Vodacom Download Server

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Deiphos

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I was thinking, it would be a great idea if vodacom would host a server where we could all download patches, firmware upgrades (maybe even some linux distros :D ) from. Of course these downloads wouldn't be counted to your bandwidth usage because you are transferring data within the vodacom network. I could imagine something like this would be great for customers and definitly be a factor in the buying up of 3G/HSDPA.

I don't know if this topic has been discussed anywhere else but I think it would count greatly to consumer satisfaction. Plus if vodacom had to do it we will all be downloading from one of their servers and save them the international bandwidth. I know SAIX has its own download server that has a host of interesting things, I used to use it when I was on dial-up and I got relativly good speeds (5KB/s download).

What do you guys think?
V3G: Do you think vodacom would consider something like this?
 
Agreed! Vodacom could "host" this on Vlive! and make the "purchase price" for downloading this content nil.
 
Great idea!!

Let's see if customer service carries any weight amongst the top brass at Vodacom. We now know from the trade-in mess that it doesn't hold much at shop level...
 
Well, the cost Vodacom would not be zero, there are still non-Vodacom components in the path, especially Telco transmission....

But it's a good idea and one we've been kicking around. Biggest challenge is to keep the content up to date. Maybe we can mirror someone else's? Any suggestions?
 
Mirror Sourceforge, they have great content and it is all open source, the only problem would be the amount of traffic you would be serving internationally. But if you can get it right to be a mirror of theirs, you will be THE company to support Open Source development in South Africa.

EDIT
I know there will still be a cost to Vodacom, but think of this:
You have 100 users that want a specific file. At the moment all of those 100 users must go internationally to get the file, so we have two costs here, the local data transfer and the transfer of international bandwidth. Now say the file would cost Vodacom R2 (just a figure, not based on anything) for the international bandwidth per download, that's R200 just to get it to SA, then say there is another further R2 to get it to the end user, a final price of R400 to get that file to all of the 100 users. Now imagine Vodacom had to go and get the file themselves, pay the R2 to get it onto local servers and then server it from an internal server. Your costs will be at R2 so far, now the same 100 users want that file, but you have taken care of the international part, so now it will cost you R202 to get that file to the end user. That is practically a 100% decrease, sure it doesn't cost nothing, but the savings are something to consider. Also, I am aware of the fact that you cannot possibly mirror everything every user wants, but it will be a start in the right direction. Maybe having a poll of what people would like to see on this server if ever vodacom started one will give you an idea of what we would like to see.
Just some thoughts though, you guys are still doing a great job in my opinion :D
 
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vodacom3g said:
Well, the cost Vodacom would not be zero, there are still non-Vodacom components in the path, especially Telco transmission....

But it's a good idea and one we've been kicking around. Biggest challenge is to keep the content up to date. Maybe we can mirror someone else's? Any suggestions?
Click to expand...

How about a (low) monthly subscription then to gain access to the patches or mirror site? Like on Vlive! you must subscribe to certain content. Maybe then you can do the same with these patches?

It would be a great service - I currently have to bring all my patches and updates from work. Would be great if I can get it from Vlive! or somewhere at a low rate. Note, I said LOW rate.

This would also make VC's offering a lot more competitive. Granted, the fact that you can browse for free on Vlive! is already a great service. But there's always room for more :)
 
A sourceforge mirror would be way way cool! :D :D

Even if it wasn't free - just at a reasonably reduced rate :rolleyes:

EDIT: Imagine a free online Vodacom "Freedom Toaster" ?? How cool would that be! :D

EDIT Again: Here's another idea: I know it's not exactly a download... but how about a local copy of Wikipedia availble free/super cheap say on vlive?
 
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Ajax, agree it's a good idea (actually a great idea!), but again, who decides the content? Especially if it's a paid-for service, the content type and age will have to be managed very accurately.

That's why my initial reaction would be to find someone who already understands and manages content and just mirror what they're doing. We could potentially buy it as a service.

How about an ISP like IS or one of the educational institutions?

I actually would like to develop Ajax's idea, so any comments would be great.
 
Well now, this is something that I REALLY like the sound of.

I know this might not go down to well with some people, considering their love of sourceforge, which I do share, but I was thinking something along the lines of Tucows (although I know its a HUGE service), but IS, SAIX and MWEB do host mirrors. I would just think a mirror of software for Windows software would be more of a draw for more customers than something like sourceforge which is a fairly niche thing in this country. Of course I would complain if I had access to things like the latest Linux Distro's which wouldn't eat away at my monthly limit.

It is a pity a system like this couldn't be community managed, or at least not entirely effectively.

Are there any better services than Tucows out there, because I don't think they're as useful as they used to be.

Or maybe this idea of systems with a small monthly fee could be taken further, like for instance (and I know they don't use much bandwidth) maybe vodacom hosted ICQ, MSN servers that link up with the international ones.

