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  1. #1

    what kind of dedicated for my specs

    Hello,

    I've used shared hosting for the last 10 years or so. Now, my site has grown bigger and I need better performance. Let me explain to you my site needs so you can tell me if shared hosting will do or if I need to upgrade to VPS or dedicated server (not sure I have money for the latter).

    My site is based on a forum and a gallery, it has a large mysql db (around 300MB), about 10GB of files and averages 2500 visitors a day producing 100 GB of traffic per month.

    I have struggled with poor performance on shared hosting, and even got kicked out once because even though it was fully unmetered "my sql db was causing too much load on their server".

    So my question is, for a site of this kind what are my needs? A good shared hosting? Will a VPS do and with what RAM/CPU specs?

    Thank you,
    Daniel

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Reading, UK
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    Hi Daniel,

    Sounds like a low spec dedi, or a higher spec VPS should be fine for you. Do you know the numbers for co-current visitors?
    This is the thing that causes the most strain on the server, due to the database use.
    Toby
    Xeo Solutions - Discovering Innovation
    Managed Service Provider & Cloud Hosting | Launching Late August 2019

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
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    Hyderabad India
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    Just a core2duo 4gb 2x80gb disk should be fine for you, or a good vps

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by Toby H View Post
    Hi Daniel,

    Sounds like a low spec dedi, or a higher spec VPS should be fine for you. Do you know the numbers for co-current visitors?
    This is the thing that causes the most strain on the server, due to the database use.
    I do not know the number of concurrent visitors but I know my site ha a regional user base so there are peak times and off-peak times. In peak-times there are maybe 50 or more users browsing the forum and sometimes even more.

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by Krazy View Post
    Just a core2duo 4gb 2x80gb disk should be fine for you, or a good vps
    What exactly do you define as good VPS?

  6. #6
    Join Date
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    You should be fine on a VPS with around 1 - 2GB RAM, depending on how fast your user-base is expanding.

    We are hosting a vbulletin forum that has seen over 1000 users active at one time, on a server of similar spec to that suggested by Krazy, although they have now outgrown this platform and are in the process of upgrading to a far more powerful server.
    Toby
    Xeo Solutions - Discovering Innovation
    Managed Service Provider & Cloud Hosting | Launching Late August 2019

  7. #7
    Join Date
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    I mean a vps which actually server has powerful cpu and allowing the customer to use full burst of cpu, some or most will throttle each vps to certain amount of cpu clock only. SAS drives will help a lot but there are less people who use this sort. Obviously non oversold with 1gb ram

    Am not sure if intel atom based server can do the purpose as it basically pretty low end cpu.

  8. #8
    Join Date
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    Quote Originally Posted by dnlofcourse View Post
    What exactly do you define as good VPS?
    That would depend on your needs.

    Do you know how to look after your own server? If not you need a managed solution. The extra money is well worth it to avoid the hassle of finding out that your host can't help when something goes wrong.

    Make sure you go with a provider that is accountable, go and find out more about companies that fit your needs, then research their reputations and find some reviews of their services. Being that I've just launched a new company maybe that is not the right advice for me to be giving out, but it is the best advice

    How critical is your uptime? is 100% a must? you're going to need to look at some of the more expensive providers, rather than the budget guys then.

    There are a lot of factors to look at, your best bet is to find a provider that will be upfront with you and look at your current set up and explain to you what is best for your resource needs, and knowledge level.
    Toby
    Xeo Solutions - Discovering Innovation
    Managed Service Provider & Cloud Hosting | Launching Late August 2019

  9. #9
    hostgator has some fully managed vps with 1.13 GHx CPU and 768 MB RAM for $50/month. Do you think it's up to the task?

  10. #10
    Join Date
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    What does hostgator's 'Fully Managed' service consist of?

    Be very careful as this tends to be different at every supplier - ask 10 companies, expect 10 different explanations
    Toby
    Xeo Solutions - Discovering Innovation
    Managed Service Provider & Cloud Hosting | Launching Late August 2019

  11. #11
    Join Date
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    Here is HG's answer to that question

    This means that we can provide technical support for your account upon your request. And we monitor the VPS boxes to make sure that they stay online and operate smoothly. Though we cannot take action on your particular account untill requested by the owner
    This is an example of non-proactive service. If your VPS goes down in the middle of the night due to an Apache or MySQL Lock-out for example (this can happen a lot on a busy forum) they will either be unaware, or unable to do anything, until you report the problem.

