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The Limits of Unlimited Hosting.

by tkboy101
27 replies
2.5 years ago, I signed up with a hosting company who touted "unlimited hosting"...

I'd receive unlimited bandwidth and unlimited disk space. Surely $5.00 per month would not permit this. I took it with a grain of salt. Yum.

Well lately my sites had been acting up... the smallest amount of traffic would crash the server every time and my sites would go down for a few hours. (like 10 visitors). I contacted them numerous times about the issue and they insisted that it was my IP being blacklisted. (once per week??).

Anyway, long story short... my company contacted me last night.

As you are probably aware, here at *hosting company* we proactively monitor our servers to ensure that our clients' websites are loading as fast as possible at all times. During this routine monitoring we have found that you have more than 540,000 inodes (wtf?) in your account *account name* on the server *server name*. According to our terms *terms link* you can host 50,000 inodes only. Every file (a webpage, image file, email message, etc) on your account uses up to 1 inode. We had to block your account temporarily until the inodes number is reduced. Please provide us with your WAN IP address ( you can find out your WAN IP here: What Is My IP Address - Shows Your IP Address ) and we will grant you access from that IP to resolve this issue.

Note: cPanel do not provide the option to count the inodes number yourself (unless you have the shell access service active), so you will need to contact us to find out the exact inodes number since you removed some files.

You may also want to read the following article:
inode - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Thanks-a-F&#KING-MILLION!!!

This information would have been soooo useful like maybe 5 months ago when my sites started acting up! So not only did I go over their allotted amount of "inodes" but I managed to go over 11 TIMES their allotted "inodes" storage.

Who else knows WTF an inode is? I just discovered it after this email.

Turns out, they can say they have unlimited GB for you... because technically it's true. But what they don't say is they have 50,000 inodes for you.

So you can store up to 50,000 files on your DNS until they don't like you anymore. The result? All my sites are down.

403 FORBIDDEN


All my money sites, all my niche sites, my WSO's are inaccessible, the images I use on Warrior Forum in the WSO section are gone so my sales pages look like SH*T now.

And damn, what a freaky error! "FORBIDDEN" yikes... I feel like Indiana Jones having finally stumbled across the *official* lost ark!

The solution?

I've gone with hostgator Reseller Aluminum as I just bought a WSO that had a coupon for a free first month.

Here's where I give you my affiliate link to host gator.

Kidding... click on it, you'll see.

Well that's it for me. My suspicions were correct. Don't believe the "unlimited" part of "unlimited" hosting! Just go straight to the good guys, get set up with legit stuff. I mean, unless you just plan on having a site or two hosted on your account, then you should be good for years.

Also what helps, is disabling your "Spam" messages in your mail servers.

Turns out over 400,000 of my inodes came from spam email!

But even if I deleted all these, I'd still be over the allotted inodes amount by more than 50,000. So I decided to move on as none of my files are disposable.

Peace.

~Luke

***EDIT***

Turns out, my WSO's are fine... at least for me. But then again, they "Whitelisted" my IP address so I could access my files and move to host gator. hehe...
#hosting #limits #unlimited
  • Profile picture of the author chimehost
    Sometimes providers have to make tough decision because if they don't suspend you, the load will cause other sites from working properly. Depending on the server, there might be anywhere from 100-200 users on that server.

    If you have cPanel, you should regularly delete the spam folder to prevent emails from building up. Also, you should remove folders and files that are not being accessed.
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    • Profile picture of the author tkboy101
      Originally Posted by chimehost View Post

      Sometimes providers have to make tough decision because if they don't suspend you, the load will cause other sites from working properly. Depending on the server, there might be anywhere from 100-200 users on that server.

      If you have cPanel, you should regularly delete the spam folder to prevent emails from building up. Also, you should remove folders and files that are not being accessed.
      Understandable. And for $5.00/month I totally relate. So with that, time for an upgrade to more advanced/reliable hosting.
      And I also know that they have an option to just auto-delete all spam messages. Which I didn't utilize... hehe. I didn't even know I had limits. Suspected? Yes. How it would be implemented, no idea. Now I know.

