Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Web Hosting : What sort of hosting do I need?

[aaroncampbell]

Ok, we are looking at launching our new site soon. It's more of a web-app than a web-site. It allows truck dispatchers to track loads etc. Through most of the design phase, we've been on shared hosting, with www.powweb.com. I really do think they are a good company, but they are experiencing what I would consider 'growing pains' (change over to clusters, etc.), and it seems to be causing downtime. When customers start signing up, and paying for our service, they aren't going to want to hear that we had downtime because I'm with a hosting company that "I like" so I need to do something. Here are the challenges:
#1) The application is php5. Is uses all the new php5 OOP, so I MUST have php5.
#2) It also uses mysql. One main db, and the one additional db PER customer that signs up. I will potentially need hundreds of db's, and the mysql must be 4.1+. Also, because creating a new user account requires setting up a new db, with a new db user, etc...It would be nice to be able to make an interface for all this in my admin panel, so that administrators can do this without needing to know mysql.
#3) Because it is a PAID site, customers will expect that it never goes down (or at least rarely enough that when it goes down the second time...people aren't still complaining about the first time).
#4) I will obviously need to be able to do some sort of cron job to back up everyones' databases.

The easy stuff:
#1) It is NOT graphics intensive, does NOT stream any sound or video etc, so it does NOT use much bandwidth. The test run of the site, with 2 customers using it, uses between 600 and 750MB of bandwidth per month. However, considering we already have a list of people that want to sign up, this WILL go up, BUT even at 1000 customers...we'd need about 375000MB (375GB) of bandwidth per month.
#2) The site is NOT large. Due to the fact that it is not graphic intensive, the site is SMALL. The actual site (without DB's) is less than 50Mb. The main DB is about 10-20MB, and the user databases vary from about 1MB to about 10MB.


My first thought was "we don't need much bandwidth OR much space...shared hosting will work!" But then I've found out that finding a shared host with php5, and mysql4.1, AND good uptime is pretty hard. What do you guys think I need?

[aaroncampbell]

Hmm, I forgot a few minor things:
E-Mail: We really don't have a huge need for this YET, but we will in the the not-too-distant future. More and more truckers are getting on-board computers or laptops capably of sending/receiving E-Mail. It would be nice if we could offer this as a built-in mode of communication. I prefer that it be able to use IMAP, and not have a small limit on mailbox size...that can get annoying.

Preferences: I far prefer a linux system. BSD might be OK, but I'm not as familiar as I am with linux (especially the RHEL, Fedora, CentOS group). Windows is a no-no.

[dawhb]

If you need 375 gigs per month I suggest you to search for virtual private server or even to get your own managed server.

Best Regards
Dimitar

[The Napster]

I agree either VPS or a managed server solution.
With your own server you will have plenty of room for expansion etc.
However if you decide just do go with a host that offers 350Gb bandwith+ be careful they might be overselling.
Like said above if you have the money a manged server is the best choice and if you decide you dont use all the space you could maybe give or rent some space to your friends/family.
I trust you will make the right choice
Regards

[webair-gene]

My experience leads me to sugggest to you to go with a dedicated server (www.layeredtechnologies.com - could get one for $49 a month) or a VPS (www.ev1servers.com).

Both require some knowledge of linux, if you have none then I would suggest investing around $70 to have someone such as Rack911 / ServerWizards secure your server.

It seems like a hefty investment but a shared account will not accomplish what you need.

[The Napster]

ahhhh yes forgot to mention LT, there pretty decent tooo!

[aaroncampbell]

Ok, so it sounds like I need either Virtual Private or dedicated. If I go with dedicated, it'd be nice to have a facility near me right? I'm in Phoenix, AZ. After searching these forums, and doing a little research, I came up with only one nearby possibility: www.atjeu.com
Are they any good?

Other than that, I found a couple places that do decent co-lo.

If I were to share some of my space/bandwidth with a few other people, should I be looking at getting something with cPanel on it?
It looks like atjeu offers dedicated servers starting at $99/mo, and if you order a server that's more than $110/mo, you can get cpanel for $19/mo. OR you can get a server that has cpanel included in the price: http://atjeu.com/cpanel.html for about $149/mo

Can anyone tell me if there is a difference between 600GB of Xfer and 600GB of "premuim" Xfer? It looks like atjeu's cpanel servers offer 'premium' whereas the rest of the dedicated servers in that price-range do NOT offer the 'premuim'.

Sorry for all the questions, but All I've ever done is host my own site off a centos box from home, or shared hosting. This is pretty new to me.

[aaroncampbell]

Also, if you go to dedicated, what do you do for name servers? I've never set up a DNS server...I've always just input the DNS servers of my webhost...

[nulled]

Something with Unlimited Bandwidth is what I would go for.

[The Napster]

Originally posted by nulled
Something with Unlimited Bandwidth is what I would go for.

New to hosting i guess!

[slice16]

i would recommend a dedicated, maybe managed. a vps in my opinion doesnt harnes the power for many users.

as for DNS, if you go for a managed, they would set everything up for you, if not, cpanel/whm has a very easy and straight forward method.

nulled... unlimited bandwidth is IMPOSSIBLE. any company that say they offer it are lying.

[Shaw Networks]

You could also try putting up your hosting requirements at HostVoice.com, you'll definitely get a response there.

[The Napster]

Originally posted by slice16
i would recommend a dedicated, maybe managed. a vps in my opinion doesnt harnes the power for many users.

as for DNS, if you go for a managed, they would set everything up for you, if not, cpanel/whm has a very easy and straight forward method.

nulled... unlimited bandwidth is IMPOSSIBLE. any company that say they offer it are lying.

What a wise choice that would be but managed servers cost
So u gotta budget for it

[slice16]

true true... if you were to go for a unmanaged solution, with cpanel, and your account on WHT, you would be able to get everything done... or maybe you could start with a VPS, and see how that goes

[The Napster]

Myself im not too sure about VPS just dont seem to like it

A manager server would be the best