hosting specs

[mattyj]

hi, I'm looking for a host and was wondering what a good specifications for database is. I notice some only offer 1 Mysql or maybe 5, or perhaps a few more. I would imagine 1-5 may be a bit restrictive once site expands, yes? Also, should I look for a host that has the size allocation for the databases separate from the overall size offered for the account? what would be a good necessary size/MB for my databases, I assume that image files don't get put into Mysql but rather a reference back to my site directory

Thanks!

[Kings]

For most of my websites I don't use more than 3 MySQL databases, and most use only 1 database. Most of my databases don't hold more than 50MB either, but I've still got relatively low content. Rest assured though that it doesn't fill very fast, if you're only storing text.

It does fill fast if you're storing files in your database (e.g. vBulletin has the option to do this) though. If you know you are going to store files in your database, you'd better make sure you have enough space (atleast 100MB, and can easily be more).

Your images usually don't get put into MySQL, but it is possible. This depends on you though, and in most cases it'd be best to simply have them in your site directory.

[mattyj]

I assume that you'd make a new database, say, 1 for articles, another for testimonies (say if a large bank of them), and another for customer list /addresses - as an example. So if distinctly different subject matter, create a new database. I have quite a bit of varying stuff that I want to feed onto my pages, so I hope that my mindset of separating this info into separate databases is correct.

[HunterWeb]

It depends on the situation. If you know that the dbs are going to be fairly small, IMHO 1 MYSQL db will do you fine as would just about any static number if it's going to be a smaller website. If you plan on it being large with the need of quite a few db's, then you could always look for the unlimited option. This is not unlimited so much as in you can use all you want in resources, but unlimited as in you can create as many as you need with the amount of space that you have.

Overall, you don't need too much space for a db in a shared environment. If it outgrows the amount that a shared account offers it, you're probably going to need a server at that point.

[mattyj]

yeah hopefully I'll reach the point where I'll need to upgrade to dedicated one day, because I have heaps of traffic and my content is growing also. Hostway seem to have some good plans for Unix but then I saw the $40 setup .. ouch! Think I'll skip it based on this alone - shouldn't need to pay setup you think, just a con job? Many other hosts I've looked at don't charge for setup or just charge a few bucks.