Reseller Hosting Vs. Dedicated Servers: How to Choose?

A question that challenges every business owner, some time in life is the prime problem of picking between a reseller hosting account & dedicated server in India.

The various facets that one should check into before diving into the globe of server administration, involves.

- Reliability- of the service & provider.

- Control- over your server.

- Cost- your spending plan & incidentals expenses to taking care of a web server.

- Skills- of your staff & that of support group of solution supplier.

- Technology- network, cpu, software.

- ROI- exactly what returns is your existing investment on servers producing.

Likewise, Time, Services by your supplier, legitimacy, reliance of your organisation on website etc.Based on these very dimensions, you decide whether dedicated servers or reseller hosting?

Why Dedicated servers?

Dedicated server remains in need for people/organizations need control over their server. Individuals who have actually thrived in their company & comprehend the pros & cons underlying web server management, are the one who choose dedicated servers.

When web server administration is not a trouble, you might tailor web server according to your needs, select your very own control panel, software application, systems etc. you reach make it from pointer to toe!Something a reseller hosting cannot offer.

As we claimed, dedicated servers are for people that are developed & do incline the cost. Yes, obviously dedicated servers are inclined in the direction of high expenses. However, your company can make up for the price with top quality services in assistance it uses, so could the end results- freedom of dedicated server helps you to cash on excellent opportunities.

A lot of the times it is much more than shared hosting plans. The expense is even higher because you might need a couple of handful of experts to handle your sever or you need to furnish yourself with skills of server administration. If you fail to do that dedicated server is a poor concept for you & so our recommendations would be to be a thorough preparation & additionally the vendor you select ought to have terrific assistance solutions.

You need to recognize just what function may result in exactly what issue, because the choice to customize dedicated web server inning accordance with your need is in your hand, you might save on your own from a whole lot complication, time & energy. At the end of the rebooting your web server is an advantage at your end, for all the problems vanish in one go!

Why Reseller Hosting?

A fresh start-up must constantly go with reseller hosting. Anybody that do not comprehend server management & intends to save power beyond your web server- Reseller hosting is your answer.

With reseller account you get a group of experts to deal with everything regarding your organized internet site. Reseller hosting is economical, time conserving & best for fresh startups.

You have to be really careful regarding who you select as your service provider, given that on both the solutions whether reseller hosting or dedicated web server, your provider can really jump on your nerve with negative assistance or sales services.

Read More

Cloud Hosting vs. Traditional Hosting

In an era of tight budgets many businesses, from enterprise level to small and medium sized business, are looking for efficient new ways to manage their web hosting needs. The hosting environment is changing, and some are now looking beyond traditional setups, and into the possibilities of cloud hosting.

Traditional Hosting

Traditional hosting comes mainly in two forms, dedicated and shared. With dedicated hosting, a company pays for the complete resources of one or more servers from a service provider. The client has a set amount of dedicated bandwidth, CPU, RAM, and drive space, and the client has full control over the servers resources.

With shared hosting, which is more common among small and medium sized businesses, the client pays for a set amount of space (storage) on a single server, and that server’s resources are shared by a number of other websites. It’s a cost-efficient, low-maintenance way to host a website or application, and the hosting company is responsible for managing, maintaining, and updating the units.

Traditional hosting, especially shared hosting, has its drawbacks though. Because the resources of a single server are shared among a number of different websites, spikes in traffic to those websites can mean decreased performance for your own. Security breaches and other performance issues on other sites make take yours down as well. And there’s a single point of failure. If the server itself experiences technical problems, everyone hosted on that server will be affected.

With shared hosting, you’re also paying for a set amount of storage and processing power. If you have a predictable flow of traffic, this may be a good solution for you. But if your traffic is increasing rapidly, or if you see sudden spikes in traffic due to a new product or feature, you may be constrained the amount of storage you currently have.

You will need to adapt by purchasing additional server space to add to your storage space and processing power. But if traffic falls again, you will be paying for resources that you aren’t using.

Cloud Hosting

Cloud hosting offers a level of scalability that traditional hosting can’t. Cloud hosting companies provide virtual space on an on-demand, as-needed basis. Instead of paying for a set amount of space upfront on a single server, the user pays as they go for what they actually use.

With cloud hosting, the load is balanced across a cluster of multiple servers. The information and applications contained on those servers are mirrored across the whole cluster, meaning that if an individual server goes down, there is no lost information or downtime. Because of this redundancy, cloud hosting is much more elastic and resilient. Problems with one website or application are unlikely to affect your bandwidth or performance.

Cloud hosting companies provide Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS). They house, run, and maintain all of the necessary hardware, and the customer pays for the resources the use, similar to how we pay for utilities like electricity.

IT departments don’t need to invest in in-house server hardware. And customers don’t need to pay for up front for extra storage or processing capacity that they don’t use. Cloud hosting is more quickly scalable than traditional hosting. If an application or website receives more or less traffic, the cloud servers scale up and down automatically. With cloud hosting, there’s no need to manually add or remove server space as there is in shared hosting.

