Server Load?

[ickb]

I've posted here before because of all the headaches I've had with using vDeck3 and presently canceling more accounts than I am able to reopen as I am still looking for a good webhost. As I cancel accounts with the vDeck people, I have a trust issue.

One thing I do respect and actually admire about HostGator is that you do shut down users who abuse the CPU/Space/Bandwidth Hostgator/TOS. I am getting sick and tired of servers slowing/crashing because of irresponsible Shared hosting clients that should be on VPS or Dedicated servers.

Previously I had asked how you are able to keep you uptime and from overloading your servers and the reply was that you were good at load balancing your servers.

I have two questions which another one of your competitors refuse to answers and it's frustrating. I have 2 accounts with them(not the vDeck people) that use similar cPanel like Hostgator.

My first question which they won't answer.

1) What is the maximum allowable server load on cPanel that you allow on your shared servers before Hostgator says enough? *PLEASE QUANTIFY* At present all they are saying is.."You can't trust the cPanel, not accurate, everything is under control, etc. etc." This cPanel company is on one server shows the load through cPanel with 0.5-1.0 on quad processors which is good for a client hosting with them for about 5 years. Another account on their server using quad processor in less than 1 month is showing a server load of 7.0+ peak, 4-5 offpeak and increases every week. Same thing the vDeck people email to me

As a reminder, the new platform offers increased security and reliability, and once your account has been moved, you'll be able to take advantage of all the new tools and services that come with vDeck 3

I tried to work with vDeck3 for 3 weeks 10 hours a day in Oct 07. I am canceling accounts faster than I can open new accounts. vDeck3 doesn't function properly and I've used a lot of 'control panels' from other companies that had a better reputation than vDeck who were bought out or now bankrupt. I can use cPanel and don't have a problem with any of its function nor vDeck1.

2) Does Hostgator automatically shut down abusers of shared hosting? I asking this hoping that there is a hosting company that gets rid of Shared hosters that really need to be on a VPS/Dedicated servers. As I mentioned on the other companies forum, I really would like them to enforce the TOS to keep my website and my clients website up and I will gladly go VPS/Dedicated before I am approaching their upperlimit so I don't hurt others on their servers and I don't hurt myself regarding TOS for shared servers.

I will place the name of the hosting companies only because I have seen these companies mentioned on Hostgator, but as moderators.. you can delete the names if it violates the TOS of this forum. The vDeck people is iPowerweb. The other company using cPanel is Lunarpages.

[slapshotw]

On #1-- there's no set limit. Remember that "Server Loads" as reported by cPanel are *absolute* numbers, not *relative* numbers. That means that the number "5" doesn't mean the same thing on all servers. The more powerful HG servers can handle loads of 20+ without issue. HG servers from years ago would probably start choking at 5-7.

If you see your server slowing down, let HG know--they'll immediately look and, to answer #2, suspend the abuser. They don't even think twice about suspending users negatively affecting the server.

[ickb]

Originally Posted by slapshotw

If you see your server slowing down, let HG know--they'll immediately look and, to answer #2, suspend the abuser. They don't even think twice about suspending users negatively affecting the server.

Thank you, slapshotw..That is what I like to hear and if Hostgator is strict in enforcing this policy.. my next account will be with Hostgator coming soon.

[ickb]

slapshotw, you're not only knowledgeable, but have no problems speaking your mind siding with Hostgator.. or even questioning Hostgator if they haven't answered your questions properly Thank you again. I been reading a lot on the Hostgator forum to get a better idea of how Hostgator responds to the needs of their customers when there is a problem.

[gwyneth]

ickb, when you get an account you'll also get full forum access--you will get an even better picture of how well HG enforces the TOS and how thoroughly server load and abuse is monitored. Also, how candid member discussions can be about HG's strengths and weaknesses.

This forum is one of the best fringe benefits of using HG.

[slapshotw]

Originally Posted by ickb

Thank you again. I been reading a lot on the Hostgator forum to get a better idea of how Hostgator responds to the needs of their customers when there is a problem.

No problem, and welcome!

