All About Web Hosting

Linux servers: Do you understand the difference?

2005-10-29T08:27:00.000-07:00

First of all, some people are worried that they will not be able to use Linux hosting because they run Windows on their PCs. However, what operating system you run on your own PC is irrelevant to which web hosting environment you can use, because the latter is run remotely on a web server, where your website files will be uploaded.

Linux and Microsoft Windows are two different operating systems. Windows is a well-known household name and does not require much introduction. Linux is a new version of the Unix operating system. Both these operating systems make excellent environments for web hosting. However, there are some differences between them.

To help you decide whether Linux or Windows hosting is better for you, we look at the following elements: read on...

Does Your Host Fight Spam?

2005-10-09T02:30:00.000-07:00

Virtually anyone with an email address knows what Spam is, and has, perhaps, considered giving up the speed, convenience, and simplicity of email because of it. Those who have their own websites are more vulnerable than the average person with a single work or home email address from their company or Internet Service Provider. Email addresses visible on a website can quickly become Spam magnets, as automated programs, similar in form to search engine spiders, roam the web, looking for addresses to which new broadsides of Spam may be fired. Website hosting companies generally provide their clients email accounts for use with their domain, but are you with a host that provides those email accounts with Spam and virus protection? read on...

Dedicated Web Hosting Is Easy When You Know These 3 Timesaving Secrets

2005-09-26T04:06:00.000-07:00

Dedicated web hosting has its difficulties and problems from time to time like all technology. However, there are certain things you can do to prepare yourself for any server downtime or other problems that might arise. The key, however, to these tips is that you are aware of them before the problem occurs rather than afterwards. The following three timesaving tips will help you with your dedicated web hosting and save you a lot of time.

Tip #1 Managed Dedicated Server When you have your own dedicated server someone has to manage it. So, you have two options. You can either choose a managed server and have a hosting company handle all of the details, maintenance, and updating that must take place. Or, you can hire an administrator to handle this maintenance for you. The last option is you can manage it yourself, that is, if you are skilled in those kinds of things. Basically, if you hire an administrator it will cost you extra money as well. Regardless, if you have a managed dedicated server installed you should know beforehand who will be handling the maintenance and other details to keep everything running smoothly with as little downtime as possible. read on...

7 Key Ingredients for Rock Solid Website Hosting

2005-09-21T20:42:00.000-07:00

Every website needs a great web host, however when you are looking online for a host you may be overwhelmed with the wide variety available ranging from absolutely free to relatively expensive. How do you know what you need and what is the best choice? The answer to this depends on your business and whether you will have a lot of business or none at all, however you always want to have more space than you think you will need as well as the following options for a great web host.

Ingredient #1 24/7 Support When choosing a web hosting company you definitely want to make sure that they have 24/7 support. The reason for this is if you have a problem with your website, you need to be able to talk to someone and have them fix it immediately. As long as the host offers this type of support it should not be a problem. If they don't, you might wait several days with your website down and not be able to contact anyone. Think of the customers you will be missing and all of the lost sales you'll suffer. read on...

The #1 factor new webmasters forget to consider when choosing a web hosting plan

2005-09-19T05:14:00.000-07:00

The Problem Too often new webmasters sign-up with the first good hosting plan they see; they purchased a domain name, built up a site, generated a small income, and decided "Hey, this works, I should make another site". From there the webmasters purchase a new domain and begin working on a new site only to realize that their hosting plan supports only 1 pointed domain; they will have to purchase an entirely new hosting plan for each new domain name.

The number of "pointed domains" a web hosting plan can support is often overlooked by new webmasters. With so many other factors to consider, such as space, bandwidth etc. it does not immediately seem important. read on...

How to Start Your Own Hosting Services

2005-09-10T18:46:00.000-07:00

If your like many another webmasters you might be thinking of starting a web hosting company. But where do you start? And more importantly, what do you need to know? Well, in this article I will show the basic things that you will need in order to succeed as a web hosting provider.

Before you start make sure this is something that you have the knowledge to do and not just from reading books, but where you have worked on them. Running servers may sound easy, but it's far from easy, in fact, even people experienced with servers will have trouble with them from time to time. You will have to deal with security threats, downtime and fixing program errors.

Starting your own hosting services is going to be challenging and frustrating. One option to think about is reseller hosting plans. There are several good web hosting companies out there that offer reseller hosting, but at the same time allowing you to get paid, but without you having to spend your time maintaining servers. You may want to start out this way to get a customer base going. read on...

What is a web host reseller account?

2005-09-07T04:57:00.000-07:00

You’re the webmaster of more than one website. You design websites for clients. Your business needs more than one site. Is a web host reseller account for you?

A web host reseller account is a web hosting account that allows you to create hosting packages to sell to your clients. You can also host multiple sites of your own using the disk space allotted to the one hosting account.

Typical features of web host reseller accounts: read on...

Hosting All The Way To The Bank

2005-09-05T02:16:00.000-07:00

Let's face it, the Internet is here to stay. Today's Internet
reminds me of the California gold rush. There is a ton
of moeny and opportunities to be made by everyone who wishes
to participate in this modern day gold rush. Most people
have been drawn to the Internet, because of the ability
to leverage their time and make money even while they are
sleeping. Which makes it an even better opportunity than the
gold rush!

Just like any offline business, an online business requires
an address, or place on the Internet where your Web site is
located. You can't have a Web site and just "stick it up" on
the Internet. Unless you own your own server, you use a
hosting company. A hosting company gives you an online
address. This online address allows the search engines and
people seaching for your product or service the ability to
locate your website. read on...

Commercial Web Hosting - Business Considerations

2005-09-02T20:46:00.000-07:00

There are many reasons why choosing the right web host pack can be beneficial for your business. Most importantly, if you don't purchase a package that offers you all the things you need to run a business online, you won't be able to attract and retain a faithful client base. For example, one way an online business can benefit from the right web host pack is through the use of domain names. Some web hosts offer free domain names and for the blossoming online business, the right name is often very important.

