colocation costs: Re: Remailers and ecash (fwd)

[Jim Choate <ravage@ssz.com>]

Forwarded message:

> Date: Tue, 30 Sep 1997 16:03:22 -0700
> From: Bill Stewart <stewarts@ix.netcom.com>
> Subject: colocation costs: Re: Remailers and ecash (fwd)

> >>I'm wondering about your co-location machine, from your comments above it
> >>must be sitting in a field since you don't pay rent (or was that your way of
> >>saying somebody else pays the rent for you?). Is this so? Since so many of
> >>your utilities and physical plant are donated I have to question the
> >>accuracy and utility of your figures as well as the applicability of those
> >>figures to a true commercial enterprise.
> 
> Depending on the security, performance, and price you're looking for, 
> you can run your own machine on your own premises, 
> run your own machine in somebody else's colocation facility (either
> as a favor, like anon.efga.org may be, or using a commercial ISP),
> have somebody else run a dedicated machine for you (mostly ISPs),
> buy a shell account on an ISP or other service provider's machine,
> use a free shell account from somewhere, or use an IP-only connection.

I am quite aware of what it takes, it's what I have done using SSZ since
going online to the Internet full time in '92 via modem.

> Sure, free colocation space is nice,

It isn't nice, it's a threat to the utility and security of the remailer.

> for far less than the rent you'd pay for doing the whole job yourself,
> since they have economies of scale by handling multiple colocation
> customers and
> also handling their own servers.   

True, but you take a hit on security if you don't have a personal
arrangement with the provider. It also means you won't be on hand when
the cops come a knocking...better use CFS or something similar. This
will require having some sort of contact point for times when the system
gets rebooted, it's obvious you won't give the pass phrase to the operator.

There are other issues involved like the utility of having a business at 
home and the number of legitimate deductions that can be taken.


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