XenForo Server Specs

[InMyImage]

I am getting ready to purchase a XenForo license and spin up a new forum that is focused on a niche market.

Currently I want to scope out the server based on approximately 1000 posts per day with up to 100 concurrent users posting mainly during mornings and evenings.

Content mainly text based but about 20% of posts include embedded youtube videos and another 20% embedded photos directly linked from other sites like imgur, tumblr, pinterest, etc.

I have found a lot of good information on recommended hosting companies by reading through the last 18 months worth of posts in the various areas of this forum, but one thing that I have not seen addressed is what sever resources to spec out for a plan.

So... assuming XenForo 1.4.6 what would be the recommendations for:

Number of server cores
RAM
Throughput

Thanks

 

[Claudio]

I am getting ready to purchase a XenForo license and spin up a new forum that is focused on a niche market.

Currently I want to scope out the server based on approximately 1000 posts per day with up to 100 concurrent users posting mainly during mornings and evenings.

Content mainly text based but about 20% of posts include embedded youtube videos and another 20% embedded photos directly linked from other sites like imgur, tumblr, pinterest, etc.

I have found a lot of good information on recommended hosting companies by reading through the last 18 months worth of posts in the various areas of this forum, but one thing that I have not seen addressed is what sever resources to spec out for a plan.

So... assuming XenForo 1.4.6 what would be the recommendations for:

Number of server cores
RAM
Throughput

Thanks

You don't need a VPS for such quantity of users and posts, a shared hosting is fine

 

[rainmotorsports]

I personally use a $5 a month digital ocean vps setup with nginx. Out of the box past 50 users its a little trouble. But tuned properly a 250 user concurrent load seems doable from benchmarks. Decent shared hosting will likely perform better for those peak loads at the same price. Plus the lessened hassle of managing a server.

 

[Mike Edge]

We host several communities with millions of posts and over 1000 concurrent users via our shared hosting platform. Feel free to PM me if you'd like to discuss our services more.

 

[Ernest L. Defoe]

Highly recommend @xenBoost Mike. Superior support!

 

[Martok]

For a VPS solution I'd highly recommend Nimbus Hosting.

https://www.nimbushosting.co.uk

As for the shared hosting v VPS argument, Google the advantages and disadvantages of both and make your own mind up.

 

[InMyImage]

Right now I'm planning to use a VPS solution simply because I like to be able to get at all of my system logs as well as being to tune and tweak server processes.

I'm on disability now, but my career was as a computer systems consultant doing distributed server system implementations.

After looking at the add-on and features that I'd like to implement, I'm planning to use the s9e media pack, the beyond likes feedback add-on and the widgets framework with a feed going of the latest posts, latest threads and latest status updates. So I expect a fair amount of database activity that goes a bit beyond the typical query load generated by a comparable load of similar concurrent users.

Which is why the biggest question that I have is how much RAM and how many CPU cores do I need to be looking at as a minimum configuration to get started on.

 

[Mike Edge]

Right now I'm planning to use a VPS solution simply because I like to be able to get at all of my system logs as well as being to tune and tweak server processes.

I'm on disability now, but my career was as a computer systems consultant doing distributed server system implementations.

After looking at the add-on and features that I'd like to implement, I'm planning to use the s9e media pack, the beyond likes feedback add-on and the widgets framework with a feed going of the latest posts, latest threads and latest status updates. So I expect a fair amount of database activity that goes a bit beyond the typical query load generated by a comparable load of similar concurrent users.

Which is why the biggest question that I have is how much RAM and how many CPU cores do I need to be looking at as a minimum configuration to get started on.

I would start with 1-2GB RAM with 2-4 cores. As your site grows, upgrading your container is very simple, your host just needs to increase your resources and then a container reboot and your upgraded

 

[rainmotorsports]

One of the biggest ram killers is mysql's performance schema. Disable it in the config and you should be fine at 1gb.