Our own OpenStreetMap server for Thailand (SE Asia?)?

Hi Everyone,

I have been looking into the option of setting up a Thai based OpenStreetMap server, and I know Stephan have had the thought too.

The idea behind the server is that we can setup tasks and renderings that is focused on our needs. It could also be used for experiments, development projects and other needs that might show up in the future.

For the server to make sense, it should be atleast powerful enough to run the full OpenStreetMap database with minutely updates, and be able to render the worldmap.

Things that I’d like to see on this server would be:

  • Consumer map of the world based on Thai optimized stylesheets.
  • Thai map for mappers showing where details are missing, and highlight errors.
  • Thai tourism map, showing only details relevant to tourism.
  • Create map based on GPS traces.
  • Create Garmin maps for mappers based on Lambertus’ work.
  • Scripts and tools like what is currently served on osm-tools.

I am sure there are other things that could be done, this is just what I could come up with in a few minutes. Be aware though, that any idea we come up with, will have to be implemented by someone.

If we were to acquire a server like this, there are a few options. We can rent a virtual or dedicated server, or we can buy a server ourselves. Each have their own advantages and disadvantages.

No matter what option we choose, it will cost money.

Renting would probably be a monthly cost of 2500-5000 THB/month and buying a server would be somewhere between 50.000 and 100.000 THB. These are wild estimates, the actual price will depend on our needs and whatever we come up with in the technical discussion.

I don’t think it is worth having the technical discussion, until we know that people are interested in backing a project like this.

So I am now offering you the option for OpenStreetMap to not just steal all your time, but also your money.

So my questions are:

  • Who is in need of a server for their OSM related projects besides me and Stephan?
  • Who, besides me, could be interested in backing a community server like this?

Best Regards,
Johnny Carlsen

Johnny,

This is a fine idea. Being a computer illiterate, I have more questions than information:

-Is a world map necessary, as it is available on OSM? OSM.nl is just the Netherlands, and a very basic world map outline.
-Is a bike map layer possible? I’ve wanted this for years. If so, can we label roads in colors to indicate suitability for bikes? Because there are no official bike routes, we have the opportunity to even name them. (“Gravel road Huai Sai to Pa Tueng”, or just a ref).

I would be useless in setting this up, but could contribute other ways, like adding bike routes and say, ฿3000 per year. Not near enough, but a start.

Good Luck, Tom

No problem, I’ll try to answer everything as well as I can.

I do not think we should be present on the main OpenStreetMap website, mostly because it will be quite expensive in bandwidth. The reason I like the whole world idea is that I(we?) can use it as my default OpenStreetMap map. I don’t have to look at one map for Thailand and another for the rest of the world. I often find myself on thaimap.osm-tools.org and then suddenly hit the edge, which to me makes it a little bit less useful.

Absolutely, but some changes require more technical skills than others. It is easy to change colors, styles and what gets rendered, and I believe it is more difficult to highlight routes and name them.

I’d rather not have people commit to a certain payment schedule, who knows what happens in a year? You might have lost interest in the project, or may not be in the same financial situation.

Right now I am just fishing to see how big of an interest there is, and from there figure out what the next step should be.

Given the small size of the Thai OSM community, I can’t quite yet see how worthy an investment this would be. If such a server could facilitate the further promotion of OSM in Thailand, this would be a great thing, but I haven’t got any ideas.

I’m feeling the same way. I can barely keep up with my day-to-day mapping as it is. I am not expert enough to envision using the server for my own custom projects, especially considering all the other things I want to learn already.

I talked with Johnny about a dedicated OSM server before. A world-wide rendering is requiring a heavy machine. Probably restricting the service to Asia is fine.

Currently I’m trying to find a sponsor to be able to migrate osm-tools.org to a new server. The existing machine is close to it’s limits.