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I disagree. Amazon's cloud is great for getting started, no doubt about that. And yes, they take care of all the administration. But the hardware and bandwidth

by physcab 16y ago

I disagree. Amazon's cloud is great for getting started, no doubt about that. And yes, they take care of all the administration. But the hardware and bandwidth costs are absurdly expensive. Probably somewhere between 2x - 10x as much. Netflix is outsourcing it because they are rich and can afford the scalability that Amazon offers.

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ghshephard 16y ago
The mantra at every large company I've ever been at once we get past the initial "Get it done" phase, is, "Do it cheaper, cheaper, cheaper." I think the thing that everyone overlooks when they price AWS out is they are looking at the cost of the bare metal. They aren't pricing their Network Engineers, their DBAs, their Storage SysAdmin, Their Data Center Ops Manager, the finance overhead required to buy/track all this gear. Forget about the fact that no company over 200 employees I've ever been involved in could add 30-40 servers in less than 30 days. The reasons to not go to AWS have to do with things like control, security, customization. Cost is the #2 reason everyone I've talked to is looking at moving their infrastructure over to AWS. (Ability to quickly scale is usually #1)
camwest 16y ago
"Netflix is outsourcing it because they are rich and can afford the scalability that Amazon offers." - You honestly think that Netflix is getting an economy of scale from AWS? I think it works the opposite way. Perhaps they took the time to actually examine the hidden costs instead of using a calculator for 15 minutes on Tiger Direct.
duffbeer703 16y ago
At first glance, yes. But consider that datacenter floor space can cost $300/sqft or more. And you need people to negotiate with landlord, process utility bills and manage vendor relationships. I've been involved in building out datacenter space for a large application -- out upfront costs before collecting a dime of revenue were over $500k -- and that was to refurbish an existing raised floor space! Few entities have that sort of money around, so now you're borrowing $500k at 6-9% interest. You're probably leasing your hardware as well. The paygo model with AWS has other advantages too. What if your app is a failure, or you need to change your deployment model? With AWS, your costs disappear when your consumption does... with a solution you own, you may carry those costs for years. So keep in mind that while Amazon may not be the cheapest option from a high level, when you actually look at the costs and risks associated with rolling your own, it may offer the best value. But it's a tool that isn't right for everything -- buying a nailgun is great if you are putting a new roof on your house, but a waste of money if you're hanging pictures in your living room.

by physcab 16y ago

deleted 16y ago

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ghshephard 16y ago

The mantra at every large company I've ever been at once we get past the initial "Get it done" phase, is, "Do it cheaper, cheaper, cheaper." I think the thing that everyone overlooks when they price AWS out is they are looking at the cost of the bare metal. They aren't pricing their Network Engineers, their DBAs, their Storage SysAdmin, Their Data Center Ops Manager, the finance overhead required to buy/track all this gear. Forget about the fact that no company over 200 employees I've ever been involved in could add 30-40 servers in less than 30 days. The reasons to not go to AWS have to do with things like control, security, customization. Cost is the #2 reason everyone I've talked to is looking at moving their infrastructure over to AWS. (Ability to quickly scale is usually #1)

camwest 16y ago

"Netflix is outsourcing it because they are rich and can afford the scalability that Amazon offers." - You honestly think that Netflix is getting an economy of scale from AWS? I think it works the opposite way. Perhaps they took the time to actually examine the hidden costs instead of using a calculator for 15 minutes on Tiger Direct.

duffbeer703 16y ago

At first glance, yes. But consider that datacenter floor space can cost $300/sqft or more. And you need people to negotiate with landlord, process utility bills and manage vendor relationships. I've been involved in building out datacenter space for a large application -- out upfront costs before collecting a dime of revenue were over $500k -- and that was to refurbish an existing raised floor space! Few entities have that sort of money around, so now you're borrowing $500k at 6-9% interest. You're probably leasing your hardware as well. The paygo model with AWS has other advantages too. What if your app is a failure, or you need to change your deployment model? With AWS, your costs disappear when your consumption does... with a solution you own, you may carry those costs for years. So keep in mind that while Amazon may not be the cheapest option from a high level, when you actually look at the costs and risks associated with rolling your own, it may offer the best value. But it's a tool that isn't right for everything -- buying a nailgun is great if you are putting a new roof on your house, but a waste of money if you're hanging pictures in your living room.