Info on Servers to host web pages/sites
22nd Sep 1999
Soundara Rajan @mcdecom.net
Hello Everyone!
I have been given to understand that there are no servers in India to
host web sites. I am told most of them are in the US and some of them in
the continent. If this is correct, please tell me why this is so. THANKS
Soundara Rajan N.S.
========================================================================
'C Y B E R V A L L E Y', Bangalore's first IT Newspaper - browse it at
http://www.indiawebsites.com
23rd Sep 1999
Niel Hirjee @cal.indiax.com
Hello Soundara Rajan,
> I have been given to understand that there are no servers in India to
> host web sites. I am told most of them are in the US and some of them in
> the continent. If this is correct, please tell me why this is so. THANKS
Web servers in India include VSNL and ERNET. There is only one reason why
there are no web servers in India - economics.
Internet presence providers operating in India find it more economical to
pay a US based ISP US$20 a month and resell the web hosting package in
combination with a web design job to Indian businesses - and make a very
lucrative profit.
If an Indian IPP were to 'purchase' the kind of facilities he gets for
US$20 a month, he would end up investing about Rs. 50 lac per annum!
This has resulted in a lot of people offering 'virtual' services to an
ignorant public. Salespersons of IPPs often claim that 'their' server in
the US has a high speed xxx connection, which is actually a double
misrepresentation of fact.
Thank you!
Regards,
Niel Hirjee
--
Calport Technologies Phone: +91 33 475-5884
3 Dover Road, Fax: +91 33 476-3021
Calcutta 700 019 Email: [email protected]
India http://www.indiax.com/cal
23rd Sep 1999
Vani Murarka @manaskriti.com
>
> I have been given to understand that there are no servers in India to
> host web sites. I am told most of them are in the US and some of them in
> the continent. If this is correct, please tell me why this is so. THANKS
>
Webservers require high bandwidth connection to the net (preferably
from multiple providers - for reliability) and this is practically not
possible in India currently. Not only does one not have too many bandwidth
providers (basically only VSNL and ERNET) - these two too * cannot provide
high bandwidth * do not meet up to the standards of reliablity that is
expected on the web * are too pricy
Hence it makes much more sense to have the webservers outside India. Most
web hosting providers in India resell virtual server packages from
existing web hosting providers outside India (mostly US) and some
providers / organisations have their own dedicated servers outside India.
As far as normal web hosting requirements go, I see no advantage in
going to web hosting providers in India - it makes much more sense to go
to appropriate providers in the US directly.
HTH
Vani
_____________________________________________________________
Vani Murarka
Manaskriti Software Solutions http://www.manaskriti.com
Calcutta, India Ph: 91-33-4746625 / 4754838
- Customised Software Development -
- Website Development, Web Programming -
- Lyris List Hosting, Reselling & Consultancy -
23rd Sep 1999
Niel Hirjee @cal.indiax.com
Dear Vani,
Dare I argue with you on your own list? :-)
> * cannot provide high bandwidth
VSNL can provide 2Mb lines. In fact I am currently in the process of
booking a 512 k private leased line from them and it seems as if they have
abundant bandwidth resources. I would appreciate your sharing with us why
you feel Indian ISPs (namely VSNL) cannot provide high bandwidth.
> * do not meet up to the standards of reliablity that is expected on the
VSNLs uptime appears to be better then some of the US$10 and US$15 / month
ISPs outside India.
> * are too pricy
You can say that again. They are charging 1 crore (didnt take at all long
to type) for a 512 k private circuit to the US. Ouch.
Thank you!
Regards,
Niel Hirjee
--
Calport Technologies Phone: +91 33 475-5884
3 Dover Road, Fax: +91 33 476-3021
Calcutta 700 019 Email: [email protected]
India http://www.indiax.com/cal
24th Sep 1999
Devang Shah @giasbm01.vsnl.net.in
By the way, what are virtual severs?
Devang
25th Sep 1999
Arup Bhanja @cal.vsnl.net.in
Is it true that ISPs/Webhosts have to pay DoT a fee to interconnect to
India?
That may be one of the reason why web hosting is expensive in India.
Arup
Vani Murarka wrote:
> Webservers require high bandwidth connection to the net (preferably from
> multiple providers - for reliability) and this is practically not
> possible in India currently. Not only does one not have too many
> bandwidth providers (basically only VSNL and ERNET) - these two too *
> cannot provide high bandwidth * do not meet up to the standards of
> reliablity that is expected on the web * are too pricy
--
Arup Bhanja,
Calcutta,INDIA.
26th Sep 1999
Vani Murarka @manaskriti.com
> Dare I argue with you on your own list? :-)
>
Your choice. :-)
> > * cannot provide high bandwidth
>
> VSNL can provide 2Mb lines. In fact I am currently in the process of
> booking a 512 k private leased line from them and it seems as if they
> have abundant bandwidth resources. I would appreciate your sharing with
> us why you feel Indian ISPs (namely VSNL) cannot provide high bandwidth.