Remember that domain names are unique - no two web sites can have the same name (or the same address). If you have an idea for a great name for your domain and that name has not already been taken, you can register your name even before you are ready to set up your website. This process is called "parking" the domain name and it ensures that the name will be available when you are ready to start your website. Many web hosting providers include domain names as part of the web host pack. Taking advantage of such an offer is one way an online business can benefit from the right web host pack. read on...

UNIX vs. Windows- What server operating system should you use for your web hosting?

2005-09-01T17:07:00.000-07:00

So you've decided to create a website? The most obvious thing that you need is of course web hosting. Among other things, like cost and features, you'll need to decide which server you'll need: Windows (NT, 2000 or XP) or Unix (Linux, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, etc.).

Both have their merits, so the first thing you should think about when making this decision is if you are looking for stability, or ease of use. UNIX based servers are generally superior in the site up-time and stability areas than Windows systems. However, while they need to be rebooted more often, Windows servers are generally easier to administer and use. read on...

Ten question before choosing web hosting

2005-08-31T04:54:00.000-07:00

Q. Which is the platform of web hosting(Win, Unix or Lunix.etc)

Q. How reliable is the service of a web host?

Q. What kind of performance can I expect?

Q. How good is email and phone support?

Q. How much will it cost me?

Q. How much bandwidth will I need for data transfer?

Q. What about a control panel?

Q. What about a POP3 account?

Q. What about anti spam and viruses features?

Q. What about running my own online store?

Q. What about Online Marketing Support?

Web Hosting Server - What to look for

2005-08-30T04:57:00.000-07:00

As with any service, the question of what to look for in server hosting packages depends largely on the goals you have. If you have a company in need of a server host, your needs are naturally going to be much different than if you are an individual looking for a server host.

To get a basic understanding of what to look for in server hosting packages, you should first understand what is meant by server hosting. On a very basic level, computers simply communicate with other computers in order to get information delivered to your screen. In order to view any Internet page - including this one - you either ran a search or typed in an Internet address and the page appeared. In order for the page to appear on your screen, your computer communicated the request to another computer. In this situation, your computer is called a "client" or "user" computer. The other computer is called the "server" computer. A server host is a company that provides some services for those server computers, usually in the form of housing the computers, maintaining hardware and sometimes even maintenance of programming. read on...

Web Site Hosting Plan - Key Elements

2005-08-29T05:23:00.000-07:00

What are the key elements in a good web host package? The answer to that question depends mainly on the service you expect from the web host provider. To decide what you need, you'll need to have at least a brief understanding of the typical services and features offered by web hosting companies.

The number of e-mail accounts available might be one of the key elements in a good web host package. If your ability to send and receive e-mail is important, you'll want to carefully consider whether a particular web host package includes enough e-mail accounts to accommodate that need. Some companies tout unlimited e-mail accounts and depending on your specific needs, this might be a very favorable element of a potential host company. If you are a businessperson, remember that it's possible your company will grow in the future. While you might need to only establish one or two e-mail accounts now, consider what your future needs could be. It would probably be difficult to change hosts later if you find that you need additional (even unlimited?) e-mail accounts. read on...

Is Your Web Host Too Good to be True?

2005-08-28T01:43:00.000-07:00

When searching for a hosting company, make certain to stay away from web hosting deals that seem too good to be true. If the package sounds too good to be true, chances are it is. There are several respectable web hosting companies out there working diligently to operate a good business. read on...

7 point checklist to choose a web hosting service

2005-08-26T02:57:00.000-07:00

Before you can launch your web site, you'll need to engage the services of a web hosting company.

A web host, quite simply, allows you to rent space on a web server. Your web pages are then stored on this server, and the host computer allows other people connected to the Internet to view them.

There are literally hundreds of web hosting companies to choose from. How to choose the right one? read on...

The Problem with Free Web Hosting

2005-08-25T07:30:00.000-07:00

There are literally thousands of places to get Free web hosting. Maybe you already have one. Are you happy with it? Do you wish you could do away with the advertising you must put up with?

There a number of reasons why you should not use free web hosting. If you only have a personal website for friends or family, than a free website is fine. However, if you are trying to sell a product or attract people to your website, it is a bad idea. Here is why. read on...

Popular Web Hosting Deals

2005-08-24T08:35:00.000-07:00

You've spend hours on the internet searching for a quality domain name and help with HTML, but you have yet to come across a cheap and reliable web hosting service. Look no more! We've analyzed some of the better web hosting services and have compiled a list of the better ones out there. read on...

4 tips in choosing the right web hosting company

2005-08-23T03:15:00.000-07:00

4 tips for choosing a web hosting company.

When choosing a web hosting company there are many factors to consider.

1. Does the company offer telephone support?

Email support is always nice to have available, but you may already know how long it takes some people to reply to these. Getting someone on the 'phone when your site goes down will instantly make you feel better and get you the answers you need as quickly as you need them. A lot of bigger web hosting companies offer free support and often are available out of hours too. Phone support is a great benefit for any web hosting client.

2. What sort of history does the company have? How long has this company been in business? read on...

3 Deadly traffic killers courtesy of web hosting services

2005-08-22T03:52:00.000-07:00

Web hosts, who are supposed to be your close business partners, and whom you expect to be prepared to do virtually anything to help lift your business to success, can also be the biggest stumbling block and the worst enemy in your search for high traffic and web site success. Here’s how. read on...

Dedicated Web Hosting : The Executive Summary

2005-08-21T07:24:00.000-07:00

What is Dedicated Web Hosting?
Dedicated web hosting can alleviate the need to share hardware or software with any other sites or web pages. Webmasters are given the autonomy to decide on applications that are installed on the server to create specific configurations for their web needs, and have the ability to provide a secure environment for their site. As compared to a shared-server environment, dedicated web hosting offers a peace of mind that a site will be delivered in a reliable and secure manner.

