James wrote:

> Hi,
> 
> I have 2 questions:
> 
> I am trying to figure out which would faster with regards to
> webhosting. I am conetmplating on getting a bonded ADSL connection
> which gives me (2Mbps Download and 1Mbps upload) and hosting my own
> website. However I recently read a hosting company boasting that they
> have upgreaded their internet connection to 2 Gbps. I know that this 2
> GBps is obviously shared across thousand of users who have hosted
> their sites, hence I am now a bit confused. Am I better off with
> hosting my own site or should I get a dedicated server with the
> hosting company and use their shared connection?
> 
> What would you do if your main aim was to make your website viewable
> as fast as possible from the hosting point of view? ( without spending
> a fortune )

Getting shared hosting with someone like Gradwell (www.gradwell.com) 
would provide the best value for money and the performance would easily 
outstrip an ADSL line.

> 
> I guess one of the factors that determines how fast my customers can
> see my site is the number of internet nodes (gateways) the request has
> to be
> re-routed through to get to my hosting server. If most of my customers
> are in the same area using the same ISP is it ok to assume that their
> request will most likely go through a similar path. Is there any way
> to find out more information about the these nodes. For example when I
> run "tracert www.yahoo.com" I get:
> 
>   1    19 ms    20 ms    20 ms  POS5-0.GW1.LND9.ALTER.NET
> [146.188.63.129]
>   2    20 ms    22 ms    22 ms  so-3-0-0.xr1.lnd9.alter.net
> [158.43.150.141]
>   3    22 ms    20 ms    22 ms  so-0-1-0.TR1.LND9.ALTER.NET
> [146.188.15.33]
>   4    98 ms   100 ms   100 ms  so-5-0-0.IR1.NYC12.ALTER.NET
> [146.188.5.246]
> 
> When I run "tracert www.google.com"
> 
>   1    22 ms    22 ms    22 ms  POS5-0.GW1.LND9.ALTER.NET
> [146.188.63.129]
>   2    19 ms    22 ms    22 ms  so-3-0-0.xr1.lnd9.alter.net
> [158.43.150.141]
>   3    21 ms    21 ms    22 ms  POS3-0.cr1.lnd10.gbb.uk.uu.net
> [158.43.150.97]
>   4    21 ms    24 ms    22 ms  pos3-0.cr1.lnd8.gbb.uk.uu.net
> [158.43.253.142]
> 
> Is there any way to find out more information on
> "POS5-0.GW1.LND9.ALTER.NET [146.188.63.129]". (i.e. where is the
> server located and are there hosting providers directly connected to
> it, or even is it possible to get a direct connection to it via leasd
> line.)

There's nothing amazing about this.  It's just one of AboveNet's 
routers.  The GW/LND tells you it's in London.  AboveNet used to use 
airport codes to name routers but it's a while since I cared :/

If you want a direct connection to someone like AboveNet your best bet 
would be to colocate in a datacentre like Redbus or Telehouse.

Whether you want to go for colo or shared hosting depends on how busy 
your site is.

> 
> Thank you for your help,
> 
> James


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