Few days ago when I tried to access this forum, I got an error message saying that the site has gone over the alloted bandwith for the month. I was surprised since that mean this forum consumes tons of bandwith.... So I tried to calculate (rough estimate) hom much bandwith this forum eats up every month.... Assuming that the average is such that each posting here is about 1 kilobyte in size. There are about 1800 members, assuming in any given day 1000 members and another 1000 non members come to this site . Also assume that everybody who comes to this site in average read about 20 postings.... So, in total every day this forum will need 2000x20x1kb = 40 Mbyte. So in any given month, about 1.2 Gbyte. Not too much bandwith, isn't it? So, let's multiply by 5 (for any other factors not taken into the calculation), it's about 6 Gbyte.... Still not too much considering that most host offer virtual account with more than 6 GB of allowable bandwith per month...

Gee... I am still wonderring, how much bandwith does this forum eats up such to cause a temporary termination of service? :)

Another thing... this forum uses vbulettin (http://www.vbulletin.com). There is also another similar bulletin, PHPBulletin (http://www.phpbulletin.com) which load much faster than vbulletin.com, I think... What do you guys think about this how the two softwares (vbulletin and phpbulletin) compares?

cheers,
:beer:

are you comparing the speed of vBulletin on WHT to a phpBB on another board?

I always thought vB was fast... but then again, I've never seen a phpBB with the following stats:

Total threads: 4319
Total posts: 38099
Registered Members: 1767

2000x20x1kb = 40 Mbyte.

This page is at least 15 kb...

Now do your calculation

Originally posted by energy
2000x20x1kb = 40 Mbyte.

This page is at least 15 kb...

Now do your calculation

Ah ha... that's it.... Totally forgot that when people what to read one posting, he/she has to load for the whole page...

Redo calculation: Let's assume a page contains 20 post, and average of each post is about 1kb... So you are about right, about 15kb per page... Let's keep it up at 20kb per page...

Thus, I need to multiply my previous calculation by 20... so about 24 GB per month.... walah.... But I believe this is kinda upper limit more than lower limit since I don't believe there will be 2000 people accessing this forum every day with each pepole loading 20 pages.... My estimate is this forum consumes around 8-12 GB per month of traffic...

thanks for the correction...

cheers,
:beer:

Originally posted by alpha
are you comparing the speed of vBulletin on WHT to a phpBB on another board?

I always thought vB was fast... but then again, I've never seen a phpBB with the following stats:

Total threads: 4319
Total posts: 38099
Registered Members: 1767

Yes... I mean phpBB.com, not phpbulletin.com.

You raise an important point... For sure webhostingtalk.com has more threads, post, and members. In comparison, http://www.phpbb.com/phpBB/ only has 8425 posts and 941 members. However, the number of posts might not really matter since the posts are not saved in one humongoues continous file, but rather some old posts are archived. Anyway, vbulettin.com costs money and phpBB is free... So, that's why I need to know which one is really better... If they are about the same, then I will use phpBB.

cheers,
:beer:

Originally posted by alpha
are you comparing the speed of vBulletin on WHT to a phpBB on another board?

I always thought vB was fast... but then again, I've never seen a phpBB with the following stats:

Total threads: 4319
Total posts: 38099
Registered Members: 1767

I have and it is not good. phpBB bogs down when the post count goes above about 20000. They are beginning and optimazation of the code for the next version. I would imagine that when v2.0.0 comes out phpBB will rock.

but have you seen the upcoming and most anxiously awaited for forum script... vBulletin v2.0?

if you are a forum starter and you have a limited wallet, then of course go with phpBB... but if you own a moderately sized forum with multiple visitors visiting/posting on the forum at the same time... invest some money into vBulletin.

so what I recommend is... go with phpBB until your forum is getting to a moderately big size... then for more of a zest, get vbulletin v2. it definately has more user friendliness, customization, features, and the look.

Originally posted by alpha
but have you seen the upcoming and most anxiously awaited for forum script... vBulletin v2.0?


what is vBulleting written in? PHP? CGI/Perl?

cheers,
:beer:

php and mysql

i think same for phpBB :)

im no longer a new member!
well, hehe, im a junior guru wannabe??
geez... whats the next level and how many more posts do I need to achieve? :D

Originally posted by alpha
im no longer a new member!
well, hehe, im a junior guru wannabe??
geez... whats the next level and how many more posts do I need to achieve? :D

Oh, like me :p

Originally posted by alpha
php and mysql

i think same for phpBB

So.. what really makes vBulletin better than phpBB then?

