Monday 4 March 2013

How to Host in the Cloud?

Hosting through cloud computing and its impact on the World Wide Web.

Cloud computing is a kind of service that internet service providers offer their clients, and that only requires a small amount of money to obtain. This means that this is one of the best known kinds of hosting, because it is easy to manage, since it means that can access your website and change its settings.

Another good thing about cloud computing is that the service is cheap.  It still, however, provides virtually the same resources to the client, such as the operating system and security which are provided to various data centers of the internet hosting company. Cloud computing also gives  freedom not only to a single person but to multiple people who work for the website as well.

This makes working more efficient, and in addition, there is constant monitoring of the website by multiple users.  This then enables them to update the website from time to time without waiting for an administrator to give the “go signal’ before altering any content on the website.  The impact of cloud computing to the World Wide Web is enormous, and this article will explain the reasons why it has made such a big impact on the industry.

First of all, when it comes to payment, this type of service is not only cheap but also flexible. Why flexible? The simple reason is that cloud computing charges the client only for the resources they use, and they would not charge simply on availability of service alone, but only if that service is made use of. For example, a client would only pay for the managing administrator if they seek that person's help. They would not be forced to use all of the services of cloud computing; instead the company would have the freedom to select the services it needs and will use, because not all the services are needed by all companies. For example, only a company with a lot of customers would need a large number of data centers.

Lastly, cloud computing does not force the client to commit to a contract that lasts forever. Instead they offer a contract which can be terminated at any time the client wants, and means that that client has the assurance that the company’s investment in their website would have only a minimal loss when and if the company goes bankrupt. This then eases the burden of the owner company which would not need to pay any residual amount, but can freely terminate the contract, on the grounds that they would not be able to use that service.

In conclusion, cloud computing is a very useful way to do business on the internet, without worrying too much about cost or even losses that you might incur on your way to internet success.

Companies and even individuals seeking this type of service are advised to thoroughly check the accreditation and even the history of an internet hosting company before making use of its services. Understanding what cloud computing really is, through reading articles such as this one, would help you to find legitimate companies that really provide quality services. For more information about cloud desktop, you can visit https://www.serverspace.co.uk.


Cloud Hosting Explained

Sunday 24 February 2013

An Inside Guide To Choosing The Best Business Hosting

Starting your own online business is not an easy task. A lot of research must go into producing the perfect website that will be able to bring you a steady income. This is not a job that should be rushed, because a mistake made at the very beginning of the process is hard to fix later on. Aside from planning out your business and putting all of your ideas in the right place, you will also need an excellent web host to help create your website.

There are plenty of options for you out there, and it will take a little time to go through all of them and pick the best one, but when it comes to business web hosting, the more time you spend on researching the area, the better.

Make sure that you first take into account the amount of space that your website will need. This is one of the first things that distinguish one hosting package from another. If you are planning on using music files, videos, or a lot of flash animation on your website, then you will certainly need more space than someone who will only be writing articles on it with just a few pictures. Space is of the utmost importance, because once you run out of it, your website will automatically become offline.

Bandwidth is also part of this space. However, you should make sure that you read the Terms and Conditions in detail before you settle on being certain that you know how much bandwidth you have. Bandwidth is usually advertised as being unlimited, but is almost never the case, as there is always a limit to how much bandwidth you can use at any point. So make sure that you are very familiar with this information.

Business web hosting from www.serverspace.co.uk or others are much more detailed and very well planned out than any other hosting option. Businesses do bring the most profit for hosting companies after all, so it is in their best interest that they attract as many business websites as possible. You don’t have to start out with the highest hosting package of course, but it is still important that you are starting out with a business one. If you choose any other hosting package, like the ones that are more suited for blog owners than business websites, it will be a bit of a hassle to move to a different hosting server once you need more space and bandwidth.

The smallest packages are usually around 10GB for file space, a Dedicated IP, and about 100GB of bandwidth. This is more than enough to start a business. It usually takes anything from six months to an entire year before such websites need to move to bigger packages due to higher traffic income. There are also cases where websites become extremely popular almost overnight. However, this is a very rare occurrence, and usually only happens with websites whose products are already very popular, so they don’t need any more promotions to attract visitors.


