A couple dreamhost sites for you to browse..

before you make the purchase.. browse through these sites first and see the speed.. they're my sites.. and i'll let you be the judge of the speed.. for me.. it's often quite slow..

www.chuagiesu.com
www.vabc.com

Yikes! Those sites are pretty slow. Do you mind divulging which server you're on?

I just signed up with Dreamhost a few days ago and have been uploading my site to their servers. It's taking a while since my entire site is near 10GB and I'm uploading from my home Mac/DSL line which has an upload cap of 300Kbps or so.

I'm on the Milliken server and if my speeds are not significantly faster than these example sites, I'm afraid I'll have to invoke my money-back guarantee. :-(

Have you asked support about speed problem, since if you would like this fixed that is the best place to start?

> slow
> www.chuagiesu.com

The home page is not too slow for me because I do not have a WMV player plugin, so the 3 WMV files are not downloaded automatically (Edit: or at least don't delay presenting the page, without video).

Those 3 video files total 18.4 MB. The other 22 files with the home page add up to ~200 KB, which is moderately large (for slow connections).

Those people who have the plugin can expect delays. 18 MB can take from a while (minutes to hour) to download, depending on speed.

I suggest having separate pages to see those videos, and maybe some of the other stuff too.

> www.vabc.com

Reasonably fast for me, but some pages come with a bunch of javascript, and a "tracking" link to headsup.headsheads.com. Scripts can slow things down.

I'll blame the cross-site link. Although it also sits on a DreamHost server, it is a shared server, and adds extra server delay, database access, etc.

Good luck,

BobS

Both those sites are loading fine for me here in Europe.

Rails Hosting - DH supports Ruby on Rails!
Tip - use the DreamHost promo code X50 to get $50 off any of their plans instantly

well even if you just go to article pages w/o video.. it'll run slow.. there are no tracking in admin and it runs slow as well.. i've contacted dreamhost about the speed issue before.. at least.. 5 times.. but it always go back to going slow again.. look at my past posts.. i've complained quite a bit.. but the service remains quite unsatisfactory..

That's not very encouraging. What was Dreamhost's response when you complained? Did they put you on a different server?

no they didn't.... continues to be slow for months.. sometimes it's ok speed.. but usually at night.. most of the time.. it's so slow that no user can bear browsing through the site..

i'm on olympic server btw

when i complain.. they would check it and they'd usually say it's running ok.. right.. so it must be me.. they're obviously not listening to their customers... when i complained some more... they said my server is one of the fastest one... obviously that is a very subjective answer.. fastest out of a bunch of slow server still means slow..Edited by majestique on 03/18/06 12:32 PM (server time).

> i'm on olympic server btw

> they said my server is one of the fastest one... obviously that is a very subjective answer.. fastest out of a bunch of slow server still means slow..

http://wiki.dreamhost.com/index.php/Server_Statistics

Olympic looks top quartile. There is a p3 600 and couple dual 850s, but most look fast.

Try host tracker on a few of your pages, and compare with a site you consider fast. Get some statistics.

http://host-tracker.com/

pretty fast right here right now, esp considerin they're both joomla based, and as was mentioned, 3 videos on the fornt page??!!

MySQL has been documented well slow lately, and I've never seen a joomla site that didn't have db related slowness now and then on dremahost lately.

jason

Your sites are loaidng up fast for me right now. I went and followed a few links, there was a short delay initally while the page was being generated, but then text and images came down fast.

-Matttail

As far as the page and images, it loaded fairly fast. The only drawback in speed for me was the videos since I'm on dial-up. You might consider making an optional page for them, if they aren't needed too badly.

Ni (myvroxed[at]gmail.com)
http://www.r-shitei.org
$25.00 off monthly plans or $48.50 off yearly plans!
(contact for more details!)

3 videos on the front page shouldn't be the issue.. it doesn't download until you press play.. also, if you browse to other pages w/o video, it's still slow, check out the oscommerce shop.. still slow.. i don't know what time u guys are checking the server at.. or where from.. but my sites are consistently slow everywhere i go.. from school.. from work.. from friends house.. my home.. it is ABSOLUTELY SLOW.. there is NO QUESTION about it.. you guys must work for dreamhost or have low standards.. or maybe very lucky.. i know for certain it is slow.. guys with dreamhost affiliate links i don't trust.. and guys with consistent promotion to DH like "mattail" i cannot take your word... i looked at your past posts.. always promoting DH in one way or another..

and yes, the MYSQL has been documented to be slow... so that proves the guys saying it's fast... is well.. i don't know what to say really lol..

