I've decided to start a server hosting company...FML

Level1Techs INBOX.deb
1

I just need a direction to go with, steered toward the right lingo and resources really.

 

I would ideally like to build the servers, and offer the basics like: cloud storage, web hosting, game hosting, VPS and dedicated services, etc.

 

Main questions so far:

1.How would I go about building a quality server that would accomplish some or all of these needs?

2.What kind of bandwidth would a 5 server starting setup need for such services?

3.I was thinking about running debian, should I just go with a distro like RHEL instead, because they offer support?

4.What software would I need to run, is there specific softwares that are needed for cloud solutions?(eg. cpanel, myphpadmin)

 

Any info would be appreciated thanks.

2

If you want, centOS is basically RHEL except without the exclusive support (that costs you revenue). The same team that develops RHEL also helps develop centOS. The main pro for debian that I can think of is compatibility and it's package system or .deb, otherwise centOS  is more provider-centric with some handy server features out of the box.

3

also have to consider what "game servers" you wanna run. some games ( many ) may not have linux versions for hosting.

4

I've decided to start by being a Reseller (lower capital needed to start) Then I'll move into having my own datacenter later on once things take off.

Anyone know about any good wholesale companies other than rackspace.com?

5

best way to start would be to invest into:

Hardware: 2x IBM BladeCenter's with blades

(chassis will cost you around 200-1k $) and blades around 200-400$ each.

(together you should be getting something like this http://www.ebay.com/itm/86773XU-IBM-BladeCenter-E-chassis-14-IBM-HS21-2-x-13N2285-CISCO-Gigabit-Switch-/380506307680?pt=COMP_EN_Servers&hash=item5897f17c60 )

NAS Storage something expensive.

Software:

Vmware VShpere and create a cloud of those.

Other: Network gateway i recommend getting fibre connection to internet...

 

Then you can host a lot of servers without that big amount of power draw and building racks and big ac's to cool them down... This is how most of better companies do the hosting. (OVH in europe, and better ones in USA like americaneagle)


Regards.