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.

Web Hosting - Virtual Private Servers (VPS) Explained

Shared hosting is a great option for a lot of websites as it brings the cost down considerably. It does have some disadvantages, however. Your site's CPU, disk space and bandwidth can be affected by other sites on the same server.

If your site is relatively small, these resource issues may not be a problem. Another downside to shared hosting is lack of system-level control. You may not have any control over things such as system software and scripts.

While many webmasters don't need to worry about these things, there are some that do. If you fall into that category, you might want to look at a Virtual Private Server (VPS) for your hosting.

A VPS is a single physical server that has been divided into a few "virtual machines" through software running on the server. The server's resources - RAM, disk space, etc. - are still shared, but each VPS gets its own allotment and operated completely independently from the others.

This independence lets you run scripts or software - even install a different operating system - without having any effect on the other virtual servers on the same machine.

One of the biggest advantages of a VPS is the fact that you get "root" level access to your server. This means you can install or delete any software you want, create any accounts you want, set permissions the way you want - effectively all the same things you can do on a dedicated server, only at a lower cost.

A VPS is also more secure than shared hosting. On a shared server, all the websites are running within the same operating system. If the server gets hacked, all the sites will be vulnerable.

With a VPS, because of the way the virtual servers are divided, if one of them gets hacked none of the others are visible to the hacker. They're effectively like different computers.

Virtual Private Servers can be configured in a number of ways so you should be sure that you find out how any particular host has set them up.

In most cases, the server's total resources are divided evenly by the number of VPS's on the machine. ie. If there are 10 virtual servers, the total RAM, disk space, etc. is simply divided by 10 and each VPS gets 10% of the total.

The disadvantages of a VPS are related to the same things as the advantages. Because you have complete control over the system, you can run into problems if you don't know what you're doing.

You can delete the wrong files, set permissions incorrectly, create security vulnerabilities and more if you're not careful.

If you aren't familiar with server administration and don't have time to learn, you should either hire someone to do it for you or find a host who manages the server for you.

John Lenaghan writes about web hosting and other related topics for the Hosting Report website. To find out more about hosting your website, visit http://www.hostingreport.org

Web-based Supplier Collaboration Creates Value With VendorServer

VendorServer creates value with web-based supplier collaboration.

An ETO (Engineer-to-Order) company manufactures highly engineered boilers and capital energy equipment used by utility companies. The firm faced key challenges including:

?    Reduce cycle times for proposals and products

?    Uncoordinated and lengthy purchasing process

?    Improve collaboration between engineering, manufacturing and suppliers

?    Lower cost of purchased goods

?    Tighten integration with the enterprise application

The business process for collaborating internally and with suppliers prior to implementing VendorServer? needed improvement. A seamless process to work with engineering, buyers and suppliers to shrink the lengthy and cumbersome supply chain cycle was imperative. The need to communicate with design, engineering, sales and suppliers to quickly turn opportunities into proposals, and proposals into orders and executable plans, was critical. The opportunity for miscommunication throughout the entire supply chain was significant with countless departments and external suppliers involved in the process and extremely complex purchasing activities.

The lengthy and involved designing, buying and building process is further complicated by time based milestones and the proper timing of materials that can extend beyond a year. The previous business process had many manual and disconnected automated purchasing systems limiting the ability to effectively manage the supply chain process. There were no provisions for supplier interaction beyond telephone and fax methods.

Without adopting a more strategic approach, the client was faced with higher costs, less accuracy, long lead times, higher carrying costs and lower customer satisfaction. The client created a 360-degree view of requirements for taking its supply chain and supplier collaboration to a new level to enhance business operations in an area with substantial payback.

Visibility Corporation (www.visibility.com) is a leading developer and supplier of business software solutions designed for the unique needs of project-based, engineer-to-order and to-order manufacturers. Visibility's Enterprise Application solutions help midsize manufacturers of complex products operate their businesses effectively.

VISIBILITY.net is an integrated ERP solution and more. Offering unparalleled functionality and integrated workflow, this browser-based solution cost effectively delivers the power of .NET-based Web services for use with either a Microsoft SQL Server? or Oracle? database. Conducting business any place, any time, any where is a reality, deployable with unprecedented flexibility.

Visibility
Jaclyn Aldrich
978-694-8000

Professional Markeeting Firm

Do You Need Dedicated Server Hosting?

When it comes to website hosting, the biggest question that arises is whether there is a need for dedicated servers?

Before we trying and address that question, let?s try and understand what a dedicated server is.

Dedicated Server Hosting

Dedicated server hosting pertains to having a single server entirely for a network/ website. That in effect means that you would not be sharing a server with others. Moreover, the dedicated servers are available on rent from web hosting companies, so you get a server all to your self and needless to say that has its own set of advantages.

Advantages of Dedicated Server Hosting

You can provide customized and prompt online support to your clients.

Having a reliable customer support system is vital for any businesses. It gains more prominence in business models which are depended on customer interaction. That?s why if your business demands prompt customer support you need to invest on a dedicated server as they are more reliable and secure as compared to shared servers.

Maintenance of website up-time is easy

Website up-time is a measure in percentage referring to the time-frame during which the website is running and is accessible via the World Wide Web. Needless to point out here that the up-time is directly related to the reliability of a website. With a dedicated server, you can monitor your website with relative ease. Which in-turn would definitely assist you in maintaining higher levels of up-time.

Hardware and Software up gradation

With a dedicated server by your side, you can tweak it as per the peculiar hardware and software requirements of your clients. That may not be easy with shared hosting as you would be sharing space on the server and the settings would be set to common levels and hence you would not be able to change them as often as you would like to change.

Other value added advantages

With a dedicated server, it would be easy for you to upgrade to bigger bandwidth supporting plans, which makes dedicated server a highly scalable option. Furthermore, with dedicated servers you get the option of availing data and power backup, as that might not be available with shared servers.

Disadvantages of dedicated servers

There are no visible disadvantages with dedicated servers apart from the fact that hosting on them costs you money. Whether it?s a disadvantage or not will depend on the scale of your online business and if you are getting hundreds if not thousands of visitors on a daily basis then dedicated servers are the way to go.

For any online business, having a quickly downloadable and reliable website is of paramount importance. And, a dedicated server is the way to go for achieving that and much more.

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 the web hosting company http://www.BrainPulse.com

Dedicated Servers and Shared Servers

Are you looking for hosting server? But not sure what they are, searching for dedicated or shared server but don't know what is the difference, either way this articles helps you out to find best hosting service for your sites.

Mainly hosting servers are of three types free servers, dedicated servers and shared servers. Free servers provide limited space, with limited features. While most popular are dedicated and shared servers. Shared servers are those in which you will share space with other users. Your website and other people will share the same server. With a shared server, the host typically takes care of administration of the server, which requires little technical skills.

A dedicated server is a single computer on a web-hosting network that is leased or rented, and dedicated to just one customer. A service provider monitors the computer's hardware, network connectivity, and routing equipment, while the customer generally controls and maintains the server software.

But before deciding weather you want dedicated or shared server you should consider level of website, if you operate a small business or a simple website of 5-10 pages dedicated server is not a best choice for you. It is important to understand your space need, bandwidth and budget before choosing dedicated web hosting servers. Dedicated server is the best option for the people who want huge amount of data space and bandwidth. These servers offer complete control on entire network. Major advantage of dedicated servers is that it provides each and every service at the small cost. These servers offer ability to manage firewalls and password access due to security purposes.

A small business, with minimal traffic, will likely want to stick with shared servers because dedicated server cost you a great deal more than a shared server.

Finally it is important to understand your space need, bandwidth, and budget prior choosing hosting server. Generally a large website with lots of traffic and need bulk bandwidth choose a dedicated server while a small business with less traffic will stick to shared servers.

Offshoremode.com offers offshore dedicated server and bulk email server in Malaysia.

The author David is owner offshoremode.com offers offshore dedicated servers in Malaysia for more information Visit http://www.offshroemode.com/ today

Benefits of Using a Dedicated Server

Shared web hosting may seem like an inexpensive hosting option, but they are very limiting. Have you ever considered using a dedicated server? The benefits to using a dedicated server are many. After reading this, you may want to switch your web hosting to a dedicated server.

The performance of a dedicated server is far superior to that of shared hosting. This is due in large part to the fact that you are not sharing your processor power, memory, or disk space with other sites using the same server. Since you dont have to worry about the server being slowed down, overrun with traffic, or crashed by another site, a dedicated server is more reliable than a shared server.

You will feel a lot more secure with a dedicated server than a shared server. No one else will have access to your server and you can be positive that you are secure. If you ever need to install some special software or need to configure your server to your needs, then a dedicated server will give you that option.

With a dedicated server, you can run your own custom firewall. This will enable you to enforce your own control policy that will only allow people you want to be able to access it. Something else you get with a dedicated server that you dont get with a shared server is your own IP address. You wont have to share it with anyone else.

If the need arises, you can always add more memory, disk space, or extra processors. With shared servers, you cant do this. Dedicated servers also allow you to have a Service Level Agreement. With all of these benefits, how can you not want a dedicated server?

It may seem too expensive to host your websites on a dedicated server, but when you compare it to shared hosting, the end result is worth it. With your own dedicated server, you can be assured of having a more reliable and stable server. You wont have to worry so much about overload, bad codes and scripts from other users, and too many applications being uploaded.

You will only install the software and applications that you need and want to use on a dedicated server. This lessens your dependency on web hosts and bypasses the time delays and expenses accrued from them. You can supply instant support to your clients whenever they need it. This is a vital part of any successful business. If you provide reliable service to your clients, then they are going to be loyal and give you good word of mouth promotion. This will help your business continue to grow, and that is the ultimate goal.

You will have 24 hour access to your dedicated server, and this will allow you to adjust, correct, or update anything you need to in mere minutes. You wont have to worry about visitors leaving your site because it wouldnt load fast enough or wasnt available. If your website is able to download quickly and is always available, then the visitor will be encouraged to use your services and come back if they need you again. This will be good for your overall image and will make the customers want to refer you to all of their friends.

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