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Is there a network genius out there who really undersand network throughput and connection speeds?

I want to have a Java-based website or two. There are two options for me. Either get a dedicated server from a hosting company (I have one in mind), or run a web server from my appartment. The hosting people seem to be unable to tell me too much. They say “you get 100Mbps”, but it seems that this is the connection “at the switch port” (maybe from the server to the switch), so I don’t know what this number really means. I checked out several ISPs such as Comcast, AT&T, Verizon. It seems that a regular T1 is about 1.5 Mbps. From what I got from the Wikipedia, these are 24 voice channels. Each one is 64 Kbps. What does that mean? Why would I need 24 channels? Is this faster than what I have right now (regular cable) if I have only one computer running with my web server on it? How does a T1 compare to what the hosting company offers. The connection speed that my coputer shows me is 100Mbps. Probably this is Ethernet connection, though. What are all these connection speeds? Thank you.

Most hosting centers will provide your internet connection via a cross connect with the switch that your server is connected to. It’s quite likely that you WILL have a shared 100 Mbps connection to the backbone with a carrier-class hosting center.

A T-1 connection is rated at 1.536 Mbps. It is comprised of 24 channels with 64 Kbps each. Those channels can be used either for voice or data. You can have all data, all voice, or mix it up any way you wish. Obviously for a data only connection, all would be used for data. Actually, that’s really more than you need to know (channelization and all) if all you want is a T-1 internet connection — it will all be data. You can also get a fractional T-1 connection. 12 channels would give you 768 Kbps; 8 would give you 512 Kbps.

A typical cable connection is around 5 Mbps down and 256 Kbps up. For a server, upstream speed matters so you’re getting 1/6th of a T-1 connection with a typical cable internet connection. Most cable systems top out at 10 Mbps down and 1 Mbps up. That would be 2/3 the speed of a T-1 connection. Remember, if you’re running a server your upstream speed matters much more than your download speed — the reverse of normal consumer needs.

Then of course there’s the issue of running a server on a consumer broadband connection. Most ISPs prohibit this and will require you to switch to a business grade connection. That will cost you more, often quite a bit more. Will they catch you and force you to switch? Maybe, maybe not. Many ISPs do monitor usage and will get suspicious if you’re always capped out at your max upstream speed. Some ISPs also block commonly used server ports for inbound traffic — port 25 (SMTP) and ports 80 (HTTP) and 443 (HTTPS) — which would force you to use non-standard ports. That’s doable, but a hassle.

So, what does all this mean? Well, if you’re expecting a lot of traffic, go with the hosting center. No hassles from your ISP and plenty of bandwidth for your site’s visitors. If you’re just hosting something for a few friends you might get away with hosting it from home on your cable modem connection. The cost of a full T-1 connection — typically over $500.00 a month and you’ll have to shop around for that price — is probably more than you want to spend for a home connection.

Going with the hosting center solution will also side-step the issue of most consumer-grade broadband connections: Changing IP addresses. Most consumer-grade accounts get you a dynamic IP address. With some providers it rarely changes but with others it changes often. You could get an account with a dynamic DNS provider but that adds a layer of complexity and possibly expense to the whole thing. If you switched to a mid-grade business account you normally get a fixed IP address. That would solve a number of issues, but would probably double your broadband bill or more.

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