Should the forums upgrade? You get to decide.
Posted: Wed Apr 15, 2009 12:22 pm
Alright all, I wanted to pose a question to the forums. Since this is *everyone's* forums.
Currently, the hosting bill for the site is $120/year for the hosting (the server in the clouds where the files for the web page sits), plus $10/year for the rights to the domain name "isleroyaleforums.com". All these bills were paid in full on August 27, 2008 thanks to the generosity of the users of this forum.
The new question is this: for an additional $10/month (normally this is $15/month), we can have a "private server." Private servers allow us to control the speed of the website, along with ensuring we get the proper amount of speed we pay for.
Currently it works like this: we use a shared hosting (server) plan. A shared hosting play works like getting online with a cable modem. You share your bandwidth (connection speed) with your other neighbors who also have cable internet. You get faster speeds when you're the only one in the neighborhood online (like at 1am), and slower speeds when you're sharing it with others (like after everyone gets home from work). A shared hosting plan works the same way, only regarding processing power. In a shared hosting plan, the forums reside on the same servers as other forums, blogs, and smaller websites. If they get more visits (or write bad code for their web pages...that's another issue, however), they detract from our processor power--which slows down the forums. Conversely, we detract from other websites if we are busier.
If we move to a private hosting (server) plan, it's like using a DSL modem to get online: your bandwidth is *your* bandwidth, and no one else can take that away from you, no matter how many people are online in your area. With a private server plan, we set how much processor we want to use, and no one can infringe on that when their website becomes busier.
The question is this: do we want to pay an extra $120/year for a private server? The benefits are listed above, but do we really need the private hosting plan? Does anyone see the forums as slow or laggy (besides you dial-up users out there!) With the forums growing like they are, do we foresee a slower forum in the near future? You get to decide.
I the next 24-48 hours, I'm moving the forums to a private server for one week to test out a private server plan. This will allow us to benchmark (or see how much we use and need) to see if it justifies the private server plan for $10/month more. Obviously, I'll report back what I see when we are moved over and we can make the final decision then. For now, I'm just throwing it out to you all to start discussing and provide some feedback. I prefer to pay for the hosting myself/have you all contribute rather than move to posting ads on the forum (blech!), so that's why I ask the question. Post your thoughts in this thread. To help aide in your decision, you can see the attached monthly usage report (in PDF), below. You can also visit http://www.dreamhost.com/hosting-vps.html to see the full benefits of a private server.
P.S., I should also clarify: I also host my own private domain on this site (drunkencomputing.com), so in light of this, I certainly don't expect everyone on the forums to pay for ALL the hosting (just like last time, we covered about 70% of the cost).
Currently, the hosting bill for the site is $120/year for the hosting (the server in the clouds where the files for the web page sits), plus $10/year for the rights to the domain name "isleroyaleforums.com". All these bills were paid in full on August 27, 2008 thanks to the generosity of the users of this forum.
The new question is this: for an additional $10/month (normally this is $15/month), we can have a "private server." Private servers allow us to control the speed of the website, along with ensuring we get the proper amount of speed we pay for.
Currently it works like this: we use a shared hosting (server) plan. A shared hosting play works like getting online with a cable modem. You share your bandwidth (connection speed) with your other neighbors who also have cable internet. You get faster speeds when you're the only one in the neighborhood online (like at 1am), and slower speeds when you're sharing it with others (like after everyone gets home from work). A shared hosting plan works the same way, only regarding processing power. In a shared hosting plan, the forums reside on the same servers as other forums, blogs, and smaller websites. If they get more visits (or write bad code for their web pages...that's another issue, however), they detract from our processor power--which slows down the forums. Conversely, we detract from other websites if we are busier.
If we move to a private hosting (server) plan, it's like using a DSL modem to get online: your bandwidth is *your* bandwidth, and no one else can take that away from you, no matter how many people are online in your area. With a private server plan, we set how much processor we want to use, and no one can infringe on that when their website becomes busier.
The question is this: do we want to pay an extra $120/year for a private server? The benefits are listed above, but do we really need the private hosting plan? Does anyone see the forums as slow or laggy (besides you dial-up users out there!) With the forums growing like they are, do we foresee a slower forum in the near future? You get to decide.
I the next 24-48 hours, I'm moving the forums to a private server for one week to test out a private server plan. This will allow us to benchmark (or see how much we use and need) to see if it justifies the private server plan for $10/month more. Obviously, I'll report back what I see when we are moved over and we can make the final decision then. For now, I'm just throwing it out to you all to start discussing and provide some feedback. I prefer to pay for the hosting myself/have you all contribute rather than move to posting ads on the forum (blech!), so that's why I ask the question. Post your thoughts in this thread. To help aide in your decision, you can see the attached monthly usage report (in PDF), below. You can also visit http://www.dreamhost.com/hosting-vps.html to see the full benefits of a private server.
P.S., I should also clarify: I also host my own private domain on this site (drunkencomputing.com), so in light of this, I certainly don't expect everyone on the forums to pay for ALL the hosting (just like last time, we covered about 70% of the cost).