An example of the kind of connectivity that I am used to for normal
website hosting -
100 megabit private fiber connection directly to the upstream
providers of the webhosting service and the upstream having OC3
(155.52 Mbps) to Sprint, a DS3 (44.736 Mbps) MCI, and a DS3 to UUNet.
>
> > * do not meet up to the standards of reliablity that is expected on
> > the
>
> VSNLs uptime appears to be better then some of the US$10 and US$15 /
> month ISPs outside India.
>
Never said that all services in the US are reliable - I have come
across some really horrible ones myself. Being in the US does not
automagically make any organisation fantastic.
But - one has plenty of choice - and there are several who have a
much higher uptime, reliability and service than VSNL.
Regards
Vani
26th Sep 1999
Vani Murarka @manaskriti.com
> By the way, what are virtual severs?
>
A virtual server is when the a single machine is configured to carry
multiple website/domains/ip addresses in a manner that each one looks like
independent servers to the visitor.
HTH
Vani
26th Sep 1999
Niel Hirjee @cal.indiax.com
Dear Vani,
> An example of the kind of connectivity that I am used to for normal
> website hosting - 100 megabit private fiber connection directly to the
> upstream providers of the webhosting service and the upstream having OC3
> (155.52 Mbps) to Sprint, a DS3 (44.736 Mbps) MCI, and a DS3 to UUNet.
Ok, this is getting interesting. I understand from the above that you have
a web server in the US which has a 100 megabit private fiber connection
directly to the upstream provider.
If one were to interpret this at face value, one would assume that *your*
web server has a 100 megabit bandwidth *dedicated* for its use. But this
is actually not so, is it? Your web server is actually just one of many
virtual servers sharing this 100 megabit link - am I right?
If I am not right or if you want to actually test your servers bandwidth,
we could run a test by downloading a largish file using a sever which I
control and which I know has a dedicated OC3 connection. The time takes to
transfer the file will indicate the actual thruput of your server. I also
have software which will give a rough indication of the maximum bandwidth
available to your server.
I really look forward to your response on this.
Thank you!
Regards,
Niel Hirjee
--
Calport Technologies Phone: +91 33 475-5884
3 Dover Road, Fax: +91 33 476-3021
Calcutta 700 019 Email: [email protected]
India http://www.indiax.com/cal
27th Sep 1999
Udhay Shankar N @pobox.com
>From: Niel Hirjee
>> * cannot provide high bandwidth
>
>VSNL can provide 2Mb lines. In fact I am currently in the process of =
>booking a 512 k private leased line from them and it seems as if they =
>have abundant bandwidth resources.
The private leased circuit you are talking about has nothing to do with
the 2 Mbps circuits they otherwise offer. 2 Mbps implies the bandwidth
upto the local VSNL node only. From there, you are at the mercy of
gateway congestion. The private leased circuit terminates at your own
network, and VSNL is playing the role of a telco here, which was not the
topic of the earlier post.
>> * do not meet up to the standards of reliablity that is expected on =
>the=20
>
>VSNLs uptime appears to be better then some of the US$10 and US$15 / =
>month ISPs outside India.
Not true. VSNL is only willing to commit to 50% uptime for their leased
circuit customers. Our Internet Data Center partners for the mThing
, (launching soon) are giving, _in writing_, an
uptime guarantee in excess of 99%. I have also used various other
providers, in the price band that you mention, who have demonstrated
uptimes so far in excess of what VSNL can offer that it isn't even
funny.
>You can say that again. They are charging 1 crore (didnt take at all =
>long to type) for a 512 k private circuit to the US. Ouch.
No arguments here. :-)
Udhay
--
__________________________________________________________________
http://www.mthing.com/ http://pobox.com/~udhay
The World's First Virtual Mobile™
In Touch. Informed. In Control.
28th Sep 1999
sumeet @bom3.vsnl.net.in
to niel.
tell me, when i have a dial-up connection depending on the MTNL line,
mostly connecting at 32,000 or 28,800, How can i judge from which server
or the speed of the server i am downloading from????
sumeet
28th Sep 1999
sumeet @bom3.vsnl.net.in
> Is it true that ISPs/Webhosts have to pay DoT a fee to interconnect to
> India?
>
> That may be one of the reason why web hosting is expensive in India.
>
hello.
if i am not mistaken the license fee payable to DOT is Rs. 1 per year.. am
i right??
sumeet
28th Sep 1999
Dilip K Padhi @dte.vsnl.net.in
Hello Dear
Does it really matter where the servers are. Hi Hi
Dilip
28th Sep 1999
Niel Hirjee @cal.indiax.com
Dilip dear,
> Does it really matter where the servers are. Hi Hi
It may not be important where the server is located from the visitors
perspective, but I would love to have local access to a server connected
to the net. It would enable me to so much more than what I can do as a
remote admin on a server located in the US.