Finally, make sure that the customer service is up to par. It is very important that you can reach your host 24/7, both through email and through phone contacts. Websites do not have working hours, they need to be online all the time, and so if there is ever anything that goes wrong, it needs to be sorted out as soon as possible. Make sure that the customer service department is also very quick to reply and give you some more advice should you need it. After all, starting up your own online business is not something that you will be doing every day.

Wednesday 20 February 2013

Advantages and Disadvantages of Colocation Hosting

Colocation hosting has become an excellent way for website owners to store their precious files without having to worry about their safety or maintenance. It is one of the most effective ways to run an IT based business, and it has many additional features as well as the owner’s complete control over which files are needed and which ones are not. However, even though collocation servers have a great number of advantages, they also have some disadvantages that future users should become familiar with before making their final decision to sign up for collocation hosting.


One of the biggest advantages of this type of hosting is the very stable and largely available bandwidth. With collocation servers, there is no need to worry whether or not you have exceeded your bandwidth limit. The reason being is because you only pay for the amount of bandwidth that your website is using. So as the number of visitors increases, so does your bandwidth bill, but it will also decrease once the traffic becomes less hectic.

The collocation centres where all the files are kept are under constant security measure that are very strict and prevent almost everyone from entering, unless they are an official. Aside from physical security, these centres also have power generators in case of any unwanted and sudden loss of electricity. This means that regardless of where you are, or what the weather decides to be like, your website will continue to run full power, and none of your visitors will even begin to notice that anything has gone wrong.

You own everything related to your server and website, because you have physically brought your own IT machine and allowed it to be installed on the collocation server. You can do anything you want with your files and software as well as update them whenever you want. This is not possible with traditional web hosts because their users need to wait for upgrades and new addons, which often takes a lot of time.

Collocation centres will also do all the file management for you if you wish them to do so. It often costs a bit more money for this privilege, but it is a great time saver in the long run, and is especially a good option if you are not even sure what sort of maintenance your files will need in the future. Although you are welcome to do everything on your own, it is also the responsibility of your collocation hosting company to make the process as easy as possible for you.

There are also disadvantages to this type of hosting. Namely, finding a collocation centre near you is not an easy thing to do. They are very big structures and require a lot of space as well as a full number of very experienced IT professionals to run the entire process. These centres are not something that can be created easily, which is why they are usually only found in big cities where the likelihood of people needing collocation services is the highest possible.

Despite all of its benefits, collocation hosting is more expensive than other web hosting options. This is because it requires a lot more security as well as a greater number of staff members. Reaching your equipment also requires you to travel to the collocation centre personally. This may not be a big deal if the centre is near you, but it can be quite time confusing for those that live far away. If the benefits of colocation are exactly what you're after however a good company to start off with is ServerSpace as they are fully equipped for businesses large and small.

Another disadvantage is that your monthly bills will change depending on how much space and bandwidth you need to keep your servers and websites active. This requires you to have a bank account that will always be full with enough money to pay for all of these expenses.

Thursday 26 July 2012

Why A Dedicated Server May Be The Right Choice For You

CERN Server
When it comes to building websites lots of people make the mistake of buying a hosting plan which offers more than they need initially. Often people will rush into buying a dedicated server when what they should have done is buy shared hosting. The reason being that it costs a fraction of the money to get started and although you’re sharing the server with many other people this isn't a problem because you'll have very little traffic to start with.

On the other hand there are those that build and build their website up to having hundreds of pages indexed by the search engines with an ever-growing amount of traffic hitting the site. However, they failed to take action in upgrading their hosting plan. This is a big mistake because as you grow your website you need to know that the hosting provider isn’t going to shut you down because you're driving too much traffic to it. They tend to do this to safeguard all the other account holders on the same server as a large amount of traffic can be a big drain on the server’s resources.

You also have to think about your own visitors experience as well because on a shared hosting plan your page load speeds can be quite slow. This puts visitors off when they are forced to wait for the pages to change within the site. Google also takes a dim view of slow loading sites as well because this all counts towards the visitor having a bad experience which is something the search engines are trying to avoid.

So let's say that you have a site which is growing and getting a lot of traffic, the next the step up is to buy yourself a better hosting plan and dedicated servers are certainly a great way to go because a dedicated server means just that, dedicated to you only. This means that you can drive a lot more traffic to your website without the worry of your hosting provider taking any action.