Cloud hosting is still a relatively new technology, and many who have experience with traditional hosting are hesitant to move to something different. Shared hosting provides consumers with a convenient, low-entry hosting solution, and many users never experience problems. But if you’re looking for a low-cost, flexible, easily scalable hosting solution, it may be time to move to the cloud.

Read More

What’s the Difference Between VPS and Cloud Servers?

There is a lot of talk these days about cloud computing or cloud hosting. Many companies are using these terms loosely to discuss either VPS or cloud servers (public or private). But, what do these terms mean? You will definitely see a difference when you look at the price tag, so understanding what each of these services are will help you in your quest to determine the best option for you or your company.

To help you out, here is a description of each and even some of their pros and cons.

Virtual Private Server

ALSO KNOWN AS VPS, VIRTUAL DEDICATED SERVER, VDS

Definition: One physical server, divided into several smaller server slices that each act as their own virtual server environment.

Pros:

◈ Typically less expensive than cloud servers.

◈ No file or data access occurs between VPS clients on the shared server. They are kept separate.

◈ If needed one VPS can be rebooted without affecting other VPSs on shared server.

Cons:

◈ They do not offer high-availability. If physical server fails, all VPSs on that server fail.

◈ There can be security concerns. If a customer on your shared server does not take security seriously, and gets hacked or gets a virus, then your VPS could be negatively affected.

◈ Computing resources are shared between all clients, therefore, RAM, bandwidth and CPU performance can be affected if another VPS on the shared server is demanding a higher load.

◈ Only one operating system can be utilized by each physical server.

◈ They are not scalable. Storage is based on physical server limitations. Once you meet your max VPS capacity, you have to either buy more space or look into other options. This could take many hours or days of downtime to migrate to a new solution.

Cloud Servers

ALSO KNOWN AS VM, VIRTUAL MACHINE, IAAS (INFRASTRUCTURE AS A SERVICE)

Definition: Cloud servers utilize multiple servers connected together in a cluster which is backed by SAN storage. Customers utilizing a cloud platform will benefit from the multiple servers because they will receive unlimited storage, maximum bandwidth, managed load balancing and no ties to a specific piece of hardware. The basic difference between public and private clouds are in public, the cluster is multi-tenant and a private is a single client.

Pros:

◈ Scalable – add more server power in a moment’s notice.

◈ Custom Infrastructure - clients can include custom network architecture, firewalls, load balancing and IP deployment.

◈ High Availability - if a physical server fails, cloud servers are migrated to another physical server without experiencing an outage.

◈ Burstable Computing Resources - no concern about lagging RAM or CPU power, even if another cloud customer's load grows.

◈ Completely secure since you virtually have your own server. If a client on the shared cloud gets hacked or gets a virus, your cloud server will be completely separated with no risk to your data.

◈ Each customer on the cloud can select their specific operating system.

◈ Unlimited storage as it is based on SAN storage.

Cons:

◈ Typically, a little more expensive than VPS.

As you can see, the cloud servers are a little light on the con side. And, if you are utilizing a shared cloud, the cost is not significantly more than a VPS and there is much upside.

Read More

What in the World is Dedicated Cloud?

If you have never heard of the term ‘Dedicated Cloud’ you’re not alone. Dedicated Cloud is a truly unique hosting solution where you essentially have your own dedicated server that is placed within the public cloud, allowing you the benefits that are built into that service. You are on a physical isolated single-tenant server, with full control over how you use its resources. Build as many virtual machines (VMs) as your server’s resources will allow, all for a fixed monthly cost. You are also able to connect your dedicated cloud server to your primary hosting environment, via hybrid hosting, which makes this service even more compelling.

Here is a diagram of a sample Dedicated Cloud environment:

What are the main benefits?

Isolation: This single-tenant environment means full isolation for your VMs on your own hardware. This isolation may allow businesses who may not otherwise be able to move to the cloud (mainly because of specific compliance requirements) to do so.

Fast Failover: If hardware fails you are migrated to new hardware in a matter of seconds. The public cloud will always have a server on standby ready to take over in an emergency.

Fixed Cost: The cost of this service is fixed, meaning you will not have any surprises at the end of the month.

Unlimited VMs: As mentioned above, you can create as many VMs as the server’s resources will allow. For example, here are a few options with a 64 GB server:

4 VMs with 16 GB Ram each

8 VMs with 8 GB Ram each

16 VMs with 4 GB Ram each

Custom Configurations: Choose from a number of different server configurations depending on your needs and budget. We offer packages from 32 GB Ram to 256 GB Ram.

Is Dedicated Cloud the right fit for my business?

Dedicated Cloud comes with many advantages. However, as with any other hosting solution, one size doesn’t always fit all needs. It is important to weigh all of the pros and cons with your individual needs when deciding which hosting environment to choose for each workload you have. Dedicated Cloud is often the perfect solution for companies who want to move part or all of their hosting to the cloud but are unable due to strict compliance requirements, such as server isolation. It is also a good solution for businesses who need to create large a number of VMs but prefer to have one monthly cost.

