Bandwidth Question

[Portnoy]

This is a pretty easy question, but I don't know the answer.

The past few weeks, an old experiment (http://www.avoision.com/experiments/pi10k/pi10k.html) of mine has been getting some attention. A few sites have been linking to it, and then a few more did, and then a few more.

When I look at my CP, it says that my bandwidth useage is 20008.82. What's the unit of measure here? MB? And does this number account for all the files that I'm serving to visitors? Does it also include files I'm uploading?

And finally, what's the cap for most sites (I'm guessing there's some limit before charges kick in)? I don't think I'm close to being "over," but thought I'd check to see.

Any help is greatly appreciated. :)

[Ruben]

Hi, well your bandwidth (if I'm right) should be 20gb now, and the cap. depends of the hosting plan you purchased.

Also, b/w isn't the only factor you have to look at; the server load (queries) is very important too (i.e. forums)

[KLH]

Interesting site.

[Ruben]

Is it about drugs?

[Viper007Bond]

Yes, it's in MB and click the "bandwidth stats" icon for more details statistics.

You check this site as well: http://avoision.com/stats/

And if you start running out of bandwidth, I have PLENTY of bandwidth to spare if you want me to mirror or host it for you. :)

[Portnoy]

Viper: I did see the Bandwidth Stats icon, but in the CP. But that just lists bandwidth used for the listed months (and clicking on a given month's amount yields no additional info). I was looking for my cap, based on my account type (I upgraded a while back during some Giga-Sale, I believe).

For future reference, I did come across the Rollover Bandwidth page (http://www.hostrocket.com/products/rollover.htm), even if I couldn't find info on my account's limit. I've been using Hostrocket for some time now, and in the early months... I probably accounted for 90% of my site's traffic. So I think I'm good, if this rollover thing is in effect. :)

Thanks for the replies, everyone.

[Viper007Bond]

Bandwidth only rolls over from the previous month. You can't keep racking up more bandwidth.

Example: you use 30 of 50 in Jan. You'll have 70 (50 + 20) in Feb and if you only use 40 of that, you'll only have 60 in March, not 80. Follow?

[Portnoy]

Ah. Gotcha.

Well, I guess I'll see what happens. Much appreciated on the bandwidth offer, Viper. I don't think it's come to that, but I'll keep it in mind. :)

[KLH]

Originally posted by Portnoy
Viper: I did see the Bandwidth Stats icon, but in the CP. But that just lists bandwidth used for the listed months (and clicking on a given month's amount yields no additional info). I was looking for my cap, based on my account type (I upgraded a while back during some Giga-Sale, I believe).

For future reference, I did come across the Rollover Bandwidth page (http://www.hostrocket.com/products/rollover.htm), even if I couldn't find info on my account's limit. I've been using Hostrocket for some time now, and in the early months... I probably accounted for 90% of my site's traffic. So I think I'm good, if this rollover thing is in effect. :)

Thanks for the replies, everyone.

I think only newer accounts have the bandwidth rollover. As far as I know, if you didn't sign up when they were offering it, you don't have it. Old customer do not have rollover bandwidth, but the new ones do.

[Viper007Bond]

Yep, I don't have it. I do remember them saying they were going to implement it "soon", but... :/

[Ruben]

:/ How can you see how much b/w you can have anyways...

[KLH]

You can't. You have to add the extra left over from last month to whatever you get the current month, and that is how much you have.

[Viper007Bond]

Originally posted by KLH
You can't. You have to add the extra left over from last month to whatever you get the current month, and that is how much you have.
Which is a shame for those with rollover. :/

[KLH]

Originally posted by Viper007Bond
Which is a shame for those with rollover. :/

It's a shame for those that don't have rollover!

[Ruben]

I'm sure that's what he ment... now...

Someone answer my question!

[RammsteinNicCag]

Do you still have the email they sent you when you signed up?

I think it would be a good idea for them to list how much bandwidth you have left.

