Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Website Updates are a SNAP With Server Side Includes

If you ever had to make a change to your website that needed to be carried onto every page, you know what a tedious job it is.Well, have I got news for you. It doesn't have to be. Welcome to the world of Server Side Includes, also known as SSI. The best part about SSI is that it will make your life as a site owner 'oh so sweet.' You're going to want to kiss me after I give you the lowdown on this little beauty.

Let me give you an example. Let's say you have a site with over 50 pages and you need to add another link to your navigation bar. Can you imagine how long it would take you to open each page and update it? By putting your navigation bar into an SSI file, you would only open up that one file and update that -- and the change to your navigation bar will show up site wide. See how simple that was? By editing one file you have updated your entire site instantly.

The most common use of an include file is for your top navigation, your bottom text navigation, copyright, logo or any other piece of info needed to appear on all pages of your site.

So how do you create an SSI file? Glad you asked! An include file can be an HTML file or a simple text file. It should be whatever HTML coding you need for that element of your site, minus the or tags which should remain on your individual pages.

An easy way to make them is to design your web page and cut and paste the code you want into individual files and name them things like topnavigation.htm or bottomnav.htm. By giving them descriptive names, you'll know at a glance which file is which when it comes time to perform those updates.

After creating the files you plan on using as your includes, you'll need to open your web pages and insert a line of code where you want the SSI information to show up in your documents.

The code looks like this:

If your includes are located at the root level on your web server your path would look like this:

That's it. Pretty simple, really. After you get the hang of it you'll wish you would have learned about them years ago. They really do make global updating a snap.

Here are a couple of good sites to learn more about SSI:

Big Nose Bird-
http://www.bignosebird.com/ssi.shtml

CGI Resource-
http://cgi.resourceindex.com/Documentation/Server_Side_Includes/

New Breed Software
http://www.sonic.net/~nbs/unix/www/ssi/

Web Reference
http://www.webreference.com/programming/ssi/intro/

Before you start implementing SSI you need to ask your web host if they support them (most do), and also if they will need to be named with any special extensions. Some servers may require you to give them specific extensions like .asp (if it's NT) or .shtml (for many Unix servers). Although the majority won't, it's always better to ask first. Better safe then sorry.

By designing your website with server side includes you'll save yourself a ton of headaches when it comes time to updating your site. SSI is a Webmaster's best friend, so I suggest you spend some time getting acquainted.

Merle http://www.EzineAdAuction.com "Where some of the BEST Deals in Ezine Advertising are Made" Buy & Sell Ezine Ads in a live auction setting! Publishers sell off your excess inventory and Buyers pick up some Fantastic bargains. Go now.

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Monday, January 28, 2008

Using dedicated servers has its advantages

A Dedicated Server is a server provided by a web host for you to rent.

It is a different from normal virtual (shared) hosting. In fact, having a dedicated server is completely the opposite, every aspect of that server, as well as the network connection is dedicated only to your website.

Of course, a semi dedicated server is one which is shared by few clients.

A dedicated server is the next step up from a shared hosting environment and is used for many business, management and development purposes.

It is usually needed for a website (or set of related company sites) that may develop a considerable amount of traffic or when they expect considerable amount of visitors.

A dedicated server is yours to use exclusively, so you have 100% of the processor and 100% of the available disk space working for you.

Being like your own server, you do not have any restriction on the bandwidth or the CPU utilization.

So it's ideal for advanced users who want maximum freedom and flexibility.

One advantage in having a dedicated server is that, you can create customized control panels for managing your server.

Furthermore, the certificate services are the backbone of your organization's security.

In the Web hosting business, a dedicated server is typically a rented service, leased from a hosting company.

Although it's more expensive than a virtual one, the cost to set up your own dedicated server is still quite low.

Getting started is always a little laborious and tandard setup time for a dedicated server is usually 24-48 hours after your order has been verified.

