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    What's your Web Hosting provider?

    Want to share your web hosting provider and the plan you have with them?

    Let's start with mine. I just moved from A2 Hosting to Linode last night. Have you noticed any performance improvement on this site? I was happy with A2 Hosting but I found out about Linode's cheaper VPS plans and tried it. I haven't canceled (and will not cancel) A2 Hosting yet until I have tried and evaluated Linode for a month. So far I like Linode. I would still recommend A2 Hosting which I would probably use for another website.

    A2 Hosting (Old):
    Plan - Unmanaged VPS (Customized)
    Memory - 1GB
    CPU - 2 Cores
    Disk Space - 20GB SSD
    Bandwidth - 2TB
    Price - $10/month

    Linode (New):
    Plan - Linode 2GB
    Memory - 2GB
    CPU - 1 Core
    Disk Space - 30GB SSD
    Bandwith - 2TB
    Network In - 40Gbps
    Network Out - 1000Mbps
    Price - $10/month

    I am still paying only $10/month but the main difference is I have a higher RAM in Linode than A2 Hosting. Both are unmanaged plans (they both have managed plans too) but Linode has better server management online tool.

    Unmanaged plans are usually for developers only or those who are comfortable with Linux OS. Otherwise, you should go with managed plans. Check their hosting plans online if you are interested.
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    #2
    First of all, I will be upfront and say I sell a range of hosting services including Web hosting, Reseller hosting, VPS hosting, Backup hosting (and Dedicated Servers for those who need them) via HostXNow. I will not be biased here and just stick to facts. However, I do find this an interesting topic for many reasons such as getting the best value for money and having the right specs, e.g., CPU, MEMORY and Disk IO.

    I know you know your stuff glennrocksvb and so I can see why you went the Unmanaged VPS route, though the Unmanaged route sure is not for everyone and many site owners will agree to that. The majority of webmasters/site owners just want to run the forum itself and not bother with the server administration side of things, and I get that; that is where Managed Web Hosting providers come to the rescue. However, that said, you may be paying extra for lower specs/features overall when all things taken into account. However, if you are not fussed about that then that is fine, and I will try to help your other visitors/members out.

    While those two plans (Linode and A2Hosting) have ok specs, it is worth keeping in mind that unless you need full root SSH access, and need such high disk usage of 50GB plus then you could well save yourself a good amount of money for around the same specs (or get even better specs) by using one of HostXNow's Web Hosting plans.

    vbmods.rocks probably isn't even using more 1-2GB to host the vBulletin forum (excluding downloadable files like mods as that's different) and please correct me if I am wrong Glenn?), just saying vBulletin with mainly written content hardly use much disk space for public files or MySQL database at all. https://forums.hosting only uses up not even 150MB at the moment,

    For example, HostXNow offers the following:

    Medium Web Hosting Plan

    20 GB Pure SSD Disk Space
    Unlimited Monthly Bandwidth
    2 Full CPU Cores
    2 GB Dedicated RAM
    30 MBPS Disk I/O
    Up to 20 Domains
    Unlimited Email & FTP accounts + MySQL DBs

    Now while the Disk Space and Bandwidth are around the same (In fact, we offer unlimited bandwidth thanks to using OVH network), and with the exception of the "Up to 20 Domains" limit and "30 MBPS DISK I/O", the rest of the specs are better than the Linode and A2Hosting plans when it comes to paying less and getting more CPU and Memory which is what matters the most. CPU/Memory are far more important. Can also forget about the 30 MBPS Disk I/O limit too because forums will hardly use 1-2MBPS never mind 10MBPS plus!

    The HostXNow Medium Web Hosting Plan allows any vBulletin forum (or any site) to use up to 1 Full CPU Cores and 1GB additional Memory when compared to the A2Hosting and Linode plans above. The limit of "Up to 20 domains" can be ignored because this is more about hosting a decent vBulletin forum on its own, though the A2Hosting, Linode and HostXNow plans can indeed host more websites if needed, more so with the HostXNow plan due to the extra CPU/Memory which is most important. With HostXNow's Large Web Hosting Plan the Addon domains are not limited.

