Xenforo based hosting
- Thread starter Lexy
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Mike Edge
Well-known member
We use Cloudflare for DNS only, in case of an event of a complete data center failure, I can switch the IP fast to a remote VPS to keep those that don't use Facebook or Twitter informed with updates from the data center. Cloud Flare is not enabled as far as a cache goes, you can check our IP for the site, it goes direct to our servers, not CF. As for a CDN, a lot of our clients have found that using our supplied Memcache server works just as well, if not better then a CDN. Yes that is correct, there are many ideas in the world getting rich off the hype of the product, CDN is indeed one of them. I can't think of one client off the top of my head that uses CDN still instead of our memcache, that includes several forums with 3 million+ posts and 1k+ online.
Eoj Nawoh
Active member
While sure it's not much in modern day, it still is slower then a locally based host. Not to mention, xFhost has support mostly based on EST hours, meaning the times he is on and needs support, you'll be sleeping.
I won't speak for the clients in Asia and I'm not trying to say he shouldn't go with specifically xFhost, I'm saying it's probably in his best interest to go for a more local/geographically similar host.
Also, that's nothing like saying don't buy XenForo because the support forum is slow. It's like saying buying a host that serves a country that's over 3000 miles away primarily isn't in your best interest and it's better to find a more local server host. He asked for advice, I'm trying to give him advice that would best help his forum not a specific host.
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tommydamic68
Well-known member
I am looking into Hawkhost as we speak - any other thoughts or concerns since you spoke good about them in October @Daniel Hood?
Daniel Hood
Well-known member
I've had minimal down time with them. I'm still happy with them. They are fairly quick with support responses too.
tommydamic68
Well-known member
Ok - cool, I am looking into their semi - dedicated plan, host searching has been driving me crazy in the last few weeks so I hope Hawkhost pans out to my needs...
Daniel Hood
Well-known member
I'd recommend doing what I did then. Which was pay for a month, test it out. If you're happy get a longer term plan. I just have a basic reseller so my experience may not be a fair reflection of what you'll experience.
If you're looking for a dedicated server I may be able to refer you to someone else too. I'm not sure what his prices are but the company I work for has a couple servers through him.
If you're looking for a dedicated server I may be able to refer you to someone else too. I'm not sure what his prices are but the company I work for has a couple servers through him.
tommydamic68
Well-known member
@Daniel Hood - Not quite ready or may never be big enough for dedicated, thanks though, I think one of these semi -dedicated (i hope) will do the trick, my main issue is speed, page load, my current host has given me no other problems but the speed has gotten worse and they no longer do back ups of my site due to amount of files i have currently.
TPerry
Well-known member
If the price is right, whether you are "big enough" or not should not really matter. One one of my forums that has a whole 8 registered users (and only 3 active) sits on a dual Xeon L5639 all by it's lonesome. Price is right and I figure if it ever takes off then I don't have to worry about bumping the system up more. It's already set where it needs to be for a while. The other 5 forums site on a 5520 (which I"m debating upgrading).
tommydamic68
Well-known member
My site is a hobby, and all though my Google ads and donations easily pay for my hosting, I still like to have extra monies for contests on the site, etc.- and a little in my pocket, with just my Google ads revenue, I could easily go VPS and hope for the best in the future growth of the community, but as it stands, it would seem a little wasteful to me. I do think its now time for the next level for me and my hosting after going on 5 years with my forum however.
TPerry
Well-known member
My sites are just a hobby also... They don't bring in but maybe 40 cents a month on Google Adsense. Depends on what you call wasteful. It's taught me a LOT more about servers by having the systems all to my little lonesome!
Of course, I have play money set aside for hobbies and this only takes about $400 (sometimes up to around $490) of it a month now. Leaves me some for my FJR (although when it warms up I may drop one of my servers I have to have more farkle money for the bike). For about $25 a month you can get a small dedicated server (Intel Core2Duo E8300 4GB RAM/80GB HD/100Mbps unmetered) from the host that I use. Yes, it's desktop grade equipment - but there are plenty of sites running on Atom processors also.
SelfSufficientMe
Well-known member
I wonder if xf will ever go down the hosting road like vb has?
Main Company
Active member
That would really be smart. Early-on I tried a small host here who claimed to be a XF expert, what a disaster. Prepaid a years worth of hosting never received delivery of anything, nor would the host refund any portion of my payment. Ultimately went to my own dedicated service, and while it took a little while to setup the way I wanted it, it's been well worth the investment in the long run.
