Bandwidth overages vs 2nd linode

Yes. For example, a Linode 360 costs ~$20 and comes with 200GB of bandwidth. Overage is $0.10 per GB.

Using 400GB of bandwidth would cost $40, buying two linodes would cost $40 and come with 400GB of bandwidth.

Alternatively, you might want to consider upgrading your Linode to a higher tier. In my example above, a Linode 720 also costs $40 and comes with 400GB of bandwidth.

Thanks :) I would like to upgrade but can't afford the downtime transferring the disk… 2nd Linode could be useful for backups etc.

Also, does adding an 'Extra' like extra memory cause any downtime?

Just to be clear (some of these are recent changes):

Transfer is indeed pooled amongst all of the Linodes under your account, no matter which location(s) they are placed in. It doesn't matter which Linodes use the transfer as long as you do not go over your total monthly quota.

Transfer over the private network does not count towards your monthly quota.

You can add additional transfer to your account by adding another Linode or for $0.10/GB under the Extras tab. Transfer overages (not purchased ahead of time) are $0.15/GB.

The initial month's transfer total is prorated when you add a new Linode or transfer package to your account. For example, if you add a Linode 360 to your account at the middle of the month you will receive 100GB of transfer with it.

Please feel free to open a support ticket if you have any specific questions.

http://www.linode.com/faq.cfm#what-if-i … a-transfer">http://www.linode.com/faq.cfm#what-if-i-go-over-my-monthly-network-data-transfer

-Tom

@jonny5alive:

Also, does adding an 'Extra' like extra memory cause any downtime?
Adding some extras do require downtime to begin using them (RAM, IPs, etc). The Linode Manager won't force you to reboot when adding them, so you can choose the best time to perform your reboot and the changes will take effect.

The UI does force you to reboot immediately when removing certain extras, however, so it can issue your service credit.

-Tom

Thankyou.

@tasaro:

Transfer overages (not purchased ahead of time) are $0.15/GB.

So, Linode is hiking the price on overage by 50%? That's, well, not very good news.

@Guspaz:

So, Linode is hiking the price on overage by 50%? That's, well, not very good news.

Yeah, I just noticed this too - this must be a new development, as I was charged some overage at the end of December, and it was still 0.10/GB then.

Why is this?

Because it costs them more to use a resource they have not paid for?

I would not say this is a new price, I am sure that when I started using Linode, over 18 months ago now, the price was $0.10 for pre pay and $0.15 for post pay overages.

I could however be wrong, I have never had to post pay for an transfer overage.

@dataiv:

Yeah, I just noticed this too - this must be a new development, as I was charged some overage at the end of December, and it was still 0.10/GB then.

Why is this?

FWIW:

I started an argument about this in #linode a few weeks ago (whoops). The answer was that encouraging users to purchase bandwidth ahead of time instead of just relying on overages helps with capacity planning.

I suppose it makes sense for capacity planning. But definitely 2 months ago was the first and only time I've been charged after going over for the previous month, and I was charged at 0.10/GB, not 0.15.

I intentionally didn't pre-buy because everything I read said it was 0.10/GB and it was just going to be one month for the holiday shopping season.

OK I actually have the same question as the OP, though years later. Or maybe this is a feature suggestion :) Today with overage costs at $0.02/GB if you were to "double use" that allocated to a $5 instance, you'd end up incurring a $20 extra fee :| …

The answer mnordhoff gave in 2010 remains the same today. It is easier to plan capacity around how many Linodes exist of each type than to try to guess based on usage trends which may change dramatically from one month to the next. (But overall usage trends also have an impact on capacity planning too, but that's more grand-scheme.)