Read More

Privacy Protection for your Domain Name

What is privacy protection

Privacy protection hides personal information that was updated  in whois from complete strangers. This is one of the most common reasons, why the domain owners opt for privacy protection.

Why you need privacy protection

When a domain name is registered, the whois of your domain name lists your personal information (such as Name, Company Name, Address, Telephone Number, Email Address) as contact details for that domain name as per regulatory requirements. This information becomes available to anyone who performs a whois lookup of your domain name.

Whois is an organization that manages all data regarding domain registration. All registrant details will be consider as public information, in addition to the nameservers and other simple details regarding domain registrations (e.g. registration, renewal, and expiry dates).

Your personal information is at risk from being stolen by data miners, who can then target you via junk email, fake telephone calls, postal messages, fax messages, etc..

Depending on the domain name extension, different types of information will be available to those search for a whois lookup.

Here are few reasons you should consider before ordering privacy protection for your domain names.

1. Protect your personal data

Stealing your personal data would be a common problem so you should take precaution on your domain registration information.

There is enough data available in  WHOIS domain record for a smart or tenacious thief to start causing problems, and enable them to dig deeper into your personal data for the purpose of  stealing your personal identity. 

Using domain privacy protection, it masks your original information and displays alternative information. So that, you will retain complete ownership of the domain and have complete control over the domain.

2. Stop Unwanted Solicitations

Enclosing your personal contact information for your domain is an open invitation for telemarketers, sales people, spammers, and con-artists. 

In todays market there are countless services that scrape WHOIS data for contact information, specially for newly registered domain names.

Once the domain registers, it doesn’t take long to start getting a flood of calls and emails about web-designing, SEO services, content optimization, social media marketing, mailing services, virtual assistants, freelance opportunities from people overseas, and many more.

And one more worse thing is, there are many scammers who may contact you when your domain is about to expire. 

They come with special offers on your domain renewals and try to get the domain ownership and send you different mails to steal your personal details and transfer it without your knowledge. 

It can cost the owner hundreds of dollars in bogus “services". Be careful of any items you receive in the mail regarding your domain, and always contact your current domain registrar before responding to such emails.

3. Protect Your Email Address

If you enable privacy protection for your domain registration, your registrar typically creates an alias or unique email address that will replace your email in the WHOIS database. This email address does not remain constant and will be updated frequently. This is done to keep away unsolicited email from spammers.

4. Prevent Domain Hijacking

Hijacking a domain is another big issue. Most of the domain registrars lock the domains by default after acquisition, it’s not as easy as before. 

With this lock set, no one will be able to transfer the domain away from you unless they some how manage to get access to your domain registrar account and email.

When the personal information is hidden, it adds another hurdle to the process, making it extremely difficult for someone to fetch the data and attempt to gain access to your account.

Enabling the privacy protection, the domain transfer authorization email will be sent to the dummy email address which was an registrars rather than the registrant’s email address, making the transfer fail if the authorization is not done.

Many dummy email addresses provided by registrars do NOT forward to the registrant’s email address.

Read More

Essential Features Of Web Hosting

Any websites that want to be put on the internet should be hosted on a web server. A web server can refer to either the hardware or the software that helps to deliver content that can be accessed through the internet. The space provided by the web server can be owned or leased for use by clients from web hosting companies. There are many web hosts to choose from and finding the right web hosting packages can be a confusing process.

Web hosting packages can vary in pricing as well as the features they offer, such as the amount of disk space and bandwidth available, data transfers, number of domains and email boxes, privacy and security settings, website design and marketing tools, technical support and guaranteed uptime. Knowing the requirements is essential to make a smart choice for a website planning.

The essential features of a reliable web hosting are described below:

Storage/Disk Space

Web hosting account has an allotment of storage/disk space that can be rented on a server. The amount of storage will include all of the content of the web pages, any graphic or other media content can be used on the pages, any files that are available for visitors to download and any space that can be used for emails. Additional space can be required for various log files that are generated by the server and/or web application that keeps track of visitors to the site and what pages they click on. People can choose a package with additional disk space so as they are able to add more contents, pictures, music, videos or downloadable files that require more disk space.

Databases are usually calculated separately from the storage/disk space allocated. Different web hosting company have different policy.

Bandwidth/Data Transfer

These two functions are an important factor when choosing reliable web hosting. They are similar but different aspects of the same process that work together hand in hand.

Data transfer is how much data is being transferred on a monthly basis. A website may not be accessible the less data transfer that is allocated on a monthly basis. Going over the allocated limit can result in a fee or even a temporary shutdown/downtime of the website. Choose a plan with more data transfer than needed will allow for additional traffic and content.