Originally posted by alpha
geez... whats the next level and how many more posts do I need to achieve? :D

from this thread: http://webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?threadid=4616

New Member (Minimum Posts: 0)
Junior Guru Wannabe (Minimum Posts: 30)
WHT Addict (Minimum Posts: 100)
Junior Guru (Minimum Posts: 175)
Web Hosting Guru (Minimum Posts: 250)
Aspiring Evangelist (Minimum Posts: 350)
Web Hosting Evangelist (Minimum Posts: 450)
Web Hosting Master (Minimum Posts: 550)

So... let's have a race :)

PS: Gee what dow this talk have anything to do with the topic of the thread? ;)

cheers,
:beer:

sorry, i just got over-excited about my status change!

k..


So.. what really makes vBulletin better than phpBB then?


check vbulletin's own forums to see what kind of features come with vB2.0

http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?s=f207f74b2db95196d362e019833f3a23&forumid=1

so... like
more features - goto the url above
reliability - both should have same reliability, but i think with vBulletin's long beta sessions and such, it would have more error-checking and robustness... and also i'll take Marty's word for it that phpBB doesn't do too well when handling more then 20000 posts (but she also said this might be changing in next version of phpBB)
more bug-proof - since there are so many vBulletin enthusiasts (as you can see at vB's own forum)... more then enough people with huge forums are willing to beta test.. this is how those Jelsoft boys kill those nasty bugs that appear
credibility - phpBB is vBulletin's younger sister (not really, but you know what i mean)... so vB has more experience and therefore more credibility

im no way putting down phpBB... im planning to use that myself in a future support board if my funds are limited. as i said before, phpBB is a great free alternative for people who are just starting a forum/message board on their site.... but with the currently phpBB version, i doubt it can handle any more then a couple thousand without being a resource hog...

The bandwidth for the month of Feb is likely to come to 12-15gb, and we've even scrapped the graphic logo. I was quite suprised myself when I had the tools to see how much bandwidth was being used, before I would have predicted about 3gb.

Matt, how many page views do you get per day? I'm curious about how the bandwidth of vB compares with that of WebCrossing, the forum softare we use. In January our mimf.com website had 292,632 page views, and ate 7,039 Mbytes.

(Figures in parentheses refer to the 7 days to 09-Feb-2001 03:23).
Successful requests: 1,085,680 (963,528)
Average successful requests per day: 131,797 (137,646)
Successful requests for pages: 13,694 (11,864)
Average successful requests for pages per day: 1,662 (1,694)
Failed requests: 716 (576)
Redirected requests: 10,733 (10,434)
Distinct files requested: 13,240 (11,960)
Distinct hosts served: 4,979 (4,420)
Data transferred: 4.048 Gbytes (3.599 Gbytes)
Average data transferred per day: 503.212 Mbytes (526.491 Mbytes)


I hope that helps.

Web Hosting Guru (Minimum Posts: 250)


Jeez, then I almost become Web Hosting Guru, but don't know anything about host :D. Only non-sense posts :D. Better to give me a custom title, peharps? :D

Originally posted by alpha
and also i'll take Marty's word for it that phpBB doesn't do too well when handling more then 20000 posts (but she also said this might be changing in next version of phpBB)

Dang it!! Now I am having the same problem that Daniel was having. I am a HE. Have been all my life.

As for this comment about the speed of phpBB with a large number of posts. That came straight from the developer. It is not my opinion but his own statement. phpBB is great if you are running a small volume board, but for a board with traffic like WHT I would invest in vBulletin. The phpBB development crew just release v1.2.0 today that is a group of bug fixes and some feature enhancements, so they are beginning now a rewrite and optimization to overcome the traffic issue. I think v2.0.0 will probably be awesome, but will not make it out until late summer. Hopefully sooner, but that is my estimation.

What Marty ?? you are a HE !!!

damm, I only bought Kbase from you because I tought I would have a chance of scoring .. gimme my $$$ back :D

phpBB is great if you are running a small volume board, but for a board with traffic like WHT I would invest in vBulletin. The phpBB development crew just release v1.2.0 today that is a group of bug fixes and some feature enhancements, so they are beginning now a rewrite and optimization to overcome the traffic issue. I think v2.0.0 will probably be awesome, but will not make it out until late summer. Hopefully sooner, but that is my estimation.

That's perfect... Use phpBB v1.2.0, build a traffic, once you get enough posts, upgrate to v2.0.0 late summer... All this is free! :)

cheers,
:beer:

Here's a question for you forum folks out there...

Having a high-traffic forum is great, but how do you make money from it? or even make enough to pay for the hosting?

What I find with vB-style boards is that "hide" the other sections of the web site; many users then come straight to the boards and don't visit other parts of the site which may be what your business model is based around (even if it's banners). I have a forum at http://forums.bluemango.ca/coupons/ which is clearly integrated into the site and always presents the user with a prominent navigation menu for the rest of the site. As a result, my visitors aren't "locked in" to the forums (well, maybe they are right now since the rest of the site hasn't been updated for months. :( ).

So back to the question... Is there any money in hosting a forum-centric Web site?

I hope that helps.
Thanks, Matt. It looks like vB eats lots more bandwidth than WebCrossing, and by a rather large percentage. I admit, I'm surprised.

