Our site (discussion forum) is averaging 5000+ visitors/day, 100,000+ pageviews/day, 350,000+ hits/day, 2+ GB bandwidth/day. Our current shared server webhost disabled our vbseo.php script (SEO plugin) due to overusage of server load which causes service outages. Can a Virtual Private Server accommodate our site well? What VPS specs should we look for?
I assume you'd host only one site (the VB forum). You haven't mentioned max monthly budget and whether you require control panel/management services. I think you'd require atleast a 512MB guaranteed RAM with 768MB+ burst. Go for a provider with HyperVM. You'd get LxAdmin control panel which is very efficient and low of system resources. I'd recommend using php caching too (like APC/eAccelerator)
I'd recommend you going to a Low end dedi. A VPS would not handle the load easily as after all its shared. A server with 1 GB RAM and 20 G HDD would be fine or a 40 G Use LxAdmin or Webmin, low on system resources.
Yep that's right, just a VB forum. We prefer cPanel just for easy transfer of our files, database, and mails. Unfortunately, our site is a non-profitable site and is 7 months old only so we cant afford a $75+ monthly hosting right now. We found a host that offers semi-managed VPS with cPanel, 320 MB RAM (1024 MB burstable), 20 GB webspace, and 275 GB bandwidth. Would this be enough? And dont you think its oversell for $45 monthly?
$45 is too much for it. You can get fair dedicated boxes starting @ $50 (with free plesk) HERE. I'd also suggest you to check WHT forums offers section.