In the south east asian region, either India or China will emerge as a
regional hub which other countries will latch onto for connectivity. It
will be a great loss if we let go of this chance.
It is in the national interest that high bandwidth be offered economically
to us.
Thank you!
Regards,
Niel Hirjee
--
Calport Technologies Phone: +91 33 475-5884
3 Dover Road, Fax: +91 33 476-3021
Calcutta 700 019 Email: [email protected]
India http://www.indiax.com/cal
29th Sep 1999
Vani Murarka @manaskriti.com
> > An example of the kind of connectivity that I am used to for normal
> > website hosting - 100 megabit private fiber connection directly to the
> > upstream providers of the webhosting service and the upstream having
> > OC3 (155.52 Mbps) to Sprint, a DS3 (44.736 Mbps) MCI, and a DS3 to
> > UUNet.
> Ok, this is getting interesting. I understand from the above that you
> have a web server in the US which has a 100 megabit private fiber
> connection directly to the upstream provider.
>
> If one were to interpret this at face value, one would assume that
> *your* web server has a 100 megabit bandwidth *dedicated* for its use.
I am sorry but I fail to understand, how the above indicates that I am
talking of 'our' 'dedicated' webserver! By 'used to' I imply an example of
the kind of connectivity (amongst several other things) that I look for in
a web hosting service for sites we develop.
> But this
> is actually not so, is it? Your web server is actually just one of many
> virtual servers sharing this 100 megabit link - am I right?
Whether Manaskriti's server is on this particular cited example of 100
megabit link or not is irrelevant to the discussion.
But yes, You Are CORRECT - I am talking of connectivity of servers
hosting virtual servers - that is the kind of hosting that one could be
referring to as per the original query.
Please notice, the subject line says "host web pages/sites" - to host only
a few web pages, a hosting solution of dedicated server with dedicated
bandwidth is surely not recommended!
Regards
Vani
_____________________________________________________________
Vani Murarka
Manaskriti Software Solutions http://www.manaskriti.com
Calcutta, India Ph: 91-33-4746625 / 4754838
- Customised Software Development -
- Website Development, Web Programming -
- Lyris List Hosting, Reselling & Consultancy -
_____________________________________________________________
29th Sep 1999
Saumya Ganguly @yahoo.com
There has been an interesting discussion going on lately on the subject of
"Servers to host web pages/sites". Not being a technical person I am
missing out a lot of the details. But when I came across the question
"Does it really matter where the servers are" I remembered something which
I would like to mention.
It seems there is a concept of "Balance of Content". Content is what takes
visitors to websites. If we could have a huge number of servers in India
hosting websites that would draw more hits than the servers outside India,
it would shift the balance of content in favour of Indian servers.
That would, I belive, have an effect on the economics of the
communications business.
I am not sure whether I have stated the obvious. When I first heard this
concept (from someone who I believe is a member of this list) it appeared
to be something which gets lost amongst the technicalities of this new
tool called the internet.
Regards,
Saumya
29th Sep 1999
Niel Hirjee @cal.indiax.com
Dear Vani,
> I am sorry but I fail to understand, how the above indicates that I am
> talking of 'our' 'dedicated' webserver!
I have reviewed the messages and I find I was out of line - it is now
clear to me that you were not discussing your server. I am sorry.
Thank you!
Regards,
Niel Hirjee
--
Calport Technologies Phone: +91 33 475-5884
3 Dover Road, Fax: +91 33 476-3021
Calcutta 700 019 Email: [email protected]
India http://www.indiax.com/cal
29th Sep 1999
Arup Bhanja @cal.vsnl.net.in
Sumeet,
> > Is it true that ISPs/Webhosts have to pay DoT a fee to interconnect to
> > India?
>
> if i am not mistaken the license fee payable to DOT is Rs. 1 per year..
> am i right??
I am not talking about license fees paid by isps but interconnect
charges that ILECs or CLECs pay to connect to upstreams or local loops. In
India we have only one operator DoT which plays in a monopoly market.
Hope that explains,
Arup
--
Arup Bhanja,
Calcutta,INDIA.
1st Oct 1999
Vani Murarka @manaskriti.com
> Dear Vani,
>
> > I am sorry but I fail to understand, how the above indicates that I =
> am=20
> > talking of 'our' 'dedicated' webserver!
>
> I have reviewed the messages and I find I was out of line - it is now =
> clear to me that you were not discussing your server. I am sorry.
No problems.
Regards
Vani
_____________________________________________________________
Vani Murarka
Manaskriti Software Solutions http://www.manaskriti.com
Calcutta, India Ph: 91-33-4746625 / 4754838
- Customised Software Development -
- Website Development, Web Programming -
- Lyris List Hosting, Reselling & Consultancy -
_____________________________________________________________