There are major benefits of dedicated web hosting, as discussed below. However, the major disadvantage, cost, is quickly being overcome. Because of continual growth in the dedicated web hosting industry, the rates for dedicated server plans are rapidly declining. A competitive environment drives up the level of service and decreases cost. This reduction is powered by an increase in small and medium-sized businesses gaining an online presence and the rapid proliferation of web hosting providers. read on...

A Beginner's Guide to Web Hosting

2005-08-20T02:34:00.000-07:00

What is web hosting? Whenever you visit a website, what you see on your web browser is essentially just a web page that is downloaded from the web server onto your web browser. In general, a web site is made up of many web pages. And a web page is basically composed of texts and graphic images. All these web pages need to be stored on the web servers so that online users can visit your website.

Therefore, if you plan to own a new website, you will need to host your website on a web server. When your website goes live on the web server, online users can then browse your website on the Internet. Company that provides the web servers to host your website is called web hosting providers.

A well-established web hosting provider sometimes hosts up to thousands of websites. For example, the ‘Best Web Host of the Year 2003’ award winner, iPowerWeb, is a web hosting company that hosts more than 200,000 websites. read on...

Why one-man-basement-operations will not do for your hosting service

2005-08-19T02:28:00.000-07:00

A proliferation of hosting setups run by kids out of their dorms or by hobbyists from their basements, as cash cow part-time operations, have had the effect giving the hosting industry a bad name mainly because of the poor service that has been on offer.

Nightmare stories abound from web site owners who made the mistake of casually signing off their e-commerce operations to the mercies of poor hosting services.
Still the proliferation of hosting services has had the good effect of dramatically bringing down prices. read on...

The 3 most common complaints against web site hosts

2005-08-18T02:24:00.000-07:00

The 3 most common complaints against web site hosts are pretty commonplace these days.

There has been a rapidly rising demand for web hosting services and many of the part-time basis-basement operations have found it virtually impossible to meet the new quality and service demands of web sites.
Many who had previously gotten away with shoddy services and a technical service department that was just an answering machine where all callers including clients with emergency situations left their messages.

You may be unfortunate enough to still be using a hosting service like this one. Our advice is that it is too costly in today’s net environment. read on...

Changing Web Hosting Providers

2005-08-17T02:57:00.000-07:00

If you would like to cut costs or are no longer satisfied with their current web host provider maybe it is time to think about changing web host providers. Take time to plan your transfer so that you won't lose any files and data.

Web Hosting Change Checklist: read on...

How much bandwidth does your web site need?

2005-08-16T04:50:00.000-07:00

One of the most common concerns people have when deciding to host a web site is figuring out how much bandwidth they’ll need. Get too little bandwidth and you might be hit with overage fees or have your web site shut off altogether. Get too much and you’re paying for bandwidth that you don’t really need. The following is a helpful guide for determining the amount of bandwidth that’s right for your web site.

Every time someone views a web page or downloads a file, bandwidth – also known as data transfer - is used. How much is used depends on the size of the page or file that is being viewed or downloaded. Essentially, the amount of bandwidth that your web site will need depends on two key factors: (1) Web site content and file size (2) Web site traffic/popularity. Let’s look at a few web site examples to get an idea of what their bandwidth requirements might be, and why. read on...

Is Free Hosting Really Free?

2005-08-15T05:45:00.000-07:00

Find out why and how hosting services can give away space on thier servers.

Sooner or later, as everyone finds out, nothing in this world is free. Although there are literally hundreds of Free Hosting adds surfacing on the Internet, no one can stay in business very long giving it away. So how can hosting services offer free hosting? read on...

9 Steps to Successfully Switching to a New Web Hosting Company

2005-08-12T21:45:00.000-07:00

Switching to a new web hosting company can be a difficult task, but we have provided you a list of things to do that can make your transition much smoother.

1. Before you sign up for your new web hosting services, make sure that your new plan offers all of the same features that your web site is currently using. Do you have enough disk space? Does your new plan offer enough bandwidth? Is it using the same operating system (Windows or Unix)? Also make sure that your new plan supports any programming languages that you are currently using.

2. Once you have researched the company and verified that the new web hosting company will support your website, go ahead and sign up for your new web hosting plan.

3. Set up your existing e-mail accounts on your new server. Make note of the new POP3 and SMTP that you will soon need to start using.

4. Upload your website files to your new server. Since your domain name currently points to your old hosting account, you will have to use your new IP address to do this. read on...

Your web host could be the reason why you are a sitting duck for a DDos attack

2005-08-11T05:18:00.000-07:00

Just as we have been forced to face terrifying new terrorist attacks in the offline world that threatens our very way of life, online and less publicized dangers are an increasing and terrifying threat.

Few people realize that your choice of web host has a lot to do with just how secure your web site is going to be against attack. Even a simple assault from a lone hacker will tend to be easier with an unprepared web host with less resources and experience.

But the real terror emerges from Ddos attacks or Distributed Denial-of-service attacks. Deliberately designed to elude detection by today's most popular tools, these attacks tend to be swift and come without any warning, leaving behind huge losses that can never be recouped. Microsoft lost an estimated $500 million in just a few days from a Ddos attack on the site in January 2001. Of course the costs go way beyond simple monetary terms. Because site performance is compromised, the business ends up with frustrated customers. read on...

Web Hosting: 4 Factors in Choosing a Hosting Company

2005-08-10T02:17:00.000-07:00

When choosing a web hosting company there are a whole lot of different factors that should go into your decision making process. One of the biggest factors should be:

1) Phone support. Email support is nice, but email occasionally falls in between the virtual cracks. Getting someone on the phone when your site goes down can take a lot of mystery out of the entire process. A lot of the bigger web hosting companies offer toll free support and weekend hours to boot. Phone support is a great benefit for any web hosting client.