      ~Luke
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  • Profile picture of the author luzern
    Maybe you should use more reliable such as Hostgator
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    • Profile picture of the author Josh Anderson
      Originally Posted by luzern View Post

      Maybe you should use more reliable such as Hostgator
      So many people say that blindly thinking that just because they use it without issue that no one else will have issues.

      Hostgator has had rampant security issues in the last year and has some of the same restrictive terms and hidden limitations as any shared host.

      When it comes down to brass tacks and hosting significant internet businesses that you intend to scale up you should look into getting dedicated or virtual hosting solutions that provide you paths for bursting and scaling.

      Most people do not even know the right questions to ask when choosing a host like:

      How many concurrent connections are allowed?
      How many mysql queries per hour are allowed?
      What size is the uplink?

      Those are just starters.

      Most customer service reps cannot or will not answer those questions so you have to be persistent and dig until you get legit answers.
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      • Profile picture of the author Christian Little
        Originally Posted by Josh Anderson View Post

        How many concurrent connections are allowed?
        How many mysql queries per hour are allowed?
        What size is the uplink?
        Of those questions, 2 wouldn't really get you a clear answer Josh.

        The uplink question, yes that's a good thing to know. We use 100Mbps uplinks on our servers, for example (but we're actually looking at the Gpbs uplinks as upgrades soon).

        But the other 2 questions can be misleading.

        Example, if I told you that you could only run 1,000 mysql queries per hour, that could be really misleading because you could run 1,000 queries that each join 5+ tables and do all sorts of other fun stuff that actually makes the load for each query about 5x more than a simple select/insert query.

        Same with the concurrent connections, because that limit is set on a per-second threshold. So you could have a busy site that will allow 200+ concurrent connections and it will run fine. But suppose your traffic is more burst-oriented (i.e. instead of getting 100ish visitors/hour, you get 2000 visitors at all once and then the site gets no more traffic during the day).
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        • Profile picture of the author Josh Anderson
          Many shared hosts (like Godaddy for example) allow only 50 or less concurrent connections on their economy packages.

          And as far as mysql queries go... some only allow a very small fraction of the numbers you used as an example. As little as 50 per hour in one case.

          Disk trashing, cpu usage etc. all issues that shared hosts will squash you on.

          I used to dig when interviewing various economy hosting companies looking for a good one to recommend.

          As a hosting provider you might know the terminology a little better but asking the hard questions and being persistent will either get you the answers you need or give you a good idea of whether the provider is telling the whole story and will work out.

          Personally I have been hosting on dedicated servers since around 2004 though I do use an economy host for testing purposes once in a while.

          Originally Posted by Christian Little View Post

          Of those questions, 2 wouldn't really get you a clear answer Josh.

          The uplink question, yes that's a good thing to know. We use 100Mbps uplinks on our servers, for example (but we're actually looking at the Gpbs uplinks as upgrades soon).

          But the other 2 questions can be misleading.

          Example, if I told you that you could only run 1,000 mysql queries per hour, that could be really misleading because you could run 1,000 queries that each join 5+ tables and do all sorts of other fun stuff that actually makes the load for each query about 5x more than a simple select/insert query.

          Same with the concurrent connections, because that limit is set on a per-second threshold. So you could have a busy site that will allow 200+ concurrent connections and it will run fine. But suppose your traffic is more burst-oriented (i.e. instead of getting 100ish visitors/hour, you get 2000 visitors at all once and then the site gets no more traffic during the day).
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          • Profile picture of the author Christian Little
            Originally Posted by Josh Anderson View Post

            Many shared hosts (like Godaddy for example) allow only 50 or less concurrent connections on their economy packages.

            And as far as mysql queries go... some only allow a very small fraction of the numbers you used as an example. As little as 50 per hour in one case.

            Disk trashing, cpu usage etc. all issues that shared hosts will squash you on.

