Is it viable to run an online programme on a German Server?

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Julius777

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Guys please don't jump on me because this is my first attempt and I am IT illiterate (in spite of being the MD of a Software Company- yes, it IS possible!)

Have a question but 1st the problem: I was persuaded by our IT guys to move from a local Server to one in Germany (same provider) because we store documents for our clients and the cost of bandwidth in ZA.

Our experience has been horrific- using the programme has become painful because it is slow and often connection is lost.

We are unable to determine the cause, which has to be one or more of the following:
1. Telkom throttling the overseas connection for selfish reasons (not just at the end of the month when we know it is bad);
2. The software (Linux, MySQL, Apache etc) loaded on the German server- we get no co-operation from them, they say 'solve it yourselves'
3. Something unknown!

It is so bad that we decided yesterday to transfer the whole lot (except docs) back to ZA: trauma!!! :eek: but we have to do something!

Can ANYBODY out there hazard a guess (or better!) as to what the problem could be....or better still, tell us what we should rather do
(it is a small operation at this stage, maybe 5GB of traffic but growing)

Please!

Julius Strydom
www.fspoffice.com
 
It is possible that the provider you went with are just not very good. I do sell hosting with servers in the US, UK and ?Asia. PM me and ?I will let you try it free of charge for two months.
 
that was quick!

Thnx for your quick response, Gunther.
We are using a VERY reputable Company and the service in ZA is exceptional. In DE (the mother company!) it stinks.

I am sending your link to our IT guys for comment but right now first prize will be a solution/clarification to/of our problem with minimum disruption.

Thanks again
 
Pretty easy guess what company it was considering your two Options Germany or South Africa.

I would suggest changing hosts.
 
The only option to get faster speeds is to host the application as close as possible to the user. You will have endless problems with speed, latency and reliability if the connection has to go through SAT3/SAFE to Germany.

To save bandwidth rather try and compress the documents on the server.
 
Thank you, Franna (and others)- our IT guys came to the same conclusion. We are however going to try a compromise solution by leaving the documents on the German server and pulling them from there when required. If we still have problems we will transfer them back to ZA.

Thanks again
 
IMO, and from what I understand. Your application connects to a web server? Then you get disconnected often etc?

Yes that might happen, re-write into a web application rather?

With a dedicated server you won't get support, but you need a dedicated server for your programmers to do their magic without waiting days on end for configurations. Hire a Linux expert (or at least programmers that know Linux) so that they can configure stuff themselves?

also, as a rule of thumb, I usually assess where in the world my clients connect from before I even try and determine where the server will be hosted.

Your move to host the documents on an international server is better because of the bandwidth issue, plus, you generally get better speeds downloading from it than a ZA one.

who's your head of I.T? Fire him... cause he don't know what he's talking about
 
Julius, Im not entirely sure what you guys are trying to do, so heres is an explanation of what Im going to attempt soon for our company.

We have a few locations around the world, the two biggest are UK and SA,

1. We have a dedicated server in the UK.
2. have a server in the CPT office and the LON office
3. setup VPN links between all 3.
4. install synchronization and file locking software on all 3 server.

So the guys in CPT work on the file locally and so do the guys in LON. If a file is modified then the Synchronization software will push the changes to the other two servers.

The file locking part is that when a file is being worked on, say , the CPT server then the hosted and LON server also lock the file. Once the work is completed the file is sync'd and unlocked.

We have the hosted server for people who will vpn remotely to that machine from other locations in the UK and the world.

Maybe this is what you are trying to attempt.
 
Hi Julius777,

I am interested as to your specifications required, as well as any operating system requirements you may need.

Although we specialise in LAMP setups ourselves, I am fairly sure we can assist you or at the very least, refer someone to you with vast experience.
 
We have been using 3 of their top of the range dedicated servers as well for over 6 months now and have never had a single problem, except one disc giving up on us. This disc was replaced within 60 minutes of us sending through a request.

We run a very high traffic site (>200000 visitors) per month and the dedicated servers are just perfect for our needs (each with 8GB RAM, unlimited bandwidth!!!, 1.5TB hardware) - and all of this for under R1000 per server per month.

I think you may have some sort of connectivity issue, the problem is definitely not with their hardware or setup.
 
The link between Hetzner's german sites and SA is terrible. If you want to host over seas. Use either a recognised UK or US hosting solution (preferrably the later). Before buying an account, ping them to see the hops and which is giving the best response, checking for bottle necks.
 
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