Hi,

I currently have two servers at a hosting company, but their tech support is terribly slow and unresponsive. So I'm looking for a new hosting company that really meets my needs. I do have some special needs, so I'd appreciate if you could tell me if ServerMatrix would meet these requirements. Here is the explanation:

I need to servers: one is basically a web server (running IIS) and possibly in the future running SQL Server. The second server is a streaming server, that delivers realtime video for corporate clients.

Here is the special thing: I plan to deliver massive amounts of streams simultaneously. I'd like to be able to deliver up to 1000 streams simultaneously, at 100 kbps. So we're talking about a sustained 100 Mbit/sec traffic. Obviously, this massive traffic wouldn't happen all the time; only a few times a week, for a couple of hours.

So, basically, I need servers that run on networks capable of sustaining this burst without the need of me calling them to warn (Hey, I'm going to have burst today) or that won't drop off users because the network at the the datacenter can't handle it. In other words: I do want to be able to run at 100 Mbit/sec when I need to. But I don't want to pay for 100 Mbit/sec permanent (100% of the time), since I'm not using it. I do plan to stay within the limit of, say, 2000 Gigabits/month, but I want to be able to use all the bandwidth per second I want, in case I need to.

Also, I need technical support. Those streaming videos I mentioned are for corporate clients, and they demand prompt, fast and realiable support. I can't open a ticked and wait 4 hours to get an answer asking me a question and not solving anything. So high quality support is a must.

I'd appreciate any comments you had about this. Thanks in advance,

Helder Conde

On the topic of your 100 Mbps nic card......
from what you said, you will need to have them A) Put in a 100 Mbps nic card a day before hand (which comes with a $15 install fee), then when your done of it, have them uninstall it and put the 10 Mbps nic card back in (which is another $15 fee). Your best bet would be to stick with the 100 Mbps nic card and pay the extra $10 a month. I am sure with all them corporate clients $10 ain't much.

As for tech support....if you want something started right away (notice I did not say completed) you must call in and pretty much tell em you got a ticket open and get em to look at it, so if you can't use their toll free number I would suggest going with a reseller to cut your cost on the long distance fees.

Since ThePlanet would bill based on the total actual bandwidth consumed, it does not limit you to how much you can burst as long as you stay within the hardware limitations. You have the option of the 10mbps or the 100mbps pipe. You can burst full 100mbps provided your hardware and external connections can support it.

For your requirements, you would be better off with ThePlanet configuration rather than the entry level Servermatrix . I believe that thePlanet configurations comes with 100mbps pipe by default.

The 100mbit link is only 10$ more per month than the 10mbit link, therefore it is not at all a problem to pay for it all the time; it's very cheap.

As for if the network can handle saturating your NIC, yes, it can. SM has an extremely high performance network with 12gbit plus of of dedicated bandwidth, and they absolutely WILL NOT disconnect your server if you decide to saturate your 100mbit NIC. While you shouldn't have to warn them EVERY time you do it, you should probably warn them once at the get-go that you will be doing this. ServerMatrix does not care if you use a full 100mbit! So long as you pay your bills, they are happy.

I'd warn you, though, that you can't do 100mbit on a 100mbit NIC. 70mbit-80mbit is more likely, due to overhead, the PCI bus, etc.