Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 25 of 28
  1. #1

    Question Is asking a shared webhost (Hostgator) to handle the occasional Digg effect too much?

    Hi, im having a bit of a problem. I currently use hostgator as my webhost with the 75GB month plan.

    In general I guess things have been alright but twice in the last month my site has either crashed and burned or was suspended because a story of mine made the front page of Digg.com which can send an enormous amount of sudden traffic to your site. Now i only use about 30% of my monthly bandwidth so moving to a semi-dedicated makes no sense for a possible 1 day/month extreme traffic day that may not even happen. So Im wondering is asking your webhost to handle this too much? Anyone have any idea's of a solution that isnt going to cost me 8X as much a month?

    My account was suspended today for this but they never sent me any emails or anything. Nobody I talked to could help me. I was getting a 403 instead of account suspended error. I told them it looks like my account was suspended but they kept telling me it wasnt. Finally the 3rd person i spoke with realized this he said he would escalate it to the admin.

    I sent a ticket in 2-1/2 hours ago and still havent heard anything from anyone. No emails at all. My site has been down for probably 8 hours now. I can understand if there are issues effecting other users but I wish there was some type of communication with me at least letting me know whats going on.

    Am I expecting too much of hostgator?


    chimera
    Last edited by MG10; 10-25-2006 at 06:59 PM.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    3,590
    Hi

    I recommend looking at a VPS as this is the best for you! try looking at www.powervps.com
    The Hosting Heroes Ltd - over 20 years in the UK hosting industry.
    Website Hosting | Reseller Hosting | Cloud VPS Servers | Dedicated Servers | VPS Reseller for WHMCS
    www.thehostingheroes.com

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2001
    Location
    West Michigan, USA
    Posts
    9,687
    Its not about bandwidth, its about server resources. If your site gets listed on Digg or gets Slashdotted, it puts an unreasonable load on the shared server. In my opinion, your host should not be expected to handle that kind of DoS attack (yes, that's basically what it is - a legitimate DoS).

    --Tina
    ||| 99.999% Uptime SLA!!!
    Plenty of space and bandwidth to fit your needs!
    www.AEIandYou.com - - (WP Friendly - Premium Reseller Hosting and Cheap Dedicated Servers)

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    3,590
    Quote Originally Posted by AH-Tina
    Its not about bandwidth, its about server resources. If your site gets listed on Digg or gets Slashdotted, it puts an unreasonable load on the shared server. In my opinion, your host should not be expected to handle that kind of DoS attack (yes, that's basically what it is - a legitimate DoS).

    --Tina
    Quite right Tina, nicely worded
    The Hosting Heroes Ltd - over 20 years in the UK hosting industry.
    Website Hosting | Reseller Hosting | Cloud VPS Servers | Dedicated Servers | VPS Reseller for WHMCS
    www.thehostingheroes.com

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    667
    I agree, you can't expect your host to handle that type of extra traffic. IF you already have those resources allocated to you then fine. Your basically asking your host to give you free resources and also make sure it doesn't effect anyone else on the same server.
    Jim - 2Macs H-Sphere Web Hosting
    Since 2001 - H-Sphere Clustered Shared Linux & Windows Hosting
    Fully Managed Services| Custom Web Designs
    Unconditional, 30 Day Money back Guarantee!

  6. #6
    I see that I guess the answer is yes. So is it pretty much agreed that a VPS would probably be my best solution? Also with a VPS if I have a major problem or the server crashed would a VPS account include support if i need it? Im ok on linux with scripts and web stuff but certainly no techie if something major goes wrong.

    Thanks for everyones input

    chimera

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    3,590
    yep powervps have 24x7 support, i use them for testing purposes on VPS, and i must say their 10/10
    The Hosting Heroes Ltd - over 20 years in the UK hosting industry.
    Website Hosting | Reseller Hosting | Cloud VPS Servers | Dedicated Servers | VPS Reseller for WHMCS
    www.thehostingheroes.com

  8. #8
    Thanks CyberHostPro I will look into it. It doesn't appear they take PayPal thow.

