Server Help?

[Lift for Life]

I have 5 websites including my forum that utilize shared hosting through GoDaddy. Recently my forum has become painfully slow and tech support with GoDaddy only left me more frustrated.

I know how to build and publish web pages, but I have no idea of how to manage a server, or even how to migrate my current websites and forum to a dedicated server.

My websites are fine, but the forum speed is keeping members away.

Question: Is it difficult to make the transition (tech support at GoDaddy suggested that this is very difficult even if I used their own dedicated servers).
Also, is there an online resource that explains how to do this?

Forum: http://www.liftforlife.com/forums/index.php
Website: http://www.liftforlife.com/

Thanks,
Lift

[royo]

Well, your best bet would be to get a dedicated server that has management included, so they can do the migration and server setups for you, though that might cost you quite a bit of cash.

[goddess_dix]

i took a quick peek at your forum; with less than 100 people online total, traffic should not be slowing it down. i have heard many complaints about godaddy hosting and wouldn't be suprised if it's not the host.

you can look at what hacks your running and see how many queries are being added, as this is often what will slow forums down, and do some searches here for "performance" suggestions.

on your question, it should NOT be a big deal to move sites from a shared account to a dedicated account. moving a forum is a little tougher than just a website because you're moving the database, but any host worth their salt should handle the move for you if you're going from one of their servers to another.

if it were me, however, i'd look for a new host and consider trying it on a shared plan with them first to see how that went. if you do decide to go to dedicated and the site can support it, be sure to get a managed dedi plan so you can have help with upgrades and questions that come up. someone who has not managed a server can do fine with good server management. you will learn some new things along the way (or at least i did) but it was very do-able with good support and a decent peer support forum to help.

i personally like hostgator, and have had my dedi with them for over a year now. i'm sure everyone has their own feelings and favorites, though. they will move many sites from your old host for you, but since godaddy doesn't use cpanel last i heard, i don't know if they can. however, my experience with their support has overall been very positive in that they often go out of their way to try and help. (i won't say i've never been steamed with 'em, because that's not true. but i've never had something that i couldn't get worked out to my satisifaction ultimately.)

anyway, good luck!

--------------- Added 05/18/08 at 13:23 ---------------

Well, your best bet would be to get a dedicated server that has management included, so they can do the migration and server setups for you, though that might cost you quite a bit of cash.

figure a managed dedi in the neighborhood of a couple hundred a month. i didn't pay setup fees for mine.

i also suggest people consider configserver.com's mailscanner/firewall package as an excellent addon for a new dedicated. it's a one-time fee, but helps tremendously with server security, spam management and has some tools to help manage your server.

[Lift for Life]

Thanks for the responses, I'm looking into the options and appreciate the suggestions.

Thanks,
Lift

[royo]

Do you have a specific budget and specific needs in terms of space and bandwidth?

[Lift for Life]

Do you have a specific budget and specific needs in terms of space and bandwidth?
My forum is relatively small and bandwidth doesn't present much of a problem currently. Regarding budget, I would like to keep hosting fees to less than $100/month. I do not allow any advertising on the forum and thus it doesn't generate any revenue.

Lift

[Yogesh Sarkar]

Few question, what is the cookie timeout in your forum and on average, how many posts do you get every day?

[Lift for Life]

Few question, what is the cookie timeout in your forum and on average, how many posts do you get every day?

Cookie duration is 10,000 seconds (2.7 hours), post per day is typically less than 40.

Thanks,

Lift

--------------- Added 1211153707 at 1211153707 ---------------

Ok, based on the size of my board, it's hard to believe that I require a dedicated server. Support at GoDaddy was depressing and so I just got off of the phone with Host Gator.

Theoretically they can transfer my forum at no charge however I'm concerned about shutting it down. GoDaddy made this seem prohibitive.

Post on the board are way down due to forum speed. I assume that others have experience with Host Gator, should I trust them to migrate the board?

Thanks,
Lift

[goddess_dix]

you do have to shut a forum down to change servers, since it's moving a database. you could say that's a big deal, i guess, but it's impossible to change host otherwise and if people are already defecting because of the slowness, a "down for a move to a new, faster server" message will probably not hurt your street cred with your users imo.

whenever i move a site, i retain old hosting during the move so i can check out the new site before changing the domain to point to the new namesvers. i always keep a few days overlap...you're not really risking your forum since you have a complete copy of the database at your current server. things don't go right, you don't change your domain record to point to the new site, so you're still covered.

when your satisfied it's running on the new server to your satisfaction, you change the dns and open the forum on your new host, making sure the forum remains off at your old host, so new posts can't be made on that copy of the database during domain propogation when users may sometimes get served the old copy of the site.

[Yogesh Sarkar]

In that case any shared host would be fine for you. Just follow the tips offered by goddess_dix

[Lift for Life]

Thanks for the advice :)

Lift