If you live in the UK and are looking for a new hosting provider just look up ServerSpace and others as server hosting UK and you'll find a bunch of hosting plans to choose from. Seeing as you spend so much time and money putting your website together it’s definitely worth finding a decent hosting provider in which to host your website. Make sure you check out some reviews on popular forums as this can often be a good guide to finding an excellent hosting provider. Just watch out for fake review sites because there are a lot about.


Dedicated Server - How to choose one?

With any hosting plan all you are effectively doing is renting a server either partly or fully from the hosting service provider and having it managed. You could go for an unmanaged server as hosting providers do offer this at a cheaper rate but I wouldn't recommend it because it's a complex piece of kit and too difficult to manage for anyone that isn't skilled in this area. Besides, running and maintaining a website is a full-time job in itself without having to have to deal with all the technical complexities of maintaining the server as well.

Apart from the obvious advantages of increased bandwidth if you have a dedicated server plan you also have the option of adding various software applications which can be very beneficial to those that want to store applications online. There just isn’t an option to do this with a shared hosting account.

Another negative point worth mentioning with shared hosting is that you could be putting your website at risk in regards to the trust factor when other account holders set up websites deemed to be bad sites. This can ultimately lead the ip block being seen as a bad neighborhood by the search engines and if your website is on there you can get tarred with the same brush.

In terms of cost dedicated servers aren't cheap but there are also various dedicated server plans which can be catered to your needs so you can have as much or as little bandwidth and space as you want. To can essentially build your own dedicated server to whatever specs you like.

When you buy a dedicated server hosting plan you’re usually given the option of whether you want to have a plesk or cpanel operating system. Plesk is the Microsoft equivalent whereas cpanel is an open source Linux-based operating system. Many hosting providers prefer to offer cpanel because it is very customizable and offers a lot of functionality in which many other applications can be used very easily.

If you're a programmer and use Microsoft's languages such as SQL and Perl then you will need to use a plesk operating system but cpanel has its own equivalents.

In regards to security a dedicated server is usually very secure because only you have access to it so this reduces the chance of malicious software being added. There are also further options available for providing a much more secure firewall which cuts down security risks further.


E-commerce Security - Dedicated hosting

If you want to store sensitive data on your hosting account you can only really rely on a dedicated server for this because of the limited access. With shared hosting there is a risk that this data could leak if any one of the thousands of accounts were hacked. So in terms of security dedicated hosting plans are much better all round.

Opting for a Raid 1 hard drive set up also increases the security as two hard drives are used but one is the primary drive while the second backs up the data from the first. This way you always have a copy of your website and data in case anything should go wrong. Using the Raid 2 option you still have two hard drives but one is only used once the other is full. Which type you choose is entirely up to you but is another key element why dedicated servers are so good.

Downtimes are usually very small with dedicated servers as well due to the fact that there is only one account holder and so the server is less likely to break down.

So these points are the main reasons why website owners opt for dedicated servers but as I said before, you should always scale your hosting plan and start off small in the beginning. There is no point in wasting money on services you don’t need.

If you have any doubts or need more information always contact hosting support to get all your questions answered before buying your next hosting plan.

Thursday 5 July 2012

Factors to Consider When Choosing Colocation Data Centres

Professional Server hosting
Savvy business owners have come to appreciate the benefits that colocation has to offer in terms of implementing cost-cutting measures without sacrificing access to a solid and stable IT infrastructure and network. But before subscribing to colocation services related to a companies, you must be aware that like everything in life, service providers can be rated as poor, mediocre, or excellent, based in the following key factors that must be taken into consideration in the selection process. One way to view this is to think as your company’s data centre as an integral component of your business’s productivity mechanism. You wouldn’t want to house it in just any run-of-the-mill data centre without taking a closer look at the place.

Service Uptime Guarantees. This is a no-brainer. Because your physical IT division is crucial to your business’s continued success, any interruption in server uptime, and consequently online services, can have a significant impact on day-to-day productivity. Fortunately, reputable colocation service providers offer subscribers 100% server uptime guarantees that is solidly backed by the professionally maintained hardware and reliable network of multiple ISPs and WAN connections under the trained eyes of their expert IT teams.

