Unlimited....Unmetered? What is the true difference?

S

Senad

New member
One more topic for today which I think is something very good for discussion....

Unlimited and Unmetered....

To me they are the same exact thing but in today's age we are seeing a lot of unmetered hosts poping up and clients getting more and more disappointed in the hosting industry. My question is how do you term unlimited/unmetered?

I've tried posting this on WHT as well but they don't seem to like us discussing this due to their double standards in advertising unmetered banners yet not allow posts in regards to them? :rolleyes:. I've had two topics deleted by their "open community" so I am bringing it here for discussion hoping that WHT doesn't make limitations on what can and cannot be discussed according to their own business plan.
 
I don't think there is any true difference in regards to the service that the web host intends to offer in regards to unlimited and unmetered hosting.

It's just a way for them to advertise to potential customers that they need not worry about another hosting plan, since they don't need to upgrade or worry about going over any limits.

Checking the TOS of web hosts that offer this kind of service, you'll probably find some sort of limits, even though it is advertised as "unlimited" or "unmetered".
 
Frank N. Stein said:
I don't think there is any true difference in regards to the service that the web host intends to offer in regards to unlimited and unmetered hosting.

It's just a way for them to advertise to potential customers that they need not worry about another hosting plan, since they don't need to upgrade or worry about going over any limits.

Checking the TOS of web hosts that offer this kind of service, you'll probably find some sort of limits, even though it is advertised as "unlimited" or "unmetered".
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So basically we both agree then that these companies are lying to potential customers and their customers in general? Yet these companies also seem to be propsering does that not strike you as somewhat odd? Do you not think that customers would have learned that unlimited is bad from the problems in the past? Or do customers not really wish to be well educated before they make a purchase?
 
The only time "unmetered" is appropriate is on a dedicated server with dedicated bandwidth.

On a shared account "unmetered" is just as dishonest as "unlimited".
 
The only time "unmetered" is appropriate is on a dedicated server with dedicated bandwidth.

On a shared account "unmetered" is just as dishonest as "unlimited".
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That is the truth an nothing but the truth. :agree:
 
Renfrew said:
The only time "unmetered" is appropriate is on a dedicated server with dedicated bandwidth.

On a shared account "unmetered" is just as dishonest as "unlimited".
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True, because theres always a catch hidden somewhere in TOS.
 
I'd say it's throttled, not capped. Capped would make me think, 300GB max/month. While throttled would make me think, 10Mbit connection all month long - push as much as you care to try, but you could pay X more and get the throttling loosened to 100Mbit.
 
IMO Unmetered means that the host allocated a specific amount of bandwidth (i.e. 10Mbps) instead of a GB amount. Unlimited bandwidth means that the host doesn't care how much transfer you use, and there's no peak. I think Unlimited is not possible but unmetered is possible.
 
peter phillips said:
I think Unlimited is not possible but unmetered is possible.
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Possible, but not on a shared account.

I a host is offering unmetered bandwidth on a shared account it means that one user can use the full server bandwidth allotment.
How can you have a shared environment where one user can utilize all of the resources?
 
I think the main difference is, as the words suggest...

Unlimited = no limit
Unmetered = not measured or counted

The problem with both of these are, "unlimited" is not possible in any aspect of life. There is nothing without limits.

Unmetered, within the direct definition is possible, as it's certainly possible for a host not to measure how much bandwidth you've used.

However, as blue said, in a shared environment this is a recipe for disaster. It is possible for a host to incorporate "unmetered" bandwidth into a shared account. However, it's not wise, and will soon fall apart, very soon in fact, as the customer base grows.
 
Unlimited bandwidth is not possible because bandwidth is a commodity that someone needs to pay for eventually.

Therefore, be wary of host that offers unlimited bandwith. They might not be around for long.
 
Dediwebhost.com said:
Unlimited bandwidth is not possible because bandwidth is a commodity that someone needs to pay for eventually.

Therefore, be wary of host that offers unlimited bandwith. They might not be around for long.
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It has been around every since the industry started and it is still around. Unmetered in a shared environment is the new unlimited it's just that hosts found a new marketing ploy to trick customers. I doubt we will see the end of unlimited anytime soon.
 
It has been around every since the industry started and it is still around.
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True, and funny thing, even otherwise reputed hosts (see hostway, verio) have offered and still offer it. :)
 
As Mark pointed out, Unlimited and Unmetered are supposed to mean one thing but often the latter is distorted to mean something very different.

Unmetered has become the workaround for unlimited hosting, unfortunately. It's a shiny new marketing phrase since the education and awareness of the limits of unlimited hosting is starting to grow as a whole. It is indeed another variation of the recipe for disaster and hopefully education will increase about the dangers of unmetered hosting. However, I don't see it going away any time soon.

True, and funny thing, even otherwise reputed hosts (see hostway, verio) have offered and still offer it.
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That's what is so funny about it. For the market that it caters to, unlimited hosting can work. The odds are 95%-98% of the accounts will never really reach dangerous levels. For those few that do, it's a matter of moving them to another server or cutting them off. It's easier for a "larger" company to handle them because they can afford to take a loss on that one account in which they'll make up with the other five thousand just like it.
 
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Unlimited is an impossibility of physics. There are always constraints - there will be bottlenecking. Whether it's in server processing power, port capabilities on switches / routers, transport capabilities of the network, and just good old-fashioned horrid overselling.

My company has done well in the 'unmetered' server market - however what I just said seems to be confused by 90% of the people that come to us. I personally try to make it a point to explain these concepts at very great length - and though I can't avoid the angle of 'talking down' a bit to people in doing this, it is really aweful to see how many people make their living off of misleading people in this industry.

I think 'unmetered' makes a lot of sense in dedicated hosting, because no one else's processing power is really hurt, and a user can be told the dedicated capability of their uplink beforehand.

In shared hosting - to me it's just a kiddy-host marketing scam. It gets eaten-up though.
 
Nothings Unlimited :smash:

Unemetered shared hosting accounts are always alittle bit of a scam, But unmetered resellers in my view are kinda good if the resellers are on another server from shared hosting and are always upgrading hdd space etc,
 
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