SelfSufficientMe
Well-known member
Yeah, a dedicated server would certainly be advantageous but I have found it too technical and time consuming for me personally with the set-up and upkeep of the system. I tried a vps earlier this year and ended up canning it because I just couldn't wrap my poor small brain around maintaining it... Unfortunately too, a managed vps or dedi is still pretty expensive for the average hobby site but I'm hoping in the future they will become cheaper and as easy to run as a shared account with CP.
pegasus
Well-known member
I wouldn't count too much on this. In general, the only thing that gets cheaper over time is the server parts. Over time, that has meant that you have been able to get better dedicated servers for the same price, but rarely have I seen the rental prices themselves go down significantly.
I've seen stuff around $99-129/month, but for a decent box (or whatever is considered decent at the time), you end up putting add-ons closer to $200/month like I did.
I have never regretted the decision to jump right from shared $5/month to dedicated $200/month.
For those who think that's a big jump:
I run several relatively small sites, but I had 2 problems:
1. Email notifications that needed to be sent were throttled on shared hosting. I relied on these notifications especially to remind users that their paid forum subscriptions were expiring soon. Throttling these meant a lot of users never got notified, or got notified extremely late, as the mail queue only kept growing. This was affecting the bottom line.
2. My sites were all very download-heavy. In peak times when new downloads were posted, and then a high % of users came at once to check them out, it ate up a lot of CPU to distribute the files. My shared account got temp-banned a few times during peak times for pulling too much CPU.
I did research some VPS's at the time, but very few offered some features that I needed, and I was wary of being hosted on the same server as other sites. My sites were already guilty-by-association to other not-so-reputable sites on the same box. This was something I hoped to get rid of, and I had other plans for the server, like running Flash games or RTMP streams, and I wasn't confident that I wouldn't get banned for CPU cycles again in the future on a VPS with a similar the number of people as on my shared account.
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SelfSufficientMe
Well-known member
I guess I'm hoping more the technology of self-managed servers gets better... Then, I wouldn't need a managed server as I could manage it myself - that would save money.
My wish list would be a dedi server whereby I could simply select all the products I need like: OS, security, php, mail, etc and then they would be installed and automatically updated as required with perhaps the option of hiring someone quarterly to do a maintenance check on my overall system. ATM, I think a fully managed dedi is a little out of reach for my sites although I'm starting to warm to the idea again now after these last few posts.
The other thing is, not every host offers a managed dedicated server product either... most are self-managed vps or dedies. One day, I'm going to have to progress off a shared server that's for sure because even now my small forum maxes out sometimes.
MQK8
Well-known member
I think what he was trying to say is most people can't justify having a dedicated server on a small forum or a forum that may never grow big enough to justify a dedicated server. The ROI is just not there and may never be.
TPerry
Well-known member
If he's having the problems that he was reporting - then it's a pretty good indicator he's outgrown what he's using. As my grandad used to say - now he needs to decide if he's going to cut bait or fish.I think what he was trying to say is most people can't justify having a dedicated server on a small forum or a forum that may never grow big enough to justify a dedicated server. The ROI is just not there and may never be.
The only way to resolve those type of problems is to increase your capacity. If you aren't willing to do that (or can't afford it) then it's either
a) deal with the problem from connections (live with them)
b) cut loose the ka-ching to upgrade.
MQK8
Well-known member
@Tracy Perry, not everybody is skilled at setting up a dedicated server like you are and therefor can't afford a managed dedicated server or a managed VPS for that matter. Oh and it's "fish or cut bait" but I picked up what you were layin' down .
TPerry
Well-known member
That's why I put this at the top:@Tracy Perry, not everybody is skilled at setting up a dedicated server like you are and therefor can't afford a managed dedicated server or a managed VPS for that matter. Oh and it's "fish or cut bait" but I picked up what you were layin' down .
a) deal with the problem from connections (live with them)
It stands to reason if one cannot afford to upgrade to either a better hosting plan, a VPS or a managed VPS then you have no choice but to live with said limitations (which the forum owner has no control over - only the hosting provider).
If they limit to 25 active connections (mysql) and you reach that, there is no way to get around it.
There are no "magic bullets" that will fix it.
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