Minimizing bandwidth usage to a web server

[Phyo W. Soe]

Hi Clifford,

Thanks for the reply. The main issue for us here is the bandwidth usage. 
(It's not about hardware or database system issues you mentioned).
In where I live, bandwidth is not only expensive but the connections are 
slow (even with ADSL, 512kb/s and above connections are really expensive). We also 
have to pay per GB used.

If a branch office is close to the HQ, it can get connection from the HQ 
and accessing the LMS won't be an issue since it's within a LAN. However,
if the branch is far away, they will have to access the server via Internet (local bandwidth).

We are expecting hundreds of users for the LMS. Each user can be downloading 
many MBs of data a day from the LMS (web server) and in total, there can be many 
GBs of data downloaded a day for hundreds of users. That will be too costly for us.
(each branch is like a separate entity that has its own ADSL connection and pay their own bills)

However, if the contents can be mirrored on a virtual server at each branch, they will only 
be accessing a local server on a LAN and so much money can be saved. I don't know if that is 
even possible due to the nature of the contents.

Regards.

On 01/08/2010 08:21 AM, Phyo W. Soe wrote:
>/ We have branches in cities throughout the country. Under normal
/>/ circumstances, users from those branches will have to connect to the
/>/ central web server to access the pages. It consumes too much bandwidth
/>/ due to videos and pictures. We would like to minimize the bandwidth
/>/ usage from the branches by having a server in each branch. A branch's
/>/ server will mirror the contents of the central server and users in the
/>/ branch access the local server instead of the central server when they
/>/ want to access the LMS.
/
You're trying to reinvent load-balancing and a CDN (Content Delivery 
Network).

Bandwidth is cheap. Scattering your media across some cobbled-together 
distributed system isn't going to make any difference in bandwidth 
consumption. When you say "it consumes too much bandwidth", what is the 
real problem? Your server can't keep up? You're trying to serve up these 
files using some DSL or cable modem connection? Your MySQL can't keep 
up? That's not an unusual situation, by the way. By default, MySQL uses 
MyISAM table types. That'll be a big bottleneck on systems that need to 
have write access to tables because MyISAM only supports table locks. 
You haven't provided enough details.
-- 
Regards,

Clifford Ilkay
Dinamis
1419-3266 Yonge St.
Toronto, ON
Canada  M4N 3P6

<http://dinamis.com>
+1 416-410-3326