1) Linux Hosting

Since the software is written in PHP, it’s best that you choose Linux hosting. Windows servers can also run PHP scripts, but some features do not run in a Windows environment (e.g. mod rewrite). Mod rewrite is important for SEO purposes.

2) cPanel Control Panel

Usually Linux servers comes with free cPanel admin control panel so once you are having access to the control panel, you just need to login and install the PhpBB script. Cpanel is also having a useful feature like Fantastico which helps you to install the forum in just couple of min. It is having an easy to use installation wizard which helps you to promote, guide and assist with the entire installation procedure.

3) Hosting Space and Bandwidth

Today, the hosting industry has become pretty much competitive and there are many web hosts who can give unlimited hosting space and bandwidth on shared hosting plans. Normally, if you run static sites on this plan, you will not face any problem but if you want to run a forum, your site may eventually end up hogging too much resources.

The only thing that creates problem with running a forum is that the number of users will keep on improving as per time and because there will be lots of users connecting to the server, the number of requests that are sent to the server will be dramatically increased and sometimes this may slowdown the server. If the same thing happens on lots of times then other users who are sharing the same server with you may start to complain and at the end, your hosting account may get suspended temporarily.

So to avoid your hosting account from getting disrupted, just make sure that you plan for the growth of your site. If you feel like your site is growing rapidly, plan to migrate the site to more stable environment. Instead of hosting the site on a shared hosting plan, go for a VPS Hosting package. As if you go with a VPS plan, you get all dedicated server resources and admin rights. You can continue with shared plans if you are not having more than 2000 members but if there are more than 2000 members, you will have to go for a VPS hosting or Dedicated Servers Hosting.

I agree that VPS Hosting and Dedicated servers cost a lot if compared to shared server hosting so if you are starting a brand new forum, it is a wise decision to setup the forum on shared server for the first 6 months or so. As the time grows and members as well, you will need to switch over the plan to VPS Hosting or Dedicated Servers.

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A dedicated server is a physical server that can be rented from a managed service provider and it also includes a powerful hardware, related server software, bandwidth, connection to the internet and IP connectivity for a remote access. A dedicated server can be configured and operated by the company itself, and most of all it saves costs in terms of staffing, security, bandwidth and administration of the network. It is pretty much flexible for customization than shared hosting as the  the user is having a complete control over the hardware and operating system.

Actually Hyper-V Virtual Dedicated Servers (VDS) are the software implementations of dedicated servers that are implemented by using the powerful virtualization platform from Microsoft called Hyper-V.  VDS is pretty much familier with the name VPS (Virtual Private Server). This system gives all the benefits that a client get from dedicated server but at a pretty much cost effective priec. In a very short time the physical server is divided into multiple virtual servers or virtual machines that can be configured to share the desire level of server resources.

To understand what a VPS Hosting or VDS Hosting is, i have referred to the Wikipedia explanation – “A virtual private server is a method of partitioning a physical server computer into multiple servers such that each has the appearance and capabilities of running on its own dedicated machine. Each virtual server can run its own full-fledged operating system, and each server can be independently rebooted.”

For regular use, the end user can treat the VDS just like a regular dedicated server. A Hyper-V Virtual Dedicated Server provides a workable solution for the client at pretty lowest cost, that is above $50 per month.

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