Building A Server

[naruto1988]

my friends and i want to do a business project. we were wondering if we had some small capital investment, could we build a mediocre server, put it in a data center, and sell game servers?

my take on it is that we should get the cheapest barebone rack server possible, a pair of Xeons, 2 gigs ECC, and two raptors in RAID 1. also, we need to build a client base (i.e. pledges) before we start up the server. so can you guys help an entrepreneur and a semi-nerd start off their business? (i.e. is it better to buy a server or to build one, where is the closest data center to Boston, are there guides to set up linux on a server)

/flamesuit on (just in case?)

 

[Fresh Daemon]

Your biggest problem is going to be the connection. Asynchronous broadband just isn't going to cut it. Depending on how many games you want to serve at once, you will need T1, T3 or even OC3. There's also OC12 and OC48.

T1 lines cost between $550 and $1,200 per month.
T3/DS3 lines cost between $7,500 and $14,000 per month.

You can bond multiples of these. You don't even want to know what OCx lines cost. You will need to construct a business model that takes these costs into account and realistically provides room for profit. "You and your friends" may have a little capital, but do you want to get tied into a contract for thousands of dollars per month that would probably be at least for a year and maybe more?

And if you intend to get the capital elsewhere you NEED a workable and realistic business plan.

 

[DaveSimmons]

It's years too late to make much money with a dedicated server, gaming or not.

www.WebHostingTalk.com forums to read about the thousands of companies you'll be competing against.