Bandwidth is how much data can be transferred at one time. The less bandwidth allocated, the slower a website takes to load regardless of the connection speed of the visitors. Higher bandwidth is expensive because it takes and drains the server’s resources and can affect the performance of other customers' sites on the same server.

Control Panel Features

The most important job that a website owner has is creating and management of the website(s) and its content. The control panel (cPanel) features the tools for uploading and managing web pages, managing domains, subdomains, FTP accounts, creating parked domains, add-on domains, protecting directories, redirecting visitors to another location, website statistics, back up data, virus protection and spam filters, the tools to keep privacy and security.

Uptime

This is one of the most important features of a reliable web hosting provider. Guaranteed uptime means a website is guaranteed to be up at least 99.9 percent of the time and available to visitors. This guarantee should include network uptime, server uptime, web server and service uptime as well as 24/7 support.

Domain Name

The domain name is a unique name and address on the World Wide Web. Domain registration is the process that an individual or a company secures a website domain. Once the domain registration is completed, the domain name is purchased and available to use for a specified period of time, usually one year, and can be extended anytime. Domain owners must renew their domain names before the registration expires, or the domain reverts back to being available to the general public to be purchased.

Some web hosts maintain control of the domains they register so it is important that the domain owner retain the option to transfer the domain to another registrar. Understanding the “Terms and Conditions” regarding maintaining the privacy and any additional fees to transfer a domain to another registrar.

Dedicated And Shared IP Address

An Internet Protocol address, or better known as an IP address, is the numerical address of the website that tells other computers where to find the server host and the domain on the internet. There are advantages to having a dedicated IP address or a shared IP address.

Dedicated IP Address means that a site is the only one on the internet using a specific IP address number. The advantages of having a dedicated IP address are that the site can have a better SEO (Search Engine Optimization) ratings which make a website more visible and easier to find; there are better security and privacy options. A Private SSL Certificate was created to confirm the identity of a website or server and ensure secure transactions between web servers and browsers. In order to keep clients information secure, a Private SSL Certificate is required for e-commerce websites that accept online credit card payments.

Shared IP Address means that there could be hundreds of websites sharing one server that share a single IP address. Shared IP addresses make it easier for hosting companies to manage and maintain their servers and offer this feature at a lower cost. The downside to this feature is, if other websites sharing the IP address are banned or blacklisted due to spamming or scamming, their actions directly affect other websites that shared the same server. The affected websites could disappear from the search engines and their emails could be blocked by Internet Service Providers (ISP). A Shared SSL Certificate gives the benefits of a SSL Certificate at a lower cost and still provides a secure URL (Uniform Resource Locator). Many e-commerce websites provide Shared SSL to their business clients.

Email Features

Email hosting offers a variety of features for both individuals and businesses. Some of the features offered are customized email addresses, import/export address book, unlimited storage, webmail accessible from mobile phones, calendar alerts, mail forwarding, auto responders, email filters that protect from viruses and spam, phone and email tech support.

Privacy And Security

The security of communications such as unauthorized or sensitive data are a big concern. Some of the security tools that a web host may include are SSL secure servers, SSL certificates, software that can prevent other websites from accessing other websites' databases and files, antivirus protection, firewall protection, strong passwords, reliable authentication, secure payment processing, email encryption and strict privacy policies.

Building Tools

Even without prior knowledge or experience, Website building tools are often offered as part of a web hosting package. The more advanced website building tools teach how to add a photo album, guestbook, ads, newsletters, blogs, FAQ module, visitor tracker, banner rotator, auto installer software for blogs, forums, galleries and much more.

Support

A reliable web hosting provider should have technical support available 24/7. Get a quick reply to support ticket if any issues arise and getting instant support via a chat service or telephone support.

Read More

7 Essential Features of Dedicated Server Hosting

When upgrading to a hosted dedicated server, it is important to remember that not all dedicated servers are the same and neither are the hosting solutions offered by service providers. As it can be difficult to know the key features to look for when finding a provider, we’ve put together this list of those we think are the most essential. Hopefully, they will give you a clearer insight into what to look for.

1. Operating system choices

One of the factors in choosing a dedicated hosting solution is the freedom to have your own choice of operating system. The applications you need for your business may require a specific type of operating system, such as a Windows Server OS or one of the different Linux distributions. In some circumstances, the software you run may only be compatible with a legacy OS version. Make sure that the provider you go with enables you to run the OS you need.

2. Server configuration

It’s not just the choice of operating system that is important. Another key requirement is the ability to have total control over your server so that you can configure it to meet your needs. You may, for example, need full root SSH / RDP root access.

3. Hardware choices

As dedicated servers can be expensive, always look for a hosting provider that offers plenty of hardware options. This way, you get a hardware setup that has the capacity and performance capabilities you require, without having to pay for something that is far more powerful than you need.

Ideally, you should have a range of options over the CPU model, number of cores and speed, the size of RAM, the type of RAM (e.g., DDR3 or DDR4), hard disk capacity, hard disk type (HDD or SSD), bandwidth and RAID.

