Hosting business · 6 min read
Sizing a server for reseller hosting
Account count alone is a poor sizing method. A hundred quiet brochure sites may need less than a few busy ecommerce sites with active email and databases.
Profile the account mix
Separate low-traffic sites from resource-heavy applications. Record database use, scheduled jobs, PHP workers, mailboxes, file storage, and backup size. A panel can manage many accounts, but the applications determine actual load.
Prioritize memory and fast storage
RAM supports the operating system, database cache, web workers, malware scanning, and control-panel services. NVMe storage is a strong baseline for active hosting workloads. Build enough spare capacity for nightly backups and restoration testing.
Plan email and backups independently
Email can create disk, reputation, and support work that is unrelated to website traffic. Backups also need a separate destination and retention plan. Do not treat local snapshots as the only recovery option.
Define the management boundary
Decide who handles updates, account migrations, security incidents, tuning, and customer support. A reliable reseller service is as much an operations design as a hardware purchase.