Best of the ISP-Lists

Virtual or Physical Webhost?

Members of the ISP-Webhosting list disagree about whether a webhost should outsource equipment and connectivity or should own all the equipment it uses.

[January 14, 2002]

On the ISP-Webhosting list in December, DB asked,

"Does anyone know what the ratio is of webhosts that host their own servers to those that outsource or colocate?"

A number of respondents contended that almost everyone outsources:

[MS observed] "I'll bet that less than 25 percent of the folks offering hosting these days actually have in-house equipment."

[SM agreed] "Hosting is almost all we do, and most of our new accounts come in through resellers."

[JB offered] "My web design company outsources all our hosting needs; we pay someone pennies to do it for us. They're very reliable, and they have better Internet connectivity than we do."

Others suggested that there are significant advantages to keeping as much control as possible:

[BF noted] "I have my own server: I wanted more freedom to do what I wanted with the hardware and software."

[MW agreed] "We have our own in-house equipment and plan to keep it that way."

[NT added] "We also run our own servers. We have found this is ultimately more economical for us, since our sister company is an ISP, so we get connectivity for at-cost pricing from them. Using our own machines is intended to reduce problems and the time to fix ones that occur."

SP suggested that it's a matter of matching each requirement with the most appropriate solution:

"I would guess that a majority of those who make a living manufacturing custom products for web sites (commercial web design, application development, specialized services, etc.) maintain some degree of control over hosting operations. Those who offer public hosting generally outsource. I don't offer public hosting, so I don't generally outsource or colocate. But I do outsource anything that risks the smooth operation of my in-house service. I outsource infrastructure to serve certain content: large downloads that spike for whatever reason will typically be served from a source that can properly handle it, for example. If you ask me, I'll say I do it all myself-but the truth is that I try to do what works best, considering value and profitability."

—End