Not sure if this is the right place to post this, tho I'm quite curious as to what goes into establishing/maintaining a mining pool. Some things are quite self-explanatory, such as needing a good quality server and perhaps a nice-looking front end. However, how much traffic should one expect, and how does one prepare accordingly?
How does one go about implementing the necessary functionality of a mining pool (setting up a reward system, supporting X, Y, and Z coins, being able to withdraw to an address, etc)?
Also, how would a front-end be set up? I've seen among many alt-coin pools a sort of standard front-end, but what goes into creating one (and where do other pool owners get this "standard" front-end)?
Does this mean I want to start a mining pool? Maybe, maybe not. Tho if I do, it probably won't be any time soon. Regardless I feel its interesting to know.