Managing user folders (when they get too big)

[optik]

I have a site that allows users to upload files to their account.

Currently each user has their own folder that is hosted on a separate domain to the main site.

What I'm not sure of is what I should to when the server that domain is on gets full and I need to add another sub-domain/server for the site.

The obvious thing to do is just to add a user folder to each new server as and when it's needed and track the location of each file as it's uploaded in the database.

While this would work it seems a bit clunky, maybe there is a more streamlined solution?

[lammert]

If it is only extra disk space you need, adding extra disks to your server, or replacing small disks with larger versions may be more economic than renting an extra server and trying to keep track of file locations in your database.

Another option is to outsource the whole storage part of your site to an external storage network like Amazon S3. You should have more flexibility with that solution, although the extra costs involved may be a reason to stay with your own server storage.

[optik]

I'm trying to keep the setup future proof so although larger disks would work in the short term there is a limit on that, there is also the issue of server load if one server is having to cope with serving all the media.

I really need to emulate the way a storage network works but using my own system.