Jennifer

[Ruben]

Hm I don't think I do...

[Viper007Bond]

Just figure out how much bandwidth you get a month and then check the bandwidth area in CPanel for last month's usage.

[Ruben]

... You don't know how much you have when you have rollover b/w...

[Viper007Bond]

Originally posted by Toyminator
... You don't know how much you have when you have rollover b/w...
Yes you do as it only rolls over from the previous month.

Look up your plan: http://www.hostrocket.com/products/index010.htm

We'll call how much bandwidth you get a month X.

(X - last month's usage) + X = this month's bandwidth limit

[KLH]

Has anyone heard recently about if old customers are ever going to get rollover bandwidth? Or if you have to upgrade to their new plans (and pay a setup fee again) to get it?

[Viper007Bond]

Originally posted by KLH
Has anyone heard recently about if old customers are ever going to get rollover bandwidth? Or if you have to upgrade to their new plans (and pay a setup fee again) to get it?
Well, they said a couple months after they introduced it for new customers that they'd introduce it for past customers shortly, but that was months ago.

My guess is that we'll never see it. :-/

[Portnoy]

I guess I've officially popped my cherry, as today marks the first time my site has ever returned a 509 Error (Bandwidth Exceeded). I don't know whether to be happy or sad. :D

I submitted a TT, asking about what steps I can take to get my site back up and running. If any of you have experienced similar, or have needed to purchase additional bandwidth... I'd appreciate any advice.

[Viper007Bond]

I've purchased additional bandwidth before and it's gonna hurt. $2/GB if I remember correctly and don't forget that you just want to do it for this month and not a reoccuring charge.

[Portnoy]

Thanks, Viper. I just got a reply a few moments ago from a Priority TT I submitted. The response I got was that it's $4/month per GB. I'm checking again to see if that's the one-month0only charge, or if that's to up my allotment overall.

You're right - I only expect this traffic spike to be a temporary thing, so there's no need for me to permanently increase my bandwidth cap.

*knocks on wood*

:D

On a sidenote... it's unfortunate that, as someone who's been with HR for a few years now, I don't have the rollover bandwidth feature (which is available to newer accounts). I realize that the rollover benefit is an incentive, meant to attract newer subscribers. But it also feels, in this particular situation, that being a longstanding customer is somewhat of a detriment here.

[KLH]

I would submit a TT and ask them if you could get rollerover bandwidth for your account, since you are an old customer, etc..

[RammsteinNicCag]

I had a bandwidth problem here a few months ago. It was the last few days of the month and I was on the 50gb/month rollover plan. I had about 4.5gb extra from the month before. Once I hit 50,700mb (which is about 500mb less than 50gb), I got the 509 error.

So, I submitted a TT and the first response was that I had gone over the 50,000mb limit. I submitted a reply that I still had another .5gb because I'm on a 50gb plan, not a 50,000mb plan and I also had 4.5gb rollover. The person replied that 50,000mb = 50gb which it does not. I submitted another reply refuting that and a different person got back to me and everything was fixed. Although, my site was still down for more than a day... I should have asked for a credit (and a couple more knowledgable support people). :p

Anyway, to be fair, I think that's the only real problem I've ever had on HostRocket, so thank goodness for them!

Jennifer

[Portnoy]

Thanks for the comments and advice, everyone. I ended up purchasing an additional 10 GB, so hopefully I can last the month on that.

For future reference/searches, the charge is now $4/month per GB. You cannot, as I was told, purchase extra bandwidth for just one month. The $4/month per GB amount will be an alteration to your account, and you will be billed for subsequent months until you deactivate it.

Also, I was told that in order for me to receive the bandwidth rollover feature, they would have to move my site to another server, which would result in my site being down for approximately 3 days or so.

[Viper007Bond]

Originally posted by RammsteinNicCag
The person replied that 50,000mb = 50gb which it does not.
Well it does when someone wants to milk what a GB means. Hence why you only get like 376 GB outta a "400" GB HD.

