/clientscripts over to Amazon S3/Cloudfront?

[RedWingFan]

Since our $15 "play money" ran out, I disabled using SimpleCDN for now. I have been monitoring our server CPU loads using Cacti, and there has been NO change in loads since we started serving images from our own server again. BUT, I am positive we would still see a result due to decreased disk I/O and a few CPU cycles, so we may revisit this in the near future when we raise the funds to pay into it. Our $15 lasts at least six weeks, maybe more.

All the while, though, I must say that SimpleCDN worked flawlessly. And my replacement variables are easy to reinstall, so I can be serving images from them again with a minimum of work.

I just hope vB4 lets us change things this easily.

[imported_silkroad]

Originally Posted by RedWingFan

..... there has been NO change in loads since we started serving images from our own server again. BUT, I am positive we would still see a result due to decreased disk I/O and a few CPU cycles, so we may revisit this in the near future when we raise the funds to pay into it.

That all depends on your traffic. We have 4 to 5 M PVs a month.

If we turn off SimpleCDN, which we can easily do in our DNS if there is an issue with the CDN, we see huge load increases on our server and a very large difference in bandwidth status.

It's all relative, isn't it?

[RedWingFan]

Originally Posted by imported_silkroad

That all depends on your traffic. We have 4 to 5 M PVs a month.

We certainly don't have THAT much! I do see the difference in our bandwidth usage stats though, so I know I had SimpleCDN working correctly. Just eyeballing the stats, we are serving out about 2.5GB to 3GB more per day than when we were using SimpleCDN. (We are still using only about 25% of the bandwidth quota we have on our account, so that's not an issue.)

I estimate our static files (other than attachments) are using about 1/3 of our bandwidth, overall.

Maybe I'm trying to talk myself back into using it...

[imported_silkroad]

OBTW, I am working on a PHP script that checks the performance of the CDN, and if it not performing, it changes our $vbphrase[image_server] and $vbphrase{client_scriptserver] and the RRs to another server (or back to the original server).

I already have this script working for our OpenX servers, and when there is any issue on the net, it automatically switches over to another server (we replicate the database), or back again.

It is not that much work to even check one CDNs performance and if not up to some standard, switch to another CDN. Then, when the cheaper CDN is performing again, switch back over to that one.

[Kaelon]

Generally speaking, I have only had a couple of pronounced moments when SimpleCDN stopped performing in the past three weeks. How has everyone else's SimpleCDN performance been throughout late November and early December?

Also, how are you guys changing your image variables? I noticed that imported_silkroad is using a $vbphrase[image_server] phrase (which sounds like a great idea, actually). I am using a CNAME alias and mapping all of my image calls to the cdn.domain.com to point to SimpleCDN's servers. Someone mentioned that simply remapping the CNAME back to our primary server might not be such a bad idea. How are you guys doing this?

Great thoughts all around - please keep them coming. I'd love to use this as a long-term solution to load-balancing on the basis of mitigating requests.

[RedWingFan]

Originally Posted by Kaelon

Also, how are you guys changing your image variables?

Strictly through replacement variables. I didn't even know how that feature worked until one of vB's staff replied in a post (probably in this thread ) that it could "rewrite" HTML before it got sent out to the browser. I had at first changed all the entries in the theme's file, but that was too time consuming and error-prone. This also allowed me to change the paths for other image sets that the themes didn't cover (like smilies, IIRC).

When I was done, all I hadn't done through SimpleCDN were attachments, since they were not called directly via image URLs. And I had zero time or patience to work around it.

[imported_silkroad]

We use RRs and $vbphrases for images and client script.

We are also just about finished with a PHP script that monitors the CDN's performance and if it falls short of our expectations, automatically changes the DNS A records to a different server. Then, when the CDN is performing well again, it switches back.

I am considering adding a backup CDN so when SimpleCDN hiccups, which is does sometimes, our system will automatically switch over to the second one, which is more expensive. Then, when SimpleCDN is performing again, we switch back to save money.

[Kaelon]

@imported_silkroad -- What RR's are you using? (.htaccess rewrites, or via vBSEO?)

SimpleCDN recently announced a big shift in how it prioritizes outgoing traffic. So-called "free" accounts (trial accounts with the $15), are placed on their lowest tier networks and often blocked. Once you add money, you are placed into "premium account" status and enjoy all of the network routing, the CDN bounces and triangulation, etc. So, I added some cash to our trial account and noticed a huge improvement in both speed and reliability. It looks like SimpleCDN is definitely delivering for us. Now, I just need to figure out how to leverage it!

So far, I am using an Upload Bucket to handle our site's template imaging. I am thinking of a dynamic/mirror bucket for user-uploaded content (our galleries, etc.). Anything else you can suggest?

[imported_silkroad]

We are using standard vBulletin RRs in the style manager.

[tpearl5]

I'm curious what all you guys are seeing in Google webmaster tools site performance:
https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?p=1934514