4. Control panel options

Great control panels make it much easier to manage your server and the applications which you run on it. While vanilla control panels may be sufficient for some companies’ needs, many benefit from using cPanel & WHM (for Linux servers only) or Plesk (now for both Windows and Linux servers).

Easy to navigate and with a wide range of incredibly powerful, built-in management tools, cPanel and Plesk are industry leading control panels used by millions of businesses across the globe.

5. Security

If your server is hacked, your IT operations could be taken offline and your company put at a standstill. If there is a data breach, there’s also the risk of huge fines, reputational damage and customer legal action. This is why 60% of hacked companies go out of business within 6 months.

With this in mind, security should be a decisive factor when choosing a dedicated hosting provider. You should consider everything from the location and physical security of the datacentre to the range of security features your host provides as part of your package and as additional services.

You should look for next-generation firewalls, intrusion prevention, web app security, DDoS protection, and malware and virus prevention. In addition, they should also provide SSL certificates, dedicated IP addresses and spam filtering.

6. Server management

Outsourcing server management to your service provider not only makes things easier; it could also save you significantly in the long run. This service will include such things as OS updates, patching, application installation and server monitoring. Server monitoring constantly checks the health of your server and its performance to ensure it remains in top condition.

7. High availability

If your server runs critical applications, you cannot afford for it to go offline. The consequences could be disastrous. This is why it is essential that you choose a host that can guarantee high availability – i.e., that your server will stay online for 99.95% of the time or higher.

8. First class technical support

There may be times when your IT team needs your service provider’s technical support to carry out a task or to troubleshoot an issue. This support should be an inclusive part of your contract with the provider and, very importantly, be available 24/7 by phone, email, live chat or ticket. After all, if your dedicated server goes offline on Friday night, you don’t want to wait until Monday before it gets fixed.

Technical support differs entirely from customer support. By technical, we mean having a specialist IT team available that can provide solutions at the point of contact. They will have the necessary expertise and be actively able to deal with any problem.

Read More

What is Drupal? Drupal Installation from cPanel

Introduction

Drupal is a free and open source content management framework written PHP and distributed in GNU. Drupal is an “out of the box” web content management tool as well as a customisation platform to help you build the right tool to serve your content management strategy. It is a powerful solution that lets marketers and others build and manage sites. In this article let us see its benefits, requirements and Drupal Installation from cPanel.​

Drupal is flexible, open, easy to integrate with, and easy to use for marketers and non-technical people - and it easily connects to marketing automation, CRM, email marketing, analytics, optimisation and other marketing technology solutions.​

Benefits of using Drupal

◈ Easy and fun to create and update content on your site
◈ ​Manage site content and campaigns in one place to ensure brand consistency
◈ Fully responsive to ensure your users can access your site on any device
◈ Connect with all of your marketing tools that you are comfortable using
◈ Manage many sites across your organization, brands, geographies and campaigns on a single platform that allows quick, easy site creation and deployment.

Basic server requirements

To install and run Drupal, your web server must meet certain minimum requirements.​

Basic server requirements to Install Drupal

​Diskspace : A minimum installation requires 15 MB. 60 MB is needed for a website with many contributed modules and themes installed. Keep in mind you need much more for the database, files uploaded by the users, media, backups, and other files.

​Web Server : Apache, Nginx, Microsoft IIS

Database : MySQL , SQLite​

​PHP : PHP 5.5.9 or higher

Drupal can be used by different websites and Applications

Let me list few of them.

◈ Entertainment Industry
◈ Travel Industry
◈ NGO sectors
◈ Financial Services
​◈ Public and Private sectors
◈ Sports and many more.

How to install Drupal

Its pretty simple to install Drupal on your Webhosting account. You can login to your control panel(cPanel) and you can install it with one click.

​Let me provide you steps with screenshots about installing Drupal from control panel.

​​Login to your cPanel, search for Software --> Softaculous Apps Installer and click on it. It just looks like in the below screenshot.

After your click on Softaculous in your cPanel, it takes you to Softaculous dashboard. Here you can find all types of scripts which your hosting provider enables for you in softaculous dashboard. Search for Drupal and it resembles the below image and gives you an option to install it from there.

​Software Setup and Site Settings

​Click on install button it will take you to next page where you need to select the domain, version, which directory to install, cronjob settings, admin user and password.

Click on Install button and it will start Drupal installation process which would be like below image.

​After completing the Drupal installation ​process, it provides you the URL to access, URL for admin panel and it just look like in the below image.

Read More

Top Hosting Control Panels For Linux

Managing your sites is now easier than before!

Anyone who’s ever bought a simple hosting plan has probably used a control panel to manage their website or Linux server.

A hosting control panel provides an easy to use, a manageable user interface so that you can easily manage all aspects of hosting.

Some of the common features of all control panels include FTP management, database management, email management etc. System admin processed are complex in nature and hence a Control panel allows you to do most of it in just a few clicks from a graphical user interface.