Uninterrupted Power Supply. Any self-respecting colocation service provider will have made allowances for the inevitable instances of power outages as a result of both scheduled power interruptions for the maintenance of the facilities of electricity providers as well as the unforeseen problems that may occur any time on any day. Thus, you should ask your prospective providers about how they can assure you of an uninterrupted power supply to your valuable data centre. Ideally, these commercial data centres will have several excellent quality generators in place.

Data centre Security. The best colocation service providers understand how important it is to keep both your system and hardware secure. Since they are fundamentally geared towards securing the data centres of multiple companies at once, the cost of implementing these security measures will have been distributed across their subscribers and therefore reduced significantly. In other words, expensive applications used to protect your data centre’s system will in effect become more affordable since it is used to safeguard several systems simultaneously at a single location. In addition, the expense associated with the requisite surveillance equipment and personnel necessary for your data centre’s physical security is also downsized since this is provided for several clients as well.

Measures against Natural Disasters. Since this is one aspect wherein colocation service providers consistently outperform in-house data centres, you have to make sure that these measures are being employed effectively and consistently. Expertly-managed retail information centers must therefore have had the foresight to choose a site with exceptional structural integrity while implementing only the very best safety measures such as an advanced fire alarm and suppression system, a management team that is fully trained and capable of responding efficiently to the advent of natural disasters in order to circumvent or minimize damage to your data centre, even going as far as coordinating with the community for additional damage-control support.

Server Colocation Services

Green Management Policies. One of the reasons that make colocations such an attractive prospect is because of the costs saved with regards to keeping your server and network equipment cooled to the ideal temperature to optimize efficiency and promote device longevity. Cooling equipment can be quite expensive, proportionately more so the smaller your physical IT division because it’s not just a matter of installing a few air conditioners and enhancing ventilation in the data centre room. This issue is compounded by the fact that the more powerful, and therefore desirable, servers generate even more heat than their predecessors. Savvy colocation service providers should not only make use of the best and most precise of cooling equipment but should be smart enough to design their use around a physical structural layout that maximizes temperature regulation efficiency (more information to go ServerSpace.co.uk).

Reliable and qualified support team. Of course, even the best of colocation policies, equipment and facilities will be wasted without the presence of an excellent onsite management team that provides steady, responsive and expert IT support. When selecting a collocation service provider, ask about staff qualifications and availability, as well as policies governing technical support services. Teams with a consistently exceptional level of knowledge and proficiency should always be available 24/7 to deal with the myriad of server and network problems that will eventually crop up effectively. One way to ensure that you will be served by qualified personnel is to ask if they are SAS 70 certified. These certifications are objectively awarded to companies that have been expertly evaluated by third parties as having consistently adhered to extraordinary standards with regards to staffing with teams that have demonstrated reliability and faultless qualifications.

More and more companies are turning to colocation services to house their IT divisions because it is associated with support system characterized by unparalleled expertise and competence and top of the line equipment and safeguarding measures, all for a very reasonable price. With the right colocation service provider, your business will be running more efficiently than ever.

Thursday 28 June 2012

What is JSP All About?

JAVA Server Pages
There are several similarities between microsoft ASP and JSP server hosting which the latter is run using Java. JSP stands for Java Server Pages while microsoft's ASP equivelant stands for Active Server Pages and the whole premise of JSP hosting is to manage Java Server Pages. Now although ASP and JSP are very similar, the small differences lie in the hosting side of the equation.

Just like php, JSP is a server based language which is used to create dynamic web pages that are also interactive. It places tag type codes into the html and xml and has the ability to theoretically work across all platforms and achieve the same results. This means that no matter what platform you use you should get the visual outcome. As long as you use a server hosting company such as severspace.co.uk or similar others that provides Java support for your website you have the freedom to use JSP on any website you wish.

Dynamic web pages are commonly used to build ecommerce sites where databases are used so visitors can search for several different products from the database. Ordinarily web designers would have to build both dynamic and static pages together within one CGI program for the website to function properly but with the use of JSP this is no longer the case. With this new found freedom both the static and dynamic pages can be created separately and then brought together to work seamlessly.

The best way to master JSP is to learn Java first as you will be placing Java code within the JSP file by way of using simple tags. Not only that, you will need to understand the algorithmic basics, html and css. Once you have a good understanding you can then pick up JSP fairly quickly by learning the basic codes to work on a Java server hosting interface.

