Mac mini colocation
So a number of Mac mini colocation companies have sprouted up, offering rackspace and bandwidth for your own mini for about $20 a month. There are options for renting gear or using XServes instead.
I'm very familiar with colocation and server system requirements.
So here's the deal. I want a server which I have full control over in a data-center somewhere. I want to host my PHP/MySQL projects with the flexibility to do whatever else I want to throw at it. I don't want to use a shared machine, unless its just with my buddies.
The mini's hard drive is slow and without more Ram its gonna choke. I'd consider getting a top-of-the-line mini and put in a GB of ram (self installed) and I'll use the RAM to cache data to alleviate disk bottlenecks.
Hell, its easy enough to place my hot files in a ramdisk.
At any rate, I don't think I'd be redlining the machine. If what I'm doing is that popular hopefully there'll be enough money for some better hardware.
$20 is definitely something I can swallow. And I can install my ADC copy of OS X Server ta boot.
Thoughts?
I'm very familiar with colocation and server system requirements.
So here's the deal. I want a server which I have full control over in a data-center somewhere. I want to host my PHP/MySQL projects with the flexibility to do whatever else I want to throw at it. I don't want to use a shared machine, unless its just with my buddies.
The mini's hard drive is slow and without more Ram its gonna choke. I'd consider getting a top-of-the-line mini and put in a GB of ram (self installed) and I'll use the RAM to cache data to alleviate disk bottlenecks.
Hell, its easy enough to place my hot files in a ramdisk.
At any rate, I don't think I'd be redlining the machine. If what I'm doing is that popular hopefully there'll be enough money for some better hardware.
$20 is definitely something I can swallow. And I can install my ADC copy of OS X Server ta boot.
Thoughts?
Comments
But sure... i guess it's cute to think of your mini sitting in a closet somewhere.
anyway a HIVE of mac minis is hella CUTE !!
http://www.macminicolo.net/
Originally posted by dfiler
It seems that the mini is a poor choice for everyone except perhaps the company providing the colocation service. For the cost of a mini, a G4 powermac would make a much MUCH better server.
But sure... i guess it's cute to think of your mini sitting in a closet somewhere.
I don't want to have another machine on at home 24/7 and I don't want to host anything remotely mainstream using my cable modem. I already see the nasty windows spyware traffic on the line and I'd rather have a server that is offsite in some colo somewhere.
Basically, unless I can get my own server through some other deal, I think $20 a month is fantastic. At the end of the day, I just want a server in a colo somewhere. Paying for some 2U linux box will end up being more complicated and expensive than I want. Thus a mini may be in the cards.
Originally posted by Xool
In addition to http://www.macminicolo.net/ (posted above) there is also http://www.macminiservers.com/, which is who I think I'd go with.
thanks xool, i saw macminiservers but yesterday when making my post i couldnt find the link.... enjoy your mini server! A Rock Solid Unix Server For The Rest Of Us.
I'm also a bit concerned about turnaround. If I want to perform a major system upgrade, like upgrading from Panther to Tiger, I'd want the box back. If I have to wait 4 weeks to get the box unracked or reracked the downtime would be unacceptable.
Also, anyone know for sure if a mini will run OS X Server? I think it should, but you know Apple. Damn, should have asked at MacWorld.
Originally posted by Xool
I was hoping more server mavens would drop in and say "you're stupid" or "you've got the right idea".
hmmm yeah i think the server-type people are digesting the idea, perhaps we're all surprised how fast places are already now offering Mac Mini hosting/colo
Anything doing significant dynamic processing is going to have a pretty rough time of it on a mini. You really will want a gig, and to carefully evaluate the performance requirements of your site.
On the other hand, macminiservers is really cheap ( $50 leased solution ), and has no contract, so you can pull out if you have made a bad choice.
I think a good approach is to get up and running on a mini, and see how it goes. If you need more power you can always add more minis ( seperate database server, load balanced minis ), or add an xserve. At most you will be out the $50 for a months service. The only negative with macminiservers is that they dont offer a 1 gig machine, only 512.
I'm gonna inquire about installing OS X Server and what the turnaround is if you want to perform maintenance on your machine if you own it.
