My favorite (ahem) adult site has gone down due to technical issues. It ought to be up soon, I hope. Still, it shows how dependent we (of this unnamed community) have become on one site. Suppose I wanted to provide a duplicate site.
For the sake of argument, presume a web site as large as the SDMB. It would have a large cache of downloads and a searchable database to find these downloads by key word or other criteria.
So I go to Best Buy and get me a … what? Then I get me a contract with … who? To do what? How much will all this cost? How much work would it be?
We did this one a few weeks ago. Basic web hosting with a domain and message board software is extremely cheap usually costing well under $100 a year. Setting up the site, getting moderators, etc is up to you but they give you tools to do that. The SDMB is pretty large however. It makes a huge difference if you are talking about a few hundred users versus many thousands. In the latter case, you may need a dedicated server (usually not that expensive if hosted) but you do need support personell which is a different subject.
You can set up the site online almost instantly. Lots of people like www.godaddy.com
Your biggest issue, Paul, would be getting permission to create an exact copy of the Web site (what we call a “mirror” site). The technical issues depend on the site.
If it’s a “static” site (just a bunch of files for everyone to access), then it’s not very difficult to set up programs that run periodically–or run every time there’s a change–and copy everything from the main site to yours.
If it’s a “dynamic” site like the SDMB that’s driven by database programs, then you’ll always be a step behind, and it will be very difficult to keep everything synchronized.
Once the mirroring process is set up and working, then it can be automated so you never have to worry about it.
The real expense is in bandwidth. Porn gets downloaded a LOT by people, sometimes using bots and auto downloaders to get it all. If you’re setting up the site to be the actual file server of the porn, then you’ve got real problems getting that happening.
However, if, as I suspect, it’s just going to be a collection of links to free porn around the web, then bandwidth is less of a problem, though still not to be dismissed. And it surprisingly adds up to quite a cost in some circumstances.
You will also need to have 24 hour monitoring/moderating by multiple people around the world, to accommodate the time differences, which is hard to organise and maintain. You can usually get them to do it voluntarily, but a tech guru to handle the setup and the server maintenance might be a big expense.
Bandwidth would be an issue. It would not be pointing to other sites. So what sort of hardware would I need to have here at the house? How much does bandwidth cost?
I don’t know, but it’s likely to be thousands of dollars per month. Perhaps even tens of thousands.
You’d need to find a porn-friendly hosting company somewhere around the world (Eastern Europe or Russia is common, but it might be anywhere) who would deal with all the technical issues and bandwidth costs, and they’d pass the charges onto you.
A beginner can’t really host from their home with any reliability, you really do need a proper hosting service.
Paul, you wouldn’t need to buy anything at Best Buy. Theoretically, you could host something in your house, but you’d need special packages from your ISP and it generally isn’t worth it.
There are a few options you have. This is what you could do, basically, in ascending order of expense:
[ul]
[li]Shared hosting: They put your web site on the same server as other sites. Generally cheap, but it often comes with lots of restrictions on drive space and bandwidth, which, as has been stated, you need a lot of if you’re hosting intensive stuff like porn images/videos. Usually costs x (currency) a month.[/li][li]Managed dedicated hosting: Instead of sharing a server with other sites, you’re the only site on the server. Pretty expensive, but it gives you a lot more in terms of drive space and bandwidth. You also don’t have to worry about buying your own server. As with shared hosting, costs x (currency) a month.[/li][li]Colocation: More or less the same as dedicated hosting, except you actually buy your own server(s). Comes with fewer restrictions than dedicated hosting, but you’re responsible for your own server(s), which can involve a significant initial outlay and regular trips to the colocation center if some component in your server suffers a hardware failure. A lot of large businesses use colocation. You have your monthly colocation/bandwidth charge as with the previous two options, in addition to whatever expenses your server(s) will incur.[/li][/ul]
Well, it all depends on how much bandwidth you need, which depends on how many people are downloading how many things. It sounds like you’re in a fairly small niche, if there’s only one site which caters to it, in which case the bandwidth costs might be relatively low. If usage is low enough, you might even be able to get bandwidth for free. The best people to ask would be the folks running the existing site: They’d certainly know how much bandwidth they use, and what it costs them.
In the meanwhile, it’s probably a good idea to download your favorites onto your hard drive, for your own personal use if nothing else.