Suggested spec of server

A properly configured 512 should have no problem with that load.

I don't know - having almost 1 visitor per 172 seconds is a pretty ginormous load.

Best start out with a 512M system and then scale up (it's very easy) if and when it's needed.

//my apologies to the Linode sales manager who is probably pulling his hair out yelling "no you morons, tell him he needs the 4G product!!!"//

I can't say which linode will fit best for you, but linode 512 is a good start.

From linode manager you can upgrade quickly:
> How it works

1. Linode is shut down and migrated

You will experience downtime while your Linode is migrated. We estimate 12 minutes to migrate your Linode, but that may vary based on host and network load.

2. Billing

Your account will be immediately charged (or credited) a prorated amount based upon the difference in cost and the number of days remaining in your billing cycle.

3. Enjoyment

After the migration completes, you can take advantage of the new resources by resizing your disk images.

Hi eknow

As others have said go for the 512MB option and upgrade if you notice a problem, however I think you'll be very impressed with the speed of Linode - even their 512MB plans rock!

It's very easy to scale a linode up. It just takes a few minutes (It took 20-30 for the linodes I scaled from 768 to 512). When you don't know how much RAM you need, it's always best to start with the small one, tweak it properly, and then go from there.

And the tweaking part is especially important. The default configuration of Apache can gobble gigabytes of RAM without being any more efficient for a given workload than a configuration that uses a few hundred megs.