Show Sidebar Log in
Commons In A Box Logo
  • Home
  • About
    • Project Team
    • Logos and Graphics
  • Showcase
    • CBOX Classic Showcase
    • CBOX OpenLab Showcase
  • Demo
  • Get Started
  • Documentation
    • Technical Guide
    • CBOX Classic Guide
    • CBOX OpenLab Guide
  • Support Forums
    • CBOX Classic
    • CBOX OpenLab
    • Developers Forum
  • News

Group Admins

  • Profile picture of Scott Voth

CBOX Classic Support

Public Group active 3 months, 4 weeks ago

This group provides support for Commons In A Box Classic, our original software for community-building. Register for an account or log in to commonsinabox.org, then join the group and post your question here.

Need advice on server specs

Tagged: hosting, server specs

  • This topic has 6 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 12 years, 2 months ago by George H. Williams.
Viewing 7 posts - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • January 25, 2013 at 6:29 am #1766
    George H. Williams
    Participant

    I understand that running CBOX on a shared server is probably not going to work very well because, as the FAQ explains: “You will probably not want to run CBOX on a low-resource, shared host if you plan to have a large membership or intend to run a multi-site installation. Performance may be disappointing. A more robust host is probably more appropriate.”

    So my question — which is a question a hosting company asked me — is this: “What are the specs that you would need? In terms of hardware, processor, RAM, HDD etc?”

    Would the $15 VPS option as described on this page be robust enough for a multisite installation with “only” a few hundred users?
    http://dreamhost.com/servers/compare-our-products/

    (I can’t afford the $99 a month option, but if I could, would *that* be robust enough?)

    January 25, 2013 at 1:14 pm #1770
    Chris
    Participant

    This is all very difficult to estimate, especially when comparing against the intentionally opaque specs provided by shared hosting vendors. That Dreamhost page seems to imply that $15/month is the base price with a very low RAM/CPU allowance. I would not have any confidence in running CBox for a few hundred users on that base plan.

    Even though you can’t afford it—but since you asked—I think a better $99/month option would be WPEngine, as noted in this thread:

    https://commonsinabox.org/groups/help-support/forum/topic/hosting-recommendations/

    I’m not sure any hosting plan priced below that is likely to provide enough horsepower for several hundred reasonably active users. As you scale in CBox, the server resource that will quickly become scarce is CPU, as PHP is asked to churn out more and more pages to more and more visitors. That also happens to be the resource that is typically most dear to shared hosts. If you start sopping up all available CPU, your site will hit a wall and your host will insist that you move to a more expensive plan.

    It might be possible to do something cheaper if you are able to trade significant time and expertise for it. Something like a 1GB Linode at $40/month could be workable with some aggressive back-end tuning, but there’s no guarantee and, eventually, you’d still outgrow it. Happy to talk further and point you to some resources if you’re determined to go this route.

    January 25, 2013 at 1:21 pm #1771
    George H. Williams
    Participant

    Thank you, Chris, for a thoughtful and detailed answer. Looking ahead, I’m hoping to convince my university to embrace CBOX and budget in enough money to cover the kind of hosting that $99/month buys you.

    I don’t think I/we will find it worthwhile to go with a $40/month option that requires more time and expertise to optimize and maintain.

    Much obliged to you!

    January 26, 2013 at 1:43 pm #1796
    Matthew K Gold
    Moderator

    Hi George,

    In addition to thinking about server capacity, there is also the issue of systems administration and the difference between managed and unmanaged hosting. Do you have your own sys admin or will you need such services to be part of your hosting plan?

    Just FYI, I’m experimenting now with a CBOX install on Amazon EC2 cloud hosting, which provides unmanaged hosting at variable costs (my institution is providing sys admin services). We’re still tinkering with the setup and haven’t yet put the site out into the wild, but once it gets going, I might be able to give you some more detailed information on what kind of setup has been working in that scenario and how much it costs per month.

    January 27, 2013 at 5:44 pm #1863
    George H. Williams
    Participant

    That would be very helpful, Matt. Thank you. I’m hoping to get a similar arrangement set up at my university.

    February 7, 2013 at 10:13 pm #1966
    Charise Van Liew
    Participant

    George –

    I just took some time to write up my recommendations for hosting here: https://commonsinabox.org/groups/help-support/forum/topic/cache-and-server-suggestions/

    Definitely email support@thetemplehost.com or utilize their live chat and see what they can set you up with. I setup my opensource projects and online communities that need power, customer service and room to grow on The Temple Host because I know I’ll get a blazing fast site with a pricetag under $99/mo.

    Alternatively, when I have clients (nonprofits) without IT staff or webmasters who likely have no idea how to use FTP, I set them up on WP Engine where their WordPress site has a better chance of staying secure and backed up regardless of staff turnover.

    I’ve had horrible experience with Dreamhost but I’ve talked to others who haven’t…

    Good luck!

    March 3, 2013 at 12:07 pm #2151
    George H. Williams
    Participant

    Thanks, Charise!

  • Author
    Posts
Viewing 7 posts - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
Log In
Group logo of CBOX Classic Support
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Announcements
  • Docs
  • Members 287
  • Send Invites

Groups

Newest | Active | Popular | Alphabetical
  • Group logo of CBOX Classic Support
    CBOX Classic Support
    287 members
  • Group logo of CBOX Pioneers
    CBOX Pioneers
    71 members
  • Group logo of CBOX Developers
    CBOX Developers
    40 members
  • Group logo of CBOX OpenLab Support
    CBOX OpenLab Support
    22 members
  • Group logo of CBOX-OL Testing Partners
    CBOX-OL Testing Partners
    12 members

CBOX has its roots in the CUNY Academic Commons, which in turn was made possible through funding from The City University of New York itself.

CUNY Logo

CUNY Academic Commons Logo

City Tech logo

The Commons In A Box was made possible through the generous support of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Logo

NEH Logo

The CUNY Graduate Center has directly contributed to the CUNY Academic Commons, housing the project since its inception, and has contributed to CBOX through its GC Digital Initiatives.

CUNY Graduate Center Logo

CUNY Graduate Center Digital Initiatives Logo

Powered by Commons In A Box
css.php
Skip to toolbar
  • About WordPress
    • WordPress.org
    • Documentation
    • Learn WordPress
    • Support
    • Feedback
  • Log In
  • Register