How effective is a memory upgrade?

Assume everything else is the same.

512MB -- > 1GB
1GB ---> 2GB

Depends on the OS and Load in question. If you are using Windows, the move from 512mb to 1gb would give you a definite substantial improvement in performance.

Basically if you are currently using a lot of swap memory (virtual memory) then the increased in memory would equate to an improvement in speed.

The 1gb to 2gb increase would probably depend on the swap issue.

I believe in having a lot of memory on a web server, I almost always get a mem upgrade when I get a dedicated box. Make sure that the ISP isn't charging a monthly cost for memory upgrades- it should be a one-time fee. If it costs more than the physical cost of the memory- don't worry about it, they need to account for labor, and replacements, etc., to me that's justified. And some profit!!

If an ISP charges $40/mo for 512 of extra memory, then after two years you will have paid $960 for that extra 512.

good luck,
rw

Currently one system using RHE is using 130MB - 350MB swap. Is the memory upgrade justified?

isn't it usually cheaper to just rent a newer server than to upgrade?

Usually a 512MB upgrade takes about 200-300 dollar. That's about 20 bucks a month, for 20 bucks more you usually can get a better server.
Unless you want to stay at your current server for more than a couple of years.

but with extra 20 bucks, you still get a low end server.

The first server I used for hosting had a pretty heavy load on it but was fine with only 256MB of ram. It was a P3 600MHZ machine. This was a few years ago, but if it worked then with a few hundred domains, and mysql, 512 should work now.

Originally posted by Wako
How effective is a memory upgrade?
512MB -- > 1GB
This is a must. I did only now realize that ServerMatrix have increased their standard Celeron 2.4 RAM from 512 to 1024.

Its a marketing ploy. Unless you are running 1000 apache processes at once, 512 is enough.