Hi GUYS!
I need your help, COVID-19 in my city. I received a request to create a Moodle server for 300 thousand students. Could you help me to choose hardware? Thanks
Well, once in water, it is usually too late to start building boats!
https://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=397124#p1601574
A bit more helpful answer: 300,000 students? Buy the biggest server, you can afford. It will take some time for those students to come in, get used to and start working. Monitor your server carefully to predict when that happens and get ready.
More realistically, the first answer. If you have no experience at all running busy Moodle servers, then it is unlikely that you will run a 300,000 user Moodle server tomorrow.
FYI, Europe is hit badly. Where I work the state has took control and everything is closing, it is like a solar eclipse. Thanks to the exercises on moodle.org trying to keep the virtual world going.
https://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=397124#p1601574
A bit more helpful answer: 300,000 students? Buy the biggest server, you can afford. It will take some time for those students to come in, get used to and start working. Monitor your server carefully to predict when that happens and get ready.
More realistically, the first answer. If you have no experience at all running busy Moodle servers, then it is unlikely that you will run a 300,000 user Moodle server tomorrow.
FYI, Europe is hit badly. Where I work the state has took control and everything is closing, it is like a solar eclipse. Thanks to the exercises on moodle.org trying to keep the virtual world going.
Thanks for answer!
I think I will use LB server, few web servers and db server. But I don't know how many cores for CPUs and RAM will need minimum for 150k concurrent a.m. students and 150k p.m. students. I'm building only hardware infrastructure. Then other guy will run Moodle server.
I think I will use LB server, few web servers and db server. But I don't know how many cores for CPUs and RAM will need minimum for 150k concurrent a.m. students and 150k p.m. students. I'm building only hardware infrastructure. Then other guy will run Moodle server.
A lot. There's no way you will 150k concurrent students.
I'm about to get hit with this - "we're moving entirely on line by the end of next week, will our Moodle cope?". Interesting question... I'm looking forward to Monday.
I'm about to get hit with this - "we're moving entirely on line by the end of next week, will our Moodle cope?". Interesting question... I'm looking forward to Monday.
No! No! No! ... you as the consultant for the hardware will never completely divest yourself from 'the other guy' that will run the Moodle admin interface ... not with numbers you've shared.
Think you need to look at Amazon and lease.
Might want to check out:
https://www.mylearningconsultants.com/unhosting
" ... for now unHosting is designed to work with your Amazon Web Services account (other platforms to come) ...."
My 2 cent thought/advice!
'SoS', Ken
We can't do it at AWS because our government will reject it.
Sorry, i think i didn't explain my case:
We have 266 schools ~ 310k students. 1 way: all schools in 1 moodle server (LBserver+Webservers+dbserver), 2nd way: each school will work on own moodle server (kubernetes docker(Webservers+dbserver))
Sorry, i think i didn't explain my case:
We have 266 schools ~ 310k students. 1 way: all schools in 1 moodle server (LBserver+Webservers+dbserver), 2nd way: each school will work on own moodle server (kubernetes docker(Webservers+dbserver))
Have you set up large Moodle sites before at all? Where are we starting?
No, my 1st experience. I'm still don't know what hardware need to order...
Ooh - my info is 10 years out of date 
I know we sound like we are being really unhelpful but a 300K user site is a serious proposition. I like to think I know what I'm talking about (I think I have 15 years experience with Moodle) and I really wouldn't take that on lightly.
I don't know how much hardware you need. Nobody does. I have a site that handles about 30K users doing mixed activities. An order of magnitude less than you. We have Enterprise MySQL, Redis, a big NFS server, five large web front ends, backup on all of that, duplication of the database and filestore and a small team of very experienced people to keep it all going.
I would suggest that you hire the services of somebody (e.g. a Moodle Partner) who has a proven record of building a Moodle site on this scale. There are all sorts of "gotchas" that you will fall into otherwise.
Failing that, I would start small and build up but I'm guessing that isn't an option.
