just moved from shared server to VPS - help needed

[Carphone]

Hi All,

I am in desperate need of some professional and impartial help.

I was recently contacted by my current host as they felt my site was too busy for a shared server. they advised i was slowing down other peoples website. They recommended i move to one of their VPS packages or take my business else where. This surprised me as i have not updated my site in over 12 months and its less popular now than it has ever been.

My site consumes about 2GB of bandwidth per day with approx 2000 visitors a day.

Even though their prices seemed high, for convience sake i opted to move to their value VPS - see the VPS package I moved onto here
http://www.supanames.co.uk/virtual-p...rs/linux/value

Immediately after moving to this VPS i noticed my site was incredibly slow. To the point it would not load at all. On looking in my Virtuozzo Control Panel i noticed the system usage had increased to 98% and was in the "black zone". restarting the VPS temporarily fixes the problem but it is only a matter of time before it slips back into the black zone again. See pic below:




System usuage capacity usually sits at 60 - 65% for a while and then slowly increases to black zone 98%. Is 60 - 65% normal for quiet times?

On chasing this with my host they decided my forum database may be the cause. I disabled my forum but still the black zone problem kept on occuring. (forum has been disabled for 48 hrs now)

After numerous emails to them i have just recieved the follwing back:

Thank you for your patience.

Our engineers have looked into this and have underestimated the popularity of your website. Unforunately our VPS Value only supports 166 connections at one time and your website is maxing this. Our VPS Mid and VPS Premier both offer up to 500 connections simutanously and offer more memory. We recommend that you upgrade to our VPS Mid and we will refund you the cost of the time left for your VPS Value.


The mid package there are talking of is here:
http://www.supanames.co.uk/signup/vpsmid

Now the value VPS i have just moved to was £211 for 1 year which i have already paid. The package they are suggesting i move to is another £211 ontop. So that would be a total of £422 !!

My site is little more than a hobby - which i have not updated in over 1 year. I do plan to revamp it soon so this is why i would like the hosting issues resolved. But does 2GB a day and 2000 vistors really need a £400 hosting soloution.

So my question to you all is, should i upgrade to their mid package and hope that is it (even if does seem like crazy overkill). Or can anyone else recommend a shared or VPS package that would be happy to accomadate my traffic. Or are their any other soloutions i havent though of.

Ideally i would like to stay with a UK host - as I have heard rumors this may help y google uk rankings. (google really like like my site already for some reason)


My site for anyone that is interested is www.unlockme.co.uk (you will see it is very basic - does not use ay databases to run)

Any help much appreciated.

Many Thanks

Dan

[VirtualT]

Tell them to stick their hosting where the sun don't shine.
I have sites doing 15k page loads per day on shared hosting without a problem (and sql), a vps with limited cpu time and minimal ram (200M is pathetic) is not the best solution for a high traffic site.

[Lord Brar]

Originally Posted by Carphone

Hi All,

I am in desperate need of some professional and impartial help.

I was recently contacted by my current host as they felt my site was too busy for a shared server. they advised i was slowing down other peoples website. They recommended i move to one of their VPS packages or take my business else where. This surprised me as i have not updated my site in over 12 months and its less popular now than it has ever been.

My site consumes about 2GB of bandwidth per day with approx 2000 visitors a day.

Even though their prices seemed high, for convience sake i opted to move to their value VPS - see the VPS package I moved onto here
http://www.supanames.co.uk/virtual-p...rs/linux/value

Immediately after moving to this VPS i noticed my site was incredibly slow. To the point it would not load at all. On looking in my Virtuozzo Control Panel i noticed the system usage had increased to 98% and was in the "black zone". restarting the VPS temporarily fixes the problem but it is only a matter of time before it slips back into the black zone again. See pic below:




System usuage capacity usually sits at 60 - 65% for a while and then slowly increases to black zone 98%. Is 60 - 65% normal for quiet times?

On chasing this with my host they decided my forum database may be the cause. I disabled my forum but still the black zone problem kept on occuring. (forum has been disabled for 48 hrs now)

After numerous emails to them i have just recieved the follwing back:

Thank you for your patience.

Our engineers have looked into this and have underestimated the popularity of your website. Unforunately our VPS Value only supports 166 connections at one time and your website is maxing this. Our VPS Mid and VPS Premier both offer up to 500 connections simutanously and offer more memory. We recommend that you upgrade to our VPS Mid and we will refund you the cost of the time left for your VPS Value.