The first site was definately slow loading for my tastes. Between the Joomla template and the three Windows Media boxes it took a while to render.

The second site, seemed to load fine.

All this is, however, somewhat relative. SO much depends on the visitors connection - number of hops, latency, etc.

If you really want a good read as to how long it is taking, why don't you google around a bit for the code to embed the page creation yime in PHP in the bottom of your template footer - there are several Joomla/M*mbo templates that do this, I just can't seem to put my hands on the code right now.

At least that way you will know how long it is taking MySQL to provide the page contents, and that might help you get a better metric.

--rlparker

I neither work for DH or have low standards so I sincerely hope you'e not talking to me. In fact I'm trying to help you determine what the problem is, as are the others, if you'll listen and apply, not just listen for what you want to hear. It's not nice to call people liars that are doing you the favor of testing and reporting back to you! Be suspicious if you like but keep it to yourself and you might get more input in the future. I certainly didn't lie and I doubt very seriously that mattail did either, 3 hours later. So you've determined that your problem is intermittent for starters.

I just checked your site as soon as the email came to me that there had been a reply to my post, and indeed SLOWer than molasses (the first site you posted, the second came down instantly and fully). Took a few secs (2 maybe 3) to serve me anything beyond the white page (something I've come to expect from joomal powered sites) then boom! fast, everything but the images came down, the images came down all at once about 3 minutes later. Not acceptable I'd agree!

Now you've got to try and figure out what the cause of that is...

I saved the html source of your front page and viewed it from my desktop and web server after changing the file paths to get the assets from your domain and the same thing happened on each.

So you need to determine why your images are coming so slowly, on occassion and fix that. What you're doing however is just complaining apparently.

If you go to support with detailed determinations of what the problem(s) is/are, and keep a cool head, read responses carefully, wait at least 30 minutes for things to sink in before you respond, all that kinda stuff (basically keep cool and stay determined and nice)... you'll get to the bottom of the problem and solve it.

Dreamhost are pretty good about fixing such things tho their support can be a little trying depending on who you talk to for the last 6 months or so. Hopefully tho they're getting a handle on the power, router, dns and MySQL problems they've been having so that they can indeed get back to fixing stuff like this.

Good luck

jason

Oh. I see now....

You really don't want help, only confirmation of your complaints about the speed of the server without evaluating:

1) The efficiency of your MySQL queries
2) Possible issues with your images
3) Whether or not all visitors are experiencing the unacceptable delays you are experiencing.

I'm sorry. I misunderstood your question. Just disreguard my response that you might want to introduce some metrics to your page to help you evaluate MySQL server response to see if it is all the server or if there might be other issues.

Good luck.

--rlparker

> and guys with consistent promotion to DH like "mattail" i cannot take your word... i looked at your past posts.. always promoting DH in one way or another..

The truth comes into focus: "Matttail" is really Michael, one of the Honchos. With all "Matttail's" typos, you know he helped write the Panel and one-click installs. :-)

In reply to:
you guys must work for dreamhost or have low standards..

In reply to:
guys with dreamhost affiliate links i don't trust..

In reply to:
and guys with consistent promotion to DH like "mattail" i cannot take your word...

Wow! Talk about alienating just about everyone who is trying to help you out.

I am sure there are a few people who you haven't yet accused of dishonesty, but I am sure you'll fix that up in your next post. :)

As for your sites, well I could tell you how they appeared to me speedwise, but I doubt you'd listen, so why bother?

excellent, i don't want to hear from anyone that's affiliated to dreamhost.. how about i listen to bbb.org

http://www.labbb.org/BBBWeb/Forms/Business/CompanyReportPage_Expository.aspx?CompanyID=13131294

an F!! HAHA jesus christ.. i've made a mistake..

BBB seems to have an outdated address (and, I think, an outdated company name too -- I don't think they use "New Dream Network, LLC" any more), which might explain why they have no response to whatever complaints they have on file. Still, Dreamhost should get in touch with them to clear the issue up.

