Hardware needed for ~500 users

[RedWingFan]

Would a single multi-CPU and/or multi-core dedicated server be able to handle vB traffic of about 350-430 users online? We have:

Threads: 110,036, Posts: 2,165,722, Members: 12,379

Our peak so far is about 430 users, but we average around 350 during our busy periods mid-day.

We're looking at various hosting options and I'm just curious as to what we could still run on a single box, vs. having to split it out onto two Celeron :( servers currently.

We're funded by donations, and funding is short. The host I use is great in terms of support (been with them for 10 years), but has no hardware options beyond a P4 in their top system. If we could get by on a single box for a year or so, that'd be good. Otherwise we just may bite the bullet, stay where we're at and run it on two servers as we are now. (And it does run quite well...just trying to save money, that's all.)

[jason|xoxide]

What's your budget?

If you're looking to run ~400 users with a 900 second cookie on a clean board then you shouldn't have any problems with a dual-core P4 and 2GB of RAM as long as it's well optimized. That is bordering on the level at which you'll want SCSI hard drives though...

[RedWingFan]

What's your budget?

If you're looking to run ~400 users with a 900 second cookie on a clean board then you shouldn't have any problems with a dual-core P4 and 2GB of RAM as long as it's well optimized. That is bordering on the level at which you'll want SCSI hard drives though...


Budget? We'd be paying $450/month if we stayed where we are at: $250 for the web server and $200 for the database-only server. These figures are before the discount we get: if we catch a prepay discount, we get 24% off for prepaying the year. So, we're looking at a net amount of about $350/month.

Looking at one other host (Liquidweb), there are some dual Opteron servers (basically, four CPU cores) on which I could upgrade to either a faster SATA (10k), or SCSI (15k), to help the database along, for less money than we'd be paying now. Not *much* less, though...by the time we added the options we needed. And then there's the hassle of moving a 2GB+ database over to the new server.

[jason|xoxide]

Wow... You should really find a new host that offers higher quality hardware. For $400/month you should be packing SCSI drives (multiple) with 2-4 cores and 2-4 GB of RAM.

You might want to check out The Planet, EV1, and SoftLayer. I just took a quick look at the first and they've got a Xeon 5130 w/ 4GB of RAM & (2) 146GB 10K SCSI drives in Hardware RAID 1 for $409/mo. If you drop down to 2GB of RAM it takes $90 off the top.

[SaN-DeeP]

I just took a quick look at the first and they've got a Xeon 5130 w/ 4GB of RAM & (2) 146GB 10K SCSI drives in Hardware RAID 1 for $409/mo. If you drop down to 2GB of RAM it takes $90 off the top.not hijacking thread but this is an awesome deal which host are you talking about ?

[jason|xoxide]

The Planet. It's under "mid-grade" and can be configured from the "Single Woodcrest - SAS" model.

[RedWingFan]

Wow... You should really find a new host that offers higher quality hardware. For $400/month you should be packing SCSI drives (multiple) with 2-4 cores and 2-4 GB of RAM.

Hardware isn't everything (for the cost): we need a fully managed host, which is what we have now. I can find boxes all over the 'net that offer far better hardware for a lot cheaper, but support is not where we need it to be. I'm changing careers and won't have computer access to babysit a server 24/7 like I do now.

Is your recommendation managed, or do they offer it? The pricing does look attractive. :)

So that's a bigger requirement than actual hardware specs at this point. Liquidweb was recommended by one of the vB folks, and I can get a decent bang for the buck there. But, I don't know how much hardware I'd need to support our traffic.

[jason|xoxide]

What services do you require? The service from TP is pretty good but they're not going to act on support tickets with subjects to the effect of "Please upgrade MySQL to version 5.0.41 for me" unless you want to dip into admin time (I believe that server comes with 1 hour per month).

[RedWingFan]

Our support covers quite a bit. The main thing is that they keep our OS and other installations (PHP, MySQL) patched and safe. They monitor for hacking attempts (which was an issue with RackShack...the former forum admin had the forum hacked when we were with them). Support answers urgent requests within minutes, even if it is a simple configuration change to help with congestion. They also proactively monitor the server if loads are going crazy, and try to help us troubleshoot it. And because I'm not always near a computer, others who are authorized on my staff can contact them for technical issues. Hardware upgrades are also available at no cost after two years on the same box, at no charge.

"Fully managed" costs more, and we need that...and the hosts that offer it do distinctly call it "managed" service. If it's not explicitly stated that they are managed servers, then they're basically just offering a box with limited support. If I were online like I used to be, then I could pretty much use a server anywhere. However, having the host monitor the low-level stuff for us has saved us numerous times...and well worth the extra money, too.

What services do you require? The service from TP is pretty good but they're not going to act on support tickets with subjects to the effect of "Please upgrade MySQL to version 5.0.41 for me" unless you want to dip into admin time (I believe that server comes with 1 hour per month).

[jason|xoxide]

Well, server monitoring for load spikes, failed services, strange behavior, etc. is done by TP as a part of the service package. If you need something like OS hardening you'd have to invest in a higher-end service package.

As to a fully-managed package, they do offer that as well but it is at a considerably higher price.

http://www.theplanet.com/managed_solutions/

[RedWingFan]

As to a fully-managed package, they do offer that as well but it is at a considerably higher price.

http://www.theplanet.com/managed_solutions/


That's good to know. Thanks!