Ever had a "10TB transfer plan" but your video streaming app still lagged for users? You likely hit a Bandwidth bottleneck, not a data cap.
In the world of Bare Metal, "Unlimited" is often a marketing mask for shared, throttled ports. Let's break down the math every dev should know before picking a server.
The Pipe Analogy
- Bandwidth (Port Speed): The WIDTH of the pipe (Mbps/Gbps). It dictates how much data flows in one second.
- Data Transfer: The VOLUME of water flowing through that pipe over a month (GB/TB).
- The iRexta Rule: We use Unmetered Bare Metal. If you have a 1Gbps port, it's yours 24/7. No shared pipes.
The Math: What Port Speed Do You Actually Need?
Don't guess your infrastructure needs. Calculate it:
Required Speed (Mbps) = (Avg Page/Stream Size in Mb * Concurrent Users)
Example: 5 Mbps stream * 500 concurrent viewers = 2.5 Gbps required.
If you are on a standard 1Gbps port, your users will experience buffering instantly. This is where LACP (Link Aggregation) or a 10Gbps Uplink becomes mandatory.
Pro-Tip: Optimize with Private Networking (VLAN)
Advanced devs save public bandwidth for customers and use Private Networking for internal tasks:
- Ingress: Data coming IN (usually free at iRexta).
- VLAN: Use eth1 for DB syncs and backups. It's unmetered and doesn't touch your public 1Gbps/10Gbps pipe.
What’s your current network setup? Are you running on shared "Unlimited" pipes or dedicated unmetered ports? Let's discuss in the comments! 👇
Originally published on iRexta Blog
Top comments (0)