[ShredHed]

NESR-Admin,

If ya don't mind me askin', how do you host this site?

What software used for the BB and what platform does it run on (thought I saw the GNU Ram somewhere)?
What type of connection (speed, both directions)?
How much space does it take up and what is data-growth rate?
CPU & RAM requirements?

I subscribe to a list that's looking to change over to a BB format. This is one of the best run BB's I've seen. There'll be teething problems I'm sure, but this site is an excellent go-by and it's got decent speed although I'm not sure if that's b/c I visit when there's little activity, or the pipe & memory are capable.

Please, be as technical as you'd like for the answers.

Thanks!
-Jack

Ok here goes...

Right now NESR is using less than 200Mb of disk space, between the site and the forum database. I think we're around 165Mb, to be specific. The majority of the data growth is due to the forum, since every attachment, and every new post, contributes to the size of the database. There are pruning options for keeping that under control, though.

Webhosting is available from hundreds upon hundreds of sources. I use Ventures Online, and aside from the issues we've been having over the past week (intermittently), I've had no complaints.

The package I have for NESR the 'V500' package. This link:
...has the specifics. Basically, 500Mb, 20G of traffic each month, 250 email accounts, etc. 10 mySQL databases (1 required for the forum) as well as PHP4 (also required for the forum).

The internet connections consist of VERY high speed lines (not talking measely T1's or T3's, either...). Their servers are dual 2Ghz systems with almost 4G of memory. Of course, you wouldn't need that much horsepower to run ONE website...there are many sites hosted 'virtually' on each server...hence the term 'virtual hosting'. Dedicated hosting, you get your own server...but it's pretty expensive and not really worth it unless you're getting more traffic than CNN.

The forum software is vBulletin: http://www.vbulletin.com . I've used lots of different boards both as an admin and a user, and I think vBulletin is the best around, hands down. The disadvantage is that it's not free...it costs $160 to purchase a license. That's a one-time cost, though.

I've been on forums with 40,000 members that run on vBulletin, and they're still fairly fast most of the time...so it can take whatever you can throw at it. They recommend that it's run on the latest stable rev. of Apache web server. The three main requirements for the board are Apache, PHP4, and a mySQL database.

Go here to see reviews of other web hosting companies:
If you don't want to pay $160 for a vBulletin license, I think phpBB is the best free board out. I would strongly recommend NOT using XMB forum software.

I hope that helps. Let me know if you want more info.

[ShredHed]

Ahhh, good info. Thanks. -Jack