Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Web Hosting : I need some advice

[RagnarokBattle]

Well, first off I love WHT, amazing. Ok on to the advice that I am seeking. I currently own a game fan forum that is know worldwide and get about 2 million hits per week. I am currently hosted through GoDaddy, and have had the problem of all problems. One day I tried to go to the site, and boom it was not there. So I logged into FTP and all my files just vanished. I have been with GoDaddy for about 4 months, and before that I was with a small mom and pop host that I loved, but they went out of business. I contacted GoDaddy about this problem, and they insisted that I got “hacked” and there was nothing they could do about it. So I asked them to take a look at the server logs, and well they told me to do that I would need a court subpoena to do so, and well I know that doing that would be almost practically impossible. So, I have a database backup and I am ready to move. So that’s where the advice comes in hand. I am looking for a host that can handle these forums. We have about 6,000 members and a large amount of posts. The database itself is almost 50 MB. I have looked into many hosts, such as Servage.net, Yahoo!, and other hosts. But from what I have read on the WHT forums, is that these hosts really do not have a good reputation. So I am asking for recommendations for shared hosting and such like that. I am not looking for offers, just a host that you know is reliable and could handle my needs.

[Lubby]

If you have a large forum you may want to look into VPS or a Dedicated Server. If you have to many concurrent users you will likely break a lot of companies terms of service. When you are looking into hosting companies be sure to read lots about that.

I would suggest either way to contact the host and make sure there will be no problems.

[Tina J]

2 million hits per week on a forum site is definitely private dedicated (managed) server worthy. You were smart and kept a backup of your database. Once you find a decent host, make sure you are also running a secure and latest version of your forum software.

--Tina

[RagnarokBattle]

I agree that it is worthy of a dedicated server. But as of now we are a donate driven site, so we really do not have the extra cash to throw into a dedicated server, let alone a managed dedicated server. We use to have one, but could not afford it.



We did Google AdSense for a while, but that’s another whole different story.

[Tina J]

Please don't take this the wrong way, but if you know you need a dedicated server...but can't afford one...what kind of advice are you looking for here?

--Tina

[RagnarokBattle]

Well I never said I needed one, I just agreed. I could run this on a shared plan, but I don't really know much about hosting, and a VPS to me sounds like a good idea, but it is unknown territory. If I can in theory with these companies get the amount of band width a dedicated server has, then why throw that kind of money into a dedicated server?

[ldcdc]

If I can in theory with these companies get the amount of band width a dedicated server has, then why throw that kind of money into a dedicated server?

Because there's more than just bandwidth and disk space to a server. Though not mentioned in the hosting package's specifications, your site will also be using CPU power and internal memory. Busy forums tend to use a lot of these, sometimes to the point of bogging down the server, which is why you'll probably soon find yourself subject to the "resources abuse" clause.

We did Google AdSense for a while, but that’s another whole different story.

It was a good idea. Great projects and communities do need $$$ to exist. Selling advertising space can be a solution that doesn't require money out of your visitors' or members' pockets.

[RagnarokBattle]

Say if I were to get a VPS, do they run like a dedicated server, but only with a shared processor and memory and such. So how is a VPS differ from a shared plan, if I am sharing a server with other people. There is a limit to a shared hosting server, but there is also a limit to VPS's? I guess it all depends on the seller of the VPS.....

[ibda12u]

With a VPS, the generally split the processor and memory up between the other users. if there are 4 people on a VPS, they all get only 25% of the CPU usage, and memory etc.. with a shared host, the resources go to whichever site is requiring it. So if some site for some reason decides to use 90% of the CPU, it gets it, and the other sites suffer. On a VPS, its divided up, and that's all you can get.