Web Hosting Box

Security is perhaps one of the most important aspects of a web hosting plan, especially for webmasters that conduct a significant volume of e-commerce on a daily basis. A single security lapse could lead to widespread data loss, site downtime, slow loading pages, and a reduction in daily traffic levels. However, one security issue that is often overlooked and underestimated is spam, which is defined as any excessive and/or forceful communication with or use of a Web server or online system. Although web hosting providers offer integrated modules that are specifically designed to help webmasters maximize spam prevention, there are certain measures that website owners can take to completely eliminate site spam.

Why Should Spam Be Prevented?

Spam is a threat not only to the security but also to the productivity of every online business. Most websites become successful because of their continually updated content, which is of a high quality that visitors gain interest in. However, if your site becomes heavily populated with unmoderated spam comments and low-quality content, it is possible to experience a significant reduction in daily traffic levels and search engine rankings. In fact, it is even possible to be completely de-indexed from some search engines because of a large volume of spam on your site. Spam can also be seen in the form of automated e-mails that are submitted through contact forms on your website. E-mail spam can cause webmasters to waste a lot of time in cleaning up their inbox, reducing productivity and ultimately lowering the value and responsiveness of their customer service.

What Is a Captcha Script?

A captcha script is basically a script that is installed on your website which displays a unique image containing a random combination of characters (including letters, numbers, and sometimes symbols), which visitors must input into a form box to verify that they are not automated robots. Since captcha scripts actually create unique images spontaneously, bots are not able to read or decode them as they would be able to do with regular text. As computer programs are not able to actually view and interpret images, it is extremely unlikely that a bot will be created in the future that can decipher captcha images. Thus, captcha scripts are an effective long-term way to prevent automated spam and ensure that all of your site commenters and anyone sending you an e-mail is actually a human being.

How to Use Captcha Scripts

To use a captcha script you simply need to paste the code snippet into the coding of any form or input field. This will cause the script to randomly generate a captcha image any time the form is loaded on a webpage, making it so no information can be successfully entered into the form without the visitor first solving the associated captcha. Captcha codes can be generated in various programming languages, including PHP, ASP, and NET, making it a flexible and highly compatible spam prevention tool that can be utilized on any web site.

There are many articles and guides online they claim to teach you how to change web hosting providers without experiencing site downtime. However, many of these guides do not provide a clear outline of the steps involved in changing web hosts. The following is a step-by-step guide for changing web hosts, while minimizing site downtime, preventing data loss, and finding the best quality service for your money.

Find a Suitable Web Host

The first step in changing web hosting providers is finding a hosting company that offers a selection of services that can accommodate your needs and requirements as a webmaster. It is especially important to review the terms and conditions governing the hosting plan in relation to transferring domain names from one web host to another, as some hosts charge domain transferring fees. If you are unhappy with your current web host for a particular reason, it is best to inquire with any prospective host to avoid similar problems in the future.

Create Backups

After narrowing your list of prospective web hosts, you’ll need to gain a thorough understanding of the hosting transfer process. During the hosting transfer, the data from one web server is transferred to another, thereby causing the websites to be hosted on the new hosting provider’s servers. However, it is possible for data loss to occur during the transfer process if server backups are not created beforehand. Fortunately, within the control panel of your web hosting account you should be able to complete server backups on a scheduled basis, which can quickly and easily be restored within the control panel of your new hosting account.

Transferring Server Data

After you’ve found a suitable web host and created backups of your websites, there are two ways to transfer the server data to your new hosting account – you can utilize FTP (file transfer protocol) client’s to securely transfer the files from one server to another directly, or you can restore the server backup file that you exported from your previous hosting plan. Both methods are equally effective and ultimately accomplish the same goal, however the FTP method may need to be used if the backup module of the control panel offered within the new hosting account is not compatible with your created backup.

Adjusting Domain Registrar Account Settings

After you’ve restored or transferred the data to your new web server, the final step is to adjust the domain settings for each of your websites within the registrar account. To do this you’ll simply need to point the domains to the DNS (domain name system) servers of your new hosting provider, which will be given to you within the control panel of your new hosting plan when you attempt to associate a domain with the account. If your new hosting account includes two IP addresses and allows you to install DNS software on the server root, you may even be able to create your own custom name servers to be used for your websites.

The cloud hosting environment has revolutionized the industry by providing an incredible hosting solution that is powered by a network of servers, rather than being limited by the restrictions of a single web server. When a command is issued to a web server within the cloud hosting environment, the system finds the most capable server on the network and directs traffic to it to maximize bandwidth and disk space optimization. By ensuring that traffic is always sent to the most capable web server on the network, it is possible to minimize site downtime, slow page loading times, and the majority of hosting problems associated with cheaper web hosting plans. The following information discusses a new type of cloud hosting that is revolutionizing the online business world – enterprise cloud hosting.

What Makes Enterprise Cloud Hosting Different?

Conventional cloud hosting plans usually utilize a plethora of VPS (virtual private servers) that evenly distribute traffic within an infinitely expandable server network. However, with enterprise cloud hosting, instead of utilizing VPS servers within the network, all of the servers are dedicated servers, which are significantly more powerful. Each dedicated server is capable of handling dozens or even thousands of websites by itself, hence the reason why dedicated hosting is an enterprise-level solution that is often utilized by large corporations and online entrepreneurs. An enterprise cloud hosting plan gives you unlimited access to an entire network of dedicated servers that your websites can utilize at any time. Thus, enterprise cloud hosting provides the same versatility as conventional cloud hosting, yet with the additional power of dedicated servers.