I'm rambling here, but something like a one stop vodacom portal for all sorts of stuff that is available to 3G subscribers for a small fee every month would be a huge value-add that I think MTN for one would be hard pressed to match.

Just my 2.5c worth
 
I think a Tucows mirror would be great, Sourceforge does still have a huge appeal, but I think that most people would not find it useful in their daily lives (it took me a while to think of that, I would still prefer SF though).

Mirroring an international download site is much better than trying to mirror any local one, reason being the international ones enforce pollicies for usage and for what they host, plus they are kept up to date on a regular basis.

Buying an ISP or other institution that manages content is not in my opinion a good idea, reason being you will have to manage the content then. I would leave it up to other people, which is why a mirror of another download site could possibly work in your favor. The only problem I see is the charging (don't get me wrong, I will pay a subscription fee to this kind of service) of the service (which is probably why you want to buy a mirror), many people will simply go to the international site and download what they want anyway, unless the subscription fee is reasonable.

Another idea if you aren't too keen on mirroring a download site is to have a poll every month, on that poll you ask people what type of software (or category of software) they would like to see, then you have another poll of the most popular software in that category and then the people vote for the 4 or 5 extra downloads they want on the server. (When I say software I am referring to the download).
Of course getting the initial content will be a problem, this method will not work, so you will just have to do a survey by checking other download sites and see what is downloaded most, has good feedback and also very popular.
I think the only people who would use this service are those that like to download, so involving them in the decision of what downloads they would like to see could be a good move.

Just some random thoughts.
 
Looking forward to a cheap download source for SuSE 10.1 Linux :-)))

All the many Gigs for free ...

The idea is great. IS has quite a good mirror site as a starter - maybe Vodacom can even relay that server straight into their network - then there will be minimal additional management issues. Also consider hosting the Freedomtoaster stuff on the mirror (www.freedomtoaster.org).

SourceForge is a tremendous source as well, but I doubt if it is worth the while considering the amount of junk hidden there as well. My guess is that the noise factor will kill the economics of mirroring SF locally.

This will be a good start from where it can be chopped and changed according to actual demand.
 
And perhaps even a bittorrent tracker just for people on the vodacom network. Will take pressure off the vc servers.

And AV definitions is a must.
 
Nice, but I think simply getting 1 mirrored server from vodacom will be good, I mean I wouldn't mind downloading AV definitions if most of the stuff I download I get for free or minimal subscription anyway, we don't want to host the entire internet on a vodacom server :p
 
Hmmm I think if we want to help V3G get this idea off the ground, we need to be realistic about what we want, what we can conceivably expect to get, and what would be useful for most of the 3G customers.

I think a simple mirror server where some software and updates would be a good start, obviously I can have grand ideas where Vodacom could take this idea, but to start something simple that would benefit everyone. I would admit something like a Windows Update server would be almost worth its weight in gold, but yeah thats something for the future.

I still think a service like tucows although maybe not so large or complicated would be a good place to start. A few really popular windows programs, and maybe a Linux distro or two would be a really good start, or possibly an ftp server that we pay a nominal fee for gaining access to.

I really think this is something that we as customer could be involved in that would benefit both us and Vodacom together.
 
As an extension to the above idea, here's another (proposed by Tazz_Tux, btw):

A server (could be the same one as the download server) where you can schedule a file download, via HTTP. This file is then downloaded during the off-peak time (between 1am and 6am) from the international site and you then pick it up from the download server the next day.
 
Was thinking along the same lines. Wouldn't want to overload the network during peak times with users who buy a pre-paid card just to get cheap distros. Maybe then charge a higher fee for access to the server during peak times and a very low fee for off peak access.
 
Hey v3g,

Thanks for saving me the typing ! :)

I was thinking about this more - and you can even extend it into something like "getright" where the app runs and monitors the clicks and you submit it like that to the download server - you know you will *have* to make a Linux version aswell ! ;)

Laterz !

vodacom3g said:
As an extension to the above idea, here's another (proposed by Tazz_Tux, btw):

A server (could be the same one as the download server) where you can schedule a file download, via HTTP. This file is then downloaded during the off-peak time (between 1am and 6am) from the international site and you then pick it up from the download server the next day.
Click to expand...
 
I would think that Vodacom shouldn't need to adjust this - it just means more tarrif plans etc. Rather keep the "server downloads" charged at normal rates so basiclly you download the file "Free of Charge" (monthly sub might apply) but the download from the server to your PC you pay for (bundles allowed etc)...

That way if Vodacom ever changes the tarrifs they don't have to worry about "this" side of things - since the tarrif plan will have this "build in"

LOL - just my 2c (Round-a-bout)

ajax said:
Was thinking along the same lines. Wouldn't want to overload the network during peak times with users who buy a pre-paid card just to get cheap distros. Maybe then charge a higher fee for access to the server during peak times and a very low fee for off peak access.
Click to expand...
 
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