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Each time we access the internet, we see them. Anytime we want to be directed to a specific website, we use them. We never stop to think what exactly a URL is and consists of or why we use this naming convention to access different points on the internet.

This article is going to define a URL, breakdown an example into easy to understand parts and describe the naming convention for each segment of a URL. Those looking to become involved in some type of internet business, web design, or programming should be familiar with this information. For those that are not familiar; here’s a crash course.

A uniform resource locator or URL specifies where a resource is available on the web and how to retrieve it. By typing in a specific series of letters and numbers in the address bar of a browser, you immediately go to a website (address in a virtual world) to obtain information.

Every URL has the same naming convention:

• The protocol
• A colon
• A hostname or IP address
• A port number
• The path to be accessed
• An optional anchor (for HTML) or query string (for CGI)

The protocol indicates the namespace or purpose in addition to the syntax of the remaining part of the URL. For instance, http://example.com. The hostname or IP address specifies the destination location for the URL. For example, google.com is the domain name and 72.14.207.99 is the IP address. It’s easier to remember the domain name as opposed to the IP address.

The port number is optional and if omitted, default port of 80 is used. By stating a specific port, it tells the browser to connect to a certain port on that server. The path to be accessed is used to find the specific resource requested. Since this aspect is case sensitive, if entered in uppercase letters, an HTTP 404 error will occur.

Finally, the anchor for an HTML website refers to a location on the actual web page. On the other hand, the query string used to for CGI websites holds data that is to be passed along to specific web applications like CGI programs. Query strings are generally separated by ampersands while names and values are separated by an equal sign.

Knowing the syntax of a URL is beneficial when working in the internet world. Each segment of a URL has a specific purpose that points to a location where information can be retrieved or specific applications can be accessed.

Running just one online business can be a hassle, as there are many administrative tasks that need to be dealt with on a daily basis. When you try to add several more businesses on top of that, things can become disorganized quickly and it is easy to get disheartened when things do not go your way in the beginning. Nonetheless, it would be foolish not to expand your business by diversifying your revenue streams with multiple websites. Therefore it is almost imperative to host multiple eCommerce domains if you are trying to steadily progress in the world of online business.

One Business vs Multiple Businesses

Of course, you could concentrate on building one business only, but just imagine how many opportunities you are letting go by taking this approach! Focusing on one business endeavor will never be as profitable as focusing on two, or three, and in the online business world, having a business means having a website for that business. While it is most definitely the the preferable course of action, hosting multiple eCommerce websites is not always an easy task, and there some things you’ll need to know to minimize the difficulties you’ll encounter.

Choosing a Hosting Plan

Perhaps the most important aspect of building and managing a website would be your hosting account. Your hosting account is what will show your site to the world, and it is also what lets you control every aspect of your site through an administrative interface in your control panel. Since your hosting account will come preloaded with many of the tools that will let you manage your site, you’ll need to know what these tools are, and you’ll need to know how to pick the best ones. One of the most important tools you’ll be using is the control panel, so make sure you choose an eCommerce hosting plan that includes a simple control panel like cPanel.

SSL Certificates

Another extremely important aspect of running several online websites, is the SSL certificate. SSL(Secure Socket Layer) protocol is a secure data transfer protocol that is used to ensure the confidentiality of data sent from one computer to another. The SSL certificate is posted on your site to let your customers know that their financial data is safe when shopping with you. Without this certificate you will lose the trust of many potential customers, as many of them will elsewhere thinking your site is not secure. If you’re going to have many eCommerce sites, often defined as more than ten, then you may want to consider purchasing a wild card SSL certificate which can be used on all of your websites.

Multiple Hosting Accounts

Keeping your site’s performance optimal is also very important, as many people will not shop on a site that has pages that are slow to load. This means you’ll need adequate server resources for each of your sites. Don’t be fooled by the hosting plans that claim to offer unlimited disk space and bandwidth, as this is often not the case. It may be wise to have multiple hosting accounts (one for each website), since you may be using plenty of server resources for each site.

SANServe managed hosting is a different type of hosting. It’s an alternative to dedicated server hosting or tape backup systems. This type of storage system is best utilized by firms running critical applications that must have 100% uptime and need fast recovery in the event of data corruption or any other type of disaster.

SANServe maintains state of the art storage networks called IP SAN’s. Small and medium information technology businesses expressed the need for this type of reliability and performance so SANServe came to their rescue.

SANServe has many useful functions that are appealing to all types of organizations, especially those in the information technology and banking industries. These attributes include:

• Very economical choice
• Data storage at any time
• Non-disruptive data recovery
• Accessing data more quickly
• Ability to handle company growth

One of the most important aspects of SANServe is that it’s an economical choice within the managed hosting industry. Tape backups and dedicated servers can become extremely costly. SANServe offers top of the line managed hosting for an affordable price.

