First thing I did after moving the site to a new server is .. find out if the move was really necessary.
You'll recall that Lunarpages support told me the site used too many resources to qualify for their VPS plan, and that I needed a dedicate server (something I found hard to believe).
So now that we are here, I've been pinging the sppt techs at WiredTree, asking them exactly what resources we're using.
You can find all the gory details here » Resource Usage at New VPS Server .. but they basically said our CPU usage is "minimal."
Surprisingly however, they also said our allotment of memory would've already been exceeded .. had it not been for the free 128-MB RAM upgrade ( .. for which I found a coupon).
WiredTree offers two VPS plans. One comes with 256-MB ($49/mo), the other 512-MB ($89/mo). So it seems we already exceed the 256 .. currently using 270-MB, and the specs of our current plan (with 384-MB dedicated memory) are half-way between the 256 and 512-MB VPS plans.
WT offers incremental memory upgrades at a rate of $7.50/mo per 64-MB. So it seems my (free) 128-MB upgrade is worth $15/mo. Plus the coupon also provides a 10% discount .. equal to $5/mo. So the coupon is worth $20/mo (total) .. without which we'd be paying $65/mo.
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The next step after 512 is what they call Hybrid Dedicated, which comes with 1-GB dedicated memory (for $139/mo). Compare Hybrid with VPS » here.
After the "Hybrid" option comes Full Dedicated .. either single-CPU ($209/mo) or dual-CPU ($329/mo). So, it seems the answer to my questions are ..
- YES, we need a VPS, but
- NO, not a Dedicated server. (Which is what I'd imagined.)
I mean, I could've signed up with a different Shared host, but now glad I didn't. Tried hard to get Lunarpages to let me move back to their Shared server. But it became clear (after nearly 3 months in exile) I knew they weren't gonna let us back.
Tried every trick I knew .. to reduce our server resource usage, .. including upgrades to both the forum and blog scripts. (We did everything possible to try to stay with Shared hosting.)
But now that we've moved, I've been getting mail from folks all over the world, saying how much more responsive the site is. That makes me happy, cuz everybody knows how much an effect responsiveness has on user enjoyment. Doggy (slow) sites suk.
Funny that I now have access to the same program » WHM (webHost mgr), that Lunarpages used to cite my server-usage stats. I can see exactly where they were getting these numbers from. Even more funny is that the support guys at WiredTree say that module is unreliable.
The WHM is a poor gauge for measuring system resources. You can always ask us if your server is running out of resources since we check it out via SSH. If you're familiar with the command line, I can give you a few commands to get that info yourself.
Far as I can tell, Lunarpages gave me nothing but stats from the WHM module. I mean the format is identical to what WHM provides.
One final problem I'm have is with the blog. See here » Mt.cgi Wants To *download* After Moving Site. Hope I don't have to re-install MTOS. That would suk .. tho not too badly. Update - found a fix here. I was starting to worry.
Running a VPS involves a different mind-set than Shared hosting. Hard to describe, but with Shared hosting, you have the feeling you're riding the bus. (You have some control over where you go, but ultimately only on a pre-determined number of routes. Whereas VPS imposes no such restrictions. By comparison, it feels like you've just leased a BMW, or a Porsche.
Which leads to my next question » "Why didn't I do this sooner?"
Like I said, this topic continues to be discussed in greater detail here » Rad Resource Usage at New VPS Server
For more on this topic, here's a Google search preconfigured for the query » vps virtual private server cpu memory load
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