Using a geocoder on a production server

Question

I am developing a location based application. And I need a reliable source to get geolocation.

I'm using this geocoder plugin right now.

and I get this error: -

Geocoding API not responding fast enough (see Geocoder::Configuration.timeout to set limit). 

I get an error when our team of 5 tests on intermediate servers

I need a fast enough solution with a request of ~ 10k per day without restrictions for a second

PS: I am open to using some paid services.

EDIT

Think about the business you want to find in NewYork. Type newyork in the text box and press enter. Now on the server side, I need to get the geocode for newyork, and then do a db search based on this.

Answer 1

You must perform client side geocoding (in javascript), you are not affected by the restrictions:

Server-side geocoding through the Geocoding Web Service has a quota of 2500 requests per IP per day, so all requests in one day are against the Quota. In addition, a web service with a speed limit, so that requests that block too quickly. Client-side geocoding through a browser is limited by the speed per map session, so geocoding is distributed to all your users and scales your user base. Geocoding quotas and betting limits lead to the strategies outlined in this article.

When to use client geocoding

The main answer is "almost always." As a geocoding restriction per IP address, this limit is considered against the consumer of your application. It will be very rare that someone is about to enter more than 2500 addresses per day while sitting on their computer. Therefore, when launching geocoding on the client side, you don’t need to worry about your quota at all.

http://code.google.com/apis/maps/articles/geocodestrat.html

Answer 2

This is probably due to any web service. You might want to consider these tasks in the background task manager (for example, Resque or Delayed Job), which will repeat failed tasks without disrupting users. They also make your application look faster, as your user won’t have to wait for third-party (and possibly intermittent) web applications to respond.

Answer 3

Try using maxmind.com - this will do a geographic search based on IP address. They have a free or paid database that is stored on your server. They have a Ruby API . I use this on a production system, and search queries are usually sub-milliseconds as data is cached.