    Regarding addon domains (and not many hosting providers will tell you this) it is better not to use them. Period. If you want to run more than one website, then I recommend using a Reseller account because that way each cPanel account hosted under the Reseller account will be able to use more resources. For example, in HostXNow's case, each cPanel account hosted under a Reseller account would be able to use 2 GB Memory, 2 CPUs and 30 MBPS Disk IO. Talking VPS specs there. But let us say you had 5 websites with average resource usage hosted as addon domains under a web hosting providers Web Hosting plan under one cPanel account, that means all those 5 addon domains are sharing 2 GB Memory, 2 CPUs and 30 MBPS Disk IO between all of the 5 websites. Again, when using a Reseller account each website hosted under its own cPanel account can use the full amount of 2 GB MEM, 2 CPUs, 30 MBPS Disk IO.

    Also, with an Unmanaged VPS, unless using cPanel and you know how to optimise the VPS yourself, then you will not get the best performance out of it, whereas our Web Hosting plans are already optimised, e.g., Using EasyApache 4/PHP Selector which uses all the settings for better security, stability and performance. PHP/MySQL is optimised too. All HostXNow Web Hosting plans also use CloudLinux, and due to that we can make use of mod_lsapi (which module is used to make PHP faster in the well known faster Web Server called LiteSpeed!), plus there are loads of other techy stuff in place that helps with security and performance too.

    If you do not know how to run/maintain your own Unmanaged VPS and would rather use a Fast, Secure, Reliable Web Hosting plan with management included, use the most popular control panel in the web hosting industry (cPanel), then HostXNow's Web Hosting plans will be more suited to you. Alternatively, you may choose a plan from any provider if they offer the same setup as HostXNow do, but not many other providers do; rather they are quick to upsell you to their VPS/Dedicated ranges which can be a lot more expensive.

    Alternatively, we do offer Unmanaged, and Managed VPS plans too for those who prefer to use a VPS. We also include more CPU/Memory with those services when compared to a lot of other popular providers. Not forgetting we offer better DDoS protection compared to the other providers, too. DDoS protection is needed more than ever these days, especially when running certain sites with controversial topics that can attract attacks from competitors or organisations and the like. So choosing a provider with decent DDoS protection is an important thing to think about, and I would say more important than specs/pricing. There is no point in paying pennies or a few notes a month for ok specs if the sites/servers can be attacked so easily because that then defeats the purpose of having good specs to get better performance in the first place. Usually, most websites/forums do not get attacked, but if you think someone might try to attack your site at some point then choosing a provider with DDoS protection is something that should be considered. We lease our servers from OVH which has a DDoS protected network which can absorb massive attacks; other providers would just null route your IP making your site inoperable and then you would have to move your site elsewhere which can be a pain, especially when not prepared for it. Not trying to scare you, but letting you know in case you are not already aware of this.

    For those interested in HostXNow services/plans, please check (and I have included glennrocksvb affiliate link as it is only fair!)

    Web Hosting Plans
    Reseller Hosting Plans
    Unmanaged VPS
    Managed VPS Plans

    I currently host https://forums.hosting on our Montreal, Canada server. It only uses 150MB of disk space at the moment, and CPU/MEM is very low. Can provide stats on that too if anyone is interested in those? I shall move the forum to its own VPS/Dedicated Server when needed. It is running fine on the Starter Web Hosting Plan at the moment.
    Last edited by webgeek247; 03-13-2017, 01:26 PM.
    HostXNow - UK Web Hosting

    Comment


      #3
      I recently moved from HostmySite to A2Hosting, what a tremendous difference in available options/products. Still paying around the same, but for new technology, a win in my book.

      Comment


        #4
        I'm using Siteground's Managed Scalable Cloud Service. Currently, 4 3.2 ghz cores, 8 gigs of ram, 40 gb SSD, and 5 terabytes of available bandwidth. Price 140.00 a month. What I like about Siteground is the scalable servers which allow the site to grow without moving to another server. In total I can add 16 cpu cores and 16 gigs of ram only when needed. Of course it's more money, ten bucks for each cpu core or gig of ram per month. The threshold can be set so when server load exceeds 90% additional cpu cores or ram are made available.

        The managed aspect is what drives the pricing up. For me, having staff available 24/7 to deal with any issues is worth the added price. I know I could find a lot cheaper unmanaged hosting, but I'd probably end up paying the difference to someone experienced with Linux.

