Server advice please
 

For 3 of the past 4 years I have been very happy with my main host, but he moved out of Exodus when they took Chapter 11. A lot has gone wrong since that move, so it?s time for a change.

Before I even get to worrying about who to host with, I have collected a mixed bag of bits and pieces, server-wise, that it would make sense to tidy up. However, despite 6+ years in this business, I still know next to nothing about servers, so I don?t really have a clue about what hardware I should be going for.

This is what I am trying to house:

6 TGP?s handling from 20Gb to 100Gb each, each with its own trading script (UCJ/X3/RB4), and one running Bush to handle submissions for all of them. Personal problems and my hosting have cost me a lot of traffic during the past year, so if all goes well, the currently monthly total of around 350Gb would likely rise fairly quickly to say, 600Gb.

A dozen AVS sites totalling 75Gb to 100Gb per month and miscellaneous FPAs, small free sites etc., for another 25Gb. Those all run without any scripts, but I want to add some site builder software. I need to allow for it and for the extra traffic that using it should generate.

I also want to re-start TGP submissions. I used to have a virtual account at bigfast.net, with content mirroring and load balancing, and it handled 300Gb-500Gb a month without a hitch. Back in February my dedicated host dropped his prices and offered me a free machine. Taking the offer was a big mistake: the box just ground to a halt at peak times. I haven't done much submitting since.

To summarize: around 30 domains with currently 500Gb traffic but with capacity for fairly quick expansion to about 1,200Gb; 6 trading scripts, one sitebuilder script and one TGP script.

What should I be going for? One machine? Two? What spec?

I would like to say that performance should be the only consideration, but I have needed a lot of time off during the past two years because of a medical problem in the family. That and hosting problems haven?t done my business any good at all and I have some major hospital bills to deal with. The best solution for me right now probably does need to be something of a compromise between price and performance, or else something I can move over to in stages, as I can afford it.

All ideas gratefully received. And by all means hit me with suggestions for hosts too. Thanks!!!

No-one?

email sent to your tgp address (stiffytgp)...

no support BWT, besides reboot and hardware failures, so this is only if you know/can get used to be your own admin

look at our dedicated packages, if you have any questions let me know.
danny at simplecom.net

Thanks.... replied.

But your suggestion raises another issue. On managed hosting until now, no I'm not hot on server admin. But a friend of mine recently got a RackShack box and less technically inclined than me, had very few problems. I just have this suspicion that while all might look fine on the surface, he is likely missing out important stuff in areas like performance optimizing and security.

Is that a realistic concern or am I seeing problems where they don't exist?

Don't take offense, but that's exactly what I had already been doing when I decided to ask something other than which host to use.

Go to a hosting site and you see server specs and bandwidth tables. I know enough to realize that because someone has a price for a 256Mb P3 delivering 3000Gb, doesn't mean the machine could actually deliver that. What I don't know is what spec actually would handle well what I'm trying to do.

I just figure I ought to know what I am looking for, before I go looking for it :)

We had a server with Rackshack for less important free sites and I won't even go into all the trouble we had with them...

www.isprime.com have managed servers with premium bandwith and great support staff. I can really recommend them:)

With their september special, you can get a server with 10Mbs for only $777/month.

It's extremely difficult to say what say what server configuration you will need considering the scripts though. Best add as much extra ram as you can to any package you choose.

Good luck with your choice:)

I hear you. I had a plan for 640 gigs and I was only using around 100 of them and I kept getting emails from tgp owners saying my dedicated server was too slow.. LOL

Sorry Jayeff, and no offense taken:)


We try to max server with bandwidth usage. Now there's also other varibles that come into play when getting a dedicated box. Cpu intensive scipts could require more ram, content sites need more disk space, and so on.

The best thing to do is pick out a couple or 3 plans/host and send them some data on what you need and what your trying to do with your sites/business.


Let me know if I can be of any assistents

overlook the spelling please, its early and I'm feeling some effects from last night:)

Let me know if you need help :)

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