Creating a file-hosting website

[jsm91]

Hi, this is my first post here ..

I have this idea to make a file-sharing website, like megaupload, rapidshare, etc...
And I just want to know what will I need exactly, like type of web-hositing services? and how to keep it running if the number of users grew?

And another question is, how does these websites like rapidshare manage to have this huge number of files uploaded on their servers?

Thank you in advance

 

[Yami]

You'll need decent servers, lots of storage and LOTS of bandwidth. You'll need a lot of capital to set up something like this, even if you're only renting the server capacity.

In comparison to Rapidshare, in 2007 they had:
190 Gigabit/s of bandwidth
4 Petabytes of storage

It's now many times greater than that.
(4 Petabytes = 4000TB.)

Chances are this isn't something you'll be able to do without investment, and even then you don't seem to have quite enough knowledge to set it up. I might be harsh in saying so, but it's true. I'm not saying you'll definitely have no chance. But I'm doubtful.

Ofc, that's just assuming you'll want to be in the big leagues like RS, MU, etc. There are plenty opportunities for smaller-scale file hosts, such as backups for small businesses and home user storage. Just keep in mind that there is a lot of competition, given that services like these can exist all around the world thanks to the internet.

 

[carnageX]

You'll need decent servers, lots of storage and LOTS of bandwidth. You'll need a lot of capital to set up something like this, even if you're only renting the server capacity.

In comparison to Rapidshare, in 2007 they had:
190 Gigabit/s of bandwidth
4 Petabytes of storage

It's now many times greater than that.
(4 Petabytes = 4000TB.)

Chances are this isn't something you'll be able to do without investment, and even then you don't seem to have quite enough knowledge to set it up. I might be harsh in saying so, but it's true. I'm not saying you'll definitely have no chance. But I'm doubtful.

Ofc, that's just assuming you'll want to be in the big leagues like RS, MU, etc. There are plenty opportunities for smaller-scale file hosts, such as backups for small businesses and home user storage. Just keep in mind that there is a lot of competition, given that services like these can exist all around the world thanks to the internet.

And then there's also the case of possible copyrighted content being uploaded to your servers as well. You would have to make sure and put up disclaimers that users are to not upload copyrighted content; but you could still get it pinned on you, since said content would be stored on your servers.