The mid package there are talking of is here:
http://www.supanames.co.uk/signup/vpsmid

Now the value VPS i have just moved to was £211 for 1 year which i have already paid. The package they are suggesting i move to is another £211 ontop. So that would be a total of £422 !!

My site is little more than a hobby - which i have not updated in over 1 year. I do plan to revamp it soon so this is why i would like the hosting issues resolved. But does 2GB a day and 2000 vistors really need a £400 hosting soloution.

So my question to you all is, should i upgrade to their mid package and hope that is it (even if does seem like crazy overkill). Or can anyone else recommend a shared or VPS package that would be happy to accomadate my traffic. Or are their any other soloutions i havent though of.

Ideally i would like to stay with a UK host - as I have heard rumors this may help y google uk rankings. (google really like like my site already for some reason)


My site for anyone that is interested is www.unlockme.co.uk (you will see it is very basic - does not use ay databases to run)

Any help much appreciated.

Many Thanks

Dan

Doh! You should never pay upfront for this very specific reason (and next time you plan to choose ANY host, be sure to read the article in my signature).

What you can do right now is to stick to it that they refund you the money so that you can look at other options or chargeback if you can. Tell them you will not tolerate their incompetent engineers underestimating things and you having to pay more for it.

I strongly recommend that you look into PowerVPS. They absolutely rock!

[Carphone]

Thanks all,

i have just emailed powervps to see what they can recommend.

I will read you hosting guide now - i knew i jumped into their hosting package too quickly. Annoying really because i am normally so careful before spending my hard earned cash.

once again thanks for all your help.

will keep you updated.

Thanks

Dan

[DMaN]

PowerVPS is a pretty solid provider when it comes to VPS accounts. I'd definitely push very hard to get my money back in this instance. Importantly, they have already acknowledged that they were at fault in this scenario, so you need to point that out. I don't encourage blackmail, but let them know you'll let people know how poorly you were treated in that regard. I'd hit up a couple industry and industry-related forums if you must. A reputation is valuable and companies must protect it.

If your website was functioning relatively fine in a shared environment, then a VPS should seriously be able to handle it.

[Carphone]

yes i think a VPS is over kill really - i do not need any of the advanced features a VPS offers. I just need my site to run smoothly.

I am hoping getting my cash back wont be too much of a problem as they have a big 30 day guarentee stamped on their webiste when i signed up (no doubt with loads of t's and c's attached).

I would like to find a shared host ideally but will go VPS if the price is ok.

I have just sent off a standard email with my approx usuage to 10 different hosting companies asking what they can offer. Lets see how many of them tell me to get lost. Seems some of them only want your business if you are not going to drain any of their resources....

Once again thanks

Dan

[DMaN]

Well Dan, I wish you luck, you should be able to find a provider that will handle you at some point. Just do your research like you are doing, they are out there.

Herein lies the downside of budget hosting. Margins are very near zero in this arena and so when they can get you off a cheap plan and get you on a more expensive one, most hosts will do that in a heartbeat.

Taking a look around at them, the unlimited bandwidth always sets off warning signs. Personally speaking, I'd steer clear of anyone that offers that, regardless of whether you're on that specific plan or not. It's a good rule of thumb to follow.

Wish you luck, friend!

[grace5]

If all you have is one account (or a few)look for a shared hosts,as you can pay monthly.

http://www.beachcomber-creations.com/
shared - resellers - servers and VPS
quick helpful support in apx 1 hr or less.

I used this guy for years (server) and never had a major problem like you are saying.
some of the best hand holding support there is.

[tristanperry]

A VPS may be good for that site, although £411 per year is a rip-off.

I'm currently with KnownHost - their VPSes run on really powerful servers, and my main site/forums which get 3 million page views monthly run fine, using up (usually) just 250 Mb of RAM, even with a cPanel/WHM set-up (albeit an optimised one).

[accomatic]

Ask your question on WebHostingTalk.com and you'll get some good recommendations as well as possibly a personal discount.

As for the price you're paying now (£411) -- that is just crazy. For the money you can get a whole dedicated server with good uplink.

[grace5]

Yep WHT is worth the look

[domain newbie]

i recommend hostgator.com- very good support, you can chat them up online and see whats your best solution