Communitech just killed my VB

[datman99]

Man, This has been a crazy morning. First they or a bot they have disabled my entire directory. I called tech support and they said nothing was wrong.

I FTP'd and saw that the CHMOD was set to 0, so I enabled it. About 45 minutes later the entire domain was deactivated.

Q: Why do hosts play these games with paying customers?

Okay...so after about 15 minutes, I was told that the VB was causing "server load" issues and they recomend me buying a dedicated server?

Q: With what money? I'm unemployed:(

I did manage to get them to turn the domain on, so I reset the permissions and emailed my community...telling them of the outage and reset the permissions back to 0 :D...just incase the guy who disabled it checked in on me.

Any Suggestions?:confused:

[Jake Bunce]

what kind of forum traffic do you get?

[datman99]

Well, the most users ever on were 30. I do not know if this answers your question or not.

:(

[Jake Bunce]

i've seen shared packages handle anywhere from 3 simultaneous users all the way up to 80 or 90. in the end it's a matter of what the server specs are and how many other people are sharing that server with you.

IMO, 30 users isn't excessive but is getting high for some shared servers.

i know that venturesonline has shared packages that are limited to 45 simultaneous connections. you might consider them. i also know a few people on f5hosting.com that have had up to 30 simultaneous connections without problems. you might consider moving hosts if your current one can't support your load.

[datman99]

I had my "use persistant connections to the database" (in my admin/config.php file) set at 1 could that have been the issue?

:eek:

[MarkB]

Originally posted by datman99
I had my "use persistant connections to the database" (in my admin/config.php file) set at 1 could that have been the issue?

:eek:

Could've been - I had an old host screaming blue murder at me once when I had only 10 online users and pconnect on (unknowingly!) :eek:

[datman99]

Well, I'll test this at a peek time and see what happens..
I really can't afford to change hosts right now.

;)

[eva2000]

Originally posted by datman99
I had my "use persistant connections to the database" (in my admin/config.php file) set at 1 could that have been the issue?

:eek: advice

1. change pconnect to 0
2. start looking for a better host ;)

[datman99]

As stated before, with unemployment...I have to pool all resources. I will move it as soon as I am able to.

I have changed the config file settings to
0 for persistant connects.
:p

[Jake Bunce]

i agree that having pconnect enabled on a shared box could definately have been your problem.

[rockergrrl]

Communitech has been known to pull the plugs on website without prior notice.... no warnings... no email....nada word...

Also... Communitech has been known to put over 300+ virtual accounts on one server....

I suggest you find another host (when you can) Communitech has been bad news for years now...

[datman99]

Wow, is there a way that i can tell how many virtual accounts are on my CT server? They will never tell me the truth, but I will move as soon as I can afford to do it.
Thanks

[The Prohacker]

From terminal either telnet or ssh, type:
cd /home

and do a ls, and see how many dir's are there.....

[datman99]

I got this error

No such file or directory.

:confused:

[Bridgette]

It's two commands Datman99,

cd /home (hit your enter key)

ls (hit return or enter) [this means, show me the directory in unix-speak]

Now, it might scroll by with too much junk to read. If so, type this command instead...

ls |more (hit enter key)

That will displayit one page at a time and you'll want to tap the space bar to get the next screenful.

Last but not least, if it looks like you have 300 (or whatever you consider absurd) accounts on your server, you can do the following to make a log file.

ls >log.txt (hit enter)

Now you have a file named log.txt with all the names in it but it won't display the ls output on your screen.

Keep in mind that I don't know what flavor of *nix Communitech uses. I'm a happy inhabitant of FutureQuest for my hosting.

If those commands don't work for you, either I blew it (it's late.. grin), or you're using a flavor of unix that does it a bit differently.

When you telnet in, look at your main login screen and it usually tells you what type of unix you're using.

Good luck to you,

Bridgette

[datman99]

after I telnetted in and typed

cd /home (hit your enter key)

This is when I get this error:

No such file or directory

Looks like CT will not allow anyone to see how many accounts are on their boxes.
Thanks

[Bridgette]

Hmm.. try cd ~ (hit return)

Bridgette

[Jake Bunce]

on a shared acct wouldn't the home directory be hidden? your starting directory should be the one just above public_html... like when you are ftping into your server.

