Cyandin

Emil,

I don't know if anyone else has told you this yet, but if not, I would strongly suggest you take the following facts into consideration.

Let's do a cursory overview of what costs go into a server like the one you're talking about, from the hosts perspective.

1. The server itself, even at a good deal, will cost around $1k to procure.
2. 4TB of bandwidth is over 10mbps, but I'll be conservative and call it 10mbps. That 10mbps, even for a large host will cost them a little money.
3. The cost of rackspace, power and cooling (if the server is in a SAS70 Type-II certified DC - less if it's in someones basement) will typically run around $20-40/mo per U of space.
4. Shipping for one server like that will probably be around $20.
5. Depending on how many tickets you submit, and how well staffed the hosts support department is, the average cost in labor you might generate could fluctuate from less than $20/mo to well over $200/mo due to time spent working on your tickets.

Now, is this server was sold to you at $120/mo, minus the cost of rackspace, power and cooling, you're already under $100/mo.

At this rate, you can see that after you figure in support costs since its a managed server, the host is looking at anywhere from 11-15 months or more to make back the money they spent on your server. A 11-15 month ROI on any deal that does not have a contract length of at least 24 months is simply bad business.

I know you want to get a good deal, and I would never discourage you from being a wise consumer and shopping around. However, it would greatly behoove you to consider these things when choosing a host, because I think you would agree that the apparent benefit of saving $50-100/mo on your server pales in comparison to the damage you would suffer a the hands of poor support, dramatically oversold bandwidth, or a flat out "tits up" scenario.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ICQ, email, or call me directly at 512-686-3051.