    A Pro-active provider will be aware of the issue and their support team will log into your server, restart the services as required, and contact you to notify you of the issue. The cost difference between these two service levels is considerable though.
    Last edited by Toby H; 03-10-2010 at 11:38 AM. Reason: Typing error.
    Toby
    Xeo Solutions - Discovering Innovation
    Managed Service Provider & Cloud Hosting | Launching Late August 2019

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by Toby H View Post
    Here is HG's answer to that question



    This is an example of non-proactive service. If your VPS goes down in the middle of the night due to an Apache or MySQL Lock-out for example (this can happen a lot on a busy forum) they will either be unaware, or unable to do anything, until you report the problem.

    A Pro-active provider will be aware of the issue and their support team will log into your server, restart the services as required, and contact you to notify you of the issue. The cost difference between these two service levels is considerable though.
    Actually, I was on the hostgaror support chat asking them questions about it and I realized the same thing you are saying. In sort, I monitor they fix. I'm pretty ok with this for the price. I understand I would go double the price and more for a fully monitored service?

    Regarding the technical stuff... Is the amount of CPU/RAM I stated up to the task? I am asking because so far shared hosting servers had been a black box to me, never really knew how many resources I was taking.

  13. #13
    Join Date
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    Yes you probably would be looking at around double the price, possibly more than that.

    Without knowing all the numbers, it is hard to be sure that you are going to the right amount of CPU/MEM. I would say you probably want at least 1GB, but it is hard to say regarding CPU, it might be an idea to ask your current host for the information they have, they should be happy to give you this.
    Toby
    Xeo Solutions - Discovering Innovation
    Managed Service Provider & Cloud Hosting | Launching Late August 2019

  14. #14
    So, if the specs are not up to the task (such as RAM) it means slow response or failed requests?

  15. #15
    Join Date
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    Yes, your site would run slowly, and potentially, mostly with RAM, if it runs out of RAM your server will have a 'Kernel Panic' and crash. This causes a risk of data corruption, and is therefore a very bad thing - other than the obvious problem of the downtime.

    This is not such an issue with shared hosting as the host normally monitors the server and takes action before things get out of hand. With your own VPS, unless you have that level of monitoring in place, (there are many services that provide this) you will not be able to prevent this problem except my making sure you have enough resources available at all times.
    Toby
    Xeo Solutions - Discovering Innovation
    Managed Service Provider & Cloud Hosting | Launching Late August 2019

  16. #16
    If I get a partially managed VPS and combine it with a third-party server-monitoring service, could this be a good option? I've seen websited that monitor your site every 5 minutes or so.

  17. #17
    Join Date
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    This would work, yes Personally I would recommend www.wormly.com due to their health monitoring, multiple locations and SMS alerts.
    Toby
    Xeo Solutions - Discovering Innovation
    Managed Service Provider & Cloud Hosting | Launching Late August 2019

  18. #18
    Any cheaper options? I am only running one site at one server and their minimum plan covers 4 servers @ $19/month

  19. #19
    http://www.montastic.com/ I have used them in the past.

  20. #20
    Any comments on the essential VPS package by servint for my task?

    http://www.servint.net/vps-featuresandupgrades.php

  21. #21
    Join Date
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    Quote Originally Posted by dnlofcourse View Post
    I have struggled with poor performance on shared hosting, and even got kicked out once because even though it was fully unmetered "my sql db was causing too much load on their server".
    It may be the application code that's the problem.

    What forum software are you running. what version is it, and what is the database setup you are using (is the database server software on the same hardware as the web server?)

  22. #22
    it's a phpbb latest version forum. all apache, php and mysql run on the same machine.

  23. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by dnlofcourse View Post
    it's a phpbb latest version forum. all apache, php and mysql run on the same machine.
    Mmm; phpBB supports SQLite as well as MySQL. But I've no idea if that would make much difference.

  24. #24
    Quote Originally Posted by dnlofcourse View Post
    Any comments on the essential VPS package by servint for my task?

    http://www.servint.net/vps-featuresandupgrades.php
    In any case, do you think that a VPS of this power will suffice?

  25. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by dnlofcourse View Post
    In any case, do you think that a VPS of this power will suffice?
    I don't know.

    As I don't know the cause of the performance problems, I can't tell what would fix it.

    But it's worth reviewing your web pages to see if the load they generate can be lightened. Can you give the URL of the site? ( I know people often prefer not to.)

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