How to choose the right VPS size

The right size is one step above what your software needs, not the biggest size. For a small site or a light application, 1-2 GB of RAM is often a good starting point (a rule of thumb that varies with the workload). At Seturack you can scale the server up from the panel later, so your first choice is not a one-way decision.

Below you will find what RAM, vCores and disk do, sensible starting sizes by type of workload, and how to measure whether the size you picked is enough.

What do RAM, vCores and disk do?

• RAM is the working memory of every running program. When it runs out, the system starts using the disk as slow memory (swap) or stops a program. You notice it as slowness and services that suddenly die.
• vCores are virtual processor cores. When there aren't enough, responses slow down even if RAM is free, because jobs queue up. The number of cores sets how many jobs can run at once.
• Disk holds the system, applications, database, logs and your files. When it fills up, writes start to fail.

The three can't stand in for each other. More vCores won't rescue a server that lacks RAM, and more RAM won't help a server whose disk is full.

Starting sizes by type of workload

The values below are rules of thumb, and they vary with the job. They don't mean that a size will carry a certain number of visitors. They are just a sensible place to begin.

A separate note on disk: Docker images, growing databases, log files and backup archives you make yourself fill a disk faster than you expect. As a rule of thumb, choose so that at least a third of the disk is still free on day one.

Sizes at Seturack

You choose RAM, CPU and disk separately, and you pay for what you choose. RAM goes from 1 GB to 256 GB and CPU from 1 to 48 vCores. Prices are monthly and include VAT. Prices are shown in US dollars, or in Turkish lira on the Turkish site, and dollar prices are worked out from the lira price at the exchange rate. You pay in the currency shown; customers with a billing address in Turkey pay in lira. The examples below are approximate dollar prices. Paying yearly gets you a 20% discount.

How do you know whether the size is enough?

Connect to the server with SSH and run these commands:

free -h

df -h

top

• In the output of free -h, the available column shows how much memory applications can still use. If it stays very low for a long time and the Swap row is filling up, RAM is not enough.
• df -h shows how full the disk is. As a rule of thumb, free up space or scale up once it passes 80-85 percent.
• In top, if the load average figures at the top stay well above your vCore count for long periods, the processor is not enough. Shift+M sorts programs by memory use, and Shift+P sorts them by processor use.

Don't judge from a single snapshot. Watch during peak hours and over several days.

How do scaling up and down work?

In the panel, open your server's Size tab and move the slider to the size you want. The new price shows right away.

• Scaling up is applied after payment. The server restarts once on its own and comes back at the new size. Your IP address and data stay the same. You are only invoiced the difference for the remaining days.
• Scaling down is scheduled for the end of the term you have paid for, and you can cancel it until then. The server restarts once on its own that day. Memory and CPU go down, and you pay less from the next term.

One detail deserves attention: scaling up grows the disk, but scaling down does not shrink it. If you scale up for a temporary peak, know that the disk will not go back to its old size. The memory setting of some applications also doesn't change by itself when the size changes. MySQL's cache, for example, you update yourself. The article on scaling your server up or down has the details.

Common mistakes when picking a size

• Looking only at RAM. Disk may fall short too. Databases, media files and Docker images make it grow.
• Reading the average and missing the peak. The server looks comfortable all day, then chokes during a campaign or at backup time.
• Leaving caching off and blaming the hardware. A page cache can let the same site run on far fewer resources.
• Forgetting the application's own setting after scaling up. Some applications don't use the new memory by themselves.

Why start small?

It is hard to guess the size in advance. Real traffic in the first weeks, your plugins and the size of your database show what you actually need. Because scaling up is done from the panel, measuring first and growing later is more comfortable and more economical than overpaying on day one. One rule keeps you safe: even at peak time, memory and disk must not fill up.

You can work out the price of any size on the pricing page.