Webhost concerned about XF /Var usage

[jmyres]

We have a small forum with about 1300 users, and just got the following message from a sysadmin at our webhost...

----
While investigating a disk space issues on the shared server your account

resides on, I found that your database liftgamm_forum is using 616M of the

server's allocated 18GB of space in /var.

You need to examine the database and find a means to pare down the size, or
relocate to a dedicated server solution, as this issue will cause problems for
other customers.

Please let me know if I may clarify, or assist in any manner.
----

Aside from deleting posts, which we don't want to do, is there a way to optimize or limit the /Var usage of our forum? They're saying we need to upgrade to a VPS, which we're not sure we need at this point.

 

[craigiri]

I have to assume this is mysql, which is in var.

It's crazy to start deleting posts and users - you could probably make do with a very small VPS or even a shared setup with a bit more overhead room - should cost you $15 to $35 per month.

They mention "dedicated", which you have no need for!

If you are US Based, talk to Mike Edge on the forum here - he does some programs made for smaller communities.

 

[jmyres]

Thanks for the info. They did say MySQL is in /var, which I never knew. Looks like that 20GB of space they give you is for everything but your database. When I replied they said everything was ok for now, but that we may need to upgrade if our db gets near a gig.

We are growing pretty quickly, so if push comes to shove are there any webhosts that offer good support for online communities? Something based on cPanel would be nice. We don't need the control a VPS provides, but don't want to hold the forum back either.

 

[Jake Bunce]

I use www.asmallorange.com

You can potentially reduce the size of your database a lot by pruning the search index. You can prune it with this query:

TRUNCATE TABLE xf_search_index;

But that means search features won't function.

 

[Mike Edge]

If a host worries about a 616M database you need a new host We have many customers each using 1-4gb databases. Why any host would allocate only 18gb to even /var/lib/mysql let alone just /var is beyond me.

 

[Alpha1]

If a host worries about a 616M database you need a new host We have many customers each using 1-4gb databases. Why any host would allocate only 18gb to even /var/lib/mysql let alone just /var is beyond me.

Probably trying to squeeze out any bit of space to add more websites to the box. Or they are trying to push their customer into a more costly hosting package.

 

[WSWD]

Why any host would allocate only 18gb to even /var/lib/mysql let alone just /var is beyond me.

The cPanel recommended minimum is only 16GB for /var. A lot of these kiddie hosts with absolutely no server experience just go with that, and make /home as big as they can, to have more space available there.

 

[Mike Edge]

Yeap, our /var is only 20Gb as not even 5Gb is needed, but that is because we mount /var/lib/mysql to a SSD drive

 

[0xym0r0n]

Get a new (better) host! No matter who it is this is generally the start of a nagging/upsell situation in my experience. Starts with something dinky. Then they say "Oh you're now using too much of this and that!" Please upgrade to a VPS for $49.99/m or a dedicated at $150/m!

I've been using WSWD.net for my XF sites and have been very pleased with service.

My old host gave me the same run around saying I needed a dedicated server and such. I haven't had any issue with that on WSWD.

 

[WSWD]

Get a new (better) host! No matter who it is this is generally the start of a nagging/upsell situation in my experience. Starts with something dinky. Then they say "Oh you're now using too much of this and that!" Please upgrade to a VPS for $49.99/m or a dedicated at $150/m!

I've been using WSWD.net for my XF sites and have been very pleased with service.

My old host gave me the same run around saying I needed a dedicated server and such. I haven't had any issue with that on WSWD.

Hey, I know you! Thanks for the kind words! I've been meaning to talk to you recently about upgrading to a VPS or dedicated server. ha!

In all seriousness, as I mentioned, there are a lot of kiddie hosts and hosts who just plain have no idea what they're doing. Now with CloudLinux and similar products readily available, it's all too easy for a provider to start shooting out graphs and figures and all sorts of nonsense to clients, showing how they're overloading the server, or using too much of this resource or that resource, etc. And the potential of upgrading a client from a $5 shared hosting plan to a $30 VPS makes these hosts salivate.

Don't get me wrong, there are legitimate times when sites do need to be upgraded to a VPS or dedicated box. But probably 90% of the forums in existence will run just fine on a shared hosting server, assuming it is properly maintained, not overloaded, etc.

It just amazes me the scams that these guys will pull trying to get a few extra dollars out of their clients.

 

[WSWD]

And I'm amazed everytime I see such a thread about the amount of hosts promoting their services

And I'm likewise amazed further by people spamming their signatures, by responding to posts and offering absolutely nothing useful to the thread.