-- Dan

In reply to:
excellent, i don't want to hear from anyone that's affiliated to dreamhost.. how about i listen to bbb.org

The BBB "F" rating has been noted and discussed before, but there will always be those who choose to read only what they want to see, just like those that only what to hear opinions similar to their own. I haven't seen any responses to your post from anyone "affiliated to" dreamhost, only responses from other Dreamhost customers who took their time to browse your sites and answer your question. Not that you appeared to appreciate any of their comments; hey if you want to rant, then rant.

In reply to:
HAHA jesus christ.. i've made a mistake..

Yep, probably more than one. From looking at your previous posts, you have been very unhappy with your DH experience for quite some time. You might consider that "life is short" and take steps to avoid further frustrations and aggravations such as finding a hosting arrangement that gives you less grief. Good prices are one thing, but I wouldn't subject myself to the level of unhappiness that you have expressed having just to save a buck or two on webhosting.

Of course, you could contact support and attempt to enlist their help in reviewing your situation, but you "don't want to hear from anyone that's affiliated to dreamhost"... oh well, guess that's not an option.

--rlparker

In reply to:
The BBB "F" rating has been noted and discussed before, but there will always be those who choose to read only what they want to see

My experience confirms their rating... I once was happy w/ dreamhost's service, but then they keep on raising their limits and eventually really slowed up my sites... and thanks for the attempt for belittling my find on the bbb by saying it's been discussed before when you very well know most people won't find that thread... I appreciate their responses but when it is obviously one sided and consistent in the post history, then that troubles me... the sites are obviously slow and most of them didn't even confirm that...

In reply to:
just to save a buck or two on webhosting.

Well, comparatively to www.bluehost.com & www.anhosting.com and lunarpages.com, the price seems pretty similiar to me... I have accounts in 2 out of those 3 companies and have excellent experience with them.. at first, I just complained a little, it didn't seem to work.. I would send DH support requests, at least 6 times, they don't seem to respond to that kind of complaint very often, or they'd reply w/ some answer like, "you're on one of the fastest server" or "It's going pretty fast to me". Hmm, is that right, when i go on computers from all my friend's house and see my sites are slow, and they all complain to me that my site is slow... well tell me, when all your friends do that over and over again, doesn't that add your frustration.. of course and yes, I've been complaining a lot and quite consistent, obviously it's not working, and obviously DH isn't doing anything about it just like DH didn't do anything about the BBB profile... do you see some sort of consistency here?

I just want the speed when I first signed up, other users have complained that they rather have less space, bandwidth, domains addon limitations to have greater speed, and I agree w/ that...

So why don't I just move on, it's only $8 a month, well to tell you the truth, I really loved DH before, and I've referred at least 8 accounts to DH, and rather than just dropping DH, I feel responsible for their experience as well, so maybe my rant/complaints will get DH to notice.. and also, I feel it is my responsibility to let others know my experience w/ DH before they sign up.

and I sincerely appreciate your post, I apologize if I didn't convey appreciation to the rest of the other posters.

In reply to:
My experience confirms their rating... I once was happy w/ dreamhost's service, but then they keep on raising their limits and eventually really slowed up my sites...

I'm certainly not meaning to question your experience, and many of us have experienced changes to our sites' performance as a result of increased loads on the shared servers. All that is valid.

In reply to:
and thanks for the attempt for belittling my find on the bbb by saying it's been discussed before when you very well know most people won't find that thread

Interesting attitude there. How is it you interpret my pointing a reader to an existing thread that is relevant to your "find" regarding the BBB rating as an "attempt for belittling"? I thought this was a discussion, and my understanding of discussions is that various people provide input; participants in the discussion filter as they find necessary. My point was, and still is, that the BBB rating should be viewed for what it is rather than being held up to be some authoritative evaluation of Dreamhost. At best it is a subjectively empirical evaluation derived from an insignificantly few samples. That does not mean it might not be true, it only means it is *not necessarily* true. Your statement that I "know very well most people won't find that thread" is somewaht true (though I only *suspect* many people would not find it), which is exactly why I included the link. It was not an attempt to "belittle" any one or anything. It just pointed to another thought relevant to this discussion at hand. I don't see it as being any different than you pointing users to the BBB. My experience has been that doping this is better forum "netiquette" than restating previous discussions from other threads ad nauseum, and I am sorry if you viewed my doing that as somehow being directed at "belittling" your "find".