Another feature is the ability to store data at any given moment. SANServe technology can create unique moments for specific data storage and backup from every hour to every twelve hours to every day. Any time is available to its customers.

An additional feature is the non-disruptive data recovery process. SANServe technology allows the client to identify the exact moment prior to data corruption to restore the data. Also, SANServe equipment accesses stored data quickly and efficiently to save the client time.

Finally, SANServe has the equipment and staffing abilities to handle company growth. As businesses expand, so do their needs. Consequently additional storage space, bandwidth and labor become increasingly important factors. Luckily SANServe can solve this with their top of the line server equipment and highly qualified employees.

SANServe has many beneficial features that allow it to be competitive in a highly aggressive industry. The most appealing factor to customers is the economical aspect of their services. Additionally, the constant backups and storage, quick and efficient data recovery and access of data and the scalability of the equipment make SANServe a key managed server challenger.

As SANServe continues to deliver top not service with state of the art technology, it could become a household name. Managed server hosting must offer many features that make the client feel as if their data is completely safe from hackers, data corruption and other disasters. SANServe reassures this concern.

As your site grows, your hardware might need to as well.  In fact, with any sizable growth, upgrading the hardware that is dishing out content to your users is inevitable.  Over the next few weeks we’ll be looking at some general strategy in upgrading hardware so you get the best bang for your buck.  After all, not in your interest or our interest to waste time, money, and resources on upgrades that don’t make sense.  If this is your first Linux Dedicated Server, you might want to check out last week’s post about renting your first dedicated server.

Choosing the Processor

You have four basic options for your processor. Our entry level Celeron, the Xeon 3220, the Xeon 5220, and the Dual Xeon 5520.

Celeron D 325 -  The Celeron is a server with a heartbeat – it’s an entry level system designed more around meeting the definition of “dedicated server” at the lowest price possible than performance.  And it’s great at doing that!  It’s a great system for a basic site that needs the power of a dedicated server, but the budget of a hobby.

Single Xeon 3220 – Is an entry level quad core processor made by Intel.  It’s has more than 8 times the computing power of the Celeron D 325.  The nice thing is that it can take you leagues above an entry level server like the Celeron D 325 without the price of a 5520.  The downside, however, is that next time you need to upgrade, you’ll be migrating to another server again (see below).

Single Xeon 5520 – This server is built using one of the best processors available today.  It’s significantly more powerful than the single Xeon 3220, but the best part (and don’t underestimate how awesome this is!) when you need to upgrade, you don’t need a new server.  We’ll just pop in a second processor and suddenly you have a dual Xeon machine.

Dual Xeon 5520 – As you may have guessed, the dual Xeon 5520 is about twice as powerful as the single Xeon 5520.  In fact, it’s the same hardware, just an extra processor.

Once you find that the Dual Xeon 5520 isn’t powerful enough, it’s time to contact our sales department about upgrading to custom hardware or to a web server cluster.  We’re making custom solutions every day, so we’re well versed in scaling your operation as large as you need us to!

SSH hosting (secure shell hosting) is a method of communicating with a computer that’s at a remote location. Basically, it’s a secure way for a home computer to communicate with a server in a different locality.

This type of hosting is especially important to programmers and others that may work from home. Secure shell hosting allows them to access confidential information through the network. Those in technical professions can actually make changes to equipment from the confines of their home.

For the average hosting consumer, it’s important to utilize secure shell hosting for the security this technology offers. In order to make an informed decision on SSH hosting providers, it’s important to know what features are essential.

The following features are vital to selecting the right hosting provider: access to a remote console, port forwarding,  file transfer utilities, SSH2 hosting, exec request.

Access to a remote console is basically a window that opens on the user’s screen giving them a secure link to a remote server. This allows the user to virtually execute programs as if they were actually logged in directly. This is exceedingly helpful for completing tasks from a different location.

Port forwarding is another feature to search for in an SSH hosting provider. This technology secures exposed TCP/IP connections that are created by third party applications. These applications leave connections prone to network attacks which can result in serious downtime.

An additional SSH hosting feature to be cognizant of are file transfer utilities. These are command line utilities that secure file transfers by utilizing SFTP. This is a standard remote file transfer protocol that communicates between SSH and regular servers. For consumers looking for an SSH hosting company this technology is absolutely necessary.

SSH2 hosting is the new and improved version of SSH hosting. It covers all potential security risks, even those that are extremely unlikely. Those hosting companies that do not offer this protocol should not be considered by the consumer for their hosting choice.

Finally, an exec request acts similar to a remote control by executing programs from a remote location. The difference being exec requests send the data without any type of encoding. This feature is mainly useful for automating network options.

Remote consoles, port forwarding, file transfer utilities, SSH2 hosting and exec requests are all necessary features when choosing an SSH hosting provider. It’s always in the best interest of the website to find a good, reliable hosting provider that offers top-notch security features.