help me choose a bandwidth plan

[Dawgy]

im getting a new server today and i cant decide how to pay for the bandwidth.... 95th, capped, per gb...

1mbps capped is most logical, except lately ive been having several days of 12gb or more transfer... but it is not enough bandwidth to pay for 2mbps... 95th im not sure will be a good deal either, as i may have a big bill at the end of the month...

please post your opinions & experiences so i can decide :)

(no host spam please)

[camguy]

Go with 95th. You don't want capped because it can stunt your growth. I buy by the mbps on 95th and it's the most fair way... some days I peak way over, but it's still less than buying another full mbps.

hth

[Due]

Go with average bandwidth usage without any CAP :)

[d3bugg3r]

Can any of you Explain me in short what does
"95th" means ?

[Jorge]

about 95th http://www.seanadams.com/95/ ; it is based on ISP´s point of view, hence, they love the 95th percentile :D

go for per gig deal (=average) uncapped if you do NOT have enemies, capped if you DO have enemies (believe me, there is this type of jokers);
Go with 95th. You don't want capped because it can stunt your growth. I buy by the mbps on 95th and it's the most fair way... some days I peak way over, but it's still less than buying another full mbps.
well, if you like playing russian roulette ... you can finish paying WAAAAY more if your peak period lasts a minute longer ... BANG ... you pay for you do not need 94 per cent of time

[$tandaman]

Dawgy, why dont you just go with per gig plan?

-- http://hosting.likewhoa.com/flash/hosting_plans.html

[Coke]

Per gig is the way to go. If there're also cheap per gig prices you're in heaven :)

[RaiDeN]

per gig plan for sure

get a good hosting wich can provide you at least 100mbit burstig with your server and pay per used gig.... best and cheapest to go ..

[richard]

http://www.isprime.com/dedicated.php

check out info on all the different methods.

PLUS, get to choose the method of billing you want, they are offering 95%ile, per gig, average mbs, and capped.

wow :)

[Rodent]

Stay away from 95% billing. Its a joke so dont get trapped into thinking it a good thing. Go with either Per/Gig or a capped line depending on what your doing with it.

Rodent

[HeLiS]

sorry to break it to you guys but per gig can be charged on 95th as well

the thing to look at for is
if it says $$$ so much per gig on trasnfer its 95th percentile

if it says $$$ so much per gig on thru put its on the actual amount not 95th

and almost every host i goto says per gig on transfer and transfer means 95th percentile

my 2 cents

[camguy]

The way I understood is that almost all big plans are offered per gig or mbps, but they are still charged on 95th. If you're buying tons of bw you normally need to call and negotiate a price anyway... make them bid on your big account and pick a host that's been around for a while and is very well established.

Why would you cap a site? I know people worry about being attacked, but just block their IPs at the router and you're fine. If you cap a big site you'll hurt your rep. Could you imagine if the hun or some other big sites routinely shut down because they exceeded their daily limit? That's shooting yourself in the foot imo.

If any other big bw buyers have better ideas or can explain why I'm wrong, please do so. I'm willing to listen if it lowers my bill ;)

[HeLiS]

plus to add what camguy said all good hosts will have monitoring anyway and if an attack shows up the host will soon contact you to see if you know anything about it

this is what my company does and if someone does get screwed by an attack we very rarely charge them for that bw because its an attack and its our job as the host to watch that stuff....its only when someone doesnt do the basics to protect there content like htaccess hotlinking protection that we charge them for it because its something we recommend to all clients when they signup and it takes like 5secs to do it :)


so when looking for a host make sure they have things to provent attacks and make sure the host you go with is loyal to you as a client big or small....a loyal host will always stick by you and will always work with you to grow your business not just give you a l/p and ftp addy

:)

[Dawgy]

thanx for all the input. im gonna go 95th for a month and see how it works out :)

[shunga]

I calculated I was being charged for about two-thirds more bandwidth than I was actually using under 95th percentile. You are billed a lower amount per gig for 95th percentile, but it's a false economy, at least in my experience. You might also negotiate a lower price if you're capped, which is a good option if you have a good idea about the amount of demand you'll have. And as a general rule, if the price per gig is particularly low, it might well be 95th percentile. ;)

[deniska]

Here are the benifits of various billing methods!

95th Percentile Burstable Bandwidth - The top 5% of usage is not counted towards your bandwidth level. Your bandwidth may spike to a much higher level at peak times with no additional charges. The line is fully burstable and your site will never slow down. If you have infrequent bandwidth spikes will benefit from this type of billing.

Non-Burstable Bandwidth (capped) - This means you will not be able to transfer above the specified limit. If your server tries to use anything above your limit the router will simply throw out additional requests. This allows you to control your expenses (no overage fees) and allows you to have as much bandwidth capacity as needed

Bandwidth Billed Per Gig - Bandwidth is measured in each GB of data transfer. If you go over your plans limit you will be billed an overage fee. The line is fully burstable and your site will never slow down. The advantage is that you get the performance of a high-speed connection, while paying only for their actual usage.

[shunga]

Deniska, would I be right in saying that 95th percentile usually means higher bills?

[Cyber-Fantasy]

what most people failed to mention on this thread is

"you have to know your traffic"

are you tgp submitting a couple times a week and getting huge burst of bandwidth usage in spurts?

are you avs making and your traffic is relatively always stable?

if you dont know your own traffic habits you will get screwed no matter what plan you take

if you DO know your traffic habits the correct plan will automatically reveal it self

just 2 cents