How much does it cost to run ATS?

Quote from SO:

3x ---- Quad-Core web servers running Apache/PHP, with 2GB RAM running behind a load balancer

1x ---- 16-core MySQL server with 16GB RAM, and 8x 15k RPM hard drives in RAID 10

1x ---- Quad-Core auxiliary server for our ad serving solution (shuffles the network ads)

How much does this cost? Do the ads cover that cost?

Also, does it sit in a data center somewhere or is it at one of your guy's house?

[edit on 21-6-2008 by jhill76]

reply to post by jhill76


Good questions!

I would like to know as well.

My guess would be that the ads cover the cost of running the site. But who knows really......SO?

Im going to guess its around 1000 per month to keep everything running right. Also the server Im going to guess is in SO's basement!

I was told it cost $750.00 a month for another website by a very well known author/documentry guest.

I would guess this website to run around $2,500.00 a month. They use, I will venture to say, 5 servers at different locations to serve up the site. The big cost would come from bandwidth and the behind the network server people. And oh ya, the script gurus they employ.

reply to post by Peepers


I just have to disagree on the scripters part. SO said he is the sole person who works on the script.

Yes the ads cover the costs. The expenses are more than $4,000.00 a month just for the hardware. We use a data center and have load balanced clusters.

That's all you need to know.

Springer...

In any enterprise like this, I would imagine the hardware costs would be pretty trivial.

My guess is that the principle costs here are administrative and service oriented. I bet the ISP costs are highly significant too.

You can't give a dollar amount to what ATS is worth, because the real value is in the content, and that has astronomical valuation IMO.

#

Springer, I will write you a check right now for twice the hardware costs -- let's say, $20,000 USD, if you will transfer all ATS intellectual property rights to me. This offer good for 30 days.

Deal? Please think about it.

reply to post by Buck Division


Lol, maybe you can say millions.... with a couple of leading digits. Otherwise, raise your own following from scratch. The cost would grow as you become known and you'd have to buy into more server space and bandwidth to keep up with the flock. The ATS name alone is probably worth 10 times the offer.

reply to post by jhill76


Sure, maybe as the admin of code, but some one has to brainstorm the actual code, test it and than maintane it. One lonely guy with no life of his own could do such a thing, unless he was an intellectual hermit ssh'd into the main server watching all traffic and performing a little dab will do ya here and there. Sorta like voodoo magic when a viewer is making noise or causing a pain in the back side to the watcher.

Naw, I have to say others are covertly involved.

Originally posted by Peepers
reply to post by Buck Division

 

The ATS name alone is probably worth 10 times the offer.

I just used several online tools to evaluate the AboveTopSecret domain name valuation. These are all pretty cheap tools, available online (Google "website valuation") but the results are interesting.

I am getting $100 million USD, and more, as a basic appraisal.

Hmmm. I guess I will have to increase my offer a tiny bit if Springer is going to take me seriously....

The moderators also received a few pay raises lately, you have to factor that in.

Boy, Springer sure is a nice guy to have answered the question,

I would have replied.....

*crickets Chirping*.....

Thanks for the response! I was looking more into the hardware aspect of the costs.

reply to post by jhill76


You can run a home server from a dns service. Or, get a t1 line installed for around $700 - $1,000. Better yet, build your own server and set it up in the planet, rackshack now ev1, or some other gigabyte bandwidth sharing multi tier data center.

Your cost would be much cheaper to build a server, have the data center harden it, and you admin it if you know how. Price, maybe about $2,000 for a quad core 4 gig blade with a monthly $100 - $300 charge to run it.

reply to post by Peepers


Yea. But a T1? Naw Verizon FIOS offers 15 mbps both ways, but it is not offered in all areas. 15 megs, that's some bandwidth to work with. But a collocation in a data center would be the best route though.

reply to post by Buck Division


I'll tell you what, Buck, just for you we'll let ATS go at the bargain basement price of $75,000,000.00 USD in cash plus the following:

We (The Above Network, LLC) retain 20% ownership, all of our existing restrictions on advertisers (especially the one where we will never allow ANY advertiser/investor or anyone else, dictate, limit or control the content in any way) and our existing Terms and Conditions remain in force for at least the next ten years.

Dealio?

Seriously though, this site being the core of the first UGC "Media Ecosystem", it's value is much greater than the site would be if it were a stand alone.

Even as a stand alone site it's realistic, current market value is in the $10,000,000 - $20,000,000.00 range to the right buyers.

WRT "hardware costs", there's only two ways to go, a data center (a few thousand a month for unlimited bandwidth and load balanced clusters of quad core servers) which is what we use now... OR... purchasing our own server rack/hardware, running it ourselves and accessing the backbone directly.

That's where we are headed and might be our next "big move". Revenues and traffic will determine if that's sensible yet or not.

ATS has grown so much and so consistently that we've had to do a major hardware upgrade twice a year for the past four years. We are getting close to reaching the point that it's more economical for us to have our own server shack. While that set up is a big expense upfront ($50,000.00 - $80,000.00 USD) it's much cheaper per month. It's all about how long the ROI takes on the hardware purchased.

Say for example, we spend $60,000.00 setting up the new system and the recurring, monthly expenses are $3,500.00 (service contract for tech support, electric bill, real estate, etc...). If our current monthly expenses are $6,000.00 we would only realize a $2,500.00 a month "gain" with which to pay back the $60,000.00 in up front costs. That wouldn't be worth it since the hardware we bought would most likely be obsolete before we ever got a return on it.

But, if our next big upgrade in the data center is going to cost $12,000.00 a month the deal outlined above becomes very much worthwhile.

Make sense?

Springer...

I see you are using LAMP, good choice, a lot of bang for not much $$

Yeah I agree, it looks like you are approaching the point where you're better off biting the bullet and buying your own hardware & bandwidth.

We had to do the same thing at my old company, but it was worth the trouble in the end.

Glad to see the site is doing so well that you need to consider it, that's a very good sign

Try not to faint from sticker shock when you're pricing out the hardware though

Originally posted by Springer
Yes the ads cover the costs. The expenses are more than $4,000.00 a month just for the hardware. We use a data center and have load balanced clusters.

That's all you need to know.

Springer...

and to think all the double posts and posts that dont really belong here are using up that space too and for that cost

i guess, either way, thanks, its a great place to come

reply to post by Springer


I might be misunderstanding, buy you said you guys own 20%, who is the other 80% is it one of the Three Amigos, or a silent partner. I can understand if that question is secret.

springer, are you currently a millionaire?

*not expecting a response!*

Just a little side not:: at 2c till after 3c pm today the server appeared to be under a DOS/DDOS attack. DNSmade easy failed its redundancy function. End of story.

I think what ATS should realy do is buy a missile silo like peter davenport did of nufroc and create a village called above top secret population 5,000 and growing. That way a village with ATS freaks can congregate, defend and live happily ever after.

Besides living there, open a datacenter, provide motorola canopy wireless internet to all paid subscribers, offset cost with colo service and private living.