Hi.

I'm really sorry if I'm duplicating a request here but I have done a few searches and couldn't find anything that fitted exactly with my request.

I currently run a website which is hosted with storminternet.co.uk and, while I can't fault their reliability, the (lack of) performance is undermining the usefulnes of the website.

Key features of the website are:
- completely MySQL/PHP driven so the host needs MySQL support and processor power :). Some of the MySQL queries are fairly complex and call upon multiple tables of large datasets.
- monthly bandwidth is much less of an issue than speed (if that's not an oxymoron) as the number of visitors is currently <250/day.
- most if not all of the visitors are from the UK

In terms of budget I would be willing to go £150+/year if the service was top quality.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated as summarising my requirements in a Google search is proving a little tricky :eek:

It may be good for you to look in the offers section and decide if you need a VPS or Reseller account with that many visitors if it does increase that may be the way to go.

I agree. Looking for a solution that is more dedicated and tailored towards your needs is probably a good idea. I'm sure you could even find a small dedicated server for a few dollars a month that would suit you just well.

Keep in mind, no matter who the host is, eventually if you're using a lot of resources, you will be asked to move to a higher-quality solution that is more on the dedicated side of things. Especially if you require that much processing power, even though the views aren't all that high.

Matt

Thanks for the replies.

Web hosting is by no means my area of expertise which is why I've shyed away from going for anything too customisable.

A quick question with going down the dedicated route as this is something I have considered. As bandwidth is not such an issue anyway would this be a good way of boosting MySQL performance (which I assume to be entirely dependant on the amount of CPU time/speed of CPU)?

Yes, it is very possible to get better MySQL performance out of a dedicated box. As you are coming from a shared facility, you don't have many options as to how many people are put on the same server. With your own box, MySQL is dedicated to what ever you put on it. So yes, to a degree things will be faster depending on how many accounts are on the current server you are on (and how many of them actually utilize their ability to use MySQL).

Also, a major factor in MySQL and server performance is available RAM and Processor power. A good Dual-Core Opteron server with 2 gigs ram would be way overkill for what you are looking into. You could probably get away with a P4 server and two gigs ram without running into any major performance issues. Although, on the other hand, if you expect an increase in visits in a short amount of time (or you manage to hit Digg or Stumbleupon), You might want to opt for the larger server.

I highly recommend Softlayer, as I currently run multiple servers from both of their datacenter locations between Dallas Texas and Seattle, Washington. Their prices start at $139/month for a Dual Core Opteron server with a 250 gig hard drive and 1 gig ram, which is easily upgradable in the future.

They also offer server management tickets at $3/ticket rather than charging a bloated monthly price.

Matt