Need advise from web hosters in here

[chios]

I am with a share host provider that has been having problems with their mysql servers .... that is a well know fact ... they don't deny it ... and mind you its a very well know name !!!

I am running a game site (see signature) that currently does not get more than 500 visitors a day (1500 pages views but the number is rising lately)

I have gotten myself a few "max_user_connections" errors trying to view my site ... I imagine some of my visitors would have gotten those messages too ....

after those messages there was a period of my site crawling to its knees ... no response from the server and no error message ......

I have contacted the live support (online) which by the way was available to talk to me 20 minutes later than my initial call ...... which by that time the site was behaving normally again ... I gave them the EXACT error message (copied and pasted) .... and all they said was that they can't see anything wrong (of course) and that if it happened again I should make a screenshot and send it to them (what a great support!!)

What is your experience with game sites ?
I am thinking of changing hosts ... am I going to have these problem in any host that I get ?

what if the traffic rises to 10x that (which is my goal) ... it can't ... not with this host ... would I need to look for more expensive solution ?

any comments ?

[chios]

Anybody care to advise

[Bodhost]

It is really sad to hear that your current host is not providing you with a fair solution that could meet up with your requirements.

Well, in my opinion, when you are running game servers. You should have a look at vps or dedicated server hosting plans.

Never compromise for quality, because that is what stays for a long time. :)

[Ryan-Limestone]

For hosting the types of games that you do, and for the amount of traffic that you have I would recommend a Dedicated Server. Where a VPS would be sufficient for now, a Dedicated will give you the ability to add more and more complex/fun games to your site, which in turn would spike both traffic and your server requirements. A shared host will cut you off when you use too much, as will a VPS. If you do not have intentions of growing out of a shared type of environment, then I would very strongly recommend HostGator.


You can find them at www.hostgator.com they are an excellent company that can meet all of your shared needs with very very few problems ever.


Hope this helps, and please let us know what you end up doing!

[chios]

Sorry I was not clear enough,
I am not running game servers
I am running a game site: flash games to play online
that apparently gets a fair share of visitors from the search engines

But the revenue that it produces it does not really justify my move to a dedicated/vps server

I have heard people hosting those on shared servers actually

[Ryan-Limestone]

No problem at all. If that is the case I would really strongly recommend taking a look at what HostGator offers, I think they may be just what you are looking for. They definitely know how to treat a customer.


(I am not affiliated with them in any way btw, so this is not a sales pitch)


A dedicated server would be overkill, especially for right now as your site does not demand a lot of resources to run.

[Golden Angel]

Hey guys,
Thank you for this information, this is what i need. Thanks a lot.

[Ryan-Limestone]

No problem, glad to help!

[MarbleHost.com]

Actually, have you tried increasing your max_connections in php.ini?

Even HostGator has had users that have experienced similar error messages, and many times it is actually in your coding and not with the host.

The reason they are looking for a screenshot is because they are trying to find the exact error message, such as "on line 57" or whatnot.

If you have not done so yet, you may want to just take a looksee around and see if you can make any of your queries more efficient.

[nefertiti]

Regarding "max connections exceeded" problem,i also want to know something from you.
Is max connection a problem for script(programming) or database.As far as i know when we develop application ,we dont use max connection parameters anywhere so what do do to optimize connection problems.I think this problems comes from database end.
Second thing: suppose my host setup max connections 200.Does this mean that only 200 people will be able to access database simultaneously at any moment.
please put some light on this.
thanks

[MarbleHost.com]

It's actually a little bit of a few things, and the solutions will depend on 1.) where you are hosted at as well as 2). if your coding has leaky or faulty loose ends that are causing the database to count more connections than are necessary.

Sometimes, some actions happen simultaneously when a user clicks on one button, and you might be able to weed out of inefficient coding just by taking a look.

More often than not, your site has probably become more active and needs to have the number of active connections at a time allowed raised to a higher maximum.

If you are on a dedicated server, you can do this in php.ini yourself.

If you are using some type of shared host provider, your host will have to do so, and some of them will be willing to do so for minimal or even no charge, depending on how much higher you require the maximum to be raised.

Also, if you are on a shared host provider, one of your peer sites using the same host might have gotten a sudden increase in popularity, which, depending on how responsible your host is, could mean that they sucked database access away from you.

I recommend doing two things.

1. Look or have whoever has access and is knowledgeable about your database(s) to look at the max_user_connections setting(s) in your database(s).

and

2. Look at your code.

As far as the coding goes, I have no idea what you have going on so I can't even begin to offer you advice, I would have a better chance at trying to guess a number that you are thinking between 1 and 50 million.

But to help you narrow down any potential issues, think of it like this.

If we were going to play 20 questions, the following three questions would count as three questions and I would only have 17 left:

1. Is the thing animal, vegetable, mineral, or other?
2. Is it red?
3. Is it edible?

But if I ask like this:

1. Is the red edible thing animal, vegetable, mineral, or other?

Then I have only asked 1 question.

Obviously, in this game, it doesn't work well, because I had no previous knowledge about whether or not the thing was red or edible, but if you use a little bit of logic to weed out unnecessary "questions" in your code, you can save a lot of hassle.

Another thing to look at is how your site handles cookies as well as users who do not allow cookies.

In all likelihood, though, just check with your host to find the quickest and easiest resolution. ESPECIALLY if you don't know enough about your site's coding to go chopping things up and toying around with it.

If you need anything else, just ask.

Hope this leads to a quick resolution for all reading who have this issue.

MarbleHost

[ls_drew]

You're always going to see your reliability increase if you go dedicated, as it will get you away from common shared hosting issues. That said, it may well be that your host has mismanaged the server you are on. It could also be that your site itself is using a lot of resources and is causing the server problems.

If it's the former, you should try looking for another shared web host. Try not to look for ones that are offering the world for $1.99 and try and stick closer to what you need, rather than what looks like a 'great deal'.

If it's the latter, then try a dedicated box. In the end, while it's more expensive, you'll always be glad that you did it. Once you do, you'll never go back to shared.