However, while I use extremely cheap hardware (i build a server for about $300 retail quantity one), the power supplies will fail. The time that they choose to fail will not be in alignment with your choice of time to fail. If you live in an area subject to power failures, you are down if it lasts longer than say 30 minutes. If someone in your neighborhood sucks too much bandwidth, it is likely to pull from your allotment. If your lawnmower or the neighbor's lawnmower cuts the cable, who knows how long it will take to fix.
I have several UPS units essentially for transient protection, and two or three internet providers (cable plus dsl) and a verizon cellular internet access.
If I were looking for users in the hundreds or thousands or more, I would certainly go for a low-cost provider with a good stack. These are not that expensive and I hear that many do an excellent job.
However, while I use extremely cheap hardware (i build a server for about $300 retail quantity one), the power supplies will fail. The time that they choose to fail will not be in alignment with your choice of time to fail. If you live in an area subject to power failures, you are down if it lasts longer than say 30 minutes. If someone in your neighborhood sucks too much bandwidth, it is likely to pull from your allotment. If your lawnmower or the neighbor's lawnmower cuts the cable, who knows how long it will take to fix.
I have several UPS units essentially for transient protection, and two or three internet providers (cable plus dsl) and a verizon cellular internet access.
If I were looking for users in the hundreds or thousands or more, I would certainly go for a low-cost provider with a good stack. These are not that expensive and I hear that many do an excellent job.