The KongHack Server

Hello everyone.  Our previous server was a VPS.  Simple 1 core, 1GB, 70GB VPS that ran about $65/mo.

Damn, that's a lot for a small amount of hosting.  Why didn't you go with shared hosting or some shit for <$10/mo?
We did.  Kong hack bounced between several shared hosting setups, getting kicked off of each one.  Not for consuming too much space, but for consuming high amounts of CPU and RAM.  Between the long nightly cron jobs that compile data, the bots that mine data, and the growing number of active queries used for various features, we simply consume too many resources for shared hosting.

So, we went to a GoDaddy VPS for $30/mo.  It had more storage than the small VPS above... but it wasn't a true VPS.  As soon as we hit our RAM limit, the entire server locked up.  this shit doesn't know how to swap...

Anyway, that landed us at Liquid Web.  I used to manage a dozen servers with them (now 3 + the KH server), and had plenty of experience working with them and their servers.  So, I bought us a VPS and off we went.

Due to the insane increases in traffic, and our database becoming quite large, our little VPS doesn't have the power we need.  So, as of today, I've upgraded us to a Storm Server.  It's basically a VPS on a dedicated box.  We're the only ones on it, so 99% of the box's resources are allocated to our server.  This way, should we grow again, we can jump to a new box with minimal down time.  Our new server is an AMD though, so I don't know what'll happen after the move is complete.

We just moved to an Intel Core i5 CPU 760 @ 2.80GHz 4 Core, 4GB DDR3, 453GB Box.  Definite power increase.  Unfortunately, this is double the price of the previous server.  So the monthly is now $130/mo.  

I know it sounds insane, but I think if we sell a couple ads, we might be able to bring that down significantly.  We get a ton of hits, have a large user base, and we're continually growing.  I'm hoping the reviews upgrade will drive more traffic to the site.  I'm not talking one of those shitty ad services that throw up huge flash ads, I'm talking a closed community ad system.  Something where members would buy in or what have you.

Anyway, that's all I've got for now.

~TiM

$62 in donations last month, $45 in May, $36 in April, $12 in March. It seems like we're getting more donations every month which is great, but doesn't quite cover the cost of opertation. The rest is coming out of your pocket. I'd like to start sending some cash your way every month (hopefully soon), but as I'm sure you can understand, money's kind of tight right now. Do what you have to do, bro. And thanks for keeping us up and running!

To everyone else, donate! This man has a day job, an old lady, and some youngins to take care of on top of running this place. Not only will you be helping him out, you'll be keeping this great site alive!

Both OPCache and MEMCache are now installed and configured on the server.  I'm going to start working with both to increase performance.  So far, load hasn't gone over 1, so we're doing fairly well.  There's probably one script somewhere around here that isn't optimized and is causing the lag.  Noidea what it could be though...

Just made a donation, is not much but i'll hope it help cause you all are doing a really great work.

Blazing speed with the new server, i will try to help as much as i can meanwhile. 

I just re-configured our router to use simple sub-routes.  It's dropped the load by an average of 0.15.  Not bad. :)

I upgraded our chat server today, so you may have lost your bookmarks.

Old chat server
Dual-Core Intel ATOM 1.6ghz processor
2GB DDR2
1TB HDD

New chat server
Dual Socket Quad-Core Xeon 2.5ghz processor
16GB DDR2
1TB HDD

On the old box, once we hit about 15-20 people, it would start to lag.  Now, I'm not seeing any lag at all.  It seems much faster.  This is running out of my home rack still, so no worries about a montly fee.  Well, there's electricity and what not, but my next big purchase is a 1Kw solar panel to help offset the cost.  Some day. :P

1 Kw solar panel is going to cost ya around $1000 or more , not worth it i suppose for now?

At the rate I'm going, break even is in 4-5 years.  The ones I'm looking at are about $1200 and come with a 25yr warranty.

Yeap they are that expensive, though if you own one you wouldn't need to worry about electricity bills anymore, more or less.

But keep in mind to check the PV peek watt is 1Kw. The advertisement might quote '' 2Kw system'' for the same price but may consist of 2Kw inverter with only 1Kw of solar panels. 

 

Yeah, still going to have electricity bills.  At most, it'll generate 1Kw when it's bright out.  So at night, it's basically generating 0.  1Kw is enough to power the servers and have a little left over.  I'd need far more than a 1Kw bank to be able to do much with it.