    Someone finally did get back to me and said I was suspended because of too many http request. I guess you can't expect much for $10 a month. Now only if they could put my site back up in the meantime. : ( They are definatley in no rush to put it back up even thow the traffic has subsided.
    Last edited by MG10; 10-25-2006 at 08:30 PM.

  9. #9
    Just get a VPS with a control panel installed on it. The server itself should be administered by the provider. The VPS will provide you with allotted processing power and bandwidth. It's like a step up from virtual hosting without going all the way to a dedicated server.
    Derek Raines
    Gigenet Communications - Chicago, IL

  10. #10
    I wish Hostgator offered this type of plan. I don't really feel like making the move to another host and even thow ive had a few issues, Hostagtor has been alright. Most problems have been minor.

  11. #11
    Most replies have been from hosts and maybe a "host-centric" point of view.

    From a consumer point of view, you should be able to expect a host to deliver what they offer--if you get traffic up to and not exceeding bandwidth limit, and you are not using intensive scripts, then you've done nothing wrong. Every TOS may have some fine print about server resources, but if those clauses don't reasonably match the kind of use suggested by the offered bandwidth etc., then the host is not being realistic.

    Other people would be affected if a server is overloaded--I know, that situation can't be allowed to continue, but it's also the host's ethical responsibility to deliver what's offered, as much as possible. How to do that, I leave to the host, whether it's better setup or just limiting the B/W offered.

    Getting shut down for a Digg is really lame--again, from a consumer viewpoint, and assuming that the spike is still within B/W limits, and I have no idea if it was or not in this case. I'm also not picking on HG--it could be any host, and by participating in this thread I am not "taking sides" or assuming that things happened a certain way or that this is representative of the typical case. I'm just commenting on general principles.

    I'm sure many hosts will disagree with the above, but I hope one thing should be agreed upon universally--an e-mail should go out every time an account is suspended. That should be the minimum. And a host should definitely help get the account back up.

    For a site using PHP or with a big landing page and using too many resources when traffic comes, a small flat-file substitute page might help.

    Or even a friendlier short message such as "(Site name) is getting a huge surge of traffic today, thank you and please try back tomorrow" would be better than "Account suspended" or "403"--and take the same amount of server resources to deliver, I assume?

    Finally, with HostGator remember the 24/7 live chat--it's very responsive! With that live 2-way communication, you may be able to get to the bottom of something faster when every minute counts.
    WebHostingScene.com - Find a web host, read tips and commentary, and keep up with hosting deals and trends

    SensibleHosts.com - Locate realistic hosting plans; avoid oversellers!

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Location
    EU - east side
    Posts
    21,920
    They have the semidedicated account, which is still shared hosting, but you only share the server with a couple of other customers. This means it should be relatively lightly loaded, and you'd be entitled to more CPU power than on a regular shared hosting account. Being a shared hosting environment though, you still risk suspension if the load your site puts on the server starts afecting the overall performance.

    A VPS separates you from the other accounts on the server, and you're quite safe from being suspended, but during peaks of traffic a VPS can succumb. (Easier to happen with the smaller VPSs, and since budget is an issue, I guess those are your target).

    Also with a VPS if I have a major problem or the server crashed would a VPS account include support if i need it?
    Sure, but within certain limits. Many VPSs are fully managed these days, but you should check the exact limitations of "managed".

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by Curry
    then the host is not being realistic.
    Unfortunately neither are many customers, especially those who don't know and
    don't care how these things go. They only care about getting this or that and their
    desired results based on how much they're willing to pay.

    As one saying goes, "cheap ain't good. Good ain't cheap."

    At least the OP's more realistic than others.

  14. #14
    Consider getting sponsored if your site actually needs to burst for large exposure. There will most definately be hosts who'd be willing to take you on for a nominal fee+sponsorship if you show that you get digged every now and then.

