How do they do it? Unlimited domains and bandwidth

[Collabora]

The problem is, if you place 25 resellers on there, how many sites can they create?
It has to be limited somewhere? Otherwise the server will eventually be too slow as resellers fill up your server.

You answered your own question when you wrote "the server will eventually be too slow as resellers fill up your server."

But I don't see much of concern here. Since, on average, all the web sites will most likely be under 2 GB he has the disk space for over 500 sites on the server. That's an average of over 20 sites per reseller -- not bad. One can always add more disk space or more servers.

[Note: just in case we forgot, and to eliminate any confusion, unlimited hosting plans refer to the hosting resources listed in the hosting plan. "Unlimited" does not refer to resources not found in the hosting plan such as cpu, ram, inodes, etc]

 

[NodePacket]

You need to read their TOS before signing up. Provider will most likely terminate or request to pay for account upgrade if customer exceed certain amount of usage.

 

[And|newHOST.ro]

Hi,

Lots of companies are offering "unlimited domains, disk space, and bandwidth" to their customers. How can they do this? Even with VPS and cloud servers, it seems like this is not a sustainable business model.

I have heard that some companies have a maximum file amount in their SLA and use a script to monitor how many files are on an account. And they use this to limit the size of client account. However, what if a client starts saving 5 GB daily backups on their account? In 60 days they would be taking up 300 GB of disk space!

I have also heard that some hosting companies have a CPU monitor that monitors each clients CPU useage, and that in their SLA they have a "max CPU load" restriction. Is this true? If so can this be done with Linux servers running on a VPS or cloud?

If they offer unlimited domains, unlimited disk space, unlimited traffic, unlimited date bases, etc FOR sure they have another restriction. For example, they can put a limit in number of visitors to your website. If you exceed it, your website won't work anymore, therefore "unlimited" disk space is useless. Take into consideration your needs and read carefully the ToS. Cheers

 

[Collabora]

You need to read their TOS before signing up. Provider will most likely terminate or request to pay for account upgrade if customer exceed certain amount of usage.

Unlimited hosts use the same TOS that limited hosts use to prevent you from using all that is promised in a limited plan. Do you have an issue with hosts trying to maintain the integrity of the shared hosting environment?

 

[BoonexHosting]

We have used 'Unlimited Bandwidth' wording meaning there are no fixed numerical limits on our part and that we won't charge extra fees for high bandwidth usage. We are not trying to deceive and are very true to our word.

 

[TSHosting]

If they offer unlimited domains, unlimited disk space, unlimited traffic, unlimited date bases, etc FOR sure they have another restriction. For example, they can put a limit in number of visitors to your website. If you exceed it, your website won't work anymore, therefore "unlimited" disk space is useless. Take into consideration your needs and read carefully the ToS. Cheers

Yep, the ToS is the way that these hosts offering 'unlimited' anything protect themselves. I've personally done a ton of research into this, looking into our competition to figure out what kind of infrastructure they have in place to be able to offer what they do. The answer is (in most cases anyway), they are hiding behind the ToS that no one reads (which is proved in another post in this very forum).

We offer unlimited sub-domains, unlimited email boxes, etc but we have real limits put in disk space and bandwidth -- which is probably why our hosting business isn't as big as some of the others =)

 

[Collabora]

Yep, the ToS is the way that these hosts offering 'unlimited' anything protect themselves

I have never seen a host that offers "unlimited anything." The only thing that is ever offered as unlimited are the artificial hosting plan resource quotas found in typical hosting plans

If I sign up for your 1 GB plan and my 50 mb wordpress site runs a script that uses 100% cpu or 100% ram, or thousands of concurrent database connections, etc you won't suspend me?

I don't see anything on your site that protects you from that. Since you presumably would never, ever be so evil as to hide such limits you must not have that protection. I would call that irresponsible server management on your part - you are allowing rogue sites to interfere with the rest of you customers' sites. Yet you criticize the unlimited host for maintaining a stable shared hosting environment by having a TOS that offers their customers such protection from rogue site. Shame on you!