            I used to dig when interviewing various economy hosting companies looking for a good one to recommend.

            As a hosting provider you might know the terminology a little better but asking the hard questions and being persistent will either get you the answers you need or give you a good idea of whether the provider is telling the whole story and will work out.

            Personally I have been hosting on dedicated servers since around 2004 though I do use an economy host for testing purposes once in a while.
            On the flipside to that, I could easily argue about clients that think paying $6/month means they can do whatever the heck they want on the server and that kicking and screaming like a child will let them get away with it.

            A shared hosting plan means you share the resources of the server. It's like a giant pie - everybody gets their slice. If you take 3/4 of the pie yourself and leave everybody else to fight over the last quarter of it, you'll not be getting another pie when the next one is ready.

            Oh you don't like that? Well you can buy your own pie so you don't have to share.

            I'm not saying that's what happened here, but as a host I do have to point out that you get what you pay for. And this is why I always shake my head at people when they get so excited because they got a hosting plan for $0.99...seriously, what the hell do you honestly expect out of that?

            Yes there are limits to unlimited web hosting. For my company, we're mostly concerned about CPU and RAM usage (as that impacts everybody on the server). If the hard drive fills up, we can add another one. But if the processors and RAM are constantly running at 100%, well we have a problem because we can't just throw in more CPU's (all our servers run with 8 CPUs already, upgrading to a 16 CPU server is obscenely expensive).

            The same could be said about all-you-can-eat buffets - everybody knows it's not really all you can eat.
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  • Profile picture of the author inspiredguy
    inodes are basically the little pieces of information that identify every single file on a unix based operating system (file name, size, type, modify date, permissions, etc.) Most user accounts will have a limit on the number of files/inodes. They definitely should have given you more advanced warning.
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  • Profile picture of the author Dr Blue
    I used iPage hosting with "unlimited" features , and i must recognize that the are really good...
    I was able to have a few hundreds people in the same moment online !

    So, it's really depends on which company you use.
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  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
    Banned
    Hostgator's unlimited service offers 250,000 inodes ... and yes, watching those email accounts and getting rid of any spam will clear up a whole bunch of inodes.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jake Gray
    You get what you pay for.

    There are some great unlimited hosting companies, but most
    don't stick to their promises. Nothing is unlimited. So, Might as
    well pay a bit extra for a host that isn't unlimited, but will make
    sure your websites maintain their online status for good.
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    • Profile picture of the author tkboy101
      Haha thanks for the replies everyone...

      As I mention in my post, I've gone with hostgator. (maybe I was cryptic)

      I chose their Aluminum Reseller package for $24.99/month. With this I will have 1,000,000 inodes to work with!! And I'll be sure to be implementing the "delete spam" option! I'll be on this one for years.

      You do indeed get what you pay for. But I'm grateful for this company I am now leaving... they treated me well while I was with them and there are no hard feelings (even though I am annoyed at this issue lol).

      Peace.

      ~Luke
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  • Profile picture of the author case01
    That's the problem with shared host, why you not choose VPS? Great for high traffic and space..
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    • Profile picture of the author tkboy101
      Originally Posted by case01 View Post

      That's the problem with shared host, why you not choose VPS? Great for high traffic and space..
      Yeah VPS will be next when my budget allows! thanks for the tip!

      ~Luke
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  • Profile picture of the author GetMoreTraffic
    Unlimited web hosting is never unlimited...you have to read the small print.
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  • Profile picture of the author Marketinghamster
    Yes I wonder how Unlimited the hosting is at the one that has been offering $1 Hosting all this month and last...
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  • Profile picture of the author Christian Little
    I hate to say it, but HG will do the same thing. They have an inode limit and enforce it pretty strictly.

    Inode limits are a way that some hosts will offer unlimited hosting that isn't as unlimited as they claim.

    We personally don't monitor inode rates for our clients, nor do we have any terms that say we'll shut you down for having too many files (though admittedly, if you are on a shared hosting plan and fill up 50% of the servers' 2TB hard drives, then we'll be having a chat with you lol).