(oops! accidently posted before complete....bad keyboard skills)

I *do* understand your frustrations. Having hosted with Dreamhost since 1998, I too have seen some things change for the worse as the company grows. I have also seen to changes being addressed; the one thing that never changes is that there will be "good time" and "bad times" in a company's growth. *My* experience has been that historically DH has been good at fixing things that break.

Thank you for writing that you appreciated the posts of those that tried to help. I really *do* want you to find a solution to your problems with the sites' speed, and my suggestions were only intended to help toward that end.

It is also admirable that you want others to be aware of your experience before they part with their money. We, as consumers, need all the honest evaluation we can get; I just wanted to interject what I believe to be some "balance" to the discussion.

Regards,
--rlparker

Edited by rlparker on 03/23/06 10:57 AM (server time).

About the belittling part, I got the wrong impression and I apologize for making the assumption.

I thoroughly appreciate your comments rlparker, they're thoughtful and insightful. Definitely makes this a balanced discussion. Bottom line is, shared hosting will continue to be slow(at least for me). Therefore, I need to go w/ dedicated server hosting, but they don't offer that until Q3 of '06...

oh boy :(

I think I'm more on the acceptance phase now...

Thanks for clearing up the "belittling" thing, and your gracious apology is accepted. It *is* often hard to tell someone's intentions from quickly-typed text, and misunderstandings *do* happen :-).

In reply to:
Bottom line is, shared hosting will continue to be slow(at least for me). Therefore, I need to go w/ dedicated server hosting, but they don't offer that until Q3 of '06...

I suspect that may be my ultimate decision with some of my sites also, and makes me think I should have sprung for the dedicated box when they were more readily available.

In the meantime, I'm kinda going the "acceptance" route also, while maintaining hope that things will get better as DH scales up.

Regards,

--rlparker

As far as I know the only reason we have an F rating with the BBB is that we used to pay them to be a member (yeah, you have to pay them!) and then we stopped paying because we decided it wasn't worth it. If you don't pay them they don't let you respond to complaints. Seems like a conflict of interest to me!

The BBB provides a useful service that's primarily valuable for judging traditional brick and mortar businesses. I don't think it has really been updated properly to be useful for Internet based businesses like us.

As far as olympic goes, it does look like it's had some stability issues with reboots every 1-3 weeks for awhile.

- Dallas
- DreamHost Head Honcho/Founder

Thanks for the letting us know about BBB Dallas, I think you're right about BBB, definitely not worth the money, and their business model is definitely discouraging for internet businesses to signup.

Yeah olympic has been a problem, it was fine before the *unlimited* domains, oy... well, can you make an exception and let me sign up for a dedicated server? The one thing I really like about DH is the panel.. so easy to use... I really really need a dedicated server...

Glad we cleared things up rlparker :)

kind regards..

I posted earlier in this thread while I was transferring my site to Dreamhost. Well, I've transferred and set everything up and must say that I'm pretty happy with the performance. My site is not running Joomla, but rather WordPress and Gallery2. I noticed that one of your sites is also running Gallery2 so you can get a feel for what that might feel like on a shared server that is not having issues.

http://rohjuh.com

Thanks for posting your site roger.. the speed does seem to be ok.. my server however has actually been unresponsive earlier today for some reason.. couldn't connect to the site at certain points...

btw, nice pictures.. and thank you for sharing

Its not just that dreamhost is having DNS problems and hopefully they are working to fix it :( Nameserver sometimes timing out:
66.33.206.206: Timeout.
66.201.54.66: Timeout.

http://www.dnsreport.com/tools/dnsreport.ch?domain=dreamhost.com

So sites sometimes aren't responsive fast :(...

In reply to:
As far as I know the only reason we have an F rating with the BBB is that we used to pay them to be a member (yeah, you have to pay them!) and then we stopped paying because we decided it wasn't worth it.

Man that sucks, DreamHost would probably have been better not to have paid them in the first place. Better not to have any rating at all, rather than an 'F' rating that some would see as indicating poor company performance.

Dallas, Please allow me to get a dedicated server!

In reply to:
Dallas, Please allow me to get a dedicated server!

Are they still not offering dedicated servers?

digitalrundown.com
Promo Code: WJD97 - $97.00 off any new DreamHost plan (except month-month payments).

nope... they said Q3 of '06... can't wait that long...

A couple dreamhost sites for you to browse..