        Enjoy,
        William
        Last edited by William; 03-18-2017, 03:08 PM.

        Comment


        • glennrocksvb
          glennrocksvb commented
          Editing a comment
          Have you check your website speed using https://www.dotcom-tools.com/website-speed-test.aspx? With your great server specs, I didn't expect the speeds to be that kind of high (at least in US locations). I'm not sure though if that tool is accurate.

        • NumNum
          NumNum commented
          Editing a comment
          That's kinda neat actually.

        #5
        Originally posted by glennrocksvb View Post
        Have you check your website speed using https://www.dotcom-tools.com/website-speed-test.aspx? With your great server specs, I didn't expect the speeds to be that kind of high (at least in US locations). I'm not sure though if that tool is accurate.
        Depending on the tester, location, and time the speed varies from 2-7 seconds fully loaded. On my end the site loads near instant. The server is located in Chicago and I'm in Scotts Valley California. Mind you, I just went off Cloudflare, the site actually loads faster without it. And it is one less thing to diagnosis should an issue rear its nastiness.

        I am having an issue but suspect it is to do with the software Vbulletin and not the server. Now and then there is a horrendous amount of processes that spawn through the roof and the server is sent to a suspend mode. I suspect it exceeds the allotted 250-500 processes set by Siteground. I just wrote this up in the Jira to complement another issue that I am having specific to my server environment. My site will not run on PHP 7.1 while using Siteground. Kevin Sours is currently working on the issue for my server configuration.

        For webpage speed testing I generally use: https://www.webpagetest.org or gtmetrix. I'll give yours a try in a moment.

        Keep in mind while running these speed test it depends on traffic currently on the site as I am sure you're well aware. At the moment:

        Click image for larger version

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        Click image for larger version

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ID:	3171


        If you have any suggestions Glenn I am all ears. I hope by now you know I appreciate not only your feedback but your work.

        Enjoy,
        William

        Comment


        • William
          William commented
          Editing a comment
          I'm currently seeing 3.5 to 5.5 (U.S.) seconds at this very moment using dotcom-tools.com
          Last edited by William; 03-18-2017, 04:02 PM.

        #6
        With your VPS server specs at SiteGround for $140/month, you could have gotten a Managed Dedicated Server plan at A2 Hosting at almost the same price. That's dedicated so you're the only one website running on a physical server.


        For the similar Managed VPS specs at A2 Hosting, you would pay only $65.99/month


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        Fast VPS Host for vBulletin:
        A2 Hosting & IONOS

        Comment


          #7
          I have no experience with hosting at SiteGround. But granted all things (server specs) being equal, definitely the best bang for your buck goes to A2 Hosting.
          Helpful? Donate. Thanks!
          Buy me a coffeePayPal QR Code
          Fast VPS Host for vBulletin:
          A2 Hosting & IONOS

          Comment


          • William
            William commented
            Editing a comment
            If I did a dedicated would you be up to helping me (for a charge) transferring my site? I am inexperienced with domain transfers too, but I have roughly half a dozen domains in addition to my main domain. This is something I'm going to seriously consider, but I see no reason not to do this. I'd have to plan this out mid month after my next server payment because I would be purchasing this in addition. The dedicated really appeals to me because I'd love to run sphinx search too.

          • William
            William commented
            Editing a comment
            Actually, since A2 accepts PayPal payments I could purchase the dedicated server now. Lemme know either through PM if you'd be available to do this and how much. I'd also like besides setup sphinx search configured and the site running on it.

          • glennrocksvb
            glennrocksvb commented
            Editing a comment
            A2 Hosting offers free site migration. You might want to take it instead of paying me.

          • glennrocksvb
            glennrocksvb commented
            Editing a comment
            But of course, I could help you if you want. But try them first. I don't want you to spend more money if they offer free services.

