How Much RAM is Enough RAM?

How Much RAM is Enough RAM?

One key question that we get asked frequently is “How much RAM is enough RAM for my dedicated server?” If cost were not an issue, our answer would be “You can never have too much RAM!” But, no one wants to pay for more than they need, especially in today’s economic climate. Since not having enough RAM is entirely possible and will interrupt your website’s functionality, it’s crucial to determine the proper amount of RAM from the start. Granted, it’s difficult to analyze before your site is up and running, but we can make an educated guesstimate if we look at several pertinent factors.

Factors Influencing How Much RAM You Need


Operating System

Are you running a Windows or Linux operating system? Windows requires significantly more RAM than Linux.

Traffic

The more hits, unique visits, and page views your website gets, the more RAM it needs.

Static or Dynamic

Scripts and databases use up a lot of RAM. You’ve got to look at the types, quantity and/or size of both. For example, graphics intensive databases demand far more RAM than textual ones.

CMSs (Content Management Systems)

Are you using content management systems, such as Drupal, WordPress, etc.? If so, you’ll need to look at how many you’re using, the quantity and type of plugins that will be installed, and how many users [both anonymous and logged in] will be active at any given point in time in order to assess how much RAM is needed to handle this aspect.

Control Panel

Control panels [such as cPanel] use a varying amount of RAM, so checking the specific usage of yours is necessary.

Applications

Other applications, such as email clients, antivirus and firewall software, spam protection, etc., use varying amounts of RAM and need to be taken into account.

Caching

Utilizing caching on your site, especially for static content, boosts performance and decreases the demand for RAM.

AYKsolutions will help you analyze all of these factors in order to make a determination as to the optimal amount of RAM for your server. We offer a variety of RAM capabilities at our numerous data server facilities through Shared HostingVirtual Private Server Hosting, Cloud Hosting, and Dedicated Server Hosting. Contact us and we’ll help you set up the optimal server for your company.