Advanced tasks such as server migrations or switching web servers, support a ticket support system and provide monitoring and alert services are also made easy using a Control panel. In early days all the processes were done manually which incurred a huge amount of time whereas it is just a matter of a few minutes now.

cPanel – Best in its class

The most popular and widely used Control Panel is “cPanel”. With an interface so easy to use, cPanel provides Multi-Server management through a standard web browser.

cPanel's easy to use interface allows you to manage multiple email users. Taking charge of domains, databases, files, security, and email is a piece of cake for users, and the host can easily add apps which allow an enormous range of third-party software to be installed with one touch.

cPanel’s WHM (Web Host Manager) is included but runs separately; it provides full back-end administrative access with server configuration and monitoring, backups, transfers and networking all easily managed.

Note: cPanel is only supported on operating systems such as RedHat, CloudLinux, and CentOS.

Plesk – A versatile control manager

Another most popular hosting control panel and a good alternative to cPanel is Plesk. Like cPanel, Plesk control panel makes use of an SSL-enabled web-based GUI, incorporated with frames. However, the Plesk can be used for Windows as well as Linux Servers. Plesk has an intuitive interface much like Windows XP which makes it look more elegant.

You can use Plesk on VPS, shared as well as a dedicated server. Many tasks in Plesk can be automated which results in better ROI by reducing the cost and resources considerably.

DirectAdmin – Affordable and effective

This little program is a graphical and web-based web hosting control panel, specially designed to make administration of websites easier. DirectAdmin is also compatible with several versions of Red Hat, Fedora Core, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, CentOS, FreeBSD, Ubuntu, and Debian. With CentOS Linux, it is distributed by default.

It is less expensive and is more lightweight than either cPanel or Plesk, lessening server load.

Webmin – Most popular among free open source community

A long-standing choice of system administrators who want a free, full-featured open-source control panel, Webmin is a powerful tool to handle DNS, configuration, webmail, file sharing and the like. It can also become a traditional web hosting control panel with the addition of the Usermin and Virtualmin modules (and can also manage virtual systems with the Cloudmin module). Once the complete system is running, it rivals cPanel for functionality, and it will run on just about any Linux distro.

Ajenti – For all your server needs

Ajenti is a relatively much new product in the market but it has gained a lot of recognition and user acceptance in last few years. It comes along with a wide range of plugins for Apache, Cron, DHCPD, NFSD, Iptables, MySQL, Netatalk, NGINX, PostgreSQL, Samba, and many more. You can also view basic server information such as RAM in use, free disk space, etc. Ajenti takes care of cron, nameservers, file management.

Ajenti has a simple and streamlined interface which anyone can master quickly, and it does a nice job. What it doesn’t do is offer many of the deep management functions of cPanel or Webmin, but it’s worth looking at if you are just searching for a control panel which will handle the basics of server management without a learning curve or steep price.

Read More

Cloud Hosting Advantages and Disadvantages

We will look at some of the key cloud hosting advantages and disadvantages, including some or the dangers - whether real or perceived - of hosting your data in the cloud. So, let’s get into some of the pros and cons.

Cloud hosting advantages

Scalability

The key advantage of cloud hosting over the technologies that preceded it and the current alternatives is the ease of scalability. Hosting in the cloud opens up the possibility for your infrastructure to encompass multiple servers to provide extra capacity. This allows for the flexibility to scale up quickly to deal with unexpected traffic surges, but also to create an infrastructure that can grow with your requirements over a longer period.

Better performance

For the reasons mentioned above that cloud hosting offers greater scalability, it also offers better performance. That’s because in addition to the increased capacity leading to increased availability for your customers, it also allows for load balancing across multiple servers. The end result is less strain on any one server and better user experience for everyone.

Reduced costs

Cloud hosting can remove the need for you to buy, house and maintain your own hardware, which reduces capital expenditure. And the ease with which you can scale up or down means you don’t have to pay for unused capacity.

Disaster recovery

Another cloud hosting advantage is that is makes disaster recovery much easier, especially if you're already using a multi-server hosting architecture.

Cloud hosting disadvantages

Security

If you and your web host are following best practice, the security risks associated with cloud hosting are minimal. That said, some organisations feel more secure knowing that all their data is within a metal box that they can put their hands on. A private cloud is usually the sensible compromise in these circumstances.

Downtime

This is dependent on the type of cloud hosting your choose but certainly for cloud hosting firms that are perhaps resellers or not particularly thorough in their setup, downtime can be an issue.

Accessibility

Since your web hosting infrastructure is in the cloud, your access to your data is dependent on internet access. Generally, internet access is not hard to come by but it still raises the possibility of your ability to maintain your data and website being tied to the reliability of your internet service provider.

Read More

What Is Cloud Storage?

Cloud storage is file storage in the cloud (online). Instead of keeping your files on your local hard drive, external hard drive, or flash drive, you can save them online.

