New cPanel Install - Plugins - Security - Optimization

[fcbinfo]

Hi guys.

Ill get a new server for my cPanel.

I have installed cPanel many times, and every time i do the same: CentOS 6 - x64, install cPanel, recompile apache with easy apache, install csf and...

But for this new server I'd like to make enough patience, and choose the best options possible.

Lets start this: (a lot of questions, but i belive this will help a lot of peoples):


A) Operational System:

What is better: CentOS 5 or 6? X86 or X64?... and Why?

Is better to do /home in another partition or its does nothing?

Do partitions with LVM or Without LVM? Why?

Swap... 2X time of Ram? Why?




B) Plugins / Security:
After cPanel install, i always install CSF, then i go to security check and get always a green score. I think thats good, its realy good?

Do you know another good plugins or softwares for cPanel?




C) Optimization:

Disable Unused Services: SpamAssassin, Statistics Software, Mailman. Another one?

Tweaking Settings: Uncheck Conserve Memory at the expense of using more cpu/diskio and default catch-all mail address is set to FAIL. More?


Anyone know a full guide for cpanel install with plugins and optimizations?

Why im asking all of this?
I have a cPanel, with CentOS x64, 1gb of ram (VPS).
With a 50 users online in the vbulletin 4, the server is going down. I need to do some resets on the server for that still working. This VM config should works good with 50 users online on vbulletin?

Thank you!

 

[fcbinfo]

No one?

 

[hgrg]

id advise you to install a reverse proxy for static content and add caching(im experimenting with varnish right now). use php opcode cache. well i think thats what ive done so far

 

[LeadDogGraphics]

This is a good question, but I have found in the past few years of looking for answers, it is hard to come by actual good information. Good server admins rarely share their best information rightfully so because it takes not only an incredible amount of knowledge and continuing education to be a great admin, but takes a lot of experience. Not that I condone the lack of great info out there for the public but I understand why.

Best of luck to get a good solid answer to your question, I have had the same ones myself and have Googled my brains out for months to read every article I can find just to get a nugget of sense on what to do and what to use.

 

[hgrg]

paulieb:
well every server needs to be tuned differently coz the needs are always pretty much different..

 

[LeadDogGraphics]

paulieb:
well every server needs to be tuned differently coz the needs are always pretty much different..

I agree, but there are some very common principles, it's pretty much industry standard to do various things, now with that said you can usually find those suggestions on every single blog on the internet, however there are probably hundreds of thousands of servers if not more across the internet running cPanel and many ways to configure them, however same rule applies, there are many common things we server admins all do that is the same to our servers, that could be put out there for new admins or lesser experienced admins to know as well.

 

[fcbinfo]

Well.

I just found a reason which caused many problems for me.

I installed CentOS on a Citrix XenServer, however I have not installed as xenpv but as hvm. After much research, I learned it, and is not good. Need to run CentOS with Xen PV to make it good.

That is, I was running a CentOS without using Xs-Tools of XenServer because it is impossible to install the xs-tools on a CentOS HVM virtualization, and it was losing a lot of hardware resources.

For the new server, this ill be Xen PV =)

A virtual machine with 120gb SSD with 4gb of ram, 6x cores of 2.3ghz, 1gbit of connection cant get 50 users on-line in vbulletin?
Should run and leftover resources. But if you Install CentOS as Xen HVM, You will have big problems like me.