Canadian hosting recommendations - tired of incompetent support

[jimelliott]

Hi everyone,


I'm looking for Canadian hosting company recommendations for my XenForo forum. I've been having a nightmare experience with multiple hosts and need advice from actual XenForo users.


My situation:My forum has been getting "Too many connections" database errors. When I contacted XenForo support, Paul was very clear:

• First response: "That is a server limitation. You will need to contact your host and ask them to increase the limit."
• After my host denied it was their issue: "I suggest you switch hosts. This is a hosting issue and nothing related to XF."

Hosts I've tried with terrible results:

• CanSpace: Claimed it was a XenForo configuration issue, argued with XenForo's own diagnosis
• HostPapa: Support rep said "I can guess" about their own services and admitted they don't use connection pooling
• 4GoodHosting: Told me to "open a support ticket" instead of answering basic pre-sales questions
• Canadian Web Hosting: Chat has character limits that prevent asking detailed technical questions

What I need:A Canadian hosting company that:

• Understands database connection limits and can increase them when needed
• Has technically competent support staff
• Can provide specific details about MySQL configurations
• Won't deflect XenForo issues back to XenForo when it's clearly hosting-related

Has anyone found a Canadian host that actually knows what they're doing with XenForo? I'm willing to pay more for competent service at this point.


Thanks in advance for any recommendations!

 

[beerForo]

My forum has been getting "Too many connections" database errors.

This doesn't mean you need to move hosts it means you need to adjust your server. Have you raised the max connections?

 

[beerForo]

You've tried 4 hosts over this issue?

 

[jimelliott]

You've tried 4 hosts over this issue?

I mean I have tried as in talked to them. Only CanSpace I have actually used.

 

[jimelliott]

This doesn't mean you need to move hosts it means you need to adjust your server. Have you raised the max connections?

Of course the server needs to be adjusted, but the problem is that CanSpace won't do it because Neil of CanSpace support thinks he knows better than XenForo support. CanSpace is the obstacle here. That's why Xenforo's Paul told me to switch hosts.

 

[beerForo]

I mean I have tried as in talked to them. Only CanSpace I have actually used.

"Hosts I've tried with terrible results:"

You make it sound like you tried their service with terrible results. That's really not fair to the hosts you listed.

 

[jimelliott]

"Hosts I've tried with terrible results:"

You make it sound like you tried their service with terrible results. That's really not fair to the hosts you listed.

Sure. Split hairs over my wording instead of helping. I clarified that I used CanSpace and only spoke to the others during pre-sales inquiries. When I asked these other hosts specific technical questions about MySQL connection limits and XenForo support, they gave me useless generic responses like 'we'll be there to help' and 'I can guess some users host XenForo.' One company told me to open a support ticket for basic pre-sales questions. If you think that's unfair criticism of hosts who can't answer basic infrastructure questions about their own services, that's your problem. I'm here for hosting recommendations, not a lecture about being fair to incompetent companies. Do you have actual helpful suggestions or just more nitpicking about my word choice?

 

[beerForo]

It's not nitpicking when you defame a company claiming you tried them.

 

[beerForo]

Is this shared or VPS?

 

[jimelliott]

It's not nitpicking when you defame a company claiming you tried them.

I didn't defame anyone - I accurately described my pre-sales experience with these companies. When I asked specific technical questions about MySQL connection limits and XenForo support, they gave me useless responses like 'we'll be there to help' and 'I can guess some users host XenForo.' One company told me to open a support ticket for basic pre-sales questions.

If you think documenting incompetent pre-sales responses is 'defamation,' that says more about your priorities than mine. You're clearly not here to help anybody - you're just here to nitpick semantics and defend hosting companies that can't answer basic technical questions.

I'm dealing with a real technical problem that XenForo support confirmed is hosting-related, and you're wasting everyone's time policing my word choices instead of providing useful information. Either contribute something helpful or stop derailing the thread with your pointless corrections.

 

[jimelliott]

Is this shared or VPS?

Shared.

 

[beerForo]

Look into CrocWeb. Heard a few good things. Due diligence and all (you know the deal).

CrocWeb Cloud Hosting - Secure, Fast & Scalable Web Solutions

Power your websites with CrocWeb’s cloud hosting. Enjoy maximum uptime, high performance, automated server failover, and 24/7 expert support.

www.crocweb.com

 

[jimelliott]

Look into CrocWeb. Heard a few good things. Due diligence and all (you know the deal).

CrocWeb Cloud Hosting - Secure, Fast & Scalable Web Solutions

Power your websites with CrocWeb’s cloud hosting. Enjoy maximum uptime, high performance, automated server failover, and 24/7 expert support.

www.crocweb.com

Thank you.

 

[Mendalla]

D

Look into CrocWeb. Heard a few good things. Due diligence and all (you know the deal).

CrocWeb Cloud Hosting - Secure, Fast & Scalable Web Solutions

Power your websites with CrocWeb’s cloud hosting. Enjoy maximum uptime, high performance, automated server failover, and 24/7 expert support.

www.crocweb.com

Satisfied customer of their shared hosting for 11 years here. Haven't dealt with the kinds of questions @jimelliott talks about but their support has generally been fairly responsive. Pricing fits our rather skimpy budget even after an increase or two. Had to nudge them about upgrading MariaDB at one point but they were actually in the process of doing so, just hadn't got to the server we are on yet.

One thing that ticked me off but only a little: they surprised us with the switch from cpanel to directadmin for control panel but it was fairly smooth and didn't impact the site itself in a big way. I would have barely noticed if I hadn't had a problem with my dev site. Users didn't notice at all. Still, a heads-up would have been nice.

 

[Digital Doctor]

Go for a smaller provider that knows what they are doing and knows Xenforo well like @MattW

 

[Mendalla]

Go for a smaller provider that knows what they are doing and knows Xenforo well like @MattW

Does he have a hosting site in Canada, though? That's part of the ask, I assume so Canadian privacy and related laws apply. That's certainly why mine is on a domestic host

 

[Digital Doctor]

Does he have a hosting site in Canada, though? That's part of the ask, I assume so Canadian privacy and related laws apply. That's certainly why mine is on a domestic host

Probably not, no.
I assume when he wanted Canadian, he actually meant non-American

 

[Mendalla]

Probably not, no.
I assume when he wanted Canadian, he actually meant non-American

Not necessarily true. I wouldn't host a site with a mainly Canadian audience in Europe either. Why deal with GDPR when Canada's current half-assed privacy laws are easier to work with (as in, because we are small and not a business, they basically don't apply)? Even at work, we insist on Canadian tenancy for cloud data for mostly legal reasons.

 

[Mr Lucky]

Why deal with GDPR when Canada's current half-assed privacy laws are easier to work with

I didn’t know GDPR would be relevant to where your site is hosted. Surely the site’s privacy politics is what counts, not the host?

 

[Mendalla]

I didn’t know GDPR would be relevant to where your site is hosted. Surely the site’s privacy politics is what counts, not the host?

It's more complex than that, but if your data is in Canada and you are in Canada, Canadian law applies. European privacy law is not going to be applied to a Canadian resident on a Canadian site. I have one member from the UK so I keep half an eye on their privacy law, which I understand is basically a UK version of GDPR since Brexit, but it's not really the focus of my privacy policies.