[Viper007Bond]

Originally posted by Portnoy
Also, I was told that in order for me to receive the bandwidth rollover feature, they would have to move my site to another server, which would result in my site being down for approximately 3 days or so.
You'd think they could just patch or whatever the old servers, but as stated above, it's a marketing thing and they really have no incentive to do it for older accounts.

[KLH]

Do you have to pay the activaction fee again? I know that if you switch your account from the "giga sale" to any of their new "rocket" plans, they will charge you the activaction fee ($30) again.

[Portnoy]

I didn't ask about the activation fee. I would hope not, but who knows.

If you did have to pay for an activation fee again, wouldn't it almost be cheaper to terminate your current account and set up a new one?

Like Viper said, it's unfortunate that it's not some patch that can be installed on the older servers. Otherwise, longstanding customers are paying for a service that comes free to new users (and also taking on a blackout period of a few days to boot).

[Portnoy]

Slight update: it's $3/month per GB. Not sure why I was told a different rate through Email-based support. But when I called up, this is the rate I was quoted (and, eventually charged).

That experiment of mine got linked up on Netscape's home page yesterday, so I've had a teeny bit of traffic. :D

Anyone know how frequently the Bandwidth Useage statistic (on the left column of the CP) gets updated? I notice that when I upload/delete things, the Disk Usage statistic is instantaneous. But Bandwidth useage seems to remain the same for an extended period... and then displays a dramatic jump.

I ask because I'm trying to keep an eye on my bandwidth use, and avoid going over and triggering that 509 Error.

[KLH]

I think it is once a day, but I could be wrong. The only reason why I say once is because isn't that when the log files are processed or something like that for the stats page? Or am I just totally confused with something else?

[Viper007Bond]

Originally posted by KLH
I think it is once a day, but I could be wrong. The only reason why I say once is because isn't that when the log files are processed or something like that for the stats page? Or am I just totally confused with something else?
No, I believe you're right.

[Viper007Bond]

Originally posted by Portnoy
That experiment of mine got linked up on Netscape's home page yesterday, so I've had a teeny bit of traffic. :D
Cool, got a screenshot of it?

[Portnoy]

http://www.avoision.com/portnoy/2005/january/18.php

:D

[KLH]

That's a pretty good accomplishment..

[Viper007Bond]

Originally posted by Portnoy
http://www.avoision.com/portnoy/2005/january/18.php

:D
Haha, sweet!

[Portnoy]

So this is pretty frustrating. Over the past three or four days, I've purchased two chunks of extra bandwidth (10GB each, making a total of an extra 20GB of bandwidth).

Given the huge jump in traffic I've experienced... that's been pretty much chewed up. And today... I noticed I was creeping very close to a total of 70GB of bandwidth. So... instead of dropping more money for bandwidth, I decide that moving over to the ROCKETthree account makes more sense (as the setup charge is comparable to another 10GB of bandwidth).

I call this afternoon , around 5PM CST, noting that I'm close to maxing out my bandwidth. The representative tells me that I need to submit a TT, and request an upgrade. He tells me that it typically takes a few hours to process these types of upgrade requests, and says that he'll up the bandwidth now... so that my site will still be accessible.

It's now 2:42AM, some 9+ hours after my call. I can't reach anyone over the phone on the Support line, and if I try to access my site it displays the 509 Error Page (Bandwidth Exceeded).

What more could I have done? This is immensely frustrating as I identified a potential problem, and took active steps to resolve it. On top of my site being down, I'm techincally trying to request an upgrade in service and, for all practical purposes... I'm trying to give Hostrocket more of my money.

And in return? My request has been ignored for more than 9 hours. My site has been (and continues to be) inaccessible. And the best I can do is complain to other customers... as I'm unable to reach anyone in a position to do anything to change my current situation.

Like I said. Immensely frustrating.

[Viper007Bond]

Yeah, I'd be pretty frustrated too. Wonder what's taking them so long. Usually they're pretty quick with these kinda things...