Efficient Forum Software

Hi,

I've been running a forum using phpBB for a couple years now. phpBB isn't the greatest but I'd be content to use it if it were not for the fact that the script frequently overloads the server with the huge number of MySQL queries phpBB makes.

I've read a number of threads about different software, but none of them seem to address this issue. Is there a piece of software--whether SMF or vBulletin or anything else--that handles commands more efficiently? My forum averages 3500 posts/day, though during peak periods it's much higher.

Thanks for any help!

Dave

 

Do you have searching turned on?

If so, that is likely the root of your problem. The best solution I've found is to use a second, smaller database server to respond to search requests -- leaving the main database to handle the opens and closes necessary to process multiple posts per second. Then you sync the slave db every few minutes to include the new posts in the search results.

 

Thanks. If both DBs are on the same server (they would be) will simply splitting the requests between two DBs make much of a difference to overall server load?

 

Sorry, no, it needs to be on it's own server. What is your hardware split now? Typically I'd suggest:

1 apache
1 image server running tux
1 mysql server
1 slave mysql for searches

That will handle 99.9% of the forums out there. If you need more, you expand whichever capacity is the weak link. Some serve more images/videos/web content and some need more database power.

 

Actually, I'm on a shared server, so I have pretty limited options.

 

A forum of that size should be on a powerful dedicated machine. I'm surprised your host hasn't kicked you off yet.

 

I'm surprised a shared server can even handle 3500 posts/day. Check out a VPS like at www.servint.com

 

Switch to vbulletin. I had a busy phpbb forum that was swamping the server, moving to vbulletin fixed that problem.

In addition, vbulletin has quite a few config options that allow you to really control the number of mysql calls being made. For example, you can turn off or on the list of active members - and whether the list is sorted alpahabetically or not. When I was under load, I'd just turn off the sorting of the active member list. And when real busy, I'd turn off that display completely. That's one example, but there are a variety of easily configurable changes like this that dramatically lighten the load on the server when you're using vbulletin. And this stuff is done through the control panel so you don't have to optimize anything funky.

 

So that's a pretty big forum?

The forum was crashing my whole Web site, so I moved the forum to another host that offers more throughput and space. Unfortunately it's not throughput and space that's my problem. And I'm trying to keep from having to shell out cash since it's more a labor of love than a money-making tool.

Okay, I'm learning that this is a large forum...

So a VPS like that will do better than the average shared server?

The site you linked offers:

My current shared server is:

 

The hardware the server is on is almost secondary to the amount of users using it. With a VPS from a reliable company like Servint, they will keep the number of users on the server down to a minimum. With the shared server you're on now, they pack it with as many accounts as it will handle... so even if the server is beefier, you may be sharing it with 20 times more people.

Like it was said, I'm surprised they haven't kicked you off of the shared server yet-- most hosts would have by now. So you might be living on borrowed time and should probably plan the next move.

vBulletin > phpBB. Also check out http://getvanilla.com but it would be a major switch as it is different from the ground up.

 

Yeah, but your SHARING that hardware with others, so tyou only get a fraction of it, with a dedicated server you get the whole pie

or at least most of the pie as TheHoff pointed out

 

My previous host was going to kick me off, but I host 20 sites with them so they held off and I moved the server elsewhere. The new host has throttled my connections so I don't crash the server. And that's fine for now, but when peak time comes around, I'm toast, so like you said, I'm planning the next move.

I read a little about VPS--hadn't heard of it before--and it sounds like a different method of basically offering a semidedicated server. Is that accurate?

Many thanks.

 

Yup, it is semi-dedicated. You get full root control but share the box with a few others.

 

Thanks y'all. I'll concentrate on getting onto a new server instead of worrying about software (though I'll prolly switch to SMF).