XF 1.2 Attachment loading in a thread/post

[Wildcat Media]

This is a rather obscure question. Due to the popularity of attachments on our forum, I am looking to offload the attachments to a separate location. Our forum is currently run on two SSDs (one for the database, one for the web server and everything else) and it is plenty fast. We do not, however, want to fill up expensive SSDs with these attachments.

I know I could host on a cloud somewhere (which could get pricey), but for now we are looking at installing a third drive--a traditional hard disk. Either way, this means retrieval of the attachment files is slower than if they reside on the SSD along with the forum.

My question: is having the attachment files on a slower storage medium (traditional disk, cloud storage, etc.) going to adversely affect the loading of posts or pages, or do the attachments load in asynchronously? In other words, in the past, some page layouts I had seen would "hang" while loading until the appropriate images were fully loaded in. I don't care if the page renders without the attachments at first, and then they fill in as they are retrieved, but I don't want to see the page loading entirely paused while it waits for an attachment image to completely load.

Hope that made sense...

 

[Paul B]

I think @MattW has all attachments stored on a separate drive.

Perhaps he can comment.

 

[MattW]

I think @MattW has all attachments stored on a separate drive.

Perhaps he can comment.

I have mine loaded from the data directory with the aid of @xfrocks attachment store add on. This can also use amazon s3 or FTP to load them to a different server (could also be the same box but a different drive).

I them have all mine served via a CDN (cdn.net currently).

 

[Wildcat Media]

Having posted this, I'm now having a total blank-out of memory here: where in the admin CP do I enter the path for attachment storage? Or, is it done only in config.php with the $config['internalDataPath'] to move the whole internal_data directory to another drive? I know I've seen it...I just can't quite remember where it was.

 

[MattW]

Having posted this, I'm now having a total blank-out of memory here: where in the admin CP do I enter the path for attachment storage? Or, is it done only in config.php with the $config['internalDataPath'] to move the whole internal_data directory to another drive? I know I've seen it...I just can't quite remember where it was.

It's done in config.php

 

[Paul B]

It's done in config.php - see the FAQ in my signature.

http://xenforo.com/community/threads/frequently-asked-questions.5183/#post-180456

 

[Wildcat Media]

I have mine loaded from the data directory with the aid of @xfrocks attachment store add on. This can also use amazon s3 or FTP to load them to a different server (could also be the same box but a different drive).

Nice! Do you notice it affecting page load speeds? We are running SSDs to keep things fast, but don't want to see major delays while the attachments load.

 

[MattW]

Nice! Do you notice it affecting page load speeds? We are running SSDs to keep things fast, but don't want to see major delays while the attachments load.

None what so ever. I'm on an SSD VPS, and the CDN company use SSD edge servers. Check out my site in my signature and have a look at some of the threads in the project section, they are full of attachments.

 

[MattW]

Try this one: http://www.z22se.co.uk/threads/project-freeze-my-ass-off-rear-poly-bushs-astra-g.22133/page-55