Expecting increased web traffic
From DreamHost
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Heads Up!
So you're expecting a significant increase in your web traffic due to it being featured on (you name it). Good for you! Now you've probably got a lot of questions going through your mind. Hopefully this page will be able to answer some of those questions.
You might want to send a message to support and let them know that you expect increased web traffic so they can keep an eye on it.
Precautions
What should I do to prevent my site from overloading/crashing the server?
- Make sure that your applications are up to date!
- Make sure that your applications are up to date! I can't stress that enough!
- If you are using our one-click installs, check the (GOODIES > ONE-CLICK INSTALL) page to see if any updates are available! Under the "Actions" section you'll see an upgrade icon and a link to the latest version. Click on the link and complete the upgrade as soon as possible!
- If your site provides dynamic content or is database driven (ie: WordPress, Joomla, Movable Type, Gallery, ZenCart, MediaWiki, phpBB, activeCollab, WebCalendar, Advanced Poll etc..) you may want to enable some form of "caching" or "acceleration" if your application supports it. See that particular applications support page for details and suggestions.
- Clean up and optimize your databases!
- Disable unnecessary, unreliable or resource intensive plug-ins if possible.
- If your site allows visitors to leave comments, please make sure you're using some type of plug-in to prevent comment spam!
- Make sure that your "contact us" form scripts are not vulnerable to being abused by spammers (ie: Form_spam).
- You may want to replace large graphics, files, movies, etc. with lower resolution (smaller) versions temporarily.
- If you can convert dynamic pages to static pages that would help tremendously (but it may be difficult to do).
We also have a CPU_Resources_FAQ if you have questions regarding that.
Throttling/Disabling
If for whatever reason your sites increased traffic causes problems for the server it may be necessary for the support department to "throttle" your site (restricting the number of simultaneous visitors or maximum throughput, etc.) or possible even disable it. This is done in fairness to the other customers on your server. Remember that you're on a shared hosting platform (hosting plans L1 - L4) and one customer cannot jeopardize the operation of the server for all of the other customers. However, we will do what we can to keep your site up as best as we can. We may even be able to offer suggestions as to what you can do to modify your site to handle the increased traffic or whatever may be happening to adversely effect the servers. Note that this "throttling" is NOT the same as "Bandwidth Throttling" mentioned below! If it is necessary to throttle your site for some reason the support department will contact the owner of the account with the details. If there is a problem with your site that you can resolve, once you've resolved it we will most likely be able to reduce (or completely remove) the throttle that was put in place.
Upgrade Options
If my site outgrows your shared hosting platform, what are my options?
- You may want to check out the dedicated server options that we can provide (and through our affiliates).
- Or possibly our new "Strictly Business Enhanced" hosting plan. Basically it works exactly like our shared hosting platform does, except that you get your own server and you don't have to share it with any other customers. Note that database service is still provided on our shared servers with other customers. So if you have very high database usage requirements then this may not be the best option for you.
- Another new option (currently offered by invitation only) is our DreamHost P.S. (Private Server) add-on. It's an add-on to your existing shared hosting platform hosting plans that provides you with your own "virtual machine". This option gives you the advantage of not having to move everything to another service, learning a new control panel, converting things to work on a new system, etc.. It's the best of both worlds!
Monthly Transfer Bandwidth Allocation
- How much monthly transfer bandwidth does my hosting plan provide?
Each hosting plan provides a specific base monthly transfer bandwidth allocation. On top of that base each week an additional amount is added (as a loyalty bonus). The total is what you're allocated to use each month. You can view the specific allocation for your WebID in the control panel in two places, under (BILLING > MANAGE ACCOUNT) and also under (STATUS > BANDWIDTH USAGE). Note that the figures are provided in GB (GigaBytes) and 1 MB = 1,048,576 Bytes; 1 GB = 1,024 MB and 1 TB = 1,024 GB. The actual detailed usage figures for each domain provided on the (STATUS > BANDWIDTH USAGE) page may show different units (MB, GB or TB).
Your total monthly transfer bandwidth usage is the sum of the usage for all of your domains and FTP usage (download only). They are broken down by type in the lower section of the (STATUS > BANDWIDTH USAGE) page. To view a more detailed report of the daily transfers for each of your domains click on the "View Report" link at the right of the page.
Note that your monthly billing cycle most likely will not begin on the 1st of the month! Your billing cycle is listed on the (STATUS > BANDWIDTH USAGE) page and corresponds to the day of the month that you originally signed up for service. At the end of your billing cycle your total transfer bandwidth usage is calculated, the reports updated and transfer overage fees are applied to your account (if any). On the first day of your billing cycle everything is reset back to zero and the cycle repeats.
- How can I increase my monthly transfer bandwidth allocation?
