01
Size CPU, memory and storage together
The web application, database and background workers share resources. Include the operating system and concurrent processes in your memory estimate, and allow for database growth, logs and temporary files when assessing storage.
Look beyond monthly visitor totals. Review CPU and memory use, response times and disk capacity during busy periods. For a new project, use a representative load test to assess the starting requirement.
Prepare for plan selection
- Application stack, database and current data size
- Peak-use measurements and expected growth
02
Plan the change before adding resources
When an application slows down, identify the bottleneck first. Memory pressure, a full disk and a long-running database query may need different responses. Use those findings to decide whether more resources will help.
Review available changes for your service in the customer portal. Alongside the new price, check whether a restart, migration or partition expansion is needed, and schedule the work for an appropriate maintenance period.
Check before making a change
- Current backup, maintenance window and rollback steps
- Application and disk checks on the new configuration
03
Assign responsibility for server administration
Identify who maintains operating system updates, user permissions, firewall rules and applications. Monitor whether the application responds and whether disk capacity is available, as well as whether the server is running.
Technical support and ongoing software administration can cover different tasks. If your team needs maintenance assistance, define which software and duties a managed service will cover when choosing the service.
Include in the operating plan
- Administrator access and an update schedule
- Who receives alerts and which support channel to use
04
Plan backups around a working restore
File and database backups need to work together. Keep copies independent of the running server, and choose retention, frequency and access permissions around how the application and its data change.
Restore into a test environment to confirm that the data opens and the application runs. For DCHost-assisted backup or recovery, agree the schedule, retention and restore scope for the selected service.
Verify recovery readiness
- Acceptable data loss and time to restore service
- Last successful backup and tested recovery steps