Is there any money in hosting a forum-centric Web site?
Yes. Mine is supporting me, barely, working a 60-100hr week. It takes an enormous amount of work to run a forum well. Go to the Musical Instrument Makers Forum (http://www.mimf.com/cgi-bin/WebX) for a look at how we're making money. See also our ad rates page (http://www.mimf.com/ads.htm). If you have any questions, ask.


[Edited by Deb Suran on 02-09-2001 at 06:19 PM]

Originally posted by MattF

Average data transferred per day: 503.212 Mbytes (526.491 Mbytes)


Ouch!! 15 GB per month.... well, not to far away from my estimate, around 8-12 GB.... :)

cheers,
:beer:

Marty, I have to admit, I also thought you were a 'she' as well. I think my confusion comes from there being another Martie around here somewhere, who is a she (I think).

We're all 'its' on the net. Everyone thinks Chicken is a female thing as well, (see other thread).

In case anyone's interested in the new features and intricacies of vB2.0, head over to SitePoint's forums (http://www.sitepointforums.com) where Wayne is running the latest (stable) beta of vB2.0. There isn't too much difference and there are a lot of Wayne's PHP hacks that aren't available elsewhere.

Originally posted by Chicken
Marty, I have to admit, I also thought you were a 'she' as well. I think my confusion comes from there being another Martie around here somewhere, who is a she (I think).

We're all 'its' on the net. Everyone thinks Chicken is a female thing as well, (see other thread).

Chicken, I never thought you were female. Maybe I need to start a thread, on in each forum, with the subject line "Marty is a he and Martie is a she" just so things will be clear.

Besides, I think my wife would be upset if she found out I was a she.

Maybe I need to type more masculine.

And Carlos, sorry dude!!!

Yes

Chicken is confusing you with Martie from Hostcater (I actually tought SHE was a he as well)

And Martie , just teasing man ..

Originally posted by CRego3D
And Martie , just teasing man ..

Okay, Carlos, Let's try this one more time. Repeat after me, "Martie is a she, Marty is a he....Martie is a she, Marty is a he....Martie is a she, Marty is a he....Martie is a she, Marty is a he...."

Boy, I hope this is straight now!:)

Disclaimer: Please read this with the humor that is intended.

Originally posted by Chicken
We're all 'its' on the net. Everyone thinks Chicken is a female thing as well, (see other thread).

So the bit in the 'other thread' is true then Chicken..??

'Its'...?? hmmmm...

Actually, how do you tell if a chicken is a hen or a rooster..? I suppose you're not too worried about that anyway, eh Chicken? :)

Originally posted by CRego3D
Yes

Chicken is confusing you with Martie from Hostcater (I actually tought SHE was a he as well)

And Martie , just teasing man ..


LOL...yep, this is the she.I run HostCaters.com..and the woman on the front page is not me! Ive had recent questions about that. Most people just assume Im male.
Ive had more conversations about my name this past year (2000) than ever before!
but just to clarify
Martie=female
Marty=male
hehe.

Originally posted by Marty
Originally posted by CRego3D
And Martie , just teasing man ..

Okay, Carlos, Let's try this one more time. Repeat after me, "Martie is a she, Marty is a he....Martie is a she, Marty is a he....Martie is a she, Marty is a he....Martie is a she, Marty is a he...."

Boy, I hope this is straight now!:)

Disclaimer: Please read this with the humor that is intended.


Marty...Nice to meet ya, by the way! LOL!

Originally posted by Marty
Okay, Carlos, Let's try this one more time. Repeat after me, "Martie is a she, Marty is a he....Martie is a she, Marty is a he....Martie is a she, Marty is a he....Martie is a she, Marty is a he...."

Boy, I hope this is straight now!:)

Disclaimer: Please read this with the humor that is intended.

I missed that. Would you repeat it please? ;)

Would that make Martyie or Martiey a she/he? :D

Hey Martie, this is Marty. Nice to meet you too. Maybe we can get together on ICQ. That would be confusing.

Duster, Since nobody with names with either of those spellings are on this board, maybe we just don't worry about it.:D

I got it now! I thought evryone was going mad around here.

Marty is a he..Martie is a she...

No no it's the other way round, right?? :)

Maybe we should change our usernames to MartSHE and MartHE. :)

LOL.... or I could ban BC for trying to start up trouble again? Of course he can un-ban himself... (but t'would stop his reign of terror momentarily).

juuuuuuuust kidding ya' BC :)

heyyyyyyyyy... now why can't *I* post? *scratches head*

Originally posted by Chicken
LOL.... or I could ban BC for trying to start up trouble again? Of course he can un-ban himself... (but t'would stop his reign of terror momentarily).

juuuuuuuust kidding ya' BC :)

heyyyyyyyyy... now why can't *I* post? *scratches head*

"Anything you can do, I can do better!" :D