Right now I have a site on a shared server (Mizar). Almost every day I read horror stories about sites which used too many resources and were banished to the penalty box. Can I assume that these sites' customers lose contact because the IP address changes?

• 1. How can I tell when I'm getting dangerously close to being banished? Assume it's because of a gradual growth in customer usage and not because my site has been hijacked or something. I've heard complaints that the server usage figures on cPanel or whatever are basically useless for the purpose of monitoring what your site is using!
• 2. How can I best prepare for a transition to a dedicated server that would result in no more than a few minutes of scheduled downtime?
• 3. If I have a dedicated IP address on the shared server (so I can get a private SSL certificate), will that come over to the new server? If not, do I need to run my site in parallel on shared and dedicated until all the DNS servers are updated? Is it possible to keep running the MySQL databases on the shared server while shifting PHP and other page-serving load over to the dedicated server? If so, can LP help me in transferring over the last bits (the databases) with minimal downtime?
• 4. I've also heard complaints that even dedicated servers are unable to handle a moderately large load. Someone was saying that their dedicated server's e-Store bogged down with 70 or 80 customers on at one time. For planning purposes, are allowable loads described anywhere? I just don't want to pay a bunch more money each month, only to find out I've almost immediately outgrown the dedicated server!
• 5. A few weeks back there was a major power failure and system outage (One Wilshire?). Am I correct in understanding that the shared servers get priority in being restarted, and dedicated servers have to wait for a while? Other than that one (hopefully) freak event, has this been a problem?

I'm just trying to address in advance all the possible problems I might have if/when my site outgrows a shared server and I have to move over to a dedicated server. I want this to be the least disruptive to my (future) customers as possible. In addition to an online store, I'm hoping to have some PHP-accessible services called from customer Web sites, for which service outages could be very costly. Can anyone share any experiences (painful or otherwise)? Thanks!

Phil

OK, let's say I have a shared server site serving many customers -- too many customers -- and I need to move to a higher capacity dedicated server. I have a static IP address and a private SSL certificate (purchased through LP). My site has a number of busy MySQL databases, accessed through Perl CGI code and PHP Web pages. The day comes when I determine that I have to move (hopefully without a suspension or LP-initiated move to another server). How does this get done with an absolute minimum of disruption to my paying customers? Can LP offer guidance on making a smooth transition? Would I copy everything over to the new site, and then change DNS servers to point to it, or is it easier than that? Would I leave the databases running on the shared server for a while, until customers stop hitting them, then (with LP's assistance?) quickly move them over to the dedicated server? (Or, move them first.) I'm far from reaching this point (my site isn't even half built yet), but I want to set things up if I can so I can make a smooth move over if need be.

As for stephan's disklike of my wording, I'm just repeating things said by many unhappy LP customers over the past six months or so. Yes, I know, the squeaky wheel gets the grease and satisfied customers rarely speak up, but the unhappy ones' comments are all I have to go on. I don't want my business (paying customers) disrupted by being suddenly moved at LP's behest to a different IP address (unless incoming traffic can be immediately redirected to the new server -- is that the case?). Many LP customers have said they've found the usage statistics they have access to (cPanel and the like) to be basically worthless in warning that they're overloading shared servers. If LP doesn't mind my asking for statistics on a weekly basis, fine -- I just don't want my first inkling of a problem to be that I've been moved. Finally, unless my memory is faulty, I recall many dedicated server customers complaining that it took many hours for their sites to come up after the massive power failure. If that's not policy, but just accident, that's fine -- I'd just like to know before spending the money on a dedicated server at some point in the future.

Phil

Just as a side-note/fyi/something sort of deal... I think there might be some lingering confusion about things after the last major power outage issue. I believe some customers (like myself) might have posted "guesses" about the order in which systems were brought back on-line. It is possible (and perhaps likely) that some of that speculation was incorrect, but never corrected by LP staff because they were more concerned with getting everything running again.

Also, after that incident, policy and procedure for handling such an incident might have been changed based on the experience. (Sometimes you don't know how something is going to work until you try it... and after doing it once, you realize it needs to change.) So, remember that what is mentioned in a thread at one point in time might not be the current state of things further down the road... this is especially true when you realize there are threads here that go back 4-5 years... and the forums are not an "official" support channel...