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- If you wish to contribute and have your article published on NosHosts, please do not hesitate and send your materials to articles@noshosts.com
Overselling bandwidth
Overselling disk space is a risky business, so most hosting companies try to do it responsibly. The situation could turn into a disaster when everyone decides to use all of the disk space they have purchased.
However, overselling bandwidth is a different story. It stays almost "hidden" to customers. They can try using 100% of their disk space just to see what happens, or simply store files, but they will probably not decide to see what will happen if they use 100% of their bandwidth. That's what overselling hosting companies count on. Deciding whether to choose a web host that offers unlimited bandwidth or a host that offers a limited amount of bandwidth at the same price is a tough decision, but every webmaster must make it by himself. Unlimited bandwidth sounds too delicious, but there's always a * sign next to it.
As the web hosting industry grows, more and more companies start to advertise "unlimited bandwidth". However, this is nothing more than a marketing trick. I hope we all know it is not possible, since the connectivity of the data center where the servers are located is physically limited. It has a certain number of connections with limited capacity.
The simple truth is that bandwidth costs money. Each megabyte transferred through your website costs money to the web hosting company and respectively costs money to you. This is something every webmaster should understand. So how do they do it? Well, each hosting company has a limited capacity. Of course, the whole amount of bandwidth a given hosting company has can never be reached by a single website, but imagine thousands of websites - now it's possible. They simply count on no one actually using 100% of their bandwidth, but just a small fraction of it. Anyone who attempts to actually use 100% of the unlimited bandwidth, meaning to overload their upstream connections, will probably get his account terminated for any reason listed in the terms of the contract. So hosting with an "unlimited bandwidth" overselling company is a risky business.
The word that stays behind "unlimited" is actually "overselling". This is the practice that puts at risk most of the hosting companies on the market and respectively their customers. Basically overselling means selling something you don't have. This is what most hosting companies do with their bandwidth. If you ever see "unlimited" on a web hosting company's website, they are overselling by definition. However, those who offer a limited amount of disk space and bandwidth are not guaranteed to be non-overselling. There are ridiculous offers on the market which will make the professional webmaster laugh. Example: 1000GB of disk space and 6000GB of bandwidth for $5.95/mo. Ha-ha. This is clearly overselling. If you ever try signing up for such a package and try to use all of what you have purchased, I bet your account will get terminated before you reach 50%.
The existence of the word unlimited on a web hosting company's website is a clear indication of upcoming problems with this company. However, if managed responsibly the risks of overselling could be minimized. It is not the only factor for a hosting disaster. The lack of responsibility is in the roots of all problems that could arise with a web hosting company. No matter if it's an overselling issue, or a customer support issue. So, when making the decision which web hosting company to choose, consider all available options and keep in mind - cheaper is not better. Sure, loyal hosts cost some more, but it's well worth it.
Overselling disk space is a risky business, so most hosting companies try to do it responsibly. The situation could turn into a disaster when everyone decides to use all of the disk space they have purchased.
However, overselling bandwidth is a different story. It stays almost "hidden" to customers. They can try using 100% of their disk space just to see what happens, or simply store files, but they will probably not decide to see what will happen if they use 100% of their bandwidth. That's what overselling hosting companies count on. Deciding whether to choose a web host that offers unlimited bandwidth or a host that offers a limited amount of bandwidth at the same price is a tough decision, but every webmaster must make it by himself. Unlimited bandwidth sounds too delicious, but there's always a * sign next to it.
As the web hosting industry grows, more and more companies start to advertise "unlimited bandwidth". However, this is nothing more than a marketing trick. I hope we all know it is not possible, since the connectivity of the data center where the servers are located is physically limited. It has a certain number of connections with limited capacity.
The simple truth is that bandwidth costs money. Each megabyte transferred through your website costs money to the web hosting company and respectively costs money to you. This is something every webmaster should understand. So how do they do it? Well, each hosting company has a limited capacity. Of course, the whole amount of bandwidth a given hosting company has can never be reached by a single website, but imagine thousands of websites - now it's possible. They simply count on no one actually using 100% of their bandwidth, but just a small fraction of it. Anyone who attempts to actually use 100% of the unlimited bandwidth, meaning to overload their upstream connections, will probably get his account terminated for any reason listed in the terms of the contract. So hosting with an "unlimited bandwidth" overselling company is a risky business.
The word that stays behind "unlimited" is actually "overselling". This is the practice that puts at risk most of the hosting companies on the market and respectively their customers. Basically overselling means selling something you don't have. This is what most hosting companies do with their bandwidth. If you ever see "unlimited" on a web hosting company's website, they are overselling by definition. However, those who offer a limited amount of disk space and bandwidth are not guaranteed to be non-overselling. There are ridiculous offers on the market which will make the professional webmaster laugh. Example: 1000GB of disk space and 6000GB of bandwidth for $5.95/mo. Ha-ha. This is clearly overselling. If you ever try signing up for such a package and try to use all of what you have purchased, I bet your account will get terminated before you reach 50%.
The existence of the word unlimited on a web hosting company's website is a clear indication of upcoming problems with this company. However, if managed responsibly the risks of overselling could be minimized. It is not the only factor for a hosting disaster. The lack of responsibility is in the roots of all problems that could arise with a web hosting company. No matter if it's an overselling issue, or a customer support issue. So, when making the decision which web hosting company to choose, consider all available options and keep in mind - cheaper is not better. Sure, loyal hosts cost some more, but it's well worth it.
