Vbulletin & server resources

[SDP]

Hello,

I am on the baby shared plan right now and started a new website which is quickly growing. The forum on the board is growing very fast. However, as of now no advertising has been done and until it is the forum is mainly being used as a backup for another popular forum. So, not many members are active on this forum, but if the other goes down it will likely get a huge surge.

But again since the forum is mostly a backup without much posting it doesn't make sense to have a dedicated server since it would rarely be used and cost a good deal of $

Anyways my question is this - Is there a way to purchase extra resources somehow? I'd like to have extra resources such as mysql connections etc.

Like can I order 2 or 3 shared plans and have them linked to one account, or would a reseller account have the ability to set up one account with larger resources? Or can extra resources be flat out purchased for a monthly fee??

Once the site begins to be advertised elsewhere and isn't mostly used as a backup for another site I can slowly work up the hosting ladder but because the member base is largely inactive now that route is no good.

I've used hostgator several time and would hate to leave them, but may have to at least temporarily if I can't figure out a solution.

[Sam]

Originally Posted by SDP

Anyways my question is this - Is there a way to purchase extra resources somehow? I'd like to have extra resources such as mysql connections etc.

No. you can only buy extra bandwidth and space

Like can I order 2 or 3 shared plans and have them linked to one account, or would a reseller account have the ability to set up one account with larger resources? Or can extra resources be flat out purchased for a monthly fee??

Nope

[nexia]

The point is that you are expecting to use more resources that you actually have to use...

there is no need to have extra resources on just the fact that you have a vbulletin forum... your actual Baby Croc is good for a site with more than 5000 users (10 or 20 online users)... the extra space is needed if you store a lot of content, but that is not resources related.

i have some clients with vBulletin as their main site, and with 100 online users at all time... they use basic accounts like Baby Croc because they do not need anything else...

if you have Arcades on your site, you will need more bandwidth. if you have files sharing on your site you will need more space and bandwidth...

[SDP]

Originally Posted by nexia

The point is that you are expecting to use more resources that you actually have to use...

there is no need to have extra resources on just the fact that you have a vbulletin forum... your actual Baby Croc is good for a site with more than 5000 users (10 or 20 online users)... the extra space is needed if you store a lot of content, but that is not resources related.

i have some clients with vBulletin as their main site, and with 100 online users at all time... they use basic accounts like Baby Croc because they do not need anything else...

if you have Arcades on your site, you will need more bandwidth. if you have files sharing on your site you will need more space and bandwidth...

Yeah but it will be resources I need, this site will likely have 100 + members at peak within a month or two, but it wont be consistent at first because of its backup status.

[kmaw]

Originally Posted by SDP

Yeah but it will be resources I need, this site will likely have 100 + members at peak within a month or two, but it wont be consistent at first because of its backup status.

No, as Sam said, you can't order more resources, you have to upgrade. You should still be fine with 100 members.

Worst case scenario, use it until you get suspended and they tell you to upgrade...

[SDP]

Originally Posted by kmaw

No, as Sam said, you can't order more resources, you have to upgrade. You should still be fine with 100 members.

Worst case scenario, use it until you get suspended and they tell you to upgrade...

100 users on at once will be ok with 25 mysql connections and ram etc.? I don't know a whole lot about webhosting but from looking around it looked like 30 users logged in at once was about the most it could safely handle.

What is the reason they won't do this if you're willing to pay extra...they want you to upgrade?

I figured maybe with a reseller account one giant accoutn could maybe use more resources, oh well.

I guess I will have to hope the main site doesn't go down for now and move to another host with a semi-dedicated when time comes.

Thanks for the responses. It's a shame because I like HG...

[nexia]

i would suggest you open a ticket for support on this specific request, instead of posting in the forum, so you have the proper answer...

[kmaw]

Originally Posted by SDP

100 users on at once will be ok with 25 mysql connections and ram etc.? I don't know a whole lot about webhosting but from looking around it looked like 30 users logged in at once was about the most it could safely handle.

http://gatorwiki.holmis.se/index.php...25_Connections

Originally Posted by SDP

What is the reason they won't do this if you're willing to pay extra...they want you to upgrade?

Probably too difficult to manage. Since CPU is a limiting factor, it's difficult to give one user out of hundreds on a server extra limits -- since it's not easily defined like space and bandwidth can be.

[Sam]

Originally Posted by SDP

What is the reason they won't do this if you're willing to pay extra...they want you to upgrade?

Because then your site will slow down the 600+ other accounts on the server and the server will become unstable. the limits are in place for a reason

[SDP]

Originally Posted by _Sam_

Because then your site will slow down the 600+ other accounts on the server and the server will become unstable. the limits are in place for a reason

Sure, but if you paid for a second account then it would be just like someone else who bought one. I'd even be willing to pay the amount of an additional account to bump up. So if I was to use them both myself or two separate people used them I don't see the difference. I guess kmaw is right about the reasoning I guess its a configuration issue.

