SSD VPS Hosting and It’s Benefits for your Business Website

VPS Hosting or Virtual Private Server Hosting is one of the preferred hosting options for several small-medium sized online businesses. The reason being, it is a bridge between Shared and Dedicated Hosting, offering its users the best of both worlds. If you are new and want to know more about VPS Hosting, you can read more about it. However, we assume, you all know what is VPS Hosting, and will move on to understanding the finer nuances of it, namely the kind of storage device that VPS follows.

Storage devices are categorised into two types – HDD and SSD. HDD stands for Hard Disk Drive whereas, SSD stands for Solid State Drive. In this article, we’ll cover the new and advanced form of storage – SSD and how it integrates with VPS Hosting. So, first things first!

What is SSD VPS Hosting?

SSD VPS Hosting, in simple words, can be defined as a ‘Solid State Drive VPS Hosting Plan’. Here the VPS Hosting service provider uses an SSD disk instead of the traditional Hard Disk Drive on their physical servers. The benefit of an SSD over HDD is that it consumes less power and delivers faster performance and speed. Let us see in detail, what distinguishes the two drives from one another.

Comparison between SSD and HDD

SSD	HDD
SSD or Solid State Drives draw less power and thus, boosting battery life.	HDD or Hard Disk Drives draw a lot of power thus affecting their battery.
SSD uses flash memory to store data. Hence data doesn’t get deleted suddenly due to the magnetic disk effect on data.	HDD has circular platters to store data in magnetic format. However, a downside to magnetic disk storage is that magnets can erase data, hence data is vulnerable.
SSDs have hardly any moving parts. Hence they produce very little noise and vibrations.	HDDs have platters to store data, and they cause noise while moving, as well as, vibrations.
Cost wise SSDs are expensive, but they deliver high performance to the website running.	HDDs are cheaper as compared to SSD, but they compromise on the performance of the website in the longer run.

3 Major Advantages of SSD VPS Hosting:

1. SSD uses flash memory to store data. This improves the read-write speed significantly, leading to improved performance of the server, as well as, the website loading speed.

2. HDDs are more prone to damage as they use movable platters instead of flash memory. Thus, SSD’s are more reliable in terms of efficiency and durability which, in turn, builds trust and credibility for your customer.

3. A faster loading website directly impacts Google search engine results and your website’s SEO. Websites hosted with SSD VPS Hosting load faster, thus helping you enhance your page ranking.

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DNS Propagation – Explained

1. What is DNS propagation?

When you update the nameservers for a domain, it may take up to 24-48 hours for the change to take effect. This period is called DNS propagation.

In other words, it is a period of time ISP (Internet service provider) nodes across the world take to update their caches with the new DNS information of your domain.

Due to DNS caches of different levels, after the nameservers change, some of your visitors might still be directed to your old server for some time, whereas others can see the website from the new server shortly after the change.

2. Why does it take up to 72 hours?

Let’s imagine you live in Bari, Italy, and you just have changed the nameservers for your domain that is hosted in Phoenix, USA.

When you open your domain in a web browser, your request is not going to the hosting server directly, it has to pass through several ISP nodes first. So your computer starts by checking local DNS cache, then the request is sent to your local Bari ISP. From there, the request goes to the upstream provider in Rome, Italy, then connects to the ISP in Hamburg, Germany. After that, the request is sent to the first receiving point in the USA – New York, NY and ultimately, to the ISP in Phoenix, AZ. Here is an example of the request trace – the number of ISP nodes and their location will vary in each particular case:

Each of the ISP nodes checks its own cache to see if it contains the DNS information of the domain. If it is not there, it looks it up and saves it in order to speed up the loading next time and to reduce the traffic. 

That is why the new nameservers will not propagate immediately – ISPs have different cache refreshing intervals, so some of them will still have the old DNS information in the memory. 

NOTE: to make sure it is not your computer cache that has the outdated information, we recommend clearing the cache of your browser and flushing the DNS cache after the DNS change.

3. What are the ways to pass DNS propagation?

There are three basic methods that will allow you to pass the DNS propagation. 

  

If you HAVE NOT changed the nameservers and do not wish them to propagate for so long, there is a way to reduce the propagation time. You need to do two simple things: 

1. Point your domain to the destination IP address by means of A record on the side of the current DNS provider, setting the minimal TTL ('Time to live' – propagation time) for this record, for instance, to 300 seconds (5 minutes).

2. Once A record has been updated, wait up to 30 minutes and change the nameservers for your domain. 

As a result, your domain will be resolved to your previous host from the places where the propagation has not been completed yet and to a new one – from the places where it has already passed. In such a way, you may avoid a downtime as both hosts will show you the same result – your new website. 

If you HAVE already changed the nameservers, Google public DNS tools may help you to see your website online. Here are the steps to be followed: 

1. Set Google Public DNS servers following these instructions. 

2. Once done, clear your browser's cache and flush your local DNS cache. 

3. In addition, you can use Google Flush Cache tool and flush NS and A record for your domain name: 

If you still get an outdated information on your website, you may edit the 'hosts' file on your computer, which will force the domain to resolve to the new IP address. Once the records are added, you will be able to check your website by typing its name in the browser. The major disadvantage of this method is that only you will be able to work on your website in the new location, other users might still see and use your website working from the old server. 

NOTE: make sure to remove the entries added to 'hosts' file 48 hours later when the nameservers are fully propagated. 

It is also possible to check your website content during the DNS propagation with the help of proxy services that will allow you to access websites anonymously. 

4. How to check if DNS propagation has completed for you?

There is no definitive way to tell when propagation is complete for you as it depends on three factors: TTL, your ISP and geographical location. However, you may use online DNS checkers in order to track if the DNS record information propagated against multiple nameservers located in different parts of the world. 

DNS Checker provides a free DNS lookup service for checking domain DNS records against a randomly selected list of DNS servers in different corners of the world. As a result, you will get DNS data collected from all locations confirming whether a website is completely propagated worldwide or not. 

Here is the list of the most popular DNS checkers:

App Synthetic Monitor

G Suite Toolbox

There is another way to check if the DNS propagation is completed for you. You need to run one of the following commands from your PC, laptop or other device: 

 nslookup

 traceroute

 ping

What we need to know from the results is the IP address your domain is resolved to. If it's the IP address of the new server, probably, the DNS propagation is complete for you. If the IP address belongs to the old server, you need to wait for the DNS propagation to complete. 

Below you can find the examples how to find this IP address.

If you are a Windows OS user, follow these steps: 

1. Click on the Start button.

2. Click All Programs > Accessories > right-click on Command Prompt and choose Run as Administrator:

3. In the window that opens, type one of the following commands and hit Enter: 

nslookup yourdomain.com 

ping yourdomain.com

tracert yourdomain.com 

NOTE: yourdomain.com should be replaced with your actual domain name in question. 

If you are a Mac OS user: 

1. Open the Applications folder and click to open the Utilities folder. 

2. Find Terminal.app and open it: 

3. Type one of the following commands: 

nslookup yourdomain.com

ping yourdomain.com 

traceroute -I -e yourdomain.com 

NOTE: yourdomain.com should be replaced with your actual domain name. 

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Reseller Hosting vs Affiliate Hosting

There are two ways to make money with established web hosting companies, namely Reseller Hosting and Affiliate Hosting. Today we are going to compare them both and find out which of the two has more benefits and profits.

Reseller Hosting	Affiliate Hosting
You resell the space you rented from another company.	You refer another company to people you many know.
You are selling your parent company’s resources in your company’s name.	You are simply referring people to the main company for a profit.
You have to manage your