Almost ready to dump UBB and make the switch

[pierguy]

Howdy all. I've been using UBB 6.05 for awhile now and I'm getting sick of the scripts blowing up periodically. My site goes through about 12-15 GB of bandwidth per month and the board forms the core of the site.

I asked my hosting company (Hostway) if they met the requirements for hosting vBulletin; they said they did but offered this caveat:

"Please note that the mysql database restricts simultaneous connections to 10 connections. This does not mean that you cannot have more than 10 users at any given time. This simply means that more than 10 people cannot make a connection to the database at the same time. If your scripts are set to open a session and then close it right after it pulls information from the database, it should be no problem."

Is that 10-connection thing going to be a hindrance to running vBulletin? Does VB open a session and then close it right after it pulls information?

And how hard is the install and port from UBB? I've never worked with MySQL or PHP so I don't want to get in over my head here (I was able to install and chmod UBB, though, so I'm not an idiot).

[Scott MacVicar]

Well vBulletin does have a persisitent connection open but this is off by default, so the maximuim of ten connections shouldn't be a problem.

The install of vBulletin is farely easy, though the import will take some time but should be no problem. Though if problems occur we will strive to sort the upgrade script asap.

[Steve Machol]

10 connections is really pretty small. Realisitically this will limit your forums to about 20-30 people at a time and will generate a lot of errors when you go over that amount.

vB is configured by default to close all connections, i.e. 'persistent connections' is off.

As for installing vB and importing your UBB, this is pretty straight-forward. I did it without any problems. You just need to make sure the UBB and vB are on the same server.

[pierguy]

Crap. I was all set on upgrading to vbull.

How many MySQL connections would I need to have my hosting provider give?

If Hostway can't deliver, I'll have to switch (as much as I've loved them). Which hosting provider would you guys recommend I switch to?

[Steve Machol]

What is the maximum number of users you expect to have online at it's peak? Frankly I've never heard of a quality host limiting anyone to just 10 MySQL connections before.

We don't provide official recommendations for hosts. I suggest you view the vBulletin Host
ing Options forum for advice from our customers:

http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=11

[pierguy]

I was also told by Hostway that they only allow MySQL databases up to 50MB. How large are the databases generated by VB? (My forum is at pierandsurf.com if that'll help you gauge your answer). I periodically purge my forums, though, so it'll have quite a few more posts down the road.

Looks like I may be dropping Hostway and going over to Ventures Online; I can get another 5 GB per month for the same thing I'm paying for Hostway, plus they don't seem to have such tight restrictions on database connections and size.

[Steve Machol]

How much MySQL disk space is used is highly dependent on the type of forum you run, and factors such as:
- Your average allowed attachment and avatar size
- How many attachments and avatars you have stored in your vBulletin database
- How many private messages you have stored in your vBulletin database from members
- How many posts and threads you have and the size and variables you have set for your searchindex
- How many members you have
- How many forums you have
And so on and so forth.

For example, one installation we have seen had 5,800+ members, 40,000 threads, 662,000 posts, 70,000 private messages and 8,000 attachments. The total MySQL database size was 940MB - which comes to around 140MB per 100,000 posts. Please note that it does vary from forum to forum, so your mileage may vary.