dedicated. PLEASE help.

[Cloughie]

Hi,

I made a thread on this before but REALLY need some help from people that use dedicated servers and have experience with running vb on them.

I currently have the following websites hosted with VO,

www.wannabebig.com - v200 (2nd busiest site and php/mysql db driven)
www.wannabebigforums.com - v650 (my busiest site running vbulletin gets about 80 online at busiest times)
(domain name disclosed) - v200 (nil traffic as not launched yet, but will be db driven)
(domain name disclosed) - v50 (very low traffic)
(domain name disclosed) - v50 (very low traffic)

I am paying $98 a month currently.

www.wannabebigforums.com is seriously underperforming. Its horribly slow
to browse, won't allow me to even email the users without timing out and I
often get max sql connection error emails (500 over the last 2 days)

I need to do something and I need to try and keep the cost down.

Would the following server be ok for my sites above?

866 processer, IDE, 20GB drive, 256 ram (can be upgraded to 512 fairly cheaply), 50 gb bw, and 8 ip's. It can be seen at:
http://www.venturesonline.com/hosting/ded-specials.html

I know the bandwidth and diskspace is good enough, I really need to hear from someone with experience that the processer and ram is enough? Or if the processer and 512 will be enough?

If not I will have to go for one of their standard servers which is gonna come in at 250 a month which is a bigger step!

So.......... Anyone?

[dandanfireman]

I would definitely upgrade the ram. As your biggest site is vb (php based), you are going to need some cpu and memory to help in parsing all of that scripting. If you do go dedicated, I would also recommend looking at php-accelerator.

[Cloughie]

ok.... well in that case what about that server spec? 866? Is it enough to run my sites with 512?

Also can you fill me in on what else is expected from me with a dedicated server, from being used to a virtual hosting account. I will have someone helping me but what else can I expect to have to learn/do?

Sorry for all the questions, but I just do not want to waste money on a rash decision.

[dandanfireman]

The difference between shared and dedicated depends on the type of dedicated service offered by your host. There is a huge difference between unmanaged, semi-managed, and managed servers.

Unmanaged: You do everything. This is not advised unless you or someone assisting you has a background in Linux administration. You would be required for configurations, upgrades, security, AND troubleshooting

Semi-managed: This could mean anything. Usually it only includes whatever the hosts definition is. Usually it provides some basic troubleshooting assistance of basic server functions and maybe kernel upgrades.

Managed: Presumably, this would mean that all server administration tasks are handled for you. It should be just like shared hosting except for the fact you are the only one on the server.

Regarding specifically if 866 is enough horsepower to handle your sites, that is difficult to answer. It depends on the number of queries on your site, the amount of posts/views, etc. However, I would think that a 866/512 would be able to handle your forums in the range of 100-150 users...maybe more

[Cloughie]

Cool.

I guess I now need to find out whether that is managed, semi or bare min.

[Prince]

there are several hosts that will give you a dedicated server that is twice the cpu, memory and harddrive as VO's for around $150/month.

[Prince]

Originally posted by Cloughie

www.wannabebigforums.com is seriously underperforming. Its horribly slow
to browse, won't allow me to even email the users without timing out and I
often get max sql connection error emails (500 over the last 2 days)


Why don't you remove the latest discussion hack on your main site to eliminate your sql connection issue? You said that you get 100 sql connections right?
Your who's online looks like it's set at 30 minutes, so you should be fine until you get over 150+ users online.

[dandanfireman]

Originally posted by Prince
there are several hosts that will give you a dedicated server that is twice the cpu, memory and harddrive as VO's for around $150/month.

I don't think it should always be about money. VO has proven themselves to be a good company that offers a good product. Quality costs money. Good support costs money.

[Cloughie]

I don't want to remove them and to be honest I doubt that is the main contributor to the problem. The forums have been slowish for a while and I think it might be due to overcrowded vo servers, and I can't expect more i guess from a shared hosting account.

Also there are other issues apart from the max sql ones. disk size for one won't let me back up..

I will have a think about it.

[Prince]

VO has great service and support, but they are a bit expensive.

My only point is there are other good hosts that offer a cheaper dedicated server.

And I do believe he said that he wanted to keep costs low.

[Bubble]

i am on a Managed semi-dedicate plan with TDTHOST.com

cost about $75/month (4 clients / server)

Happy with it. Uptime and support are supper.