2)Another factor to use in deciding whether to use a particular web hosting company is their history. How long has this company been in business? Web hosting companies that have been in existence for less than a year might not be the best choice. A hosting company with a proven track record and a ton of happy clients is certainly a good sign and might work well for you. read more...

What Is Web Hosting?

2005-08-09T03:29:00.000-07:00

The best way to explain this is by comparing it to a real-life (brick & mortar) situation. Picture a web hosting company as the owner of a shopping mall. The shopping mall owner invested a lot of money on hiring architects, constructors, engineers, etc. to build it. Now all the stores on it are empty and the owner is going to rent them to smaller businesses that can't afford (or who simply don't want) their own building.

As a small business owner, you can rent this store space on a per-month basis. But remember it is empty. So it will be your responsibility to decorate your store, fill it up with your own products, furniture & displays and to advertise your store to the world in order to get new customers. read more...

The 14 Point Web Hosting Checklist

2005-06-17T06:56:00.000-07:00

How To Select A Web Hosting Company

When starting out, it is easy to overlook some of the most important factors when selecting a web host while paying too much attention on great features which you may not need at the start.

For example, most new webmasters judge a web host by the amount of disk space they offer. The thinking is generally, the more the better. There are many other factors to take into consideration. Each factor can be weighed up according to the features each specific web hosting company offers. Each company may also offer several different plans. The features from plan to plan may also differ.

Don't rush

Some deals may look good at first but if one feature that is important according to your needs is missing, then that deal may not be so good in your opinion. This does not cast a value judgment on any particular web host. The deal in and of itself may be good for me for example but not for you. So do your research and compare different companies and plans until you weigh up all the factors that are important to *your* needs. read on...

Choosing a Hosting Service

2005-06-11T19:10:00.000-07:00

For a website to appear on the Internet, you require a “server” that is usually provided by a web hosting company. Hosting companies are paid monthly, quarterly or yearly. Some companies come with guarantees, too. Recommendations from other business owners and web designers are excellent ways to find a good hosting service.

One of the primary features I recommend is that the hosting companies can grow with you. If they only offer one package, and you need more, your web site maybe down for up to 2 days and/or you may have to change the code on any forms you use to match the new “server settings”.

Don’t be afraid to read a hosting service’s subscriber information, FAQs (frequently asked questions), note areas or bulletin boards on their sites. read on...

In Search of Webhosting: First Understand the Industry

2005-06-07T04:14:00.000-07:00

In search of a webhosting company for personal or small business purposes? We advise you to take a look at this article to understand the hosting industry and study its dynamics to know what to look for before you make your choice.

First, a brief introduction to the webhosting chain: the end consumer is served by about 3 upstream providers: the webhosting provider that they have direct contact with, the webhost's upstream company who maintains the servers and sells space to webhosts, and above that, the datacenter that provides the connection and houses the servers. Some webhosts are also the server admins and liase with the datacenters directly.

The webhosting industry has been claimed to be near saturation point as there are hundreds of web-hosting providers clamouring to provide cheaper and better services to businesses and individuals. This upsurge of supply is largely due to resources becoming readily available (and at cheaper costs) with plunging diskspace and data-transfer prices. The barriers to entry in the web-hosting space is low as large resellers of server space provide cheap hosting and reselling plans that create opportunites for new webhosts to join in the market. With increasing number of suppliers with ever cheaper reselling plans, more webhosting businesses are sprouting up to provide web-hosting solutions to business and individual websites due to lower fixed costs and investment. In addition, this increase in supply is not caused by factors in any particular country. The internet is global and as such, datacenters in US, or in fact, any part of the world, can provide the server and webspace for a local webhosting company. It is taking place in internet space and consumers and providers can easily find each other and exchange services in the global space. read on...

Criteria of Choosing an Ideal Web Hosting Company

2005-06-05T07:14:00.000-07:00

Before we talk about what it takes to be a cheap and good quality web host, let’s get to the fundamental first.

What is a Web Host?
A web host is a service provider that places your web site on a computer which is connected to the internet. The term for this ‘computer’ is called a server.

A web hosting provider will typically have a fast connection to the Internet and they may host thousands of web sites on many servers. The web host essentially rents out space to you so that you can get your website up on the world wide web.

With a well-managed web host, you can free yourself from worrying the up-keep of complicated server technology and proper technical maintenance. That’s the whole purpose of the web hosting companies. You should leave the technical work to web hosting professional while you focus on your own internet business.

Let’s begin... read on...

Setting up Your Personal Server

2005-06-04T04:53:00.000-07:00

There are many things to consider when setting up your own server. We wouln't encourage a novice for the job. Seek help from web professionals if you have any queries. Here are some web hosting factors to consider when setting up your personal server: - A server license is needed and they are not cheap - Virus, bugs and spam attacks - 24-hour maintenance and support... read on...

Web Hosting in 2005 --- Finding the Niche and Cashing in!

2005-05-26T03:46:00.000-07:00

< style="font-family: verdana;">Over this past year, web hosting has grown to be the biggest it has ever been. With more companies appearing every day, the demand for web hosting has never been higher.

In 2005, web hosting will be even bigger.

It has been estimated that 38 million people will put their very first websites online in this next year. And, by 2008, the internet sales industry will top the 120 billion dollar mark.

What does this mean for you? read on...

Web Hosting Service – What you Need to Know to Change Web Hosting Providers

2005-05-26T03:43:00.000-07:00

When service at your web hosting company is lacking, or your web site grows in traffic so much that you outgrow your current account, you may find yourself needing to change hosting providers. It can be scary to think about everything you need to do. Here are some things you should keep in mind that will help make the transition to the new host much easier. read on...

A Simple Guide to Web Hosting

2005-05-22T06:09:00.000-07:00

Most people haven't a clue on how to start on their web sites. We have come up with a simple guide to explain all web hosting features offered in the market and helping people get what they really need for their websites. read on...

Web Hosting Data Transfer: How Much Is Too Much?

2005-05-21T05:18:00.000-07:00

You can't visit many web hosting companies before you notice that all of them talk bandwidth. Some call it data transfer per month. Others just call it transfer and the rest quote it as bandwidth. So what is all of this fuss around bandwidth? How can you tell when how much bandwidth you're going to need? read on...

Unlimited Wealth Creation Through Reseller Hosting

2005-05-19T04:49:00.000-07:00

Web hosting can be an exciting business start up for aspiring entrepreneurs. All you have to do to set up your business is become a hosting reseller, i.e., provide hosting facilities to website owners. Here as a business owner, you are buying space from a big hosting company, and redistributing the hosting space to other website owners. read on...

Budget Web Hosting - Are They All Created Equal?

2005-05-19T04:48:00.000-07:00

There are so many web hosting companies out there, everything from large, expensive servers to budget web hosting companies that offer value plans. Assuming that most people have a budget to follow, let's look at some of the main factors you need to consider when choosing a budget web hosting company. read on...

Choosing a Quality Web Host

2005-05-10T07:33:00.000-07:00

If you are anything like me, you’d probably like to have a website on the Internet but you just have no idea how to go about it. All this talk of web hosting, bandwidth, disc space, and other jargon can cause one to say, “This is too complicated and technical, I just wanted to have a place to put all of my favorite skateboarding photos, cool information on ramp designs, and the best places to skate!” To get a website on the Web you have to go through a web host. The question is how do you find the web host for you?

If you type ‘web host’ into your search engine like Google you will get thousands of sites. Hit on one of these and like any product on the market you will see all sorts of persuasive propaganda to incite you to use their company; that is if you can decipher any of the technical jargon that only computer-heads can comprehend. Some web hosts offer free business cards with an account; some probably offer free watches…like all consumer industries you the buyer must beware. read on...

Why Dedicated Hosting?

2005-05-10T07:30:00.000-07:00

If you’re reading this article, you might be interested in getting a dedicated server, or simply learning more about dedicated hosting services.

First of all, please note, that a dedicated server is rather expensive service, and you shouldn’t waste your money if you don’t plan to use it in full measure.

But if you really have a serious website, and want to run a successful business - you cannot do it without a dedicated server.

Of course it’s just mere words, so let’s enumerate the facts! read on...

How to choose the right Web Hosting provider

2005-05-07T07:10:00.000-07:00

Thousands of companies, tens of thousands of different plans and only a few of them are really suitable for your web site and for your online needs.

This is what you are confronted with when choosing a web-hosting provider. Nowadays being part of the informational revolution that the Internet has brought along, it is compulsory for a business and also for individuals. No need to explain here why having a web site out there on the World Wide Web is such a must, instead we’re only going to point out a few things related to choosing an adequate web host for your web site.
As complicated this entire business might seem, once you know what to look for, it’s really easier to find it. read on...

Web Hosting – Free Or Cheap

2005-05-07T07:07:00.000-07:00

After you have spent some time and creativity on designing your personal web site now it’s time to publish it on the World Wide Web for all to see it.

When coming to web hosting, many face the dilemma of choosing between free or paid web hosting.

Although the costs associated with paid web hosting is rather small, it’s still money.

An easy and money free solution might seem to be registering it with a free web-hosting provider. They come in large numbers today and the 10-20 Megs of free personal space they usually offer sounds tempting. Not to mention that some of them even offer POP3 for your e-mail address on their web site or FTP access to your files on the web site.
So it looks like all this is building up to become quite an alternative to spending dear money for almost the same thing. I mean paid web hosting for an individual’s web site sound a little pretentious, doesn’t it? read on...

Creating a Web Service

2005-04-24T05:57:00.000-07:00

XML Web Services are emerging as the next big thing in software development. Based on open Internet standards and backed by vendors including IBM, Microsoft, and Oracle, Web services will let developers build distributed applications that work across diverse environments.

An XML Web Service is a language-independent, platform-independent, self-describing code module that applications can access via a network or the Internet. The application can have the service's location hard-coded or can locate it using UDDI (Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration). Because the service is self-describing, the application can determine which functions are available and how to call them. Typically the service offers specific information, such as the current rental price for a Lincoln Town Car in Las Vegas. Powerful applications will be built using loosely coupled groups of XML Web Services; that's the idea, anyway.

Microsoft Visual Studio .NET (VS .NET), the latest version of the company's Visual Studio development environment, makes development, testing, and deployment of XML Web Services absurdly simple. In this article, we'll walk you through the process of creating an XML Web Service, deploying it, and writing a Web-based program to utilize it. (This article describes the Beta 2 version of VS .NET; the released version may differ in various ways. For a detailed look at VS .NET, please see "Inside Visual Studio .NET" in our issue of September 4.)

Planning Ahead for Deployment

When you install VS .NET, it loads and configures the system components required for local hosting of XML Web Services and other Web-based applications. Such a feature is extremely convenient for iterative development and debugging. But sometime between the early development stages and the final deployment on the company Web site, you'll need to test your project on a nonlocal server. VS .NET anticipates such a necessity with built-in access to Web-hosting solutions (some are free and others require a subscription). For the purposes of this article, we used a free account on the Brinkster service. To build the sample programs yourself, you will need the same type of account.

If the Start page isn't visible in VS .NET, select Show Start Page from the Help menu. Click the Web Hosting link on the left-hand side, and VS .NET checks for any updates to the list of available hosting services. To create a free account, click the Hosting Services tab, click the Signup with Brinkster link, and follow the prompts. Brinkster requires free accounts to use the naming convention membername_projectname for uploaded projects, so wherever you see membername in the examples below, substitute your member name.

Creating the Web Service

ISPs focus on Web hosting services

2005-04-21T06:11:00.000-07:00

Web hosting services are not just for simple Web sites anymore.

PSINet, Inc., UUNET Technologies, Inc. and IBM Global Services last week announced enhancements to their Web hosting offerings, including options that range from Web broadcasting to beefed up Web server farms capable of handling highvolume traffic.

Web hosting combined with broadcasting technology can be useful for customer support and training applications for business users, said Rebecca Wetzel, director of Internet services at TeleChoice, Inc., a Verona, NJ.based consulting firm. With an eye toward supporting new broadcast applications, PSINet introduced PSIWeb Multimedia Hosting services, including TV onthe Web Live, PSIWeb Media, PSIWebStream and Audio and Video Production Services.

PSINet now has teamed with Grady McGrath International, Inc. to offer customers real production support for live events with TV onthe Web Live, said Michael Mael, vice president of applications and Web services at PSINet. With this service, for example, business users can host live commercials or their CEO's year-end speech, he said. While TV onthe Web Live is a high-end service, with rates ranging from $8,000 to $10,000 per event, PSINet's two other services may be a better starting point for typical business users.

PSIWebMedia combines Web hosting and the distribution or broadcasting of multimedia traffic across the Internet.

PSIWebStream includes Web hosting, but not broadcasting. Instead, this service is geared toward users who simply want to host multimedia content for on-demand access.

PSINet's new Audio and Video Production Services is a professional digital audio and video conversion service.

All of the multimedia services are based on RealNetworks, Inc.'s RealSystem 5.0 streaming software, Mael said.

UUNET also is using RealNetworks' technology, along with Microsoft Corp.'s NetShow 2.0 server software, to support its latest enhancements.

UUNET now is offering its Web hosting customers ondemand and broadcasting capabilities. The Internet service provider earlier this year announced its on-demand service called UUCast.

Where PSINet and UUNET added applications to their Web hosting services, IBM Global Services added girth.

Global Services, IBM's ISP arm, enhanced its dedicated Web hosting services by offering customers a choice of three server environments.

These include Microsoft's Internet Information Server (IIS), Netscape Communications Corp.'s Enterprise Server on NT or a Unix server running Netscape's Enterprise Server.

Previously, IBM did not support Microsoft's IIS, said Nancy Faigen, vice president of IBM Global Web Solutions.

In addition to adding a new server option, IBM announced it will upgrade all eight of its Web server farms with IBM 8274 virtual LAN switches.

This will let IBM easily add more bandwidth or additional servers for customers with high traffic patterns, Faigen said.

Entrust your Domain Registration and Web Hosting to Yahoo

2005-04-14T16:26:00.000-07:00

by: Yahoo.Allwebhosting.net

There's probably no argument as to the importance of a domain name for your business. If you have an online business, and you don't have a domain name yet, you could be potentially losing thousands of dollars worth of business because of this. In order to sell on the internet, you need to build up your credibility. Having your own domain name is the first step in that process.

With this in mind, we highly recommend that you consider Yahoo for your domain registration and web hosting. Domain name yahoo and yahoo web hosting is probably the number one in the industry today. Having a domains yahoo is a definite and distinct advantage for you. Domain registration at yahoo is fast easy and best of all very affordable.

A domain name at Yahoo can now be had for $9.95 per year, while the upgraded yahoo web hosting promises a whopping 2 GB of disk space, 25 GB of bandwidth and 25 e-mail accounts.

Previously, $35 is charged for a domain name registration at yahoo. Yahoo web hosting packages also offered dramatically smaller Web space and bandwidth allocations. Yahoo web hosting plans was roughly on-par then with the web hosting plans offered by registrars like Network Solutions and VeriSign. But now, with the changes of cost for domain registration with yahoo, domains yahoo enters a price level previously limited to domain name registration discount providers like Go Daddy.

Currently yahoo web hosting has about 300,000 active sites, and also has a lock on the e-commerce front. 12.5% of the total online stores in the U.S. are with yahoo web hosting.

Windows vs Linux : Hosting

2005-03-20T05:25:00.000-08:00

By: Teeyes Siva

The Basics of Linux & Windows :

Linux (and its close relation Unix) and Windows 2000 (and its close cousin Windows NT) are types of software (known as operating systems) that web servers use to do the kind of things that web servers do. You do not need to know any real detail of either to make a decision as to which you need but here a few guidelines.

Just because you use a windows desktop PC doesn't mean you have to opt for Windows web hosting (and the reverse is true as well). The operating system you use on your desktop has little to do with your choice of web hosts. As long as you understand how to use your FTP or web publishing software, your can use either operating system.

But what is important is that you know what you want your website to do and what you want to offer on it. This is what will ultimately help determine the type of web hosting that will work best for you. As mentioned earlier, interactive websites usually rely on ASP, PHP, or Perl type languages.

Linux Web Hosting or Windows 2000 Web Hosting ? Make your Choice !

When it comes to Web hosting, Linux has, for some time, been widely considered the best OS for Web servers. It's typically found to be the most reliable, stable and efficient system and, as such, it's commonly used for the demanding environment of Web and mail servers. Indeed,Most of the clients websites of aalpha NET runs on the Linux OS precisely because of this traditional stability.

The million-dollar question is what application are you looking to use for your hosting? Consider the tools and scripting languages you plan to use – if you use PHP, Perl or MySQL, Linux is the way forward. If apps are Microsoft-specific, then Windows is what you need.

If your site, like most web sites, is what might be termed "brochure-ware" then Linux servers are ideal. By brochure-ware I mean a site that offers the kind of information that in the past might have been provided on paper in the form of brochures, newsletters or data sheets. Brochure-ware sites will offer some interaction through enquiry forms and can certainly incorporate online purchasing and other routine e-commerce functions.

If however your site incorporates an online searchable database or interactive chat facilities then Windows 2000 or NT will be a better bet in most cases. It will cost a bit more but you'll get that back in reduced development time and simply better functionality.

The following are the advantages of using Linux based web server compared to Windows based web server :

Stable: Linux/Unix operating systems has traditionally been believed to be very stable and robust. A web site housed on a Linux operating system will have very high up-time (of the order of 99.9%). Of course, other factors such as power supply, network admin skills, and network load etc. also matter when it comes to maintaining the system uptime.

Low cost of ownership: The Linux OS comes free of cost (or at very insignificant cost, usually cost of distribution). Also, it has full fledged server, and desk top applications that comes free along with the OS. These server applications (such as FTP, Web Server, DNS Server, File Server etc.) being free, are also very stable.

Ease of use : When it comes to web hosting, it is easy to host on Linux web servers. The process of uploading and hosting is almost same for both Linux and Windows web servers. If you want to use a Windows based tool such as Front Page for uploading a web site on to a Linux based web server, make sure that the Front Page extensions are enabled. This is only required if you are uploading using HTTP feature (http://www.yourwebsite.com) of Front Page. Front Page also makes it possible to upload a web site using FTP. You need to select ftp://www.yourwebsite.com for up loading using front page FTP option. Note that if you select "Front Page Extensions" during web site design, you must enable Front Page extensions on a Linux web server also. These days, all Linux web servers are coming with installable Front Page extensions, and this should pose no problem for hosting on a Linux platform.

You can use almost all types of file extensions (or scripts) when using Linux web server. Commonly, the following extensions are supported:

.cgi, .html, .htm, .pl, .php, .shtml, .xml, and others.

Basically it means that you can host web sites that use different types of server side scripts including .cgi, .pl, .php, and .asp (with plug-in).

Easy to move between hosts : A web site designed to be hosted on a Linux based web server can be hosted on a Windows web server easily, where as the reverse is not always true.

Most widely used : Linux/Unix based web hosting is most widely used compared to Windows based web hosting.

Scalability : A web site is dynamic. Usually, a web site starts with a few pages of html and grows over a period of time to suit the customers requirements. It is preferable to design a web site keeping this requirements in mind. A web site designed for compatibility with a Linux/Unix based web server meets the scalability requirement easily without making any site wide design changes.

On the downside, Linux based web server is not fully compatible with Microsoft technologies. If you are using any specialized applications or VB for development of your web site, it is preferable to host with a Windows based web server.

<>About The Author
Teeyes Siva heads the Sales Operations @ aalpha NET. He can be reached @ siva@aalphanet.com or 00 91 452 3105858. aalpha NET (http://www.aalphanet.com) - is India’s leading domain name registration, web hosting service provider.

How To Become A Web Host

2005-03-19T23:32:00.000-08:00

A question that is asked quite frequently. First and foremost we must point out that web hosting is not a get rich quick scheme or an easy business to run. It takes alot of patience, computer and technical knowledge and a solid background in Computer Science to run a successful and solid web hosting company. Some may disagree with this, especially with the innovation of "Control Panels" that makes it easier for anyone to get a pre-built server and start hosting sites. In reality, it's not really that simple. Yes you can lease a dedicated server from a provider and start hosting sites once you are familiar with the control panel BUT a very important point to remember is those control panels still have their limitations. If you do decide to start your own web hosting company, here are some basic questions to ask yourself *before* starting a webhosting firm.

1. How much time do I have to invest into this company?

In this day and age, most clients are expecting 24 hour support. Are you able to be on call 24 hours a day to handle all the technical and sales requests that will be coming in once you start your company? Prompt support is a very key aspect of having a successful hosting business, so this is one of the first questions you should ask yourself before starting your company. Am I able to offer the support my clients will need?

2. Familiarity with the latest software and platforms?

Have you done your homework in terms of researching what are the latest software, how they work and the pricing. It is very important to be familiar with the software that needs to be installed on the server(s) that you will be using to host your client's websites. For instance IIS when using Windows 2000 server is something you will need to be very familiar with, if you are going to be hosting sites on a Windows Server. On a good note, Microsoft offers a huge library of information on all their software, but it will take a serious time investment to be familiar with all the options available, security leaks, and you have to be always on the look out for the latest patches. In terms of Linux, this is a bit more complicated. A strong command and knowledge of SSH (Secure Shell Security) is needed. Even if you have a control panel such as Cpanel which offers a program called Web Host Manager, a strong background in Telnet Commands will be needed or you will be lost.

3. Financial Investment

Are you willing to spend the money necessary to start making some money? In many cases you will need to make some serious finanacial investment when starting your own web hosting firm. Be very weary of the fact that many of the software on the market are not cheap, and the type of servers most of your clients will be expecting their sites to be hosted on, will not be cheap either. Many expect their site to be hosted on Dual Pentium servers that are sturdy and reliable, so some investment will be needed. On the other hand, there is the cheaper way, which is to simply lease a dedicated server that offers a high amount of bandwidth from another hosting firm, and then host your clients sites on that server. It's an easy way to start your own company with little investment, BUT be forewarned that with network outages, server crashes, you will have little or no control unless you can contact your dedicated server provider for a prompt reboot or resolution of the network problem.

4. Hiring of Employees?

Will you be hiring any employees to start, or will you be a one man show until the business picks up? If you choose to not hire any employees then obviously your financial investment is less, BUT your time investment into the business has now skyrocketed. No employees will mean you will have to handle all the technical and sales requests along with any other problem that may occur. It is important to weigh this aspect carefully as it could make or break you.

5. Resources/Steps To Start A Hosting Company.

a. Registration of Company Name

Do a search on the internet for trade name registration in your particular state. This will allow you to register a DBA known as Doing Business As name within your particular state. This option is the easiest way to have an actual business name instead of using your actual real name. If you would like to go straight ahead and become a Corporation instead of just using a DBA then you can use a site such as MyCorporation.com to get started with your own Corporate business.

b. Purchasing of Servers/Leasing of Servers

If you decided to purchase your own servers, you have a few options. You can get a server custom built by manufacturers or you can even go the option of leasing your server from a company such as Dell or Gateway. They offer a monthly leasing to own plan. If you decide to lease a Dedicated Server , then you can review offerings from companies such as Rackshack.net, Eservers.biz, Rackspace.com, Cyberworldservers.com just to name a few. Each of those companies will allow you to lease a server on their connection, set a specified amount of bandwidth, and allow you to host your client's websites on the server you lease from them.

If you starting small we highly recommend using a Cpanel Reseller Account from Tower Host. You may find out what Reseller Hosting in one of our other guides listed below or on Tower Host.

c. Office/Data Center Space

With the purchase of servers, you'll need office space or as some say a Data Center to house these servers. You will have to look around for space in your local city for the best location with enough space for growth to house your servers and your connection.

d. Bandwidth Providers

If purchasing your own servers direct, you'll need a provider that can run a line to the server through a router to feed the bandwidth. Some companies that offer bandwidth are : Level3.com , Twtelecom.com, Verio.com, and for cheaper bandwidth you can use Cogentco.com. Each of these companies will allow you to have bandwidth in your data center facility.

These are just some of the *basic* steps necessary to get started with your own webhosting firm. The task may seem daunting, but it can be achieved with hard work and dedication. The web hosting market may seem saturated with new hosting companies forming literally each day, but there is still room techncially for another good company. Once you can offer the support and reliability your customers need then you will grow as a firm mainly through word of mouth. If you treat your customers good, they will refer others to your service. In a nutshell, web hosting is not an easy business to start, but it can be a profitable and rewarding one when the necessary steps are taken.

We hope that this helps anyone who is trying to get into the hosting biz!

Understanding Bandwidth

2005-03-18T17:49:00.000-08:00

In your search for a web hosting company, you will come upon the term Bandwidth. In basic terms most companies are referring to the number of data that you are allowed to transfer within a given period of time. The usual period is set at a month in most cases. If you try to define bandwidth by dictionary terms it is usually defined as the following:

Bandwidth: the capacity for data transfer of an electronic communications system; primarily the maximum data transfer rate of such a system.

If you browse the website of a web hosting firm, you'll notice some state they allow 5 Gigs Of Bandwidth per month for the particular hosting package you are interested in ordering. If you break that down in terms of megabytes, it will state that 5000 Megabytes of data can be transferred within a given month from your site. Usually if you go over the allocated amount of bandwidth, you are then charged an extra fee.

It is very important to note that bandwidth is used *everytime* someone visits your website. Each time an image loads that is actual bandwidth that is being used and is counted towards your allocated monthly amount of data transfer. It is important to always not only factor in the size of your page but the actual size of the images contained in your site as part of the data transfer. Each time someone visits your page, it's bandwidth being transferred to allow them to access your site.

When designing your site it is recommended to optimize the images to reduce their size so the amount of data being transfered is reduced. It is pretty simple to calculate the amount of bandwidth your home page will transfer for each time a person visit's your website. Below you will find an example:

Total Size Of Home Page: 10Kb
Total Number Of Images: 10
Combined Size Of Images: 75 KB
Total Number Of Visitors: 1

With that example above, for every *one* person that visits your site 85Kb of data is transferred from your home page alone, this does *not* include when the person actually browses the rest of your site. If you do an extensive promotion of your site and receive approximately 500 visitors a day you can multiply the total of 85Kb x 500 = 42,500 KB of data per day or when changed to Megabytes = 42.5 MB. That is the total amount of data transferred from your *Home Page* alone per day if you average 500 visitors daily. It is not as easy to figure the total amount if the person views other pages of your website as some will browse up to 5 more pages while others browse just one other page and leave.

This example was to give you an estimate or an idea of how the bandwidth operates and to help in your decision on which package to choose when searching for a webhosting company. If you are starting a new site, it maybe wise to go with the smallest bandwidth package and as your site grows in traffic/data transfer then you can usually inform the host that you would like to upgrade to a higher bandwidth package. Beware of fees charged for going over your allocated limit, and always ask your host for any information or control panel feature that would allow you to monitor your bandwidth.

What Is Web Hosting?

2005-03-17T21:08:00.000-08:00

Web Hosting Definition:

Web hosting allows your Web site to be connected to the Internet at high speed via a Web server so its information can be viewed globally through a browser. Metaphorically speaking, renting space on a server is comparable to renting an apartment. For a monthly fee, you reside in that apartment and all maintenance is the responsibility of the property. You also have access to certain amenities that would otherwise be a costly investment. A Web hosting company houses your Web site on its own secure servers, enabling you to affordably leverage the power of a high-speed network, 24/7 expert monitoring and support, and state-of-the-art technology.

Other Definitions:

Web Hosting - A service that allows you to upload and store a site's HTML documents and related files on a Web server. This makes the files available on the World Wide Web for viewing by the public. Also called site hosting.

Web Hosting - A service provided by the server where your Web pages are stored.

Web Hosting - A service provided by an ISP that allows for your web page to viewed on the Internet by uploading it to a dedicated computer.

Web Hosting - The storage of data on a server for later access. In e-business, refers to a service provided by a third party that hosts and maintains a company’s Web site.

Web Hosting - A service in which a vendor offers the housing of business-to-business (B2B) or business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce Web sites via vendor-owned shared or dedicated servers and applications for enterprises at the provider-controlled facilities. The vendor is responsible for all day-to-day operations and maintenance of the Web site. The customer is responsible for the content.