On which machine would a message board be faster for users:

Server A
Dedicated Server
750 MHZ, PIII, 256 MB RAM
Average Load 0.02 (before message board)
95% Load Range 0.00-0.05
Average Ping time 100ms (incorrectly assuming that pings are the same everywhere)
95% Ping Range 80ms-400ms

Server B
Shared Server
900 MHZ, 512 MB RAM
Average Load 0.20
95% Load Range 0.08-1.00
Average Ping time 85ms
95% Ping Range 80ms-95ms

Server A has a lower load, but server B has faster ping times. What else would help estimate which is faster?

Its depends how much memory is being used on the machines.

I would guess Server B.

Apache comes with a benchmark tool. Use it to test the servers. I would imagine that the dedicated server would be better in the long run as you could tweak it to your specific needs. Also, security is much better on a dedicated box.

How many concurrent users on the forum itself?

Originally posted by NVB
Server A has a lower load, but server B has faster ping times. What else would help estimate which is faster?

The load times on both are just fine. Nothing to worry about at all. The ping times mean absolutely nothing. You can almost throw it out as a gauge. All it measures is distance from one server to another, not speed. You can reach a server with a ping time of 10ms and be much slower than to a server with a ping of 500ms. It all depends on network traffic. Think of it as being only 1 mile from your house to work, but sitting in traffic. It may take you an hour to get home by car and yet if you walked, you may get home in 15 minutes. Slower machine, faster route, less traffic.

These are just analogies. Overall, if I were making my decision, I would be looking at a cost differential. If server A was much less in price than B, I would take A and bump up the memory. With servers, memory is king.

i think server A. because it have Low Load Range.
:smokin:

I am assuming that you have a valid reason for limiting yourself to these two system configurations, for the best answer is Server C..


Server C
Dedicated Server
PIII 900 MHZ, 512 MB RAM
Average Load 0.20

The difference in price between a PIII 750 and a 900 is not that great, so why not just spend a little more money to do it right the first time. With the price of memory dropping like ***** customers, you might as well look into adding another 512Mb of RAM.

The point I am trying to make here is that technology has never been cheaper, take advantage of the great deals while they last.

Originally posted by huck
Also, security is much better on a dedicated box.

Not necessarily -- if you're on a dedicated server then you are the one in charge of the security. If you're on a shared machine, then there's probably an admin in charge of security to look out for things for you. So if you don't know much about maintaing a secure system, then you might be better of on a shared machine.

Although it is always safer to not have your files on a computer which someone else has access to...

Jeremy

Its depends how much memory is being used on the machines.
Here are the memory stats. It looks like I mixed up which sever had 256k and 512k.

Server A (Dedicated with 512 MB?)
CPU states: 0.5% user, 14.1% system, 0.0% nice, 85.2% idle
Mem: 509272K av, 506824K used, 2448K free, 10380K shrd, 448108K buff
Swap: 530104K av, 0K used, 530104K free 8564K cached

Server B (Shared with 256 MB?)
CPU states: 28.2% user, 14.6% system, 20.8% nice, 36.2% idle
Mem: 257704K av, 250576K used, 7128K free, 264696K shrd, 9464K buff
Swap: 530104K av, 58144K used, 471960K free 52192K cached


Apache comes with a benchmark tool. Use it to test the servers
What is the command to use this tool. Neither recognizes the command "benchmark".


How many concurrent users on the forum itself?
It is usually 30-110 unique visitors per hour. I am not sure how many of those are concurrent. There are only a few operations that really get the server CPU high, such as searching messages and checking who recently visited the forum. If three people search at the same time, everything gets very slow.


The difference in price between a PIII 750 and a 900 is not that great, so why not just spend a little more money to do it right the first time. With the price of memory dropping like ***** customers, you might as well look into adding another 512Mb of RAM.
It looks llike I already have 512 MB ram on the dedicated server. Do you think I should add even more? I am willing to spend more money, since it is a one time upgrade fee for me, but I do not want to add more memory with no extra benefit. Similarly. Upgrading from 750 MHZ to 1000 MHZ is a one-time fee ($100 I think). Will this make a noticeable difference in loading time. Is it worth the money? Is there any command to confirm my processor speed?

The Apache benchmark tool is ab (in the bin directory).

More info: man ab