There are multiple reasons to use cloud storage services. Maybe your local hard drives are running low on disk space, in which case you can use the cloud as extra storage. If you want to be able to stream your music collection from anywhere, access your work files at home, easily share vacation videos, etc., you can upload your files online to a cloud storage service. Another reason to use cloud storage is if you want to keep important files secure behind a password and encryption.

In short, cloud storage is helpful not only when it comes to backup but also for security and the ability to easily share files with others or access them yourself from anywhere: your phone, tablet, or another computer.

How Cloud Storage Works

When you upload a file to the internet and that file is there for an extended period of time, it's considered cloud storage. The simplest type of cloud storage is uploading something to a server and having the ability to retrieve it again should you want to.

A reputable cloud storage service protects the files behind encryption and requires you to enter a password in order to be able to access the files. Most of the time, the cloud storage account can be protected behind two-factor authentication, too, so that anyone wanting access to your files has to know not only the password but another code sent to your phone upon the login request.

Most cloud storage services let you upload all types of files: videos, pictures, documents, music, or anything else. However, some are limited to accepting only certain kinds of files, such as only images or music. Cloud storage services are usually fairly clear about what's allowed and what isn't.

Different cloud storage services let you upload files to your online account through different methods. Some support in-browser uploads only, meaning that you have to log in to the cloud storage service's website to upload your data, but most have desktop applications that make uploading files easier by a simple drag-and-drop into the service's dedicated folder. Most also support uploading images and videos from your phone.

Less common are torrent cloud storage services that are online torrent clients that not only let you download torrents from your browser but also store your files in your online account to stream or download later.

Once your files are stored online, depending on how the service works, the features you get might include the ability to stream videos and music, access the files from your mobile device, easily share the files with others through a special share link, download the files back to your computer, delete them to free up space in your account, encrypt them so that not even the service can see them, and more.

Cloud Storage vs. Cloud Backup

Cloud storage and cloud backup are easily confused. Both work similarly and have a similar end result: the files are stored online. But there are two completely different reasons to use these services, and knowing how they differ is important so that you know which one to choose for your own situation.

Cloud storage is a selective backup procedure where you choose which files to store online, and then you send them to your online account. When you delete a file on your computer that you backed up online, the file is still in your cloud storage account because it isn't actually tied to your computer anymore; it's just a single file that you uploaded online.

Cloud backup is when you install a program on your computer and tell it to keep specific files backed up online. Going a step further than cloud storage, a backup service will also upload any changes you make to the file so that the current version is always stored online. In other words, if you delete a file from your computer, it might also get deleted from your online backup account, and if you change a file on your computer, the online version changes too.

A backup service is great if you want to always keep a huge number of files backed up online. In the event your computer suddenly stops working, you can restore all of those files on a new computer or a different hard drive, and you'll get the same copies you had the last time the backup program stored those files online.

A cloud storage service is less practical as an always-on backup solution and more helpful as a way to back up specific files that you want to have access to from anywhere or share with others. The file versions in the cloud storage account are the same as the versions you uploaded, regardless if you changed them on your computer. Like online backup, you can still download the files again should you need to, like if your computer crashes.

Examples of Personal Cloud Storage Options

Although there are many cloud storage providers, some of the more familiar ones are listed below.

Amazon Drive offers 5 GB of free cloud storage. If you have an Amazon Prime account, the free plan includes unlimited photo storage and 5 GB for other file types. You can pay for more if you need additional space.

Google Drive is cloud storage built to work seamlessly with Google products. You get 15 GB of free online storage with Google Drive to keep documents, photos, music, and videos. You can upgrade to Google One for more space, anywhere from 100 GB to 30 TB.

Microsoft OneDrive is Microsoft's version of cloud storage. Users get 5 GB of free space for any type of file, and like Google Drive, OneDrive works seamlessly with Microsoft products like Outlook Mail.

Apple iCloud is Apple's cloud storage service that's available to any Apple user, whether you have a Mac, iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. You can get 5 GB for free, but you can buy more. Much like an online backup service, iCloud can be used to automatically back up your phone's images, emails, and more.

Dropbox gives its users 2 GB for free and lets you access the files from the web, your desktop, or your mobile device. Dropbox Plus or Professional can be purchased for 1 TB or more of online storage space.

How to Choose the Right Cloud Storage Provider

Numerous cloud storage providers out there would like your business, so it can be confusing knowing which to choose. Consider several factors before picking any online cloud backup service.

Security: Your data must be encrypted to keep it private. If you're concerned about the service itself being able to open your files and see all your backed-up data, go with a service that features "zero-knowledge encryption."

Price: The cost is determined by how much space you anticipate needing. Many services offer either a trial period or free storage to let you try out their features.
Compatibility: If you want to be able to access your cloud data from your phone, be sure to pick a cloud storage provider that supports it. Similarly, go with a service that can accept the types of files you want to store online, such as a music storage service if you'll be storing your music online.