 

[fastneasy]

It's a marketing scheme so that they can attract more clients. It's fraud.

 

[easyhostmedia]

It's a marketing scheme so that they can attract more clients. It's fraud.

Marketing is not fraud.

Do you not advertise/market your services?

if you do then are your committing fraud.

 

[Collabora]

Offering unlimited domains is possible ....
Offering unlimited storage or transfer is not possible

Unlimited domains (sites) requires at least unlimited storage. Same is true of unlimited email, unlimited databases, etc. Unless of course, the thing that is unlimited is the quota and not the hardware. Then all these things, including allocated storage and bandwidth, can be offered without limit, that is, unlimited.

 

[Sister]

We have used 'Unlimited Bandwidth' wording meaning there are no fixed numerical limits on our part and that we won't charge extra fees for high bandwidth usage. We are not trying to deceive and are very true to our word.

I think it is often true that those who have trouble with 'unlimited' hosting also 1) have trouble imagining language and connotation as something that can evolve spontaneously in step with the creation of new contexts 2) have trouble imagining the word 'unlimited' outside of technical or 'default' dictionary definitions and 3) may soon become interested in Wittgenstein's theory of language games!

 

[HostWithLove]

Unlimited was probably thought of as the mathematical term when cPanel was developed. It basically allows the website to grow without any form of restriction. Whether or not the server allows that is a different matter altogether.

 

[Sister]

Unlimited was probably thought of as the mathematical term when cPanel was developed.

Yeah, that's an interesting point. "Disk quota" and "Monthly bandwidth" (and other settings) can be set to "Unlimited" when adding or editing a Package in WHM, as any host knows. Considering the relative ubiquity of cPanel, the amount of hosts who use the word in advertising seems unsurprising...

Maybe those who are upset about it should direct their complaints toward cPanel?

 

[easyhostmedia]

"Disk quota" and "Monthly bandwidth" (and other settings) can be set to "Unlimited" when adding or editing a Package in WHM, as any host knows. ]

This has not always been the case, i can still remember several cPanel/WHM versions back where you could not set any package settings to 'unlimited'

 

[HostWithLove]

This has not always been the case, i can still remember several cPanel/WHM versions back where you could not set any package settings to 'unlimited'

Maybe a change in developers? I have been using cPanel/WHM since around 2004 and there were "unlimited" settings back then.

 

[Sister]

~2003 was around the time I first entered the market and I don't ever remember it not saying "Unlimited" in WHM. My memory could be off, though.

 

[Collabora]

All OSes allow the unlimited setting. Just look at the disk quota the Windows PC you are using right now. If a control panel does not allow the setting its a deficiency in the control panel.

When I first started hosting(around the same time as Sister) I was using Hosting Controller and Plesk. As I recall they they had no such setting either and I would set the quotas to 99999. (That was back when unlimited email, databases, and domains got the same criticism as unlimited diskpace/bw does today)

 

[dreamtera]

Unlimited is a business technique of promoting clients.

However they provide some space equivalent to a basic Host plan of 1-10GB mostly.

Major companies do the same.

But they lie. They will not allow to go on 300+GB they will suspend...

 

[Collabora]

But they lie. They will not allow to go on 300+GB they will suspend...

Those sites don't exist in a shared hosting environment. How can you lie to a customer that does not exist?

99.9% of sites suitable for a shared hosting environment are less than 2 GB. The rest are less than 5 GB. In these modern times cpu and memory are the limiting factors not disk space.

 

[Alex - A2 Hosting]

It's a marketing scheme so that they can attract more clients. It's fraud.

We don't do unlimited hosting at Ezpz but it defiantly is not fraud. It is just limited in different ways (CPU, Ram etc).

If unlimited hosting is fraud then so is T-Mobile's unlimited minutes and data plans .