. but really, I just dont see people paying to see these. Aside from the copyright issues (as in the MTV video you mentioned).. there, in my opinion.. just isnt a broad enough market appeal to justify charging to watch these.. though I may be wrong..

whats your take on that?

 

[armstrong]

Im allowing hotlinking which is what most of these files are. (not the videos).

Those who hotlink to you do so imply because they don't want to pay for the bandwidth. If you make them pay for it, then they'll just move on to the next free image site. IMHO, you can't sustain this "feature".

You have lots of options:

- ask for donations "to keep the site running"
- implement a rating system so people know which ones are "hot"
- reward nice uploads with something - sales commissions, free "premium" membership, etc.
- put in place a copyright disclaimer (e.g., "we don't have time to research each and every upload into our system; copyright issues are the sole responsibility of the uploader")

Just some thoughts.

 

[Deathdart]

Maybe you could limit the number of simultaneous downloads, like the system on http://www.fileplanet.com

If the maximum number of simultaneous downloads is reached, the user must wait in a queue to download the file.

 

[LeeRyder]

true that about making a queue.. not that I would have any idea as to how.. I could learn it I guess.

Very good suggestion, thank you :D

 

[armstrong]

Consider also both free and premium memberships, where 'free' members can see only videos less that a certain filesize, and premium can access the entire enchilada.

 

[LeeRyder]

that also Is a good Idea Ive toyed with. Only my apprehension at isolating those who refused to enlist has caused me to betray the idea.

How would you mark the line between regular and premium videos?

 

[armstrong]

Originally posted by LeeRyder
How would you mark the line between regular and premium videos?

By filesize. For example, anything over 1Megabyte would be a premium video. If free users click on it, they see only a still picture, or maybe the first 10 seconds or so.

 

[LeeRyder]

interesting. that would limit though, to almost 90% of the videos to premium only.
Having nearly 1,000 videos... it provides some problems.

This is something Ill have to look into

 

[AndrewZ]

Yea kind of like Deathdart said you could have the users only watch one video per 2 minutes or whatever depending on what the average length for the videos are. Plus this would increase your visitor stay time (forget what its normally called) average :D

 

[LeeRyder]

indeed.. Ive looked into the scripting for these ideas, but have not been able to find anything (Any ideas where I can find the scripts?)

Also, I've lowered my daily Bandwidth from roughly 35 Gigs/day to around 5 :D

Feels like Im on a friggin diet or something.

 

[InteractAsia]

no luck at hotscripts.com?

 

[LeeRyder]

no

I dunno what Im gonna do..

Lowesthosting is in the process of rewriting there tos now because of me.. I feel kinda bad about it.. but also, kinda ripped off. they said "unlimited BW"..and I abised that..hence my duality..

maybe running my own server..i dunno

 

[GCgirl4ever]

The "unlimited bandwidth" is a gimmick to get people to use it.. they don't think people will. You gave them a run for their money. Now it'll teach them not to play with gimmicks. Good luck with your site and I hope you find something that works

 

[LeeRyder]

thx

Ok, so here is where I'm at now:

I figured a way to do the pay per view type of format:

if you go to www.fxclips.com, youll now get an option for low or high bandwidth sites. the high bandwidth, beginning feb 1st will be for paying members. I can host that with lowesthosting.com as it sits figuring that few will pay..I wont have the BW issues I currently am.

the low BW site will be what you see if you click low bw on the main page... very simple html script. no real features and limited file uploading that I delete daily.

I figure 10/anum for paid members with members that already exist now will be free until next year. (only about 200 people).

now.. question: I figured out how they are limiting my BW. They have this in the conf files: ThrottlePolicy Volume 700K 10s

I tried changing it, but i get an access denied message...
I tried chmodding the permissions to no avail.

any ideas as to a way around this? ( I also tried to overwrite the file with a new upload with limites I feel are fair.. to no avail.)


help?

here is a copy of the email detailing my "fair plan" to them (albeit fair is relative to being fair to them..not the contract I signed up for)

Hi,

OK, I believe I have found a fair solution.

I am making the higher BW portion of my site a paid members only site. I
will have a low bw portion of the site available for free, that will be
limited bw.

Now, if you find the following fair.. please tell me how to proceed:

I am going to put the low bw side of the site into a directory that will
have your throttle on it set at 350K per 10 and no throttle limits for the
high bw portion. This will allow me to pay(if people sign up for the High BW
side of the site) for more bw on my "unlimited BW" website (lol, im just a
little bummed at the new tos from Lowest hosting but I do understand to a
degree).

I plan on allowing my current members remain for free for 1 year
for "loyalty" to this relatively new website. currently there are around 200
members. So expect roughly a 90% decline in BW from FXClips.com. (As best I
can figure.)

What I need from LowestHosting.com is this (provided you find this deal
fair):

I need the throttle removed for one day while I re-align my files for
this upcoming change in my tos with my users. On Feb 1st, I would like the
throttle reinstituted to a new throttle of 350K per 10s in the directory
of "low" and no throttle for the directories for the high bw.

This, to me is fair. It should cut over all BW by 90% while allowing me
to provide a better service to my customers and enable me to raise the needed
funds to finance more BW in the long run.

Please advise as to how this idea sounds to LowestHosting.com.

Thank you and be well,

Lee

damnit.,..now that I re-read this I find a problem./..

If i do this I will have to duplicate every video I have in order to maintain playability for my high BW viewers. which means double the webspace...

you think My host will double my space in order to make this deal?

what costs them more? space or BW?

 

[OxDomains]

Bandwidth... and remember there is no such thing as unlimited bandwidth

 

[AndrewZ]

Yea, DB is right... Its impossible to have UNLIMITED bandwith. Now unmetered is another story...

 

[LeeRyder]

ok, so then Ill hit them with double whatever space I have to make up for the unfullfilled promise of unlimited BW.

 

[InteractAsia]

how much are you paying for your current hosting? Maybe get a dedicated server of your own that has more than what your current host is giving you

yoo'll have more flexibility in implementing what restrictions on the downloads etc..

 

[LeeRyder]

I am pondering that, IA.

How much would say a 2 gig server cost. also, how much is the internet connection I'd need to use?