Posts Tagged ‘server hosting’

Advantages of a Dedicated Server

Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010

A dedicated server is seen as the highest form of web hosting available and can offer businesses the best level of performance when compared to the other main forms of web hosting that are available. Most web hosting providers are able to offer you the choice between Windows dedicated server hosting and Linux dedicated server hosting to help guarantee variety; customization is something else that is offered during the order process so that you are able to create a dedicated server that will suit your requirements ideally, allowing you to ensure that you only pay for what you require and not resources that you aren’t going to use at all.

The main advantage of using a dedicated server over any other form of web hosting that is available has to be the higher level of security that can be provided by having your own dedicated web hosting environment. As you won’t have to share any portion of your server’s resources with anyone else, it will be fairly easy for you to create a secure web hosting environment as you will be fully aware of the security aspects that could affect your dedicated server. Furthermore you will be able to implement your own custom security measures allowing you to make your dedicated server as secure as you wish for it to be.

Reliability is another factor that a dedicated server will be able to meet most business’s requirements for since a dedicated server is seen as being one of the most reliable forms of web hosting available. The dedicated web hosting environment provided will allow you to keep a much closer eye on your use of server resources and as you won’t have to share those resources with anyone else, you can be sure that you will be able to make full use of them. Most businesses choose to use dedicated server hosting because they are looking to attain a higher level of uptime than what their existing web hosting service, usually something alone the lines of shared web hosting, is able to offer.

The dedicated web hosting environment that is provided by a dedicated server will allow you to create a web hosting environment suitable for your website as you will be able to install any applications of your choice on your dedicated server. If you have decided to go for a Windows dedicated server then you will have full Remote Desktop access to your server, whilst if you are using a Linux dedicated server then access will be provided via SSH. Both Remote Desktop and SSH will allow you to manage your server fully since you will have full root or administrator access. It is important for any access available over Remote Desktop or SSH to be secured properly to reduce the risk of any hackers using these to gain access to your dedicated server; if either Remote Desktop or SSH are compromised then the security of the entire server could be put at risk.

The fact that you won’t have to share your dedicated server with anyone else will allow you to make sure that you are able to make the most of your server and since you are going to be spending a lot of money on a dedicated server hosting service, being able to use it to its full potential is important. This will enhance both the security and reliability of your dedicated server as it means that you won’t have to worry about the security of other websites with regards to security of your server as a whole, and you also won’t have to worry about the performance of other websites affecting the performance of your own.

In conclusion, a dedicated server will be able to provide you with a wide variety of advantages that will allow you as a business to make the most of your web presence as the security provided will allow you to expand the features available on your website whilst the level of reliability on offer will allow you to accept visitors at all times. Although a dedicated server is the most expensive form of web hosting available, it is important for you to weigh up the cost against the advantages and your requirements.

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Advantages of Secure Web Hosting

Saturday, June 19th, 2010

A secure web hosting package will provide you with the web hosting environment that you require to host a website that may be processing or handling the personal data of your visitors, such as an online store. Although there are many measures that can be taken to help ensure that you keep your website secure, it is important for web hosting providers to have taken the necessary precautions to ensure that the rest of your web hosting account is secure which means protecting all email accounts and the rest of your web hosting account’s file system since there may be files located under your web space that aren’t publicly accessible via HTTP but may be accessible privately via FTP.

The main advantage of using a secure web hosting package is the fact that you won’t have to worry about hackers gaining access to any of the data that you choose to host with your web hosting provider. In some situations there may be files that you don’t want to be publicly accessible but still want to host under your web hosting account; you can be sure that these files will only be accessible to those who you grant access to as it is highly unlikely that hackers will be able to gain entry to a well secured server. The same can be said for the contents of any databases that you create under your web hosting account as databases in most cases contain sensitive information to some degree. If you store your email under your web hosting account then this could also be put at risk if a hacker compromises the server; however, with the safeguards of a secure web hosting environment you won’t have to worry about the contents of your email account becoming public.

Visitor confidence is something else that you will be able to gain by using a secure web hosting package as your visitors are more likely to enter their personal information into your website if you can guarantee them that this information will be stored and handled securely. Other ways in which you can increase the confidence that your visitors have in your website is to use an SSL certificate as this is something that will be noticeable to your visitors as it will be visible in their web browser; an SSL certificate is there to ensure that the data that is transferred between your website and your visitors’ computers is encrypted meaning that even if it is intercepted, it won’t be of any use to hackers or scammers.