The Unique Billing Structure of Enterprise Cloud Hosting

Fortunately, in order to gain access to such a network of dedicated servers business owners do not have to pay an exuberant amount each month. In fact, the enterprise cloud hosting environment is unique because you only pay for the server resources that you utilize on a monthly basis. Enterprise cloud hosting providers use proprietary applications to monitor the use of server resources by each web hosting client. At the end of the month, the total amount due is calculated based on a set rate that is charged for each type of server resource. For example, the hosting company may charge a specific amount for every gigabyte of bandwidth that was used during the month. This means that you’ll never have to worry about paying for too many server resources, or having inadequate server resources to make sure your websites are functioning optimally.

The Infinite Expansion of Enterprise Cloud Hosting

The majority of web hosting providers either own or have access to state-of-the-art data centers that hold hundreds of web servers simultaneously. With a cloud hosting plan, you have the ability to utilize all of these web servers at any given time, so your websites should never experience downtime and your visitors should never encounter slow loading pages. With an enterprise cloud hosting plan you never have to upgrade to another level of hosting, as this will happen automatically as your traffic levels and disk space needs increase. In essence, you’ll have access to all the hosting your online business will ever need, without ever paying more than you need to.

Choosing the right hosting plan is difficult enough when you don’t have to factor in an endless sea of choices and the possibility of receiving terrible service from the hosting provider you choose. Unfortunately, shady business is all too common in the web hosting industry, so it is therefore important to make sure you choose the right company from the beginning. Even so, it is not uncommon for someone to be stuck with a hosting plan that they despise, being afflicted with site downtime and poor performance.

Most people would like to believe that the unreliable service will end soon, and that they’ll be able to enjoy a web hosting plan that will meet all of their requirements. Nonetheless, if you’re having a bad experience with your hosting provider it may be time to make a change, and/or request a refund. The following information details when it is best to switch hosting providers.

Persistent Downtime

Persistent site downtime is absolutely unacceptable in the hosting industry, especially if you currently own an online business that depends on the reliability of your hosting provider. If your hosting provider offers an uptime guarantee, and most do today, be sure to take them up on this guarantee, and at the very least ask for a discount on your current bill because of the inconvenience. If the company refuses to provide some sort of compensation for the persistent downtime then it is time to find a new hosting provider. Any down time that lasts longer than a few hours should warrant a web hosting provider change as well.

Bad Customer Service

If you’ve been on the phone with customer service several times, only to be treated poorly each time, then it may be time to consider a new hosting provider. Good customer service is an integral aspect of every good web hosting provider, and many times being a webmaster requires immediate assistance from trained professionals, not half an hour delays and unfriendly people that do not know what they’re talking about. If you’ve had problems with your hosting provider’s customer support, you may need to start thinking about different options, before you encounter a serious issue that needs immediate support. Customer service should be friendly, fast and knowledgeable about every aspect of web hosting.

Unfair Terms and Fees

If you’ve been noticing unusually high, unfair or unexpected fees on your monthly bills, you may want to contact the hosting provider to let them know how you feel. If you’re told there is nothing they can do, or if you continue to receive inflated bills each month, it may be in the best interest of your online business to cancel your hosting plan with the current provider. Likewise, you should examine the terms and conditions of any hosting plan before you make the decision to purchase the plan, especially if you’re required to pay a year in advance, as is the case with many shared hosting plans, which are often unreliable.

Colocation facilities are buildings that house the networking equipment of a business that can choose to have the facility manage the servers or they can monitor it themselves. Unfortunately if the facilities are inadequate, the result is damaged equipment and downtime which leads to lost business. The best features of a colocation facility are redundancy and capacity.

An Overview of Redundancy

Redundancy is the ability of a system to distribute the load from a failed system across the remaining pieces of equipment without any performance issues or overload. One major issue with colocation facilities is there is no industry standard, regulations or rankings. As a result, it is often difficult to detect the quality of the redundancy systems.

Redundancy Calculation

Redundancy can be calculated with the formula n+1 which indicates that a system is meeting its optimal capacity plus one unit. For instance, if two UPSs are in the overall power system, each should be running at 50 percent to balance the load. If one fails, the other system can maintain the load. If there are three UPSs then each manages 33 percent of the load and if one fails, they each handle half of the third.

In an ideal situation at a colocation facility, systems will be paralyzing redundant with many units running at the n+1 setting with each unit being able to manage the remaining load if all other systems fail.

Powering Redundant Servers

The most important aspect of redundant servers is power. Without it, the equipment will not work thus creating downtime. Power outages can stop the cooling systems (potentially resulting in equipment damage), fire suppressant systems and Internet connections which can be disastrous for the customer.

How to Maintain Redundancy

To maintain redundancy at the server level it is important to keep the colocation facility powered with generators in case of an outage, ensure the generators can handle a large power load and inspect circuit breakers and switches regularly. Switches tend to be the most common point of failure.

The basic premise is that colocation facilities should have backups of everything; backup and redundant servers, backup generators, backup of the backup generators, backup cooling and backup Internet connections. Although it may seem excessive, the clients that rely on these facilities to operate their business expect the best and close to 100 percent uptime. Maintain redundancy at a colocation facility takes a great deal of work to be secure.