I don't know how much hardware you need. Nobody does. I have a site that handles about 30K users doing mixed activities. An order of magnitude less than you. We have Enterprise MySQL, Redis, a big NFS server, five large web front ends, backup on all of that, duplication of the database and filestore and a small team of very experienced people to keep it all going.
I would suggest that you hire the services of somebody (e.g. a Moodle Partner) who has a proven record of building a Moodle site on this scale. There are all sorts of "gotchas" that you will fall into otherwise.
Failing that, I would start small and build up but I'm guessing that isn't an option.
... 266 schools ~ 310k students ...
... for 150k concurrent a.m. students and 150k p.m. students
Off by 10K!!! With the numbers you are sharing, 10K mis-estimation is a big deal!
How are you defining 'concurrent' ... logged on at same time?
You might need to consider both end points ... school -> whatever/however moodle. And might also consider what devices/network, etc. on the school end.
Content on Moodle server/servers will be multimedia (video/audio) and will
content be considered 'blended' as far as instruction with students?
+1 to what Howard has asked!
'SoS', Ken
Good that you avoided the "cloud". Not because of the privacy issue. For such heavy usage Amazon will bankrupt your country. Cloud is cheap for no use, get expensive exponentially with usage. Take Open Source Software and the rest do-it-yourself.
266 schools? Give each school a MoodleBox https://moodlebox.net, enhanced with a portable USB disk!
266 schools? Give each school a MoodleBox https://moodlebox.net, enhanced with a portable USB disk!
"..... COVID-19 in my city ..." .... gov't won't allow! Amazon too expensive!
The globe is having to do many things not ever done before.
So ... IMHO ... gov't (city) needs to re-evaluate ... what's the 'cost' of the death of only one child vs cost to city gov't?
Same is true of cost of Amazon vs other - considering time frame/urgency?
'SoS', Ken
Well yeh - if the OP buys boxes he is going to get it spectacularly wrong one way or another.
A cloud service, at least, allows you to take boxes offline and throw more resources in without very much bother. It'll be way quicker. I could probably fling together a starting point for this in a few hours with Cloud VMs (obviously, it would need a lot of tweaking).
A cloud service, at least, allows you to take boxes offline and throw more resources in without very much bother. It'll be way quicker. I could probably fling together a starting point for this in a few hours with Cloud VMs (obviously, it would need a lot of tweaking).
I imagine the cost will be eye-watering but it's not my money...
Samat Kapanov
The people who have been replying in this thread have a great deal of experience with Moodle over many many years. If you get advice from elsewhere saying what you are asking for is easy, treat it with great caution.
The people who have been replying in this thread have a great deal of experience with Moodle over many many years. If you get advice from elsewhere saying what you are asking for is easy, treat it with great caution.
An interesting thought. The years of Linux/Unix server experience of those who've spoken here, I wonder how many life-times that would add up to.
Or conversely, count the total number of posts made by them on moodle.org - and get ready for a surprise.
Or conversely, count the total number of posts made by them on moodle.org - and get ready for a surprise.
Very OT - but I'm approaching 20,000 posts. That's all kinds of sad
https://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=398346#p1606837
Plea in above link is for schools in US, but ...
At the risk of being a Moodle heretic ... a question for Samat ....
of the total number of students that will participate, how many are below the age of 13? or conversely, above the age of 13? Reason asked, thought GC had an age requirement. If they still do, might be able to get that waved considering the situation.
Reason asked ... Google Classroom doesn't require building any infrastructure/server farms whatever one wants to call that. Only application for an approval by Google for an Education Domain for your city schools.
https://support.google.com/a/answer/134628?hl=en
BTW, if you do end up with a 'split' ... Google Classroom and Moodles, the Moodles can be set up with Google Oauth2 and persons can use the schools google domain/accounts to authenticate on the Moodle as well as use Google Drive/Docs.
In the 'spirit of finding a solution'! SoFS!
Ken
Thank you GUYS!
This bureaucracy... =( We still waiting response from our government. After I will msg here our plans, and how we will run this project.
This bureaucracy... =( We still waiting response from our government. After I will msg here our plans, and how we will run this project.
Surely that ils a job for a Moodle Partner. With that number of students the cost per head must be tiny.