Between a Rock and a Hard Place

[Steve HEF]

I've been operating a forum since Nov. '03 and started out with a basic host package from Lunar Pages. All was good until December '07 when we outgrew the server space at Lunar Pages. I didn't get much notice from them that we had a problem and had to make a move quickly or risk losing my forums altogether.

I met with another host who is also my tech and he moved us to his facilities in Jan.'08. Things were running pretty smoothly until Nov. '08 when the server started crashing every time we got 250 users or more on line at once. He moved us to 2 separate servers and performance and reliability has been a problem ever since. This past week the sight has gone down several times and I haven't been able to get the tech to explain why.

I know very little about the server end of things and rely on a tech for this. I can stumble my way through the vBulletin Admin panel to make changes on the Board, but when it comes to major changes I need someone else to do that. All I know about php and mysql is they are some type of computer coding.

I currently have just over 300 users on line at peak periods and my Board is pretty image intensive. We have over 7500 members which seems to grow by 10 to 20 a day, and we're getting about 10,000,000 hits a month. These are the only stats I know off the top of my head, I can get other information to help answer my question if needed.

What server requirements do I need to expect nearly 100% reliability and fast loading? How much should I expect to pay for this space? I've learned my current host's connection speed is one of the limiting factors for speed of my site at the moment, what do I need to ask about in this respect?

I may also be looking for a new tech, any advice on where to find someone reliable and trustworthy?

Thanks!

[royo]

If you could tell us what kind of hardware you're running on right now it would certainly help.

[xnetco]

I would have thought a single server would help.

Can I ask your forum URL so I can give an exact spec?

Tim

[encryption]

I currently have just over 300 users on line at peak periods and my Board is pretty image intensive.

what is your cookie timeout? That will be critical in determining if your site is really exerting itself on the box.

Also, how heavily modified is your server (i.e. how many add ons). Sometimes, excessive add-ons levy a larger than normal pressure on a server than a non-modified board with the same amount of traffic would.

[Steve HEF]

I've got the timeout set at 1 hour, I tried reducing that but members were timing out when typing posts and losing them. I also was timing out on "New Posts" while trying to review them all.

As far as add ons, the only mods I'm aware of are one touch spam ban (which I could do without), a hack that lets you select the "new post" time span, and we've added a qualifying question to the registration process to filter out spambots.

I don't know the specs of the server, is there a place I can find this on cpanel?

[gigapros]

I don't know the specs of the server, is there a place I can find this on cpanel?
Simply ask your hosting provider. They will tell you the server specs.

[bigwater]

My guess is you're growing as well as other sites on your tech's server are growing, and you're starting to compete for resources. He can't tell you why because he's not willing to admit the server's overburdened.

For a site that size I'd recommend a dedicated server, minimum dual core xeon and 2GB of RAM. You can pick on up an unmanaged server with those specs for around a hundred bucks/month if you shop wisely... just make sure you choose one with options to grow.

As far as a tech goes, you can find consultants to set things up for you so that it runs on autopilot, and you pay them when you need them to do something for you, or you can buy from a company that specializes in fully managed hosting so you can just snap your fingers and things will be done at no extra charge.

Managed hosting can be up to twice as expensive as unmanaged hosting however, so it's a matter of balancing your ability to handle the simple stuff on your own vs. not wanting to hassle with anything.