Best Approach For Server Load Etc.

[wayne]

I have about 30 different forms in my website. Each form writes to a mysql database (via PHP).

 

What is the best approach from a server load/ efficiency of writing data etc. point of view?

To have one database for each form OR to use 1 database with a separate table for each form.

 

Note that the data from each form is not related to the data from other forms.

 

I am also asking this from the point of view that I have a password protected area that links to all the databases so I can display information easily. This page connects to the 30 databases and I am wondering if this would create a bottleneck if at the same time customers are submitting data from my forms and there are so many database connections going on at once.

 

Is this something I should be concerned with?

 

Thanks

[HCSuperStores]

There's a lot to consider, and maybe more to consider than what you have written down.

 

I can't speak to the most efficient "server" way of dealing with 30 databases or tables. But my guess is that the differences may be imperceptible.

 

On a purely database design aspect, I think there is some relation between the 30 dabases/tables as you wish to access the information to bring it together on one page. On this rather small indication, I think putting them in 30 tables under 1 database might be your best approach. Otherwise you'll have to maintain 30 separate database connections. I don't think this would be wise, especially to try to do that all at once.

 

Really just an opinion, with a dash of experience.

 

Good luck!

[TweezerMan]

I don't really know what the server implications would be of having 30 separate databases, so I can't really speak to that.

 

From a database design and management perspective, it seems wasteful to me to have 30 separate databases, each with one table in them, if you could accomplish the same objective with one database and 30 tables.

 

That's my two cents.