[olug] (OT) - Free/Cheap Temporary Colo-space

Ben Dinger ben at mac-geek.com
Mon Mar 14 22:50:47 UTC 2005


Just FYI, Time Warner in Lincoln has 5mbit/5mbit fiber for ~$500-800/mo (the installer didn't know exact costs).  

On Mon, Mar 14, 2005 at 04:28:32PM -0600, Craig Wolf wrote:
> Folks we are onto something worth looking into IMHO.  I am looking at
> setting up a small webserver/file server at home with my registered
> domain name but I am having to figure out how to "get around" cox's
> residential plan/blocking to do it.  I say that our next meeting should
> be just this discussion or setting the means to continue down this road.
>  How many "members" would be willing to put some money upfront/ongoing
> to do this, put forth hardware to get it started, dedicate time to
> upkeep, paperwork, expanding it for "non-profit" reasons to meet our
> needs, etc?  Who will lead the effort?  This would not be a weekend
> event every 6 months, this would be ongoing.  I know that I would be
> willing to donate time and some money but I am in that position right
> now in my life where as some of our members are not.  (That could change
> in the next month with the baby coming but so goes life.)  This
> community of "geeks" is good but are we ready to take this next step and
> continue down it or are we just happy with no "dues" and going to the
> bar once a month??  Something to think about.......  
> 
> Craig Wolf
> Linux Web Server Support
> Desktop/Network Specialist
> 402-894-6283
> 
> 
> >>> Sean Edwards <cybersean3000 at yahoo.com> 3/14/2005 >>>
> The idea of a non-profit organization is to spend as
> much as you bring in, thus the term non-profit.  The
> problem soon becomes "as much as you bring in" part. 
> Many businesses and other organizations give to
> non-profit groups for the tax deduction, but the
> non-profit organization needs to have a goal a little
> loftier than "sponsor our electronic playground,
> please."  If OLUG is already set up as a  non-profit
> organization, there should be a mission statement
> and/or a purpose for being in the articles of
> incorporation, on file with the State of Nebraska.
> 
> Install fest is a good goal, to promote Linux in the
> community.  If you look at other similar ideas in the
> Linux community, you have Open Source projects, Linux
> distributions, Source Forge, and many other entities
> operating as non-profits.  There are other companies
> which offer OpenSource projects with commercial
> support, such as JBOSS and MySQL.  The trick is
> finding an angle that attracts interest from the
> business community.
> 
> Treasurer:
> * getting the bills paid ?
> 
> Mebership Director:
> * collecting "fees" from "customers" (or "dues"
> from "members", if you prefer) ?
> 
> Secretary, President
> (isn't OLUG already set up as a non-profit?)
> * putting up with the gov'ment (they can get antsy if
> they think we're running a business and aren't paying
> our taxes)?
> 
> Secretary, President, Treasurer:
> (don't forget liability)
> * insurance (vandalism, fire, flood, etc) ?
> 
> Plenty of volunteers for this:
> * sysadmin issues - infrastructure configuration and
> maintenance, defining and enforcing an AUP and the
> like?
> 
> Organize a Data Center exploration committee:
> * getting all of the above figured out ?
> 
> -=Sean Edwards=-
> 
> --- Phil Brutsche <phil at brutsche.us> wrote:
> > Jay Swackhamer wrote:
> > > If you wanted to have an independant Data
> > Center...
> > > 
> > > The industrial park at 156th & Center would be a
> > good location
> > > If I remember correctly, you can get bays in the
> > size range of
> > > 1000 square feet and up for around $800/month, so
> > figure on
> > > 
> > > Space  $800-$1000/month
> > > Utils  $300-$500 /month
> > > T1/DSL $300-$500/month
> > 
> > That's on the low side for a T1, and we haven't done
> > any research as to
> > DSL availability in that area to know if it's
> > available.
> > 
> > Cox Optical Internet may be a better idea
> >
> (http://www.coxbusiness.com/systems/ne_omaha/coxoptical.asp)
> > - last I
> > heard they run the fiber line to the premises.
> > 
> > > Initial Wiring Costs ~$3000(unless someone's an
> > electrician)
> > > Commitment would probably be a minimum of three
> > years.
> > 
> > And let's not forget other materials - UPSs,
> > switches, rackmount gear
> > (shelves), etc.  Much of it is cheap enough that
> > some people could
> > donate hardware, but some of it isn't.
> > 
> > OK, just for the sake of argument, let's say we did
> > it (rented a bay in
> > an industrial park and set up a low-budget data
> > center).
> > 
> > Who's going to be the point man (people?) for:
> >  * getting the bills paid ?
> >  * collecting "fees" from "customers" (or "dues"
> > from "members", if you
> >    prefer) ?
> >  * putting up with the gov'ment (they can get antsy
> > if they think we're
> >    running a business and aren't paying our taxes) ?
> >  * insurance (vandalism, fire, flood, etc) ?
> >  * sysadmin issues - infrastructure configuration
> > and maintenance,
> >    defining and enforcing an AUP and the like ?
> >  * getting all of the above figured out ?
> > 
> > Is it worth it to start a non-profit organization of
> > some kind (note the
> > question above about the government)?
> > 
> > Assuming a worst case of $2000/mo in expenses we
> > would need several
> > dozen "members" @ $50/mo - how much are people on
> > this list willing to pay?
> > 
> > Assuming that we'll need more "members" than the
> > list can provide, can
> > we find enough people to be "members" to make it
> > work - alternate
> > hosting methods to help take up the slack, perhaps?
> > 
> > Are there cheaper alternatives, such as renting a
> > cage at one of the
> > already established colocation facilities (ie IP
> > Revolution or First
> > National)?
> > 
> > And no, I am *not* volunteering to do anything right
> > now, I'm just
> > trying to stimulate some discussion.
> > 
> > -- 
> > 
> > Phil Brutsche
> > phil at brutsche.us 
> > _______________________________________________
> > OLUG mailing list
> > OLUG at olug.org 
> > http://lists.olug.org/mailman/listinfo/olug 
> > 
> 
> 
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-- 
Ben Dinger
ben at mac-geek.com
"The Pope?  How many divisions has he got?" --Josef Stalin



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