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by Dave Zan
    Unfortunately neither are many customers, especially those who don't know and don't care how these things go. They only care about getting this or that and their desired results based on how much they're willing to pay.
    But hosts are actually encouraging that exact attitude in customers with their unrealistic and often misleading advertising--and unlike the customers, they know the difference. Having that knowledge, hosts have some ethical responsibilities. Customers should be ethical too, but they can't be expected to know everything; if hosts want them to know more, they could always put some of that info up front--but it would spoil the advertising. (We offer 5 zillion petabytes bandwidth, but BTW, you'll be suspended long before you use .01% of that, for resource usage. We offer unlimited databases, but only a few connections at a time. We offer a huge library of instant-install scripts, but you'd better not use more than one or two!)
    WebHostingScene.com - Find a web host, read tips and commentary, and keep up with hosting deals and trends

    SensibleHosts.com - Locate realistic hosting plans; avoid oversellers!

  16. #16
    The hosts who do what you're saying, are the same hosts who put 500 customers on one box. Everyone agrees resources are finite and that it's important to monitor/maintain a good load/be realistic...but at the same time accomodating a burst in traffic or being flexible when a bit more of the CPU is utilized than the norm, is possible if you plan it out right and understand each client's usage.

  17. #17
    This is possible in a shared environment, but, it has to be the right shared environment - and it will certainly cost you more then what hostgator is charging you - you can expect to pay around $1/GB or more in a shared environment for this... The environment needs to be undersold in order to accomodate these bursts - and preferably clustered so that several servers share the tasks of serving up your website...

    Another option woud be trying MediaTemples Grid Computing model (yes, I hate the way they are marketing this) - however, in theory, they can accomodate these burts and they will bill you for the CPU overages you are using.

    However, what remains to be seen is if a VPS or a dedicated will be more cost effective for you vs paying these overages in CPU resources from MediaTemple. I imagine a dedicated or VPS will be more cost effective if you have several burst per month..
    www.cartika.com
    www.clusterlogics.com - You simply cannot run a hosting company without this software. Backups, Disaster Recovery, Big Data, Virtualization. 20 years of building software that solves your problems

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Dec 2002
    Location
    chica go go
    Posts
    11,876
    Depending on the resource intensity of your script, it could be too much. I managed to host a friend of mine who he was digged, and my server load barely rose above 0.45, but his code was of decent quality.

    For a shared host, it's probably too much.

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Posts
    771
    Quote Originally Posted by rohitj
    Everyone agrees resources are finite and that it's important to monitor/maintain a good load/be realistic...but at the same time accomodating a burst in traffic or being flexible when a bit more of the CPU is utilized than the norm, is possible if you plan it out right and understand each client's usage.
    Most hosts with shared accounts allow them to accommodate bursts in utilisation. How mcuh can be accommodated will depend on how much 'spare' resource is usually carried and, in turn, that will usually depend on how much is being paid. It will also depend on other customers usage at that time.

    You have a better chance of having a big burst accommodated if the server is really powerful (as well as with a lot of spare), so a VPS or cheap dedicated may not be a way of dealing with the situation since they will hit their limits relatively soon.

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Apr 2001
    Location
    Paradise
    Posts
    12,052
    From a consumer point of view, you should be able to expect a host to deliver what they offer--if you get traffic up to and not exceeding bandwidth limit, and you are not using intensive scripts, then you've done nothing wrong
    Probably that's your mistake, the site may be using excesive server resources, no matter of the traffic, also, a site listed in slashdot or digg can't be hosted on a shared enviroment (you know what the term slashdotted means, right?)
    Shared Web Hosting - Reseller Hosting - Semi-Dedicated Servers - SolusVM/XEN VPS
    LiteSpeed Powered - R1Soft Continuous Data Protection - 24/7 Chat/Email/Helpdesk Support
    Cpanel/WHM - Softaculous - R1soft Backup - Litespeed - Cloudlinux -Site Builder- SSH support - Account Migration
    DowntownHost LLC - In Business since 2001- West/Center/East USA - Netherlands - Singapore

  21. #21
    Join Date
    Sep 2000
    Location
    Alberta, Canada
    Posts
    3,146
    Quote Originally Posted by chimera11
    My account was suspended today for this but they never sent me any emails or anything. Nobody I talked to could help me. I was getting a 403 instead of account suspended error. I told them it looks like my account was suspended but they kept telling me it wasnt. Finally the 3rd person i spoke with realized this he said he would escalate it to the admin.

