Morning folks!

So I'll just tell Steven thanks but no thanks?

I'm a little confused with how this fixed bandwidth stream works over at iStrata. It seems that it's essentially like we'll be running on a T1 connection at all times. That's considerably slower than the connection we have now.

Also, this VDS sounds...not quite right. According to the site, a VDS "appears to have its own processes, users, files and provides full root access". But, if it's only "appearing" to, does that mean that we reside on a server with other VDS and share resources with them? Because that's pretty much what we have now.

Anyway, just questions I'd probably want to ask before you guys make a decision.

Kristen, I don't think there's any conclusion as yet. We still have a day to mull over the possibilities, right? Noon Friday board time, IIRC.

I'm all for using the Stompy/Techgeek Expertise in this decision. I don't have any direct experience with servepath to offer up, so I'd say FanGeek/IH and Istrata are the leading contenders based on the discussion so far.

I'm also confused about the "virtual dedicated server" question. Does this mean access to the root directory?

Also, this VDS sounds...not quite right. According to the site, a VDS "appears to have its own processes, users, files and provides full root access". But if it's only "appearing" to, does that mean that we reside on a server with other VDS and share resources with them? Because that seems to be very similiar to what we have now.

The big difference is that we get to run our own web server and our own database, which we can use however we like. If we do bad things to the mysql server we wouldn't be affecting anyone but ourselves. There would be limits on how much memory and CPU we consume, but those limits would be enforced by software, not by a service agreement. We would be incapable of violating them, and we wouldn't be in danger of getting kicked off.

Also, did you talk to Steve about our immediate problem, the error messages we're getting? I still contend that it's a problem on their side, not ours. Does he not believe us when we say that? Does he have evidence to dispute our claim? Is he not willing to fix it?

Tom, I'm 99% certain the problem is a bug in MySQL. I can point you at the places in the MySQL source code that I think are wrong, if you're interested.

The measured bandwidth billing model is described here. The 1Mbps numbers are for billing purposes. The actually throughput will be much higher.

Kevin just told me the VDS products aren't ready to go yet. They're still working on how to automatically apply the security updates to them. So the cheapest option with iStrata we could get today is the $99 dedicated server.

Kevin says that we can start with a DS and move down to a VDS if we want, once they're available. Also, it takes a week to set up a DS.

Tom, Steven and I got distracted by the negotiations. I'll bring it up with him again today. As for the rest, I'm still not seeing the difference. Because this

If we do bad things to the mysql server we wouldn't be affecting anyone but ourselves. There would be limits on how much memory and CPU we consume, but those limits would be enforced by software, not by a service agreement. We would be incapable of violating them, and we wouldn't be in danger of getting kicked off.

Is the exact situation you're in now. You're no longer in danger of getting kicked off but no one can make a post around here without every other user getting error message.

Also, with this VDS can you change server settings and configurations?

Kristen, I'd like to chime in on the chorus of very appreciative Buffistae. Thank you for taking this time and effort on the board's behalf.

The measured bandwidth billing model is described here. The 1Mbps numbers are for billing purposes.

Yeah, I already read that. I still don't get it. They say very clearly that, "The measured bandwidth model provides you with a base allocation of bandwidth, just as if you were bringing a T1, or DSL line into your home of office." Does that mean that each user gets that bandwidth or are we splitting our pipe between all the users online?

Oh and thanks to Kat, Jesse, brenda, Perkins, msbelle [did I tell you I bought pink shoes?], Wolfram and juliana. I appreciate the nice words.

ETA one I missed:

I'm really not terribly happy with the tight and seemingly arbitrary deadline on Steven's offer

I'm sorry that the deadline bothers you. It was how we got the deal we did. I think Steven didn't want a repeat of last time.

Here's what iStrata has for connectivity:

Our hosting servers are located in a state of the art data center in San Jose, CA (Silicon Valley). Because of our location we are able to provide you with short hop, big pipe connections to all major backbone providers and large ISPs. The chances are very good that your data is going to be very close to the people you want to reach. We have gigabits of bandwidth available, 100 Mbps burstable bandwidth available to every server, advanced best path routing, UPS and diesel generator back up power, and 24 hour monitoring. With this infrastructure we're able to provide you with some of the best connectivity in the industry.

That's the pipe all the customers of iStrata are sharing.

The 1Mbps numbers are for billing. If your average use is 1Mbps or less, there's no additional charge. If you use more, you pay more. I think Tom did the math and we're well under 1Mbps.