[SDP]

Originally Posted by kmaw

http://gatorwiki.holmis.se/index.php...25_Connections


Probably too difficult to manage. Since CPU is a limiting factor, it's difficult to give one user out of hundreds on a server extra limits -- since it's not easily defined like space and bandwidth can be.

Awesome thanks, I guess I'll read up on this and email them just to double check before switching when the time comes.

Thanks for all the input everyone.

[kmaw]

Originally Posted by SDP

Awesome thanks, I guess I'll read up on this and email them just to double check before switching when the time comes.

Thanks for all the input everyone.

No prob Bob... sales@hostgator.com loves getting emails if you want official responses....

[Goddess Dix]

Originally Posted by SDP

Yeah but it will be resources I need, this site will likely have 100 + members at peak within a month or two, but it wont be consistent at first because of its backup status.

it's a common misconception that each vb forum user = one mysql connection. that's NOT how it works! there's no need to worry about more connections because you won't need them. you should be able to run a few hundred users at a time within the 25 connection limit without issue.

it's a lot more likely that as your site grows, the cpu will start to get hit before there are issues with the connections, at which point if you're that popular, you also should be able to support a dedicated server with the site.

so don't worry so much.

[SDP]

Originally Posted by Goddess Dix

it's a common misconception that each vb forum user = one mysql connection. that's NOT how it works! there's no need to worry about more connections because you won't need them. you should be able to run a few hundred users at a time within the 25 connection limit without issue.

it's a lot more likely that as your site grows, the cpu will start to get hit before there are issues with the connections, at which point if you're that popular, you also should be able to support a dedicated server with the site.

so don't worry so much.

Yeah I have a small understanding of how it works....I've also bveen told that one person can be opening multiple connections at once and that vbulletin can run tasks itself in the background that may use connection(s) it is likely to have several hundred members onwithin the next several months if the other site ever goes down, but it's a non-profit org site so gonna move up the hosting ladder as slowly as possible

Thanks for the help...

[Goddess Dix]

Originally Posted by SDP

Yeah I have a small understanding of how it works....I've also bveen told that one person can be opening multiple connections at once and that vbulletin can run tasks itself in the background that may use connection(s) it is likely to have several hundred members onwithin the next several months if the other site ever goes down, but it's a non-profit org site so gonna move up the hosting ladder as slowly as possible

Thanks for the help...

the tasks vb runs largely would depend what kind of hacks you have installed and how many calls they are making to the database and how. since hacks are independently contributed, they vary widely in their coding quality and overhead cost to your system. so i'd advise being judicious with the mods. but i think it's unlikely you'd run in to a connection problem before you'd hit a cpu problem, nonetheless.

if you're not familiar with the vb debug command, you can take a look at what vb is doing on an install by the method i posted here...

[Robert Paulson]

Originally Posted by Goddess Dix

it's a common misconception that each vb forum user = one mysql connection. that's NOT how it works! there's no need to worry about more connections because you won't need them. you should be able to run a few hundred users at a time within the 25 connection limit without issue.

it's a lot more likely that as your site grows, the cpu will start to get hit before there are issues with the connections, at which point if you're that popular, you also should be able to support a dedicated server with the site.

so don't worry so much.

Do you know if HG will send a message out to us if we start to push any limit, or should we monitor everything closely?

I really don't want to take advantage of the HG hosting, but I'm so new and my board is growing so rapidly that I'm scared to death that I could inadvertantly push my luck.

Any tips?

[slapshotw]

Going over the limit of MySQL connections won't get your suspended, it'll just have your website start timing out. So you'll likely know when/if that happens, if you're getting enough traffic to trigger it.

[Robert Paulson]

Originally Posted by slapshotw

you'll likely know when/if that happens, if you're getting enough traffic to trigger it.

Any rough estimate of what kind of traffic that would be on a vBulletin forum?

I'm wondering at what point I'll need to start considering an upgrade.

Hope I'm not hijacking the thread. Seems related.

[slapshotw]

Likely about 500-700 people browsing at the same time.

[Robert Paulson]

Originally Posted by slapshotw

Likely about 500-700 people browsing at the same time.

Wow!

I'm way good. Thanks for the tip.

[Goddess Dix]

Originally Posted by Robert Paulson

Do you know if HG will send a message out to us if we start to push any limit, or should we monitor everything closely?

I really don't want to take advantage of the HG hosting, but I'm so new and my board is growing so rapidly that I'm scared to death that I could inadvertantly push my luck.

Any tips?

when you're big enough to be pushing the limits, you'll know it's coming as you get there anyway and will be preparing for an upgrade.

[Robert Paulson]

Originally Posted by Goddess Dix

when you're big enough to be pushing the limits, you'll know it's coming as you get there anyway and will be preparing for an upgrade.

I must say that HG is the first webhost I've ever had, and from day one I've been extremely happy with the experience. Not just with HG itself, but this Forum and its users as well.

It's that type of service and support that breeds loyalty!

[Robert Paulson]

Originally Posted by Robert Paulson

from day one I've been extremely happy with the experience.

I'm only on about day four, but whatever!