Would Hostmonster be able to keep up with the developement of a large site?

[Ocili]

Hi, I already have an account on HM and the only trouble I got with it is the CPU exceeding page which kept coming out for a long time. They have increased their CPU limit some time ago, so I didn't have any trouble until today, when the CPU exceeding page reappeared.

I'm working on another site currently, which will most probably run on IPBoard + IPGallery + IPBlogs. I'm planning to get to at least 10.000 - 20.000 unique users per day, within let's say - half a year.

What I would like to know is if I should look for a dedicated server, or Hostmonster would do the job.

Once the support told me that the CPU quota is about 20 queries to the database at the moment. I'm not sure whether every user on the forums creates more than 1 queries each time they load a page, or a few users can create just one...

The forum I currently run has reached about 600 users per hour if the stats are not wrong (SMF).

They also told me it has something to do with the way it's coded, and I suppose that IPB is properly coded.

So what do you think I should do?

Thanks!

[shadmego]

If you want to save money in the developement of the site, and you think it's worth it, you might try getting the new account for a year at HM and then after 6 months see how your traffic is coming along. If you need to move to a dedicated server after that, you can start the process then and have it completed by the time the new account expires.

I don't know about the CPU quotas and honestly, I've never really understood them either. I do know that the more popular scripts - IPBoards, VBulletin, SMF, phpBB, etc - are all fairly streamlined when it comes to performing their functions. The problem a lot of people get into is in the modifications they make. Because third party mods aren't written by the same developers as the core code, it's highly likely these mods aren't as well written.

I am of the mind that when you start getting into the numbers of users you are talking about though, it is time to start looking for a VPS or dedicated one to handle the load. The only problem I see with these more expensive servers is the hit you will take in hard disk space and bandwidth.

~regards

[sjlplat]

It's a tedious task, but I think your first step should be to determine what is causing the CPU to exceed the provided limits. You'll need to evaluate your raw access logs and determine what is happening at the time of the problem. It's highly likely that there are forces at play other than your forum.

[Ocili]

Well, it does use several modifications both on the forums as on the blogs and news...

The new one will also have some mods, but I'll try to keep them minimal.


If you want to save money in the development of the site, and you think it's worth it, you might try getting the new account for a year at HM and then after 6 months see how your traffic is coming along. If you need to move to a dedicated server after that, you can start the process then and have it completed by the time the new account expires.

That's what I had in mind, just not sure if HM could support it until then (hopefully, that amount of traffic will earn me enough money for a VPS).


The only problem I see with these more expensive servers is the hit you will take in hard disk space and bandwidth.

I'm not quite sure I understand this... :confused:

Once again, thanks!

[shadmego]

What I mean about the hit you will take in storage space and bandwidth is that most shared hosting environments provide massive storage and bandwidth limits. In the case of Hostmonster, this is now unlimited in both cases.

When you move to a dedicated server, I've not seen any dedicated servers that can compare to storage space and bandwidth over their shared hosting counterparts.

But maybe the ability to control the entire server outweighs the benefits of shared hosting ....