A secure web hosting package will provide you with a platform from which you will be able to launch additional features to help expand what you are able to do with your website. A secure web hosting environment will be required if you wish to start an online store or carry out online transactions since you are going to be handling the personal information and credit card information of your visitors – both of these forms of information are highly sensitive and you could be in serious trouble if either fall into the wrong hands. However, your web scripting is going to need to be up to scratch as well since websites that have been poorly coded can also represent a security risk which is why many web hosting providers will have measures in place to help prevent the chances of any web based attacks, such as script and SQL injections, from being successful. Furthermore web hosting companies will also implement IP blocking software to ensure that if there are any IP addresses that constantly try to attack a server, these computers can be blocked.

In conclusion, the advantages of secure web hosting make the extra expense worth it for businesses that are looking to establish an online presence that will reassure their visitors about the security of their website. A secure website will always lead for a good company image and will mean that customers are going to be more willing to enter their personal details into the website concerned and will be more persuaded to purchase a business’s goods or services online. More or less every web hosting service available these days will be hosted on a secure server, although its easier to take security for granted with larger web hosting companies rather than the smaller ones because of the experience that the bigger players have to offer.

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Server Hosting Service

Sunday, March 7th, 2010

Server hosting services are able to provide you with many benefits over traditional shared web hosting services, the main one being that you will be provided with your own dedicated web hosting environment meaning that you are offered greater flexibility. Most web hosting providers are able to supply you with a wide variety of VPS servers and dedicated servers, all of different specifications meaning that there will always be something available to fit your requirements. You will also be offered the choice between Windows servers and Linux servers in most situations meaning that you will always be able to find a VPS server or dedicated server that uses the operating system that you require; it is important for there to be that choice there since the requirements of some businesses may mean that they are only able to use one particular operating system.

What are the advantages of using server hosting services?

A VPS server or dedicated server will be able to provide you with a number of different benefits, although it is important for you to be able to justify the cost of a server hosting service if you wish for it to represent good value for money. The main advantages of using server hosting include:

  • Dedicated web hosting environment – a VPS server or dedicated server will be able to provide you with your own dedicated web hosting environment that will allow you to install any applications of your own choice on your server – this helps to ensure that you are able to configure your server hosting service to function in the way that you want it to, granted that you have root or administrator access to your server – if you choose to go for a Windows server hosting service then you will be able to access your dedicated hosting environment via Remote Desktop, but if you have chosen a Linux server hosting service then you will be able to do the same using SSH instead
  • Reliability – a server hosting service will be able to provide you with a higher level of reliability which will lead to greater uptime, thus meaning that the high price of server hosting services is justified – high uptime web hosting services are highly beneficial to businesses that rely on their websites for a source of income in one way or another as it means that they can then maximize their chances of making good money from their website – the fact that you are provided with your own resources means that you won’t have to worry about other users affecting the uptime of your website
  • Security – the dedicated web hosting environment provided by a server hosting service will allow you to achieve a higher level of security since you will be able to secure your VPS server or dedicated server to a level that matches your requirements – you will also find that you won’t have to share any portion of your server with anyone else meaning that you won’t have to worry about the security of any other web hosting accounts or websites, just the security of your own.

The advantages of server hosting services show that businesses stand to benefit greatly from the use of a dedicated server or VPS server. It is important to note that in order to make the most of a VPS server or dedicated server you will need to be able to manage it properly, or have the provisions in place to ensure that it is managed properly.

What are the disadvantages of using server hosting services?

There can also be disadvantages to using server hosting services that you need to be aware of since you may find that after reviewing the situation, another form of web hosting may be more suitable for your requirements. The main disadvantages of using a VPS server or dedicated server can include:

  • Price – using any server hosting service is going to be expensive as you are paying for resources that aren’t supplied with cheaper forms of web hosting such as shared web hosting packages – a VPS server can be seen as a cheaper alternative to a dedicated server but it is important to note that a VPS server is only a virtual form of web hosting whereas with a dedicated server you will be provided with your own physical server that you won’t have to share with anyone else
  • Server management – with a VPS server or dedicated server it is important for you to be able to manage it properly so that you are able to make the most of your server hosting service – if you feel that you don’t have the skills required to be able to manage a server properly then you may wish to consider a managed server hosting service – although managed server hosting will cost you more, it does provide you with an opportunity to ensure that your server is managed properly meaning that everything will function correctly.

