What is vb_searchlog table and why is mine so large?

[jkotlowski]

Really difficult to tell just by looking at the site. There are a lot of variables that are hard to quantify from an end-user prospective. The size doesn't seem unreasonable.

Where are you storing your attachments? You can see this in the AdminCP by going to Attachments -> Attachment Storage Type. If you're storing them in the database, you should move them to the file system and run the tool to clean up the database usage.

Same for avatars. Where are you storing them? You can see this in the AdminCP under Avatars -> User Picture Storage Type. If they are in the database, they should also be moved to the file system.

These might move you under the limit if you have a lot of attachments. However, you'll probably bypass the limit again as your site continues to grow. If you site is only using vBulletin, you might look into something like vBulletin Cloud. vB Cloud offers 100 gigabytes of storage for its base price of $19.95 a month. We'll even move your attachments and avatars to the file system when you migrate.

Hey Wayne, thank you for the reply.

Both my attachments and avatars already seem to be loading from the file systems and not the database.

As for using VB Cloud, I was on it before I purchased the full VB software and didn't like how restrictive it was in adding custom code to the site.

[Wayne Luke]

Can't tell what is taking up space, though. What is the size of the database if you clear the system cache first?

[jkotlowski]

Can't tell what is taking up space, though. What is the size of the database if you clear the system cache first?

Clearing the system cache doesn't seem to make any difference on the database size. It's still saying 4.74 gigabytes on my host's CPANEL.

Looking at the tables in the database, it seems there's about 2 gigabytes being used there. Other than the tables, what else would be stored in the database and how would I see the sizes for them?

[Wayne Luke]

The size of your database is content plus indexes. This can actually be shown on the Control Panel Homepage. Go to Settings -> Options -> Admin Control Panel Options.

On this site, the database is 4.49 gigabytes and indexes take up an additional 3.78 gigabytes. Attachments take 3.09 gigabytes in the file system.

[jkotlowski]

The size of your database is content plus indexes. This can actually be shown on the Control Panel Homepage. Go to Settings -> Options -> Admin Control Panel Options.

On this site, the database is 4.49 gigabytes and indexes take up an additional 3.78 gigabytes. Attachments take 3.09 gigabytes in the file system.

Ah. So, what I've got is...

Data Usage - 2.73 gigabytes
Index Usage - 679.14 megabytes
Attachment Usage - 462.42 megabytes
Avatar Usage 11.45 megabytes

I thought I had avatars and attachments in the file system, however?

Do these numbers look accurate for my site's size? I would think my file sizes would be considerably smaller than this site's sizes since my site is about 1/5th the size of this one, post-wise.

If it does look right, I'm not sure what I'll do to lower the cost of hosting. I can't really go to the Cloud platform and lose the customization I have. Do you guys have experience with a better host than Dreamhost that might offer a lower cost but not greatly increase loading time and down time?

[Wayne Luke]

I thought I had avatars and attachments in the file system, however?

Those values don't specify where your attachments or avatars are stored.

Do these numbers look accurate for my site's size? I would think my file sizes would be considerably smaller than this site's sizes since my site is about 1/5th the size of this one, post-wise.

Each site is different and it all depends on how the system is configured. Without looking at your database there is no way to give an accurate answer.

Do you guys have experience with a better host than Dreamhost that might offer a lower cost but not greatly increase loading time and down time?

We don't evaluate individual hosting companies.

[jkotlowski]

Each site is different and it all depends on how the system is configured. Without looking at your database there is no way to give an accurate answer.

Is there any way this could be done?

Since I've already had the issue with the vb_searchlog becoming corrupted and mucking my entire website up once before, I really just want to be sure everything is as it's supposed to be before I have to take drastic measures.

[Wayne Luke]

If you had paid support, you could open a support ticket and someone could take a look.

[jkotlowski]

If you had paid support, you could open a support ticket and someone could take a look.

Ah... I don't have paid support.