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i rented my first server in 1999, but the oldest contract I could find was from 2003.
I rented a dual xeon 2.0 ghz with 512 MB RAM and a 73 GB SCSI hard drive (two discrete processors; this was before multi-core processors were readily available).
one-time setup fee: $499
monthly charge: $349.00
24-month contract term
this was a bargain at the time; i think i called in a favor or something to get a discount. it was also one of the cheapest NOCs. they had great service but really shitty cogent-only peering.
service was crucial because if a server hung or froze (not super uncommon), i filed a ticket in a web portal and waited for a human to walk to my server and push the power button a couple times. (“Good” service was ~10-20 minutes turnaround time. “Bad” was the NOCs that didnt have 24/7 hands to do the rebooting so you waited until the morning)