Lim Zheng Yang has compiled the latest news and resources at his sites: http://best-dish-network-guide.info/ , http://best-internet-service-guide.info/ and http://dedicated-server-guide.info

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Thursday, January 24, 2008

Dedicated Hosting Services and Virtual Private Servers (VPS Hosting

Big websites must opt for dedicated hosting services

Let's just recap on the different types of hosting services that are available: 1. Free web hosting - these are normally sponsored through advertising. A no-no if you are serious about hosting your website for business purposes

2. Shared hosting - shared hosting is the most common type of hosting available today. This is most commonly used if you are running a small website or are just starting out.

3. VPS hosting (Virtual Private Servers) - this is the poor man's dedicated server. With VPS hosting the hosting provider partitions one server into multiple private spaces. You are therefore still sharing a server with other clients, but you get your own private 'slice' of this server. This means that your website performance will not be affected by the other clients sharing the same server since each client has his own virtual private space in which they run. Clients that host on VPS servers therefore has access to the same type of services normally only afforded by dedicated hosting technology

4. Dedicated hosting services are needed by clients with large websites that generate high volumes of traffic. There are also some companies which need huge storage space, and are not willing to share space with smaller companies but with the price of hardware and hard disks coming down in recent years, the more common reason to require a dedicated server these days are more to do with bandwidth usage and performance.

In both these cases, dedicated hosting providers the solution. Instead of sharing space on a shared server or even with a Virtual Private Server, you will lease an entire dedicated machine that is pre-configured for your requirements. Hosting companies that offer dedicated hosting are often larger and more established than companies that only offer shared hosting. Small web hosts often do not have the financial or technical muscle to provide dedicated hosting.

Web hosting companies that make provision for dedicated servers need to make a considerable investment in hardware and software, and because the client has full control over what type of software should be run on these machines, the hosting company also requires more investment in training and skills development of their staff. The hosting company also needs to make provision to stay up to date with the latest developments in hardware and software. The web host therefore needs to upgrade technology regularly to be able to provide state-of-the-art equipment.

Remember that the advantages of dedicated hosting is that the client does not control the hardware and basic software that is required to run the server, nor does the client have to employ any technical resources to maintain the hardware and software - this is completely the responsibility of the dedicated hosting provider.

This is why dedicated hosting costs considerably more than shared hosting or even VPS hosting. The cost can range between $99 to $2500 per month depending on which hosting company you deal with and depending on the client requirements. The cost will also be determined by the type of service contract that will be put in place between the client and the hosting company. Such a contract is commonly called a Service Level Agreement and it spells out the requirements of the client to a low level of detail. These requirements normally cover issues such as bandwidth usage, the required up-time of the server, scheduled maintenance slots and so on. The higher the required level of support from the hosing provider, the more expensive the monthly rental contract will be.

In some cases the client would do some of the management of the server himself (this is called un-managed hosting). In this case the hosting provider will only provide the physical server and infrastructure (e.g. network connectivity, storage space etc). In this case the actual management and monitoring of the servers are the responsibility of the client and this type of dedicated hosting should be on the cheaper side of dedicated hosting costs. It must be remembered then though that the client must make provision for employing technical staff to maintain the servers.

Christine Anderssen is the owner of Tailormade4you, offering Web Hosting and Joomla Hosting services to small businesses in South Africa. We also specialize in Web Design and Web Development in PHP and MySQL to build websites quickly and efficiently. Visit our website for free tutorials on how to use Joomla and website design

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Thursday, January 17, 2008

Virtual Dedicated Server-When Dedicated is Still Too Much for Your Wallet

A virtual dedicated or private server is a pseudo server running on a dedicated server. Virtual servers typically have their own dedicated operating system that can sometimes vary from the operating system of the server they are on. To a virtual server the rest of the server does not exist. Ten virtual servers on one dedicated server cannot see each other or the server they're on.

Because of this encapsulation or insulation from other hosting accounts on the server, virtual accounts offer a great deal of flexibility where configuration is concerned. A typical VPS or VDS account might come with a certain control panel for example. If you wish to use a different control panel you can simply install one through root access. If PHP, MySQL or other modules are behind the times then you simply upgrade them.

Note also that you are the server admin. With a shared hosting account the server is upgraded by the company and security is maintained by them as well. The same can be said about the server that your virtual dedicated server runs on but not about your virtual dedicated server. Software and security are all your responsibilities making you a miniature server admin.

One way of looking at this is that there are things you just have to learn some times. A good virtual server account does usually come with software installed and a certain level of stock security. As long as you do not need to upgrade many times you will be just fine working from a control panel to create new web sites.

One can easily pay $120 to $300 a month USD for a dedicated server. If your site is just starting out many times you won't even come close to using those resources for a bit. If you have the budget for a dedicated server than it's the way to go but if you need a price break then consider virtual server hosting. You can find a decent virtual server account for just under $35 a month USD. If your coming from a typical shared hosting account you will appreciate the difference in performance and flexibility

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Friday, January 11, 2008

Dedicated Web Server Hosting

Web hosting is one of the revolutionary breakthroughs brought to us by the advent of cyber technology. Now you can learn, play, interact, make friends, draw, or compose music on the Net. Dedicated hosting means creating a site and making it available on the internet. Nonetheless, Websites with multiple numbers of pages, or Websites which are commercial and business oriented, are hosted at various prices. Obviously, for that there has to be a registered domain name to run the related Website. Dedicated servers are meant for faster processing and more disk space and RAM than shared hosting. A dedicated server not only allows an individual to customize and individualize server settings for his unique requirements, but also augments all kinds of Web-based works with faster delivery and maximum performance. Service Level Agreements (SLA's) are another important part of the dedicated Web hosting server requirement systems.

A combination of highly technical characteristics contributes a lot to the optimal performance of a dedicated Web hosting server, to exercise total control over the Web and its other affiliated programs and other things.

A few of the most desirable features for the ideal dedicated Web-hosting server are:

a) High availability of data processing units

b) High performance data centers for maximum output in minimum time

c) Multiple backup generators along with battery backup

d) Fiber entry on two sides of the facilities

e) Superfluous path fiber to upstream providers through multiple transport providers

f) Total of more than twenty-five gigabyte Internet connections

g) Redundant network cores and total of 30 backbone routers for optimal output mode

h) Two network operations centers staffed twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

Dedicated Hosting provides detailed information on Dedicated Hosting, Dedicated Web Hosting, Dedicated Hosting Servers, Dedicated Web Server Hosting and more. Dedicated Hosting is affiliated with FTP Site Hosting.

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Monday, January 7, 2008

Cheap Dedicated Server: The Ins and Outs Of Hosting Service Selection

In this article I will go over the ins and outs of shared packages (supervised and unmanaged), reseller hosting, virtual private server accounts, personalized hosting, and even arrangements your own sites on your own individual-only servers. Stick on by!

Finding a cheap dedicated server web hosting purchase can be a harrowing session especially if you are a beginner to this topic. Essentially, hundreds of posts across the internet are being passed back and forth debating the merits of various exclusive server hosting offerings.

The bottomline is this, Finding a cheap dedicated packages server solution is not difficult. Here is the rule of thumb for beginners:

1. shared web hosting mostly gives you less performance as you are Basically sharing your web hosting with many other hosting subscribers, sometimes countless or even hundreds of thousands of them. Also, you will get less access to the technical aspects of the arrangements. Clearly this is a good answer for beginners. 2. reseller hosting gives you a bit more flexibility, but ultimately all the shared accounts will be sharing resources such as CPU and Ram. You get a bit more control in that you can setup accounts and your own domain names. This is an attractive packages alternative for those with lower to medium trafficked sites. 3. vps web hosting is pretty much the same as the previous options in terms of it still being a 'shared' answer, but it gives you far more control over your own hosting environment, and giving you greater resources allocated solely for your needs. This is normally the step individuals pursue who do not need a full-blown personalized server package off the bat. 4. individual-only server hosting is what it sounds like, you get the whole shebang, total access to your web hosting machine and you are free to alter the server requirements to whatever you desire. You get better performance and flexibility.

Those previously mentioned opportunities are mainly what's found to website owners all over. It's not persistently cut and dry in terms of how to decide on the best setups solution. I.e. you should never base it solely on price. Reputation and years of operation of the firm are crucial points. Do not entrust your internet existence to unstable operations!

Magnificent windows dedicated server items can be downloaded from my web page.

http://www.24hrdedicatedhosting.com/windows-dedicated-server/

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Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Dedicated Servers - Backup and Recovery Strategies for Web Hosting Companies

What kind of backup recovery strategy should a company have for its dedicated server? Web hosting companies have been debating this architecture since their existence began. It is really a question pondered by the whole IT community. There are many right solutions, dependent on your company's ability to handle downtime. The correct solution for you will factor in the amount of redundant protection you need against the overall cost.

Before we discuss the different options for backing up and recovering your dedicated server, we should mention that the server hardware, data center, and fiber connection are all critical to reliability. This article is specifically focused on strategies to backup and recover your server's data.

At a minimum, you can create a partition in your hard drive and backup your server weekly or monthly. There is no cost to this kind of solution, but the downsides are obvious. If your hard drive crashes, you will lose your backup as well. This kind of solution is only recommended if you can afford to lose all of your data, which most web hosting companies cannot.

Next, you can contract a remote backup service to set up offsite backups. These backups can be run daily, weekly, or monthly. The cost of this solution is around $30-$50/month depending on the web hosting provider. This option gives you a solid backup in case your hard drive crashes. The downside is that recovery time will take 6-12 hours or more depending on how much data you have. The data has to be manually copied over, and this is a slow process. If you can afford the cost, this solution is part of an overall backup system, but it is not recommended as your only solution.

The next backup option is to have a second hard drive installed on your server and have it set up to do daily, weekly, or monthly backups. Most web hosting companies that provide dedicated servers will charge between $15-$30 for a second hard drive. This is a nice compliment to the previous solution if you have the budget for both. The recovery time is faster then a remote backup. But unlike a remote backup, if your dedicated server or the datacenter are down, then you cannot access the backup. For most small web hosting companies this is not a problem. If their entire server or datacenter are down, they have larger issues to worry about. We recommend this as a complimentary option with a remote backup.

Next, a web hosting company can use mirrored RAID drives. This option will cost $50-$80/month more, but it provides the fastest possible recovery in case of a hard drive crash. You can just reboot using the mirrored drive, and you are back in business. The cost is a little higher, but this is a nice luxury. The downside of this option is that if your server is unavailable, then you still cannot reach your data. Additionally, if the hard drive becomes corrupted it will also corrupt your backup. This is why we recommend mirrored drives as part of a larger solution that includes other backup systems.

Finally, there are mirrored servers. This entails the largest cost and is really not necessary, except for those web hosting companies that can tolerate no downtime at all. In this scenario, if the server itself dies you can have another server ready to take the load. In fact, if your company is large enough, you might already need this kind of solution for performance. Some websites require multiple servers to handle the performance, and it is load balanced across them. In this case, if a server dies the system still runs. This is the best solution but it is not always necessary. And, of course it is costly.

We recommend a weekly remote backup to provide you with a fail safe version. Even if the datacenter burns down, you will have a copy of your data. To this we would add either mirrored RAID drives or a second hard drive, depending on your hosting company's needs. If you are more worried about recovery time from hard drive crashes, which is the most frequent hardware problem with dedicated servers, then go with the RAID drives. If you are more worried about the hard drive getting corrupted, go with the second hard drive.

We hope this article provides you with the information you need to adequately back up your dedicated server! Rodney Ringler is President of Advantage1 Web Services, Inc., which owns a network of Web Hosting Informational Websites including HostChart.com, ResellerConnection.com, FoundHost.com, ResellerForums.com, and HostingKnowledge.net. Rodney has over 15 years industry experience from programming to internet marketing

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