    I sent a ticket in 2-1/2 hours ago and still havent heard anything from anyone. No emails at all. My site has been down for probably 8 hours now. I can understand if there are issues effecting other users but I wish there was some type of communication with me at least letting me know whats going on.

    Am I expecting too much of hostgator?
    Not at all and to me, lack of contact from the Hoster would be the real issue.

    The reasons for interrupting a Client's Service can be many but at all times, when done purposely by the Hoster, good business would dictate giving the Client notice; what was done, why, and current options. This presumes though, that current Contact eMail address on file with the Hoster is correct and receiving eMails from Hoster is not a problem. One has to wonder as well, if a phone call has been made for faster resolution?
    PotentProducts.com - for all your Hosting needs
    Helping people Host, Create and Maintain their Web Site
    ServerAdmin Services also available

  22. #22
    Join Date
    Jun 2002
    Location
    Waco, TX
    Posts
    5,623
    My issue falls along these lines, we recently had a site hosted get dugg, and it used over 200GB of transfer a day for 3 days, now this costs even us quite a bit as it takes our 95% average up for the month. Yet the customer does not want to pay any overages. So it is a catch 22 for the hoster, if you keep it up or it just gets slammed with transfer, it can add up faster than the client ever expects, but ti still costs you have to cover your costs as well.

    Just another side of it

    Oh and I emailed the first day with a warning that they were currently using 10GB/every 5 minutes at that time. Never got any reply, send warning the next day they are already over monthly transfer and going to be having overages, send next day saying they are over limit highly, only a few days later do we hear/see anything form them.

  23. #23
    Quote Originally Posted by (Stephen)
    My issue falls along these lines, we recently had a site hosted get dugg, and it used over 200GB of transfer a day for 3 days, now this costs even us quite a bit as it takes our 95% average up for the month. Yet the customer does not want to pay any overages. So it is a catch 22 for the hoster, if you keep it up or it just gets slammed with transfer, it can add up faster than the client ever expects, but ti still costs you have to cover your costs as well.

    Just another side of it

    Oh and I emailed the first day with a warning that they were currently using 10GB/every 5 minutes at that time. Never got any reply, send warning the next day they are already over monthly transfer and going to be having overages, send next day saying they are over limit highly, only a few days later do we hear/see anything form them.
    This customer needs to upgrade - really no doubt about it. If they are over their plans allocation, not sure what else they would expect. They either need to pay overages if they think this will not happen again and is a 1 time occurance - or, if they feel this trend upwards will countinue, they need to upgrade to a dedicated environment (or maybe VPS)

    Always strange when customers do not want to pay for what they use... not sure what the "correct" way to handle this is - but, you obviously cannot allow them to utilize 100's of GB of transfer for free - not too mention your server resources, etc...

    As related to this thread - I think this is a little different - as the user has utilized all of the transfer they have purchased (and then some by the sounds of it). This thread is speaking to users getting suspended before they have utilized what they have purchased (which is really the downfall of overselling - as sometimes those resources that "no one ever uses" really do need to be used)

    Sounds like you have a great environment there to accomodate such things
    www.cartika.com
    www.clusterlogics.com - You simply cannot run a hosting company without this software. Backups, Disaster Recovery, Big Data, Virtualization. 20 years of building software that solves your problems

  24. #24
    Yeah, a VPS would be the way to go.

  25. #25
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Posts
    647
    There is a GoDaddy shared hosted site getting hammered to hell from the main page of Digg right now (comedian beat down). It slooowly loads every couple of refreshes. Incidentally, I ran the domain at Domain Tools and saw that the server is hosting around 3400 websites... now that is some serious overloading, so someone on HostGator may fare some better, but this should serve as some degree of indicator as to how well shared hosting works under a Digg load.

    If you look on one of the blogs posts the fellow was recently booted from MidPhase for being Diggified, and I'd about bet that there will be a new post in a few days after GoDaddy boots him too.

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •