What Is Web Hosting?
If you want to take part in the internet as a business, information resource, directory, or as a hobbyist wanting to share data, information and knowledge with the many people and communities on the internet, you have to contain this in a central spot on the internet. You have to own a piece of space in cyberspace.Web hosting empowers you and anyone with a computer and internet connection to own a piece of cyberspace. In your space, you can have news, bulletins, documents, data, files (your web site) and your own post office (mail server) to accept mail, all in the context of you or your business. This is your space and to get this space you either have to own a piece of the physical internet with a network connection to the internet backbone and computer(s) operating as server(s) offering access to your files and post office, for people on the internet to view your web site or send and receive email with you.
The cost of owning a direct connection to the backbone and a server dedicated to a web site and email is out of reach for the average business and especially general members of the internet. Even running a web site and mail server on your own computer when it is connected to the internet requires a lot of technical ability and knowledge. The internet itself has to be your business for either of these options to be viable.
In our modern society, for every person in business or with a career in most industries today, it is imperative to have a place in cyberspace, not just to be competitive but to survive. Web hosting companies were born out of this great need to provide an environment for the masses to own a piece of cyberspace, to offer an environment where people could have their piece of cyberspace on the internet 24/7 without the great cost. Web hosting companies developed a model where they could split up areas on the servers connected to the backbone and ?rent? this space, cutting the costs across many people sharing the server and backbone connection to the internet.
In a web-hosting environment, you are offered a web site to place your files, data, documents, and bulletins for people to access with their web browser and an email server for you to send and receive email messages. The web host will also provide you a means to get an address for people to get to your web site with a web browser and post email to you.
To obtain space in a web hosting environment you become a member and agree to terms and conditions of renting the space ? just as if you were to rent a house or commercial premises for your business. Once you agree and become a member, you are given an access code, a key, to your piece of cyberspace. This key, in the form of a login and password, allows you to connect to the web hosting server and up-load (transfer to) your web site so it can be accessed on the internet. Your login and password is also used to connect to a mail server to create and administer mailboxes to send and receive email for you, your staff, or family members.
Just like when you rent a house or commercial premises for your business, you have so many rooms, bathrooms, and floor space to use. In a web-hosting environment, your area is defined as disk space and network transfer.
Disk space is measured in Megabytes (MB) or Gigabytes (GB). Megabyte roughly means 1,024,000 characters and Gigabyte roughly means 1,024 Million characters. Imagine a character as one key on your key board. These amounts determine how many files, documents, or data you can have on your web site.
Network Transfer is also measured in Megabytes or gigabytes which determines how much data (how many of your files, documents or data) can be downloaded (transferred to) people accessing your web site. The more people, or the more data each person accesses on your web site the more data is transferred on the network.
The more disk space and network transfer you use the greater percentage of the web-hosting environment you are using ? therefore the higher the rent.
Just as no office building and home is the same, neither is every web-hosting environment. Some offices have stairs, others have lifts, some houses have ensuites, swimming pools, and gardens, ? and others do not. Web-hosting environments are much the same, some offer bare structures to do just the basics and others offer an array of features and facilities to help you do just about everything you could ever need or want. Some of the features and facilities likely to be offered are ranges of software to use, components, databases, and server side script processing.
The similarity of renting an office or home to renting space in a web-hosting environment is even more similar. With some buildings a gardener and/or a guard is available to look after the gardening or provide security. In a web-hosting environment, you have support people to help you do what you need to do on your web site to make it grow and there are server administrators to protect and secure your web-hosting space.
When you rent a building there are key parts needed to work or live in the space, like rooms, offices, kitchens, toilets, and bathrooms. In your web-hosting environment, you will find equally important components that are required to make the space workable. The core components in a web-hosting environment are:
Web Server
The web server is a relatively simple piece of software that accepts requests over HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) and delivers HTML pages and Image files.
FTP Server
FTP is the means of which a web master can transfer files to and from the server. To put your HTML and image files on a server you will generally use FTP to upload (transfer to) your files to the server running the web server.
Mail Server
The mail server consists of two parts POP (Post Office Protocol) and SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol). POP is where email is received into your mailbox and SMTP is what is used to send and receive email between mail servers.
Database Server
If you are using server side scripting on your web server (you use something like Microsoft Internet Information Server) then instead of providing ?static? data only on web pages you can provide data from a database allowing your users to search and view the data in different and dynamic way. Also, a Database server is used to gather data from visitors to your site; orders, feedback, discussions and the like.
Each one of the above components are software programs running on servers in the web-hosting environment. You can interact with each of these with special software programs you use on your computer. The main ones being:
Web Browser
When viewing the web you use a web browser like Internet Explorer. Many web hosting companies provide a ?Control Panel? to administer your web host account, which you use with your web browser. Most allow you to configure most aspects of your account using a simple web browser.
Web site/page editor
Today many web servers allow editing of WebPages over HTTP (hypertext transfer protocol) based on Microsoft FrontPage technology. These special editors allow you to essentially look at your web site as if you were using a web browser and edit the pages directly as you see them using WYSWIG (What you see if what you get) technology. Most web hosting environments support this, and if you are starting out, make sure it is available. One tip: make sure the web host providing this really does understand this technology ? it is the main area of which many hacks and security intrusions occur.
FTP Client
This is a very simple piece of software that allows you to view the server folders and files in your web host account as if they were files and folders on your own computer. You can then drag and drop files between you computer and your web host account.
Email Client
If you are on the internet you would already be using an email client to send and receive your email. The most common are Outlook Express, Eudora and Web based mail clients like Hotmail.
Database Administration Client
The most common databases used with web servers are Microsoft SQL Server (available only on Windows) and MySQL (commonly found on Linux and UNIX but also available on Windows). SQL Server comes with it’s own administration client where you can view your databases, edit them, backup data and do all the administration functions you need. MySQL has an active online community where there is a range of administration clients available.
Choosing a web host is, again, similar to choosing a house to live in or commercial premises to do business. You need to define what it is you require: how much space you need and what features and facilities you need.
If you have been reading this article because this is new to you, then it is likely at this stage you only need minimal space and basic facilities. Once you have worked with the basic facilities you will learn more and become aware of greater facilities and features and then you can simple move from one web ?hosting environment to another ? paying more or paying less. Moving in cyberspace is much easier, faster, and more seamless than physically moving house or commercial premises.
Initially you may use the web-hosting environment offered by your ISP (internet Service provider), the company you use to connect to the internet. But remember these companies main business is connecting many thousands of people to the internet ? not managing web hosting environments. You will generally find they offer less than basic facilities and minimal space.
If you are just starting out with your first web site the first major choice you will be faced with is ?Unix? or ?Windows?. For a person just starting out on the internet, both are equally capable and will offer the facilities you need to have your place in cyberspace.
If you have a web designer or technical person to help you, you only need to consider how much space you really need. With this simple idea in mind, when you are just starting out, owning your piece of cyberspace will not cost anymore than $8 per month. Many web-hosting companies will offer what you need for as little as $3 per month (usually paid yearly).
If you are going alone and doing it all yourself you may want to consider an account with a web hosting company that offers and prides itself on it’s support and customer service, 24/7 support access and the experience, knowledge and skill of it’s server administrators. Remember, these are the gardeners and the guards who take care of your environment.
Web hosting is very simple and straightforward an once you obtain your space in cyberspace you will never want to let it go and you can easily move it where you want as a turtle carries it’s shell on it’s back. Always remember you are not stuck in the first web-hoisting environment you choose.
Web hosting is your space in cyberspace and it is imperative to have a place in cyberspace in our modern society, just as it is to have an office to do business.
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Web Developers Can Be Successful Web Hosting Resellers
By becoming a reseller, not only can web developers create websites for their clients, but they can provide their clients with Web hosting, as another studio service. All you need to become a reseller, is to find a Web host who: offers multiple Web site hosting accounts; along with reseller services; and then its up to you to host your clients’ web sites from your own account. Your clients will be happy with the low fees you can offer; and, you will have yourself a very profitable side business.So what do you need to be a successful Web site hosting reseller?
Multiple domain hosting – To become a Web hosting reseller, the first step is to get yourself a multiple domain account. For example, if you take out an account that allows up to 6 websites (or domains), you can use one of the domains for development of your own site; and, still have 5 domains to allocate to your clients sites. All you need to do is pay your regular fee to your Web host; then, you can charge your clients what ever you like.
Control Panel – It is preferable to have full administrative control over your client’s web sites. Make sure that, not only does your Web host provide you with a control panel that includes full administrative facilities to easily manage your multiple account, but that your host provides your clients with their own control panel too. Most importantly your web host should give you the facility to ‘hide your Web hosts identity’ so clients are unaware that you are offering a third party service. Ensure that you can customize your clients control panel to suit your own requirements.
Terms and conditions – Terms and conditions are essential when offering any service, ensure that all your clients have a copy of your terms and conditions. Many resellers forget to create their own terms and conditions, as they are often very time-consuming to write. If you ask a Web host you will find that some of them will either let you copy theirs or they will just supply you with terms and conditions specifically written for this purpose.
Fast and reliable support – Fast and reliable, service and support, is essential, from your Web hosting company. If something happens to your client’s web site it is important to be able to get the problem solved as soon as possible. You don’t want clients being unhappy with your hosting services, as this will reflect badly on your other services too.
Reselling can be a very profitable side business if you find the right host. It may take up some of your time, however, if you put the time and effort into providing a little bit extra in your services, not only will your clients be a lot happier you will have a rewarding total Web services business.
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Web Developers Can Be Successful Web Hosting Resellers
Web Hosting Benefits Of A Dedicated Server
Hosting your web sites on your own dedicated server may seem a little expensive in comparison to shared web hosting, but the end result is more advantageous. Shared web hosting, no matter how well managed, cannot be 100% reliable and stable. However if you have your own dedicated server you can manage to avoid most of the variables affecting the reliability and stability of a server, commonly experienced by shared hosting accounts; variables such as: overload, bad codes and scripts from other users (especially beginners); and, too many applications and components uploaded, and so on.
On a dedicated server you will install only software and applications you want to use, while on a shared hosting server you will find a host of other software and applications installed for other users.
By the very nature of the account, a dedicated server: reduces your dependency on the web host; and bypasses time delays and possible expenses incurred from these. With dedicated server hosting you can provide instant support to your own clients whenever required, which is not possible if you are on a shared server. A reliable and fast support service is vital for your own business growth just like the stability and reliability you wish for your own website. In business, reliability is reflected through word-of-mouth as one of the most effective promotional activities.
For people with clients, such as Graphic Designers and Web Designers a dedicated server is invaluable. A dedicated server will bring extra income into the studio, not just as a hosting facility, but, as a designer knows only too well, for the extra ‘bread and butter’ income value. If you have 24hour access to your own dedicated server then you can adjust, correct or update a clients website in minutes, allowing you to keep the dollar back in your studio and not in someone else’s. Ready availability results in reduced labor costs for the client, but higher studio-income frequency for the designer. Hence you will see the return of all your regular offline clients, bringing their web work with them.
The need for a dedicated server to your average shared server user is realized when stats tell you: how quickly people left your site because it was taking too much time to download; or how many daily visitors you are down by, because your site was not up. The true negative is the worry of how many lost visitors could have been your future paying-customers. The loss could easily equal the value of the upgrade to a Dedicated Server!
For a business, a website that is quickly downloadable and up all the time gives the visitor encouragement that your service is just as reliable, hence you will be more likely to make a sale. It will also enhance the company’s image and encourage existing customers to refer your service to others. This will result in more sales for less promotion.
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Web Hosting Benefits Of A Dedicated Server
What Effect Will Windows 2003 Have On The Hosting Industry?
As announced by Microsoft on April 24, 2003, Windows 2003 Server is now generally available. This means hosting companies will be starting to offer the Windows 2003 operating system as an option to their clients.
Digex said, in a press release on April 24, 2003, that they would have “immediate availability of Microsoft Windows Server 2003 within the Digex Managed Platforms service line.” Other hosting companies that were contacted have not been so quick to give a time when they would have a Windows 2003 package available.
It is yet to be determined if security concerns over the operating system are the reasons behind no official release date being given for new servers using the new operating system or not. There is no doubt that everyone has questions about the security of the new software release.
Last year alone, there were many different viruses and worms that propagated though Microsoft’s operating system, causing millions of dollars worth of damage, including Nimda and Code Red. Everyone in the computer industry is now wondering if Microsoft has gotten the security right.
Microsoft has said that Windows 2003 Server is shipped secure. The reason the product is said to be secure by Microsoft officials is because in default configuration IIS (Internet Information Server) is disabled. Web hosting companies will have to turn on the web server to serve web pages for their clients. The big question is if the software will still be secure once the web server is turned on.
Security might be on every ones mind but hosting companies are also looking for the cost savings promised by Microsoft.
Microsoft has announced a new Web Edition with the release of the Windows 2003 Server. There are no Client Access Licenses (CALs) and the cost is significantly less at a price of $399. The price tag for the Standard Edition is $999, which is the same as it is for Windows 2000, says Microsoft’s Windows 2000 site. With a $600 dollar per server savings, the hosting industry will start seeing more competitors in the budget-hosting segment with servers running on Windows 2003 Server; a segment now only containing a handful of Windows hosts.
Servers running open source operating systems like FreeBSD and Linux currently fill the budget hosts segment of the market. Microsoft has seen this as an issue for a while now and is expecting the addition of the Web Edition to allow more budget hosting packages on the Microsoft operating system.
The trend for non-Windows based hosting companies to start deploying services based on the Web Edition of the Windows 2003 Server has already started thanks to Microsoft’s new licensing and pricing structure. One such company to announce plans to start selling servers with Windows Web Edition is RackShack.net.
RackShack.net has been a RedHat Linux and Cobalt Raq shop since they were started but they have posted on their site that they would be releasing, on May 1, 2003, prices for systems with “Windows Web Edition powered by Ensim.” While requests for comments sent to RackShack.net were unanswered in time for publication, posts on their users forum have said the cost of the Windows operating system was the reason behind them not having Windows dedicated servers in the past.
The real test for Windows 2003 Server will be if developers will want to rush to it or not. Microsoft said they have made some major stability changes to IIS 6.0, which ships with Windows 2003 Server.
The developers that were contacted to see if they were rushing to get their hands on Windows 2003 Server did not have definitive answers. One developer said “I have not had much time to even look at the differences so I cannot give an answer to that question.”
One thing is for sure; Microsoft has released its Web Edition of the server to compete against the open source alternatives. Now Microsoft just has to hope developers will bite at the chance to get hosting for about the same cost as the open source alternatives.
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What Effect Will Windows 2003 Have On The Hosting Industry?
Do You Know What Your Web Hosting SLA Is?
Also known as “Terms and Acceptable Usage Policy” your Service Level Agreement, SLA is probably the most important piece of text you will need to read. And read you will have to; the entire text. Once you have familiarized yourself with this SLA you can start to skim through and look out for the details you feel are most important to you as you search for other hosting companies.An SLA basically tells you what services you will be paying for, what rights you do and do not have. You are agreeing to pay for your web hosting and for what is in the SLA and nothing else. In this document or text, the web host provider is letting you know in print, what you will have to agree to if you wish to use their services. But remember, that it also tells you, what rights you have. If the web host provider does not live up to the SLA, you now have a right to use this agreement to your advantage.
Web sites and web pages are very powerful marketing tools to appeal and encourage the client to act or buy the service that company is offering. Web pages can contain images, Flash, colors, even sounds and music. A web page can even be interpreted as one big advertisement to the buyer. This is why the SLA of a company, or in this case, a web host provider is so important. It is straight to the point and to quite a number of people simply find it boring. Many times the SLA is written in small text, is very long and to some people confusing or complicated. You may notice some SLA’s are almost hidden or at the bottom of a page in small text or only available on the order form.
Is there a reason why this is so?
To have your SLA on the first page would look very odd and highly unusual. There are many reasons why some companies choose to have their SLA located where they are and written the way they are. Some do it simply so they do not confuse the buyer. Some are so they do not scare the buyer so he or she thinks that what they are “getting into”, is way out of their league. Unfortunately, some companies “hide” these service agreements because it reveals too much about the company and what you are really purchasing. Remember the colorful and bedazzling web pages? Well these SLA’s are just the opposite. They get straight to the point. It’s like opening the hood of a car and looking at the engine to see exactly how it works.
If you do not find an SLA anywhere on the website and have looked on just about all the web pages, then simply move on to another provider. This must be present on all web host providers selling services, even if they are free. You can always ask for their SLA, but this is not advisable if it comes in the form of an email as there is no way for both parties to revert to a static SLA.
This is also another important matter. The web host provider can always change their SLA if need be, but find out if you will be notified of the change and how much time you will have to adapt to these changes. It is not good agreeing to their terms and then having them change it later on to something you did not agree to. You may wish to make a copy of their SLA page and save it on to your computer’s hard disk. You may also find it much easier to read their SLA by copying and pasting the text into Notepad and reading it from there. There is actually no need to read the small print on the web page itself, just copy and paste.
Another “tactic” for some web host providers is to provide their SLA on the order form. This is where you are just about to enter your credit card details and pay for your web hosting that they inform you of their SLA. A check mark is needed beside the agreement which usually has a link to the small text. 9 times out of 10, buyers can’t be bothered to read this long complicated text and just get on with getting their web hosting. A mistake done all too often. Roughly 70% of all customers read their SLA after they have purchased a web hosting account.
Let’s discuss what the SLA can contain. You can always “verify” if what the web pages say are true, as well as get the finer details in the SLA. For a while, a few years back, the most heated discussions involved unlimited bandwidth and web space. To cut a long story short, unlimited bandwidth or web space is simply and always will be an outright lie. There is no such thing; again, read the SLA.
30 day money back guarantee.
The phrase sounds simple enough but there are still just a few things to think about. Can you receive a refund on the 30th day? Or do you need to give them 7 days warning that you wish for a refund. Is it truly a “30 day guarantee”? Does it regard all types of payments, check, money order credit card etc. Is it mentioned in the SLA? Remember, you are basically buying the services within the SLA.
Uptime guarantee.
Another very important feature to look closer at is their uptime guarantee. Again, web pages can look wonderful, but the business takes place within the text of the SLA. You may even want to compare how these uptime guarantees are calculated by other web host providers. Do you need proof in order to tell the web host provider that your site was down more than x many hours a month so the web host provider can give you a refund? Or is it more complicated, where your site needs to be down for x many hours in a row? In other words, down 2 hours on Monday, 3 on Tuesday, and 1 hour on Sunday but not 6 hours in a row, therefore not receiving a refund? Or if their uptime guarantee does not involve third party software crashes, server maintenance, internet congestion etc. What does the uptime guarantee cover? Not, what does the uptime guarantee not cover. It is extremely unlikely for any web host provider to offer a 100% uptime guarantee, without some exceptions.
What files are permitted?
There are more than just .html, .gif and .jpg files on the Internet. Apart from those files, what other files are you allowed to upload? Do they include any multimedia files; mp3 or movie files? Are you allowed to upload software files? and etc.
How is the bandwidth and disk space quota handled?
If you go over your quota, how is it handled. Are you automatically charged the extra fee? And if so, how much? Is your account suspended until you pay the extra charges or pay for the next hosting account? Or, are you notified about the “problem” and asked to pay the extra charges or upgrade to the next hosting plan within a certain number of days?
Domain names.
If you have registered a domain name with a registrar you should not encounter any problems. If you are registering a domain name through your web host provider, make sure you retain all rights to the domain name. This is especially true if you are given a free or a very inexpensive domain name with your account. Some web host providers will register the domain name for you, but in their name, which means you do not own it. In some cases, if you wish to move to another web host provider you will have to purchase the domain from them at a much higher cost.
Miscellaneous categories.
A few other categories to study are server resources, background running programs, mass mailing and other technical areas like Cron Jobs, telnet or SSH etc. Some of these topics mentioned in the SLA may sound rather strict or stringent but it is actually very common to read these same restrictions on almost all web host providers. This is, as mentioned earlier, to inform you of your rights and most importantly in this case, to protect the customer from harming or congesting the server for the company’s other clients. You do not want someone slowing down the server which you are using so your web pages load slowly or not at all. So you can actually be more reassured that if this happens, action will be taken, thus an advantage to you and not necessarily a hindrance. (This mainly refers to all virtual hosting accounts.)
If you are uncertain about a certain part of an SLA, you should always ask the web host provider. Never assume something is adequate unless you are sure and have checked. Always think ahead. Will I need this or that in the future? What happens if my website grows much bigger? What if I need to upload x type of files from now on? What if the third party company or software I work with needs this or that enabled? Should I have read the whole SLA? Never assume your web host provider will have or offer what you wish. Find out, and if you are not sure, ask!
Article Source :Do You Know What Your Web Hosting SLA Is?