Features: Knowing what features your cloud storage service supports is essential in choosing the right one for you. A comparison of the top free cloud storage services can help you decide between a few of the better ones. Beyond that, do some research on the company's websites to see what they offer, like if they support streaming media files from their website or mobile app, if that's something you require.

Ease of use: Uploading and accessing your files on the cloud should be clear and easy to understand. If you want to be able to do this from your desktop, make sure it's simple and won't leave you scratching your head each time you just want to throw some files into your cloud storage account. If it isn't easy to use, look elsewhere.

Reliability: If a cloud storage service shuts down, you might lose all of your data. Choose a company that you expect would give its users fair warning should they close their doors, or at least offer a way for you to transfer your data elsewhere. Cloud storage services that have been in operation for a long time or that are well known are probably more likely to help out should they decide to shut down business, but you should read the fine print to see their actual policies.

Bandwidth: If you're a heavy user, you should also think about bandwidth limitations. Some cloud storage services put a cap on how much data can flow in and/or out of your account on a daily or monthly basis. If you plan to have customers, employees, or family or friends download large videos or lots of other files throughout the month, make sure the bandwidth cap isn't prohibitive for you.

Read More

What is offshore Hosting & what are the Benefits of using it?

Offshore hosting means hosting a website on servers located in any other country except yours. There are many advantages to doing this. Whenever someone hosts a website on any foreign servers it means they are using offshore hosting for their website. However, when you are buying offshore hosting remember about the security, privacy or freedom of website.

Saving Money by Globalization

A major featuring of offshoring website is to save money globally. For example, if the making of t-shirts is cheap in one country compared to another one, People will buy shirts from that company. Also, a huge number of companies will move that country for t-shirts making operations.

Advantages & Disadvantages of Offshore Hosting

People are working on offshore hosting. Their goal is globalization and reducing the costs. Moving a business in a foreign country of hosting a business website abroad is a big decision.

Advantages of Offshore Hosting:

Following are the advantages of using offshore hosting:

◈ The primary advantage is an affordable price. Offshore hosting is available at a reasonable price.
◈ Your website will be independent of cyber laws.
◈ Double backup available in case of a mishap. If your website backup is misplaced or deleted, you can ask for database backup from the hosting company.
◈ Various payment methods are available for payment. You can choose any method of your choice.

Disadvantages of offshore Hosting:

There are no main disadvantages of buying an offshore hosting except:

◈ Using anonymous hosting with anonymous payment methods can get you in trouble.
◈ The main disadvantage is that you are not allowed to claim domain name or name server.

Read More

What Is The Difference Between A Web Hosting Provider And A Domain Name Registrar?

New web hosting clients often find the distinction between a web hosting provider and a domain name registrar confusing. After all, a website has a name and it’s not much use without one. Shouldn’t paying for a website be the same as paying for its name? Why would giving a website a name be complicated at all?

In fact, although some web hosting providers do offer domain name registration services, they’re actually quite different and the organizations that manage each service are separate.

The TL;DR:

Web hosting providers connect your site to the internet and provide the server it runs on.
Domain name registrars reserve a domain name for use by your site.

What Is Web Hosting?

Web hosting provides a server (or part of a server) for a website’s files and database to be stored on. A server is just a powerful computer. Web hosting also provides the bandwidth that connects a site to the internet. Every computer that is connected to the Internet has an address — an IP number — that looks like this: “198.51.100.23”. It’s more or less like a phone number.

It wouldn’t be convenient for everyone who wants to visit your website to type in an IP number. They’re hard to remember, they’re in limited supply, and “want2host.com” is nicer to look at than “208.69.120.21”.

So, we have domain names: a name that is easy for humans to understand. When you type a domain name into your browser, a Domain Name Server converts it into the associated IP address so that the servers and the routers on the internet know where to send your request.

The domain names are managed by a set of organizations that are not connected directly to web hosting providers.

Domain Name Registrars

When you need a domain name to use with your site, you go to a domain name registrar. These companies (which are sometimes web hosting providers too) will, for a small fee, reserve a domain name for you to use for a limited time.

The registrars don’t actually own the domain name registry, which has ultimate control over the domain names under a top-level domain like “.com”, or “.net” but we needn’t concern ourselves with that wrinkle here.

So what exactly do you get when you pay a domain name registrar? In a nutshell, you get an entry in the name servers of the top-level domain. Those entries mean only you can use the domain name. The records also point to a Domain Name Server, a server that holds all the domain name records for your domain.

That sounds complex, but the domain name records are really just like the contacts app on your phone, which has a list of names associated with a list of numbers. To find a person’s number, you look up a name.

In simplified terms, when someone puts your domain name in their browser, the browser asks the name server of the root domain (the .com bit) where to find the Domain Name Servers for that domain. The root name server tells the browser where to find your DNS server, which is often part of your web hosting. The browser then goes to your name server, which tells it the IP address of your website.

Read More