...i think

[datman99]

Originally posted by Bridgette
Hmm.. try cd ~ (hit return)

Bridgette

cd (hit your enter key)

This is when I get this error:

No such file or directory

[Bridgette]

Did you try it with the ~ key?

Bridgette

[datman99]

I tried it both ways

cd~

and

cd ~

Both gave me this error: No such file or directory


Bridget, how do you like Futurquest?..I'm thinking of moving there, this will be my 3rd move in less than a year. I thin CT is trying to force me out.

[Bridgette]

re: cd ~ -- no idea what else you can try but I know someone else on ctech, so I'll ask how to get you where you need to go.

re: futurequest.

I've been with 3 hosts in the past 4 or 5 years and my experience with FutureQuest has been the best, by far.

Why?

They are real people with sincere concern about doing things right. They pay attention to detail & there is no 'sweeping issues under the rug' (they are as honest as the day is long), no hassles or games.

If my sites get too big for FQ, they will tell me and I'll be able to make adjustments or find a host that has dedicated machines.

No games, no lunacy. No bait & switch.

I've seen it happen to some of their most successful clients and even if they decide to get a dedicated box somewhere else, they often hang out and stay in touch via the FQ forums.

I can't think of a better compliment to a web host than clients who feel like an extended family.

The price is higher than some other hosts but I've always said I'd pay for quality and I'm happy to do that. I know my hosting isn't going to be an issue. It's solid.

Ask yourself this: Have you ever heard a complaint about FQ from a present or former customer? I haven't.

Bridgette
www.mm3d.com/forum

[datman99]

Well, I for one can relate to that bait & switch thing.

Liquidweb
========
Paid them for 12 months and had to move in less than 30 days. They crashed my VB like 2 times a week.

Webaxxs
=======
No issues, just hit me with a whopping bill due to bandwidth overage. I felt some price gauging.

CT
==
Been there for about 9 months, been running my vb since I came there. Now in month #9 they claim that it's using too many resiurces? I have not have an increase in membership...most of my members left my vb when I started to charge....so how in the heck could it be using up so many resources ALL OF A SUDDEN?

Thanks for the tip

[DooM]

Originally posted by rockergrrl
Communitech has been known to pull the plugs on website without prior notice.... no warnings... no email....nada word...

Also... Communitech has been known to put over 300+ virtual accounts on one server....

I suggest you find another host (when you can) Communitech has been bad news for years now...


from http://www.futurequest.net/Beware/ :
Let's use FutureQuest, Inc. as an example:
FutureQuest uses 73GB (73,000 megabytes or MB) hard drives in each server and average 275 accounts per server.

73,000MB / 275 accounts = 265MB per account on average.
Since FutureQuest's average account allowance currently ranges from 50MB to 300MB of disk space, this appears to be an honest and realistic offering.

[ibeblunt]

Get away from Communitech as fast as possible if you can...

I was there when the first started. I was on a shared server. They switched my site to a new shared Sun server, however, they didn't realize I had a password protected directory with a db connected. So they made the switch. I was like "Where's my stuff?" They left it on the old server but couldn't find it.

I called them every hour on the hour. They disconnected thier ICQ. ETC. So I had PPL (Pre-Paid Legal) call them and hit them with some papers. All of the sudden my calls returned. [I wonder why?]

On my end, I should have had a backup. On there end, they should have informed me that they were switching my site. To compensate me, they sent me $50, that covered the first hour of 5 to restore my db.

I use Rackspace. com now. But if you want something really cheap, check out http://www.hostmatters.com/. I know a few people who use them and I haven't heard any horror stories.

[Dave#]

There no point trying to determine how many virtual hosts are on a Communitech shared server anymore- they do everything they can to prevent this in their custom shell. From memory there are somewhere around 900 -1100 active domains running cgi's on their servers (sun sparc e series with a gig of ram).

Suggest moving on elswhere for V hosting