First post here, please go easy on me :)

I was referred here from ARS Technica OpenForums. I came across Hostrocket.com on that site when I was looking for a webhost. Here is what I would like to do:

Im a graphics artist, using programs like 3dsmax, A/W Maya, Photoshop etc. Primarily wallpapers, but also misc work, maybe a few animations, tutorials, resources, and forums.

Now, for the forums I have chosen IkonBoard V3. Its currently in beta being worked on but should come out soon. I've been using UBB for while, and while its a great software, IB has many and more of the features, and its free, so thats a big plus. If I make any money off my site (via banners or something), maybe I can plunge the $250 non-expiring fee for UBB, but not anytime soon.

Well anyway, Hostrocket.com seems very nice. I plan to sign up in about 2 weeks, for the economy plan. It has alot to offer, not to mention the cool control panel too! That should make administration a tad easier for me.

I did a search of threads regarding HR, and saw alot of good, some bad etc. Nothing too surprising, no webhost can be perfect. But I have some questions and I hope HR customers and staff can possibly answer them for me:

1)The Economy Plan has 10gb of transfer a month right? Now, being a wallpaper site, plus Forums, would it run out fast, depending on how popular my site may be? Say I get 100-500 visits a day. If I go over my GB limit, how much would it cost, and would there be anyway to make sure the site wouldnt cross 10gb a month? And what about forums? I dont anticipate the traffic on my forums like say this board or ARSTechnica gets on a daily basis, but what would performance be if I got a lot of ppl visiting my site and using the forums?

2)With the subdomain feature (which I find very cool), could I create a subdomain, and install my forums under it? Say forums.mysitename.com? I've never done this so if its a dumb question sorry :)

3)Unlimited POP3 email accounts. Could I actually make a feature on my site, to offer free email accounts for visitors? Would that affect monthly gb transfers, or could I do it at all? How is HR when it comes to their email service?

4)lastly, whats this VDI thing I keep hearing about. I hear its great, I hear its bad, and I just end up getting confused :)

Thanks for any reply, answers are most appreciated! :)

Hi,
HostRocket is a host that frequents this forum. You won't go wrong with them.
To estimate your bandwidth requirements, it helps to know the average file size your users would be downloading. Using your estimate of 100-500 visits a day, however, I think you would be OK with 10 gigs a month.
We've also taken a look at IkonBoard3 and we are awaiting the release of version 3. It looks like a great board. The price is right, too ;) You won't have any trouble running IkonBoard on HostRocket's servers. As an alternative, take a look at http://www.phpbb.com
Giving free email accounts using your main account can become a major hassle, IMHO. It would be easier to start an account with Bigmailbox or Everyone.net and let HostRocket make the required MX record changes for you. This depends, of course, on the number of email accounts you wish to give out. But, with more than 25 accounts, I'd leave it to a free email service.
VDI is a NOC that many hosts here use, including HostRocket. VDI is improving their infrastructure and hopefully will leave their problems behind :)

Regards,

Thanks for the info. "it helps to know the average file size your users would be downloading".

Well I'd like to do wallpapers ranging from 1024x768-1600x1200 (if I can render the damn scenes and NOT have 3dsmax, Maya or Vue crash on me). So I expect 1024x768 images to be about 150kb, and 1600x1200 to be a max of maybe 250-350k depending on quality of compression etc. Thats about it. I would like to upload my own textures, programs (if I can create any), Shaders and Icons, maybe skins etc, but I dont plan on having anything bigger than 1mb to download.

Hi,
With file sizes of 150k, you would probably be OK with 10 gig to start. Just make sure you use thumbnails of your wallpapers to keep transfer to a minimum.
With some growth of your site, and the resulting advertising revenue, I think you'll do just fine :)
Keep in mind though, a site that is routinely using 10 to 15 gigs a month of transfer may not be suited for a shared hosting account. Your mileage may, of course, vary :)

Regards,