Making Drupal scale

Is it the holy grail? Drupal does have a bit of a reputation for grabbing all the resources it can and keeping hold of them until the bitter end. The trick being, of course, making sure that "the bitter end" isn't the point at which the site stops working and your community start complaining.

There's a two-pronged approach here, and you won't be surprised to hear that it's not all about the technology in our view.

Firstly, there's plenty you can do from the technical side to make things work more efficiently and maximise the amount you can get out of your hardware. Marcus Deglos will be speaking at Drupalcon Paris on the subject - Speeding up the snail and making Drupal scale - and he should know what he's talking about having satisfied NHS Connecting for Health that their community won't grind to a halt through inefficient coding.

We've just invested in a completely new approach to hosting Drupal sites too - more of which to follow - but when Crufts 2010 hits us we intend to be ready on all fronts.

Is it possible to cover all the bases, though? Really cover them, that is. Even the best laid plans can fall apart, and if they do, you need to be ready. Web 2.0 means that your site is no longer "office hours", your community want to communicate with each other all day, every day, and if all they get is a blank screen you can expect a barrage of vitriol.

Some tips:

• Honesty is the best policy - if your infrastructure is struggling, tell your users so there are no nasty surprises
• Develop advocates - your moderators and key users are your best allies in difficult times, and they can help you to get your community on side
• Make the most of your investment - by which I mean, if you're spending more on the community, tell them

Your community will expect things to work day in, day out, and by adopting the right technical approach, they can no matter what the platform. Being able to think on your feet is no substitute for proper investment in both hardware and software, but having a few people on your side if things do slow down eases the pain and gives you time to concentrate on the solution.