Do nothing. That's right, you don't have to do anything. Your monthly transfer bandwidth allocation will automatically increase each week due to the loyalty bonus provided according to the hosting plan you have. On the (STATUS > BANDWIDTH USAGE) page is shows the amount of the weekly increase for that hosting plan. That information is listed under the "Bandwidth usage by Plan:" section.
- How much do you charge for bandwidth overages?
The fee for bandwidth overages are listed on the (STATUS > BANDWIDTH USAGE) page under the "Total Bandwidth Provided:" section. It's the amount listed in parenthesis. Each hosting plan may have a different overage fee. Higher hosting plans typically have lower overage fees. See this link for a full comparison of all hosting plans. Also note that there is an "Estimated Overage Charges" figure there as well on the (STATUS > BANDWIDTH USAGE) page. This is based on your current hosting plan bandwidth allocation and current usage. Of course this is just an estimate and that as your billing cycle approaches its end it could change dramatically.
HOT TIP: Upgrading to a higher hosting plan before the end of your cycle could dramatically decrease your overage charges! I'd recommend doing the math to be sure. But typically upgrading is the way to go. The increased cost of a higher plan could be cheaper than the overage charges. Plus your weekly loyalty bonus will be higher further reducing overage charges in the future.
Bandwidth Throttling
THIS FEATURE IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE
As we've significantly increased the amount of monthly transfer bandwidth that all hosting plans provide this feature was considered obsolete and rarely used. Therefore it was removed from the control panel. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
- How can I prevent my site from exceeding my allotted monthly transfer bandwidth and incurring overage charges?
There is no guaranteed way to prevent overage charges! However, you can set up "Bandwidth Throttling" on a domain by domain basis via the control panel under (STATUS > BANDWIDTH USAGE). If you've never set up a Bandwidth Throttle on your domain then there will be a link next to it labeled "Disabled" (under the "BW Throttling" column). If you've already set one up then the throttle amount will be listed instead. Either way, click on the link to enable/disable/set the throttle amount for that domain. Basically what this does is sets a specific bandwidth limit for that domain. Once each night the system analyzes your bandwidth usage and predicts (based on the average traffic) if that domain would exceed that limit the next day (or if it has already exceeded it). It may then "throttle" your domain in an attempt to REDUCE the traffic significantly. It won't completely stop all traffic generated by that domain however. Here's what it does do; it creates a new directory (if it does not already exist) based on your domains current hosting directory (ie: "mydomain.com.throttled", if your domains hosting directory was "mydomain.com"). It then reconfigures your domain to feed up that "throttled" directory rather than the original directory. It does NOT change your original hosting directory or files in any way! If you have not created this "throttled" directory before it will be empty and the site will feed up an empty directory to anyone that visits it. However, you can create the directory in advance and put up a small html file that informs your visitors that the site has been throttled due to bandwidth limitations and that it will come back on-line at the beginning of the next bandwidth cycle. Of course feeding up an empty directory or a small html file will continue to generate additional bandwidth traffic - so I would recommend setting the "Bandwidth Throttling" limit below the actual limits you want to set. At the beginning of your billing cycle all Bandwidth Throttles will be reset back to their original configurations and your domains will come back on-line as they were before and the cycle will continue. The "mydomain.com.throttled" directory will NOT be deleted by the system. So anything you put in there can be used again next time that domain is throttled by the system.
IMPORTANT NOTES
- Bandwidth Throttling NOT guaranteed to keep you from going over your limits, so be careful to use it wisely.
- You may want to set up Bandwidth Throttling for your most active domain(s), while leaving less active domains unthrottled. If you do this make sure to consider carefully what limits to set so your COMBINED traffic does generate overages fees.
- If you're bordering on incurring bandwidth overage fees you may want to monitor your bandwidth usage very carefully and possibly considering upgrading your hosting plan to increase your limits and possibly reduce the overage fees.
- Change you make to your Bandwidth Throttling configuration are only evaluated once per night! If you unthrottle a domain during the day then set it to be throttled again, the throttling won't go into effect until that night. If this is a very active site it could generate quite a bit of traffic during that time!
- Remember that FTP download usage (from your web site, FTP/shell accounts and anonymous FTP services) is also included in your total bandwidth usage. Web site throttling does not effect FTP usage! You may need to remove or move files that are being downloaded excessively from your site to prevent massive overages charges due to FTP file downloads.
- Reducing the content on your site (smaller files, videos, etc.) can significantly reduce your transfer bandwidth usage.
- Upgrading to a higher hosting plan before the end of your cycle could dramatically decrease your overage charges!
Feel free to contact support via the control panel under (SUPPORT > CONTACT SUPPORT) if you have questions or require assistance regarding any of this information.
See also
Categories: Web | Billing | How-To | Troubleshooting