In conclusion, a server hosting service will be able to offer you a higher level of uptime which is what most businesses require. A secure hosting environment will also aid you if you are going to be using your website for the processing of personal data such as credit card information.

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Dedicated Hosting for Beginners

Saturday, February 13th, 2010

There are a number of reasons to move your website to a dedicated server. Perhaps your business is using a large database or program which takes up more memory than is permitted on a shared hosting platform, or you may want the flexibility and control to add certain extensions, software and features to your website(s); a process which again shared hosting could not accommodate.

Or perhaps you are web hosting reseller who needs to host a large number of websites, many of whom require a sizeable amount of space and so you would prefer your own server.

Not only should you identify a sound business reason for choosing dedicated hosting, you also need to identify whether you need Linux or Windows dedicated server hosting?

The main reason for adopting Windows hosting is if your site(s) is/are coded using ASP.net, Classic ASP or SQL server databases. If you don’t need these requirements, then you should consider Linux, as it is an extremely stable web hosting platform.

You should also take into account how much RAM you would need to run your initiative successfully on a dedicated server.

Managed dedicated servers

Usually webmasters who have their own dedicated server will have some degree of technical knowledge. However, one area they don’t need to be technically savvy in is the set up their dedicated server. This is done from the company providing the dedicated server. They will do the initial set up of the dedicated server’s hardware and provide the control panel for administering your dedicated server.

They will also provide customer support for your dedicated server and this is seen by many as one of the biggest advantages of purchasing a dedicated server. As you will be paying more than a traditional shared hosting customer, it is possible that you will receive a higher degree of customer support. You may receive 24/7 Live chat and your own Dedicated Account Manager. They will be on hand to answer any technical or sales related queries you may have on your dedicated server. To add to your peace of mind, you may also receive 24/7 server monitoring thus ensuring a high uptime % for your website(s).

Along with a more personal support service, you can purchase a number of other features to enhance your dedicated server. These include loading balancing, managed firewalls and backups.

Summary

There are a number of benefits to purchasing a dedicated server.

Dedicated server hosting provides unprecedented power, control and flexibility. A dedicated server is often the choice for those who need more scope than is usually provided by a shared hosting environment.

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A Guide to IT Server Management

Saturday, February 13th, 2010

In such an era of globalization, businesses of all kinds are increasing their utilization of information technology in order to support various business operations. More servers and applications have been added and intricacy has been increased making organizations loaded with unnecessary administration costs, compromised protection and overall reduced performance.

Server management is very useful for a business firm that employs numerous servers and requires them be running continually as their business depends on it. There are number of different kinds of servers including database servers, application servers, backup servers, file servers etc. These can be used effectively by organizations for various purposes.

File Server

A file server is a server that holds critical data about the organization. Generally, a file server in any company will hold important information which includes shared files, document folders and others. They are also required to manage a high load of traffic which is accessing data simultaneously.

Backup Server

Backup servers are utilized on a regular basis to ensure that essential data is always available should a disaster occur. Server Management can be a full time job depending on the kind and size of the firm. In addition, backup servers are quite significant for data redundancy. Sometimes, your hard drives may die or a file server may break down and you will require the ability to restore your data. In such circumstances an accurate backup server helps you in restoring your important data within a few minutes.

Database Server

The database server is the most important server on the network in terms of dealing with load. These servers have the capability to hold lots of information and to simultaneously interact with other application servers. Database servers are common in bigger corporate houses and are expensive compared to the other assortment of servers. In order to manage the database server, a business firm always requires a proficient and expert administrator.

Business Advantages

IT server management is an essential part of any company using an array of IT systems. It helps company staff to work together and communicate effectively via certain manual or electronic means.

Server Management Services allow your organization to:

  • Decreased maintenance costs
  • Managed business growth
  • Attain company innovation initiatives
  • Organize new applications speedily and economically
  • Enable acquisitions and streamline mergers
  • Address fulfillment with government regulations and corporate policies
  • Reduce the cost of infrastructure management
  • Decrease IT Supervision and training costs
  • Relieve weight on IT budget
  • Remove the requirements of platform technology
  • Raise productivity
  • Some other functions of a database server include securing corporate data and managing server uptime.

Summary

Whether a company’s servers are mixed or single sourced, server management fits all the needs of its users. Server management offers many key benefits to all types of business firms, including reducing capital investment, increasing productivity, reassigning resources, security monitoring and many more.

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