    That being said, unlimited hosting is a bit of a paradox. If you are paying $5/month for hosting, you get what you pay for. If you need to have thousands and thousands of files on your hosting plan, then you really do need to look at bigger plans like a reseller account that you went with, or a VPS.

    If the problem was spam email as you said, you might want to look at cleaning your inboxes every few weeks or put in some kind of spam protection so it doesn't become a problem.

    I hope HG works out for you.
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  • Profile picture of the author simondoddmarketing
    I think the problem is in the marketing where things are sold as unlimited up front... It is down to us to read the fine print and see where the limits come into place. They will obviously be different for different accounts and companies!

    Good luck with HG I will be moving all my sites across very soon!
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  • Profile picture of the author cripperz
    Alternative is to always find a cheap VPS that is able to sustain. Unlimited is a gimmick and way of catching sales. What you should be more bothered is how much you will need to run your business or web and then find the suitable providers within your budget.
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  • Profile picture of the author supreme
    many hosts check for FILE count and SQL tables..
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  • Profile picture of the author CheapTrafficDude
    I use Site5 unlimited hosting with dedicated IP and Chicago Server. The plan says unlimited and having spoke with tech support, this is what they told me the "limits" were"

    Email- Send 350 per hour
    Diskspace- 4TB
    Bandwidth- 9.9TB
    3,500 concurrent connections per hour
    Unlimited domains
    Unlimited MySQL

    If you want piece of mind get a managed dedicated server. Problem with Host Gator is they oversell their shared servers. Never mind hundreds, try tens of THOUSANDS!! You can get a FireFox plugin that will tell you each website hosted on the same server.

    I'm sorry you're upset and I hope you get back and running soon!
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  • Profile picture of the author Jake Gray
    There are tons and tons of hosting companies
    out there that have been moving towards 'unlimited',
    but only a few can actually handle it.
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  • Profile picture of the author tkboy101
    This is too much fun.

    I bought reseller hosting. That's all. I'm not on shared anymore. After this when I outgrow it, I'll be moving on to dedicated. But right now this will be fine. I asked them about their "limits" and I'm cool with what I'll be getting. Buying on a reseller package shows you exactly what you get anyway.

    As for the all you can eat buffets....

    I'm gonna go out on a limb and say, they really are all you can eat.
    Do I need to explain?

    peace.

    ~Luke
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    • Profile picture of the author Christian Little
      Originally Posted by tkboy101 View Post

      As for the all you can eat buffets....

      I'm gonna go out on a limb and say, they really are all you can eat.
      Do I need to explain?
      Actually they aren't. Some restaurants will actually ask you to leave after having your 9th plate. Some have a higher threshold.

      Some will purposely slow down the amount of food they are bringing out to encourage people to leave.

      Some will outright say that you are cut off and not let you get anymore food.

      It doesn't happen often, but it does happen and they are in the legal rights to refuse to service you.
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      • Profile picture of the author tkboy101
        Originally Posted by Christian Little View Post

        Actually they aren't. Some restaurants will actually ask you to leave after having your 9th plate. Some have a higher threshold.

        Some will purposely slow down the amount of food they are bringing out to encourage people to leave.

        Some will outright say that you are cut off and not let you get anymore food.

        It doesn't happen often, but it does happen and they are in the legal rights to refuse to service you.
        HAhahahaa!!!! How much food can one person eat?
        Well, I've never had a problem...

        I guess if these restaurants were "hosting" then I'd be their ideal customer. Cuz I usually can't get past 3 plates of food. So for *me* it really is all I can eat! lol

        Peace.

        ~Luke
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        • Profile picture of the author Jaguar-TI
          Wow thanks for all the info guys, I'll make sure to jot down all the fine points explained here so I can make a better decision next time I get hosting.

          Also remember this, the more a person promises for the least amount of money, you have to read more carefully the small print.

          Cheers,

          Jaguar
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