          #8
          Originally posted by William View Post
          I am having an issue but suspect it is to do with the software Vbulletin and not the server. Now and then there is a horrendous amount of processes that spawn through the roof and the server is sent to a suspend mode. I suspect it exceeds the allotted 250-500 processes set by Siteground. I just wrote this up in the Jira to complement another issue that I am having specific to my server environment. My site will not run on PHP 7.1 while using Siteground.
          I have a new vB5 client who is running vB 5.2.6 with PHP 7.1 without problems in A2 Hosting. It's just a new site so maybe that's why. I'll watch out for that issue when the site gets big.
          Helpful? Donate. Thanks!
          Buy me a coffeePayPal QR Code
          Fast VPS Host for vBulletin:
          A2 Hosting & IONOS

          Comment


            #9
            Sounds like you're paying A LOT of money for a lot of headaches already William and paying a lot for unused resources. Been there and done that over the years. Best to only pay for the resources you need and upgrade when needed. Put that money in a pension or something like that rather than give it away to a web hosting provider.
            HostXNow - UK Web Hosting

            Comment


              #10
              By the way, those website testing tools aren't the best because it depends on the load of the testing server, etc. You'd be best off using Network tools within Google Chrome https://developers.google.com/web/to...source-loading
              HostXNow - UK Web Hosting

              Comment


                #11
                Well, I switched to A2 Hosting from Siteground. On a very good day Gtmetrix was showing the Siteground hosted site loading in 5-8 seconds. A2 wins with a consistent 3 seconds.

                This week we plan to get the site up and running on Sphinx and also Memcached.

                If the site loads between 1-2 seconds without Cloudflare I plan to keep it off Cloudflare. I don't want another party inline somewhere which can bring the site down. I noticed in the past that Cloudflare was the responsible party for the majority of my outtages with Siteground.

                I know I'm comparing apples to oranges here, but the A2 dedicated server with 1 2 core cpu and 8 gigs of ram romps all over the Siteground Cloud server with 4 cpu cores and 8 gigs of ram.

                I think 3 seconds is very respectable, especially considering I did not purchase the Turbo Package.

                Thanks Glenn!
                William

                Comment


                  #12
                  Originally posted by webgeek247 View Post
                  By the way, those website testing tools aren't the best because it depends on the load of the testing server, etc. You'd be best off using Network tools within Google Chrome https://developers.google.com/web/to...source-loading
                  But you won't be able to test the speed from different locations.
                  Helpful? Donate. Thanks!
                  Buy me a coffeePayPal QR Code
                  Fast VPS Host for vBulletin:
                  A2 Hosting & IONOS

                  Comment


                    #13
                    Originally posted by glennrocksvb View Post

                    But you won't be able to test the speed from different locations.
                    True. That's why it's good to use different tools for different tests.
                    HostXNow - UK Web Hosting

                    Comment


                      #14
                      You want to talk cheap? They call me the cheap web hosting Guru. My host is probably the most professional I myself have ever experienced, support wise and all around. So when you look at these plans don't assume it's get what you pay for. I suggest anyone with a low budget to come check my host out.

                      They're called NuWebHosting.

                      This is the plan I'm on.

                      4 CPU Cores
                      12 GB RAM
                      12 TB Monthly Bandwidth
                      2 IP addresses
                      Root Acess
                      80 GB SSD or 300 GB HDD
                      CPanel and WHM license Included

                      Price: $38/mo

                      Glenn what your paying for 2 GB RAM you can get there for $4/mo. Or 4 GB RAM is $8/mo

                      They also have a special going where you get 30% off everything in your first order. Enter coupon code "30offeverything".

                      You can trial their VPS and get your first month for only $1 on the 2 GB RAM plan.

                      To be quite frank you would think this company is a faker or not professional but I have been with them going on 2 years now. August will be 2 years that I've been with them. They are the real deal and their prices are truly unmatched.

                      If you wanted a shared plan instead you can get one for $2/mo. It cost a tad more if your not paying yearly and the monthly price placed is for yearly plans but it's not much more when you only pay by the month. Still very cheap.

                      Check them out:

                      https://www.nuwebhosting.com
                      Last edited by glennrocksvb; 03-29-2017, 01:24 PM.

                      Comment


                        #15
                        Thanks for sharing about NuWebHosting. It's good to hear a first-hand review from someone who actually uses it.
                        Helpful? Donate. Thanks!
                        Buy me a coffeePayPal QR Code
                        Fast VPS Host for vBulletin:
                        A2 Hosting & IONOS

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