[Serra]

Originally Posted by ickb

I will place the name of the hosting companies only because I have seen these companies mentioned on Hostgator, but as moderators.. you can delete the names if it violates the TOS of this forum. The vDeck people is iPowerweb. The other company using cPanel is Lunarpages.

Lunarpages is a good host. You would be happy too. Lunarpages has more support people monitoring their forum, which is a plus, where HG's forum is a peer support forum. HG doesn't delete negative posts from their forum, try posting something negative over at lunarpages...

On the downside, for shared hosting, Lunarpages support is MUCH slower at responding to tickets. People complain that it takes HG hours to reply, at Lunarpages it was common for me to wait 12-18 hours for simply responses. They changed their ion cube configuration and took down one of my clients. It took them 12 hours to respond to my urgent ticket...

Support for dedicated servers is worse, no phone support at Lunarpages. Tickets are very slow and only go to a very specific number of support people.

Overall, that is likely the only difference between the two companies, slightly better support at HG.

I do currently have clients on Lunarpages. Some on shared and two on dedicated solutions. I currently recommend LP to my clients who don't want to use HG for one reason or another. I do however, use LP as my backup recommendation.

[ickb]

gwyneth are there other parts of this forum that I can't see? I do notice that I am restricted from posting to this forum until I do set up an account. Are privileges granted to see more topics given when getting an account with HostGator?

Serra, that is very direct as we couldn't even have this conversation on the LP forum without it being edit for using a competitors name. Very interesting analogy of Hostgator vs. Lunarpages. Both packages so competitive with very similar TOS.. to prevent Shared Hosting abuse. Lunarpages and Hostgator CPU usage TOS are so similar.. it really comes down to who gives the best customer support. The only time we need customer support is when a server goes down or blacklisted.. then we can't seem to get Tech Support to act fast enough. However, Serra customer response is important, this can't be denied.. especially when we need them!

I see HostJury.com will help unsatisfied iPowerweb customers transfer to Hostgator.

When looking at the majority of hosting reviews, HostGator is at the top or in the Top 10. I'll open an account with HostGator.. because I need a backup web host. This Last time I had all my accounts iPowerweb for 8 years and they are destroying my business

Found Hostgator on the Hosting review below; however, Hostgator is on the top 10 of many other Hosting reviews I've searched on the web.
http://hostjury.com/blog/view/90/esc...eave-ipowerweb

[Serra]

Originally Posted by ickb

When looking at the majority of hosting reviews, HostGator is at the top or in the Top 10. I'll open an account with HostGator.. because I need a backup web host. This Last time I had all my accounts iPowerweb for 8 years and they are destroying my business

I'm sorry to say, I have nothing positive to say about iPowerweb. They looked very interesting as their price is very good, but my experience with them has only been negative, moving clients off their servers to new hosts.


You should be happy here, there is a large part of the forum you can't view until you sign up, but most any question will be quickly answered.

[GatorDavidN]

I am at home, and as such, comments should be taken that way.

Yes, we do monitor the loads and take action. Our shared servers are shared. One person using up all the resources are dealt with. However, we will work with people who have a problem. We all have large jumps in viewer ship or something unforeseen.


Per question 1: Our CPU limit is outlined in the Terms of service. You can find it under section 7a.

cPanel cpu usage is a metric that is nice, but does have flaws. One person using .1% of resources for 23 hours, but tries to consume 99%+ for the other 1 isn't going to reflect an obscene amount for a mean time.

Per Question 2: Yes.

[ickb]

Originally Posted by GatorDavidN

Per Question 2: Yes.

I agree with you David, there needs to be a buffer if there are spikes to a website growing in popularity so servers can't be running at 99.9% percent server load. If Hostgator worked this way than a 00.1% spike will max out the servers 100.0%. However, if someone is being a resource *HOG* just because they don't want to pay for a Dedicated server is not fair to most of us, including myself who use a Shared server because we don't need 100% CPU nor will we max out the Shared HG TOS. I would gladly switch to Dedicated before this happens.

I will be signing up with a Hostgator plan this week just so I can experience Hostgator "first hand" and gain access to the rest of this forum to understand why people are so passionate about Hostgator Thank you everyone for your input