Using JSP servlets is quite a popular choice for website builders to use and many web design north London companies use it as it's the perfect choice when you have a team of skilled workers. The ease of use and flexibility when building static and dynamic pages makes it a real win win for all concerned.


JSP (Java Server pages) - Reviews

If you're planning on getting shared hosting, dedicated servers or even vps (virtual private servers) anytime soon and wish to use JSP make sure that the hosting you pick has JSP runtime modules support which will allow you to run any number of scripts.

To give you an understanding of JSP there are four main tyoes of tags which are commonly used and are named directives, declarations, scriplets and expressions.

The directives tag is used the information of the JSP page as well as import packages. Declarations define the actual functions to be used where as scriplets are used to input the java code. The first three tags just mentioned deal with importing and inputing data where as expressions are used to export the data onto the web pages.

You also have JSP actions which are placed in JSP pages and it enables the web designer to use a lot of the functionality which is built into the container framework.

There are many books and tutorials online which will teach you how to use JSP properly but as I said it helps enormously if you already have a good understanding of the other coding languages you will be using. All the good books and information sites will teach you how to write JSP so you can create simple and more complex dynamic pages. You'll learn how to retrieve data and read the requested information. You'll also learn how to properly access the database from JSP, insert and update data using javascript, use JSP cookies and understand how to work with JSP sessions.

Learning JSP is just like learning any other type of language. Once you have a good understanding of the core principles everything else falls into place. If you want to get straight into it now you can find some free books to download here. Also check out Youtube as you'll find a wide variety of videos to watch and learn.

Wednesday 8 February 2012

When Getting Server Hosting Should I Choose Managed Or Unmanaged?

For those of you who are tech savvy when it comes to using servers you might be tempted to go for an unmanaged hosting account which can give you full control of what is effectively your own server. With full administrative access you can do exactly what you want without restrictions but any and all technical issues have to be handled by yourself, hence the term unmanaged. 

The only exception to this is if the actual hardware at the server hosting company breaks down or is cutting out in some way. The issue would then lie with the server hosting company like ServerSpace are available to use technical engineers to fix the problem.

Unless you have the knowledge to be able to handle the an unmanaged server I would highly recommend you steer clear of them and just opt for a fully managed server hosting account instead. For those that lack the knowledge but have the funds, there is the option of hiring someone full-time to managed the server for you. Some of you may be asking why bother going to all that expense and the simple answer is versatility. 

With an unmanaged server you have the ability to install any software you wish so you can choose any user interface you want and tailor your server to fit needs of your business exactly by customizing it how you want. A lot of the bigger businesses do this because they need this kind of flexibility. So a fully managed server hosting account limits you to using what they have already pre-installed for you. You may be thinking that unmanaged is the way to go then but the real truth is that a fully managed server hosting account offers more than enough options and functionality for 99% of the people running websites on-line. 

Quite a number of companies choose the unmanaged hosting option not only because of the versitility it gives them but also for privacy which is tied in with security. Having your own server or set of servers run by your own in house administration team makes sure that anything the company is working does not go through third party support such as it would if the servers were managed by the server hosting company. The company could be working on the next technological breakthrough worth millions of dollars if success is achieved, so the last thing they want is to have any information leaked.

There may be times where you need to increase the size of the hard drive due to using up most of the space already available and with an unmanaged server this is easily achieved. In fact there are quite a number of companies who specialize in offering both hardware and software applications just for unmanaged servers.

Again though, don't be fooled into thinking this is a cheap option because it isn't by any stretch of the imagination. Apart from the overal cost of hiring technical administrators there's also the added expense of ongoing updates of software and upgrades of hardware to take into consideration.

If you still on the fence with this one I would suggest you speak with live support at any one of the major hosting companies and see what they have to say. Be warned though that some companies prohibit their employees from offering advice on certain matters but if you approach it in the way that you are planning on buying a server hosting package they should have no problem helping you out.

If you're stuck wondering which hosting provider is best you won't go far wrong with Hostgator as they offer excellent support and unlimited packages on just about everything. Just click the banner below to get your first month for only 1 cent or you can use the coupon code 25DISCOUNTDROP which will give you a 25% discount on all hosting plans across the board.