Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Web Hosting : Best approach to avoiding downtime

[NickA]

I manage a medium ecommerce site that started on a shared hosting account and recently moved to a VPS account. I thought the more expensive service would eliminate large downtime events, but two days ago the site was unavailable for 2.5 hours while the VPS host node was restarted and fsck'ed.

What's the best approach to avoiding downtime? Do big-name hosts like Rackspace, etc. also experience downtime like this?

[PremiumHost]

You can monitor the website.
Whenever there's a downtime alert, log into your VPS and check the problem.
Some websites provide free monitoring services:
www.siteuptime.com
www.uppanel.com
The best approach to avoid downtime, you have to consider the source of downtime
If your website requires too much cpu/ram usage and makes the VPS overload, you should upgrade to a dedicated server.

[ScottJ]

The best method is to have your site mirrored on to two servers.

[mripguru]

Originally Posted by NickA

I manage a medium ecommerce site that started on a shared hosting account and recently moved to a VPS account. I thought the more expensive service would eliminate large downtime events, but two days ago the site was unavailable for 2.5 hours while the VPS host node was restarted and fsck'ed.

What's the best approach to avoiding downtime? Do big-name hosts like Rackspace, etc. also experience downtime like this?

Rackspace has one of the better networks around (IMHO), but they charge way too much for what they offer. I'd check out CartikaHosting.com for your needs - they provide a top notch managed service set to keep your server humming along

[izoka]

As has been suggested, a mirrored solution would be your best bet. You need a backup that you can turn on quickly in case your primary server goes down. There are many different ways to accomplish this.

While it may be more expensive for you, I would indeed recommend going with a top-notch company like Rackspace. They can help you out with your needs and as mripguru said, they have one of the best solutions out there.

Aside from that....unfortunately, downtime cannot be completely removed. However, two hours is indeed ridiculous. I think you are making the right move by searching for a new provider.

[NickA]

Thanks for the many helpful replies. Where can I learn more about mirrored hosting setups? I've been told by my current host that having a seperate account wouldn't help because the DNS would take time to propagate. I always figured there was some way to repoint the IP address within their network.

[David]

NickA,

The way it would 'work' is you would have two DNS servers.
Each would reference an alternate IP within their configuration -- i.e. pointing your site to a new location via A entry.

Now it wouldn't function if you "set it up" each time the site went down but if you have it setup around-the-clock it would function fine. It would also double as a load balancing solution but this only works if you have a static site.

Mysql content can't be mirrored as easily.
Downtime is unavoidable -- it's going to occur: what really matters is how your host communicates with you.

Are they reactive or proactive? Are they reassuring you that this won't reoccur again; if so what are they doing to remedy it?

Note: The server FSCK'ing isn't out of the ordinary -- the question is why did it go down in the first place? I also think you need to find a reliable company rather than a more expensive solution each time.