Hello, I am new in the world of dedicated servers, and I need some help. My flash games site gets about 60 000 unique visits a day, quite a lot. So I decided to move my site to a dedicated server. My problem is that I don't know anything about dedicated servers. It would be very nice if someone could help me a bit.... These are the facts: - Flash Games site with 60 000 unique visits a day - Uses PHP, MySQL and XHTML - Flash games will be hosted on this server My questions: - Do I need single core, dual core or quad core? - Which operating system? Linux(cestos, fedora, ubuntu, freeBSD) or windows? - How many GB's RAM do I need? I want a good working server that can host my site without problems, but that is not to expensive too... Thanks a lot, Raf
you will need definitely a managed dedicated server, unless you know how to update and run box yourself. go with linux
If you have PHP site then you should use Apache as the web server which more naturally lends itself to a *nix setup though WAMP can be fine. It doesnt sound that your site is processor heavy so certainly wouldnt pay out for a quad core unless there is something going on behind the scenes that will be processor heavy which you havent mentioned. Main thing, dont fall for "unlimited" tricks.... reality is that there is no such thing as unlimited there is a base assumption on what the average will be but if they get it wrong you can have significant problems.
Go with the planet or Liquid web. A dedicated server is pretty easy to manage, but make sure its a linux server!
Most of the hosting companies are providing live chat, you can choose few of them and discuss with them about your requirement, they will definitely assist you more on this.
I've been using surpasshosting.com for my dedi for 2 years now. I'm paying $250 for Dual Xeon 2.8GHz, 2GB, 160GBx2 HDD, 1 TB bandwidth, cPanel. It isn't without problems, but tech support has been responsive and excellent. I've not face problems with server loads but memory was insufficient at times. Hence, I'd suggest starting with a lower CPU but at least 2GB, and migrating to a more powerful one if you find the need.
The biggest problem is that I'am not able to install things on a server yet, because till now I used simple webhosting where I just had to upload my files and install my database..... So I will need a company that helps me... So a dual core system with 2Gb Ram is OK for this kind of site? And do I need a special setting of the hard disks in raid? Thanks, Raf
Yes, dual core with 2 gb is enough for now. Regarding managing the Server, as others have adviced above go for a company which offers managed servers, they will take care of installing software and security upgrades etc. so that you can concentrate on your site.
Ok, thank you very much, this is clear now! A few hardware questions: - Raid or no raid(if yes, which one) ? - 'Dual core' and 'Dual Processor', what's the difference?
For an arcade don't bother with RAID. It costs alot of money, and you can just run a weekly backup with some FTP software and you'd be fine.
I agree with Christian Little, RAID isn't all that necessary. As far as difference between dual processor and dual core is concerned read this article
After years of doing this and having been burned a few times, I will give you two pieces of advice. 1. Get a server from a reliable and reputable host. I have had great luck with ThePlanet, but recently switched to SoftLayer because they have greater granularity in their configuration options and were able to give me a better deal. Coincidentally, the management team running SoftLayer are mostly ex-ThePlanet execs that I think left after the merger with EV1. 2. Hire a SEPARATE management company. Do not depend on the management offered with a "managed" server. I was burned badly by this a couple of times. You will have all your eggs in one basket if you do that. I HIGHLY recommend TouchSupport for your server management. Their $99/month plan is what I use and I've been with them for several years... they are proactive and give you support whenever you need it.
Just opt for Managed servers in this you dont have to do anything you can just depend on the datacenter with there support as they will work for you... and you can continue using the normal hosting account as you had previously...
Flash games don't use much server resources are they are executed on the user computer. I suggest 1GB of RAM, this is the most important in your case
I think I will go for softlayer.com since I heard some good things about them, and start without separate management company. Or is this really a bad idea? What isthe job of the separate management company exactly? I don't need a lot of software installed.... Just php & mysql, no complicated coding....
You can't go wrong with Softlayer. I have a dedicated server with them (the most affordable). I've had 100% uptime for months now. But I have a very good team of system administrators who apply security patches, who optimize the kernel, the system, who do backups, etc... Check them out: www.touchsupport.com they charge only a hundred bucks a month for all system administration. They install everything you need (lighttpd, mysql, php with your favorite modules, mod_security, mod_rewrite, all the email stuff, a control panel if needed, etc... And they keep everything up to date.