Inexpensive Web Hosting - Running Your Own Server Or Not?

As there are so many hosting companies competing for your business, you'd get far less troubles than if you tried to get your own one.

Are you technologically savvy? Do you understand what it takes to secure a server? Do you have access to a broadband connection? Are you willing and able to devote the amount of time it'll take to solve the inevitable glitches that come your way one after another?

To host your own server you will need: a computer that must be used ONLY as a server with enough capacity to manage the amount of requests that may receive, a Network Interface Card (NIC) and a broadband connection with a high upload rate, and an internet service provider (ISP) in conditions to handle web traffic.

If this sounds like it's trying to scare you, then you're following completely. If there are so many inexpensive hosting companies out there, you need a very strong motive to prefer doing it yourself. If one company didn't bring you the service they had promised, it's not enough to stop seeking any other way out. There must be another inexpensive hosting service out there.

You may not consider everything you just read to be crucial information about hosting. But don't be surprised if you find yourself recalling and using this very information in the next few days.

If your site is promotional in any way - whether you're selling a product, a service, yourself - an amateurish presentation fraught with technical glitches and poor layout could cost you your business. The average web-surfer has a 20-second attention span, and if they encounter one problem accessing your site, they are unlikely to return.

With minimal research, you can really take advantage of the fierce competitiveness in the inexpensive web hosting industry and find a service that offers mouth-watering promotions, and innovative features unique to your needs. Most likely, if you're considering running your own server it's because your website generates a ton of traffic on more than one website or application. Fortunately, running your own server is not your only option. You can find many inexpensive hosting providers that could assign you a dedicated server for a fee, of course.

Then you will have your OWN server and nobody else will be able to use it, you won't share it at all, either storage, memory or bandwidth. And the performance of your site will not be affected by the traffic and usage patterns of any other customer. With a dedicated server you will have your own IP address and root (admin) access. You have full control over server usage and software installation. Dedicated servers allow you an unlimited number of email accounts and databases and the speed is inordinately faster.

These services, offered by many inexpensive providers, can be "managed" or "unmanaged". In the "unmanaged" ones, you are the administrator, so you must have time and skills, that's why most people opt for the "managed" package. i think you should consider an inexpensive dedicated server as a viable alternative to keep your business running smoothly and yourself well rested.

Now that wasn't hard at all, was it? And you've earned a wealth of knowledge, just from taking some time to study an expert's word on hosting.

Sandra Ruiz-Aguilar is a Native Spanish Speaker and Systems Analyst from Argentina doing freelance English - Spanish Translations for fifteen years. Lately getting into Internet Marketing. Website: http://englishspanishtranslation.4t.com

Virtual Web Servers: Perfect For Mid-sized Web Hosting Needs, Part 1

The internet has exploded over the last ten years with many people doing more and more tasks online everyday. As the internet continues to grow, the amount of space available for web sites to expand will shrink. Another very important fact that needs to be considered when creating a web site is how you are going to host the web site.

Large companies can afford to have a dedicated web server or servers, but smaller companies and individuals usually can not afford to have a dedicated server for their web site. For these individuals there are a few alternatives available. They can either use a web hosting service to host their web sites, or they can use a virtual web server to host their web site. Both of these alternatives have strengths and weaknesses.

A web hosting plan usually allows you to upload your web files to their server and then they configure everything so that anyone on the internet can access it. These plans are usually fairly inexpensive, but they are also limited in the amount of options that you can configure on your own.

However since the configuration of these plans are very easy, you do not need to have a large internal I.T. department to implement your plans. Web hosting plans are also a very good fit for your web site if you do not need to have access to a database.

Virtual web servers are a great way to maximize the use of a single server to service many web sites across several domains. The virtual web server uses one server and one operating system to host many different web sites. The difference between virtual web servers and hosting plans is that you have access to mail, FTP, and all of the configuration files on the virtual server.

This gives you quite a bit more control over all of the functions that a normal web server would allow you to do. However you need to know more about configuring a web site if you use a virtual web server. The best thing about a virtual web server is that you have much more control and the ability to do many different things that you can not do with a web hosting plan.

Learn how to get a virtual web server at http://www.webserversintl.com/

Web Sites, Domain Names, And Name Servers (What's DNS All About?)...

I explain Domain Name Servers and Name Servers to a friend of mine all the time. He builds web sites part time. I know he's not alone; DNS confuses a lot of people.

The internet works by assigning an address to each device attached to it. This address is called an Internet Protocol Address or IP Address for short. It's a 32 bit number that's commonly written as 4 segments or octets (called an octet because each 4th is 8 bits) such as 10.10.1.1 or 216.54.217.22. Each octet can range between 0 and 255. This address works just like your street address: a packet (a chunk of communication between two devices) leaving your computer and heading for Google moves through devices call routers that route traffic on the internet. The router looks at the destination IP Address and knows which way to send the packet. Just like a letter moves through various post offices and delivery vehicles (mail man, mail trucks, airplanes, etc.) your little packet of internet traffic moves across various communication channels (phone lines, cable lines, fiber, etc.) and providers (UUNet, Cogent, Level3, Time-Warner, AT&T, Sprint, AboveNet, etc.). It finally arrives at its destination and is processed and a return packet is sent back... in just the same way, it finds its way back based on your IP Address.

The Internet would be pretty hard to use if you had to remember all those IP Addresses when you wanted to visit a web page, so a naming scheme is used that allows you to enter a name that is easy to remember instead of a sequence of numbers. So, how does your computer get the IP Address of a web site when you type in the name? That's where Domain Name Servers do their job.

Name Servers. A Name Server holds the information that relates the IP Addresses for a web site to the names used to access that web site. If you want to have a web site with a domain name, you have to register or purchase (more like rent) the domain name from a service call a registrar. When I registered the domain name for my web site, I told the registrar what Name Server I was using, Most people will use the Name Servers provided by their hosting facility (where they rent the server space for their web site). That Name Server is configured to have a "zone" for my domain and that zone contains records that relate a name to an IP address, this is called an "A Record". An "MX Record" is used to identify the mail server for that zone, for example, I have an "A Record" for my domain that points to the IP address of the web server, and the "MX Record" points to the mail server for my domain. These may or may not be on the same server. When someone sends me email, their mail server will request the Name Server for my domain and will get it's IP Address, then it can request the MX Record and get it's IP Address, and then it can send packets of mail to the mail server for my domain.

Domain Name Servers. A Domain Name Server stores the domain names and associated IP Addresses for a period of time.

This is stored or cached on a server called a Domain Name Server, or DNS server for short. If the time specified for caching a domain name / IP Address relationship has passed the DNS server will remove it from its cache. When a request for an IP Address is made, and the DNS server does not have that address in its cache, the DNS Server will make a request to a set of special servers on the internet that hold the addresses for all the Name Servers and which domain names each one controls. It can then send a request to the name server for that domain to get the IP Address for the domain name and return it to the computer or device making the original request. All Internet Providers have several DNS servers and as you browse the internet your computer is constantly sending requests to these DNS servers to get (or resolve) IP Addresses for the domain names you type in or links you click on.

A web site's name to address relationships are stored on Name Servers, as you browse the Internet, DNS servers either provide the address back to your computer from cache, or, look up the Name Server for your domain and then gets the correct Name Server to get the IP Address.

Now you too understand DNS and Name Servers!

Fred Black is an experienced web developer offering instructional videos at www.WebSiteTrainingOnline.com, An Introduction to Creating Web Sites.

Have A Big Website - Worried About Server Load

Have we ever thought how big websites could be configured to handle massive amount of traffic? How thousands of businesses worldwide are facing challenges everyday to make sure there are no connection failures due to heavy load or congestion of traffic at the website.

The answer is straight, every organization will have to monitor and baseline amount of traffic by going for stress test to find out if the current hardware could be supportive enough to handle a specific amount of load. One such great software is the ?Web Application Testing? or WAPT, which is a great utility for any website?s sustainability. This software is load, stress and performance testing tool for web sites and intranet applications with web interface. WAPT is designed for MS Windows 2000/XP/2003 and Windows 98/Me operating systems. The question that should be asked is why should we consider WAPT or why should the organization consider Load or stress testing? We certainly believe, major performance issues would arise if stress test has not been performed.

This could very well mean that after the server reaches a certain level of concurrent connection made by visitors, it would consume its hardware resources to process every visitor?s request. If there is a lot to process, the server might give priority to web application than its local resource ending up in a system crash.

Thus, the goal of WAPT is very simple; it helps the organization?s web servers to become active at every stage of stress, whether it?s a web development or website traffic processing power. WAPT can perform a stress test by simulating several thousands of concurrent connections to check the web server/website performance and if it finds any bottlenecks it would warn and suggest fixing this issue by recommending the very next thing.
There are lots of new features added in WAPT 4.0
- You can use multiple virtual profiles to test a single scenario
- There is support for IP spoofing where each virtual user can run with individual and unique IP address
- Each Virtual can be configured with different username and password and is compatible with Windows Integrated Authentication or Basic Configuration.
- You can see and configure the type of reports even a test run summary report is generated
- There is command line interface available
- There is a support for persistent cookies
- All the test scenario and profiles are stored in XML format The Main features of WAPT 4.0
- You can have the application run and understand multiple languages
- There is cool recording feature which you can use to record any configuration and stress test simulations for later review or demonstrations as it supports playback of HTTPS/SSL 2.0 & 3.0 pages. You can also record the user connection speed using the keep-alive connections to a HTTP 1.0 or HTTP 1.1 pages or even HTTPS/SSL pages.
- You can generate data for run-times on specific scheduled intervals by randomizing the delay between the page hits.
- It also has a support for proxy servers for HTTP, HTTPS, SOCKS4 & 5 and supports cookies as well.
- All the authentication request can be handled using NTLM (windows Integrated Authentication) or using the basic authentication.
- If you would like to call the website by a different name, then you also have the facility to add custom host headers
- All this the scenarios can be configured using the user friendly Wizard
- You can choose the reports to be either graphical or in plain text along with full virtual server logs
A must tool for administrator or other user who would to maintain their website efficiently.

Ted Peterson writes for CoreDownload, a shareware archive where you can find utilities like WAPT to test your server.

Is Your Website Secure On A Shared Server? Part 2

SSL certificates The secured socket layer (SSL) technology provides strong encryption of HTTP packets during their transfer through the World Wide Web. However, in order to encrypt; a SSL certificate from a trusted certification authority like Verisign or Twate is necessary.

Shared hosting and SSL certificates SSL can undoubtedly provide a lot of security on the server side. Most of the encryption done is on the 128 bit level, which in its own right is very secure. But, when it comes to securing websites on shared hosts the real problems surface as the SSL technology requires an IP address ( with port number) and most shared websites don?t have one!

To overcome this problem many ISP?s have come-up with shared SSL certificates. But, this quick fix solution actually undermines the importance of SSL certificates as, with a shares SSL certificate the credibility and trustworthiness of a certificate comes under the scanner.

However new methods are being developed at a rapid pace whereby Genuine SSL certificates would be provided to websites operating on shared hosts and with the evolution of IPv6 (The new generation of Internet Protocol) the scarcity of public IP?s would also be addressed to a certain extent).

Other practical methods to ensure security on shared servers

• You should have complete information about the types of scripts and software installed on the server. As applying unproven or substandard codes by others using the server might affect you too.
• Enquire about the security audit procedure employed by your host. That?s because the frequency of review can be the deciding factor between succumbing to a security threat and overcoming it.
• The most important action you can take on your part is to use very strong password for your website. As using easy to crack password would make your website as open as a stadium in front of hackers.

When we talk of the World Wide Web and its secure nature, we have to understand that nothing is fool-proof. Recent times have seen hackers breaking in to some of the most secure websites. That?s why, the trick here lies in keeping up with the times and heeding to the latest of security updates. A web hosting provider who does that can provide a great deal of security to your website even if it?s hosted on a shared server.

The Author Search Engine marketing expert, Tarun Gupta is one of the most prolific writers in the internet marketing domain with his articles being published in numerous search related websites and newsletters.

He is the founder director of web development and web hosting services company BrainPulse.com.

Dedicated Server: A Smart Choice for Web Site Hosting by www.vipwh.com

Hosting your personal or business web sites on your own dedicated server may seems expensive choice in comparison to shared web hosting, but at the end, it proves a smart choice. 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 elses. Ready availability results in reduced labour 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 companys image and encourage existing customers to refer your service to others. This will result in more sales for less promotion.

If you are serious about your online presence you need to get a Dedicated Server.
Paras Shah
Chief Technology Officer
VIP PowerNet, Inc.
Ph: (713)787-6501
Email: paras@vippowernet.com
http://www.vipwh.com
http://www.vippowernet.com
http://www.thehostingguide.com