Hello everyone ;
I am trying to find a free web host that can support Moodle 2.8.1 ,it has more than 10000 files ,so I cant find a free web host that will allow more than 10 000 files in FTP directory ,for exp. 000webhost only allows 10 000 files so I can't install Moodle 2.8.1 .
Can you recommend me a free web host that will allow me to install Moodle 2.8.1 ,or some other way to install it ?
Irfan,
You already got a wonderful piece LMS for free, and yet you want to everything for free? Not an ideal scenario
Not that I know a free host that will let you install Moodle as per your specifications as handling Moodle is not that every hosting company can do, but you can always go to www . gnomio.com and see if the have 2.8.1 installed and ready to go, at least they wont limit you with file sizes and numbers and let you play around for free.
Yep, this can be a problem with many of the "free", or even "unlimited" host server companies.
If you are willing to spend $5/month (US), you open up some possibilities. Maybe talk with companies, like GoDaddy, about your needs. Even if you don't go with GoDaddy, then might provide some useful information.
What is generating these 10,000 files?
Rick, Moodle alone (without any add-ons or even a course) is built upon 15000+ files. Where some Hosting providers limit by file size, some limit by nodes (Number of Files) some by server resources. As per them, exceeding the set limit brings drastic effect on their server IOPS. Not that I have seen many, but BlueHost/HostMonster has set limit of 50,000 files but they dont penalize account until one reaches 200,000.
Ah, good point Usman. I couldn't remember how many tables and files went into moodle, but I think that I mentioned to you once before that two installs on a Bluehost.com hosted server maxes out their "unlimited" allocation (i.e., too many database tables), and they then send you an email telling you to clean up.
I found a free web host that supports it but now I have an another problem :
Irfan,
I knew that few hosts can provide you with free hosting with softacolous or fantastico already there with scripts, but then these usual issues can come, like root directory cannot be over written, or if it can, the PHP/MySQL versions required for Moodle are not up-to-date.
This will happen in Automated install of the script, what you can do is, do manual install and then give path to the data directory in public_html directory. though not a safe way to go to, but for the sake of testing, yes this can be done.
Irfan - that link you have in your message doesn't seem to take me anywhere useful - what's host you found and what's the new problem? Interested coz I'm struggling with this too. No problem getting Moodle 1.9 going on free space though.
Marshall,
The link that irfan provided is www . freewebhostingarea . com (spaces added to prevent auto hyperlinking) But there will be issues, you wont be able to create moodle data directory as per automated install from script.
Another few free hosting providers if you like to know are
www . hostinger . co . uk (PHP and MySQL wont fit the requirements for newer moodles)
www host4free. in (they have PHP/MySQL intact for new versions, but same issue of writing to data directory)
if you want to test moodle on a live server, with almost all of the popular plug-ins and themes already installed for you, then you can give a try to gnomio .com
Thanks Usman - I've got 1.9 running on hostinger and working well enough for the development I want to try out, but still haven't found a place I can try 2.7+. I'm not sure how much it affects others and I need to be a little careful of what I say here, but some of us work in organisations where the bureaucratic barriers in the way of doing something as simple as paying $5 a month for some usable space are huge and I spend at least some of my time sobbing quietly in a corner
Marshal
Rick, regarding tables, its 330+ for each moodle instance, and every standard hosting limits database tables to the limit of 1000, PRO/Business hosting does comes with 3000, and this experience of tables and file size did come to me from HostMonster/Bluehost as well.
Thanks for clarifying.
So I think that we end up concluding that many of the hosted server companies that offer "unlimited" stuff, really do have limitations. If one wants to run Moodle on a hosted server, one can, but you have to pay attention to some of these "limited" restrictions such as number of files, number of tables, size of database, etc.
For someone getting started, a hosted server might be a good way to experience an installation of Moodle "on the Internet." As one's LMS needs grow, moving up to a VPS is an option. With greater needs, maybe a dedicated server, or eventually one's own server. There seems to be a lot of ways to grow a Moodle.
Just so that you know, Usman, I am very please with my MAMP installation. This is a good alternative when someone wants to just learn Moodle, and its features. I have moved my old 1.9 Moodle installation (with data) into this environment, and a rather recent backup of my current 2.7 Moodle into MAMP. I can now get to all my student data without the need to be connected to the Internet. I still have a little bit more work (like getting cron to run correctly.)
Indeed, the term "Unlimited" is never truly unlimited, but different hosts have different variations of defining the term, all one has to do is keep looking and eventually settling with one that suits best.
And very right as per the path of growth, one should always start from small scale, As I had seen one example with a guy starting off with Moodle and his consultant told him how heavy requirements would be for Moodle, poor guy ended up paying for a Dedicated costing him $1200 a month, and for nearly 14 months project didn't even started so he ended up wasting $16800 for nothing eventually project was shut down. It doesnt takes more than few hours or even minutes from shifting Moodle from a shared to VPS or dedicated.
Good to read that your local Moodle is working well, apart from taking local hosted moodle as alternative to learning on a live server, the best use of local would be for those creating courses, as rather than creating a long course based on many activities on live server, where there is no guarantee of 100% uptime, one can always create it on local and then upload on live server and make further adjustments there, it takes less than a minute. At least I use my offline Moodle installation for that purpose
Just to say that I now have a copy of moodle 2.8 up and running at www.x10hosting.com. I've not tried developing courses on it yet, but it's the first instance of 2.x I've managed to get to the end of the installation process with on free space.
Marshal
It looks like www.x10hosting.com. Doesn't like me, or the country I'm resident in. I'm getting a lot of this nonsense lately. Why are a few websites becoming so country selective???
Please try again another time. You may contact us or visit our community forums with any questions on our current policy.
Just to add to what others have said - you get what you pay for.
Moodle is a large application and hoping to run on a free hosting plan is optimistic. The other issue is that free means "no obligation to support you or protect your data". I would not use it for anything I cared about.
" You get what you get what you pay for" I agree and disagree with you on that point. That's what many frustrated commercial competitors wrongfully state when comparing all the highly successful free open source software available as against their expensive unaffordable commercial software.
Even so, moodle is potentially a highly profitable quality open source software in its own right, and I can't understand why a few individuals would want to install it in a freebie website. Perhaps they even want a .free domain, which by the way is also available.
Hmmm.... while you may well be able to download Moodle for free and the freedom from licenses and other restrictions is a massive advantage over commercial offerings, nobody really thinks running a 'production' LMS can be free do they? That way lies madness