I'll see if they'll offer some upgrade path too. Like if I lease one for 2 months and then switch to a personal mini. This way I could use theirs with OS X Panther, test the waters with their service and the system specs, and then switch to personal mini when Tiger is out. If I need more RAM or a better drive or an XServe I can switch then.
Originally posted by Xool
I'll see if they'll offer some upgrade path too. Like if I lease one for 2 months and then switch to a personal mini. This way I could use theirs with OS X Panther, test the waters with their service and the system specs, and then switch to personal mini when Tiger is out. If I need more RAM or a better drive or an XServe I can switch then.
Seeings as how they offer that no contract arrangement I cant see it being an issue. You try it out with one of theirs, and if it goes well just setup another account with yours, and close the first one. Im sure that they can do reasonable things like giving you the old ip address.
Originally posted by Xool
Thoughts?
Why put it in a datacenter, what speeds are they offering? My internet provider has a package with 5.0 Mbps download and 800 Kbps upload. Will you notice that much of a increase in performance in a datacenter?
If I served it at home I'd have to majorly tweek my home network, deal with additional security concerns, deal with downtime, and deal with the fact that all my home computers would be sharing bandwidth with the server. I don't want a hacker to break in and then hop over to my G5 and download my taxes.
And by the way, it will be interesting to see if those companies will have to change their name or not. xrackhosting.com used to be called xservehosting.com, but Apple made them change it for using a trademarked name.
I'm gonna call some of these places today to get some more details. I'll post all my info.
Originally posted by Xool
I'm gonna call some of these places today to get some more details. I'll post all my info.
you go girlfrend..!!
Here's the core of the email, their responses inline:
1. What is the current turnaround time with regards to setting up a new mini, leasing or if I send you a mini of my own?
Leasing will take a bit more time because the systems are still hard to come by. We have been told by our distributors that a week or two might be the wait time before getting a machine. If you send one to me pre-configured (IE I provide you with an IP, Subnet, Router and DNS) then turnaround is usually the same day or the next day from when we receive it.
2. If you host my mini and I need physical access to the machine (say, to upgrade the OS to Tiger), what turnaround time should I expect? What about when I send it back to be re-racked? Is there a fee involved?
The only fees involved for physical access would be the cost of shipping the machine to you and back. No re-racking fee.. We will put it back in once we receive it. If we have to do any reconfiguring, for example we have to go back into the machine and reset IP info or anything then a 20.00 fee would be applied.
3. If I lease a mini from you and after a few months decide to send you my own mini, will I have to pay the $20 setup fee again?
Yes every time we have to set up and configure a mini we charge you the set up fee.
4. If I use more bandwidth than my current plan includes, will I automatically be bumped to the next plan, or will an additional fee be imposed?
You will be charged for any overage of bandwidth you use. If you discover that you have selected a bandwidth plan that is insufficient then let us now and we can bump you up to the next plan. We allow for two changes to your service during the course of your contract.
5. What monitoring tools do you provide?
We have a few different monitoring tools. The service at this point offers Free Remote Reboot and Inside/Out Monitoring. Remote Reboot is simply access to the APC switch socket that your mini is attached to. Providing you the ability to reboot the machine remotely. Inside/Out Monitoring will provide statistical data in your mini, such as, Storage used, CPU temp, etc.
We also have Advanced Stats.. This is a detailed view of your bandwidth usage. A general graph is displayed on our support site that you will have access to for your machines, but this is just a general description of your usage.
After getting this email I reviewed the pricing policies again. While macminicolo.net is slightly more expensive, they seem like a more reputable shop. The downer is that they you must enter in to a 1 year contract minimum. Macaminiservers.com is more flexible.
If I wanted to lease a mini to test the waters service and hardware wise, I wouldn't purchase one of my own until Tiger / Tiger Server is declared GM. At that point I'd configure a mini at home and ship it over.
My ideal mini would be top of the line, with 1 GB of RAM and an upgraded 7200 RPM HD, but I doubt I need this at the start. The real question is is 512 MB of RAM enough for my needs and is the low-end CPU fast enough?
I want to go to a Mac store, find a mini, install mysql on it, setup my PHP/MySQL sites, and see how it performs. That's a lot of work though, so I doubt I'd do that.
Arg. Too many options.
macminicolo.net
macminiservers.com
Sounds like I may go with them, but based on how fast they contacted me last week, that's probably a good thing.