HELP...transfer blows my mind...

[cyber-stud]

i have a question :wacko: :

what i still don't understand is the relationship between nr.of viewers / file size / bandwidth. i mean, for example, if you have 10 viewers with an average of 256kb (or 512kb or whatever) sucking simultaneously on a file of 500MB. what is the transfer?? and what is the bandwidth?? i mean, if a provider offers "unlimited bandwidth" this is a good thing, right? i just don't know why.

i was always drawing pictures in math (and in chemistry, too, for that matter, but that's not important right now) and this stuff blows my mind. i would appreciate it if someone would explain it to me or recommend me a link with an idiot-proof explaination.

thx to all.

[JustMe]

Greetings:

Transfer = total size of all files that users have downloaded from your site combined.

In your example, if 10 users download a 256kb file, total transfer would be 2,560 megabytes (also known as 2.5 gigabyte, there are 1,000meg in a gig).

Bandwidth = the amount of data that can be downloaded from your server at once.

So, unlimited bandwidth (which is not technically unlimited, but that's another conversation) basically means you can have as many visitors sucking files from your server at once as you want. If it weren't unlimited, your site would get slower, the more users that were visiting it at once.

To use an analogy: Bandwidth = a faucet; how much water can pour out of it in 10 minutes if it's turned up all the way? Transfer = how much water was actually collected in jugs while it was running.

Your $$ factor here is obviously how much they charge in "transfer fees" as you're calling them. How many jugs of water did you fill up that month? Industry standard for hosting providers is to charge a fee / gig downloaded from your site.

Hope that helps. If you're still confused, let me know, and I could try to draw pictures haha.

[Chilihost]

Bandwidth is charged in one of two methods:
- per gig (for example, a dedicated server might have 500G per month)
- per mbps (for example, a dedicated server might include 1mbps)

How bandwidth is charged generally is decided by your webhost and your plan. The main difference between the two methods is the pipe that is provided to your server.

In the first case, you would likely have a 100mbps network connection (a very large pipe) and your account has a metre on it that counts when you use your traffic. It is possible to use your entire 500G of traffic within 2 or 3 days if you "turn the tap on full".

The second case gives you a 1mbps pipe (which is a very small pipe). There is no metre, you can use as much of this pipe as you want but if you try to push too many requests through that pipe, they will back up or not let them through (ie, your pages will load slow or surfers will get rejected).

If you used the theoretical max of your 1mbps connection you would be able to burn 333G per month. Of course this assumes that your traffic is consistent through the day (most sites peak between 6pm-2am, then go quiet overnight) and it also does not take into account any overhead.

Now, how to measure what you are using. Your webpage itself will prolly be something like 2k. Lets say you have 2 pics on it @ 49k each, your total webpage weight would be 100k. If you have 10 visitors, you would burn 1,000k which is approximately 1 mb.

Using your numbers, 10 surfers connecting via their 256k broadband connections (their connection is like the second example) trying to download a 500mb file simultaneously:
- if your server is connected via a 2.5mbps pipe or larger (the first plan would have a 100mbps connection), these surfers will be able to download the file as fast as their broadband connection will allow it, your total bandwidth used by these surfers would be 5,000mb or 5G
- if your server is on a 1mbps plan, these surfers will get frustrated as they will find the download is about 40% of their normal speed and it would take them 2.5x longer to download those files.

As for unlimited bandwidth, hosting companies that promise this are LYING!!! There is no such thing as unlimited bandwidth, no matter what any one says! It is more likely they are providing you with a very small pipe to your server, or they are overloading your server with loads of other clients sites and hoping that none of them use too much bandwidth. If you sign up for an "unlimited" account and get one movie gallery listed on thehun, I can guaranty your account will be closed or they will try to charge you a lot more! my opinion is that dealing with companies that lie is you can expect them to cheat too, just don't do it!!!

Hope this all helps!

cheers,
Luke

[lisa]

LISA: I have edited your post as it is blatant spam and does not in any way help answer the question at hand. If you would like to spam your services, please use the appropriate forum.

I hope you understand.

Luke

[cyber-stud]

thx for the answers. i'm still doing the math . maybe a picture would help :egypt: . just kidding. i'll be taking a look at the offers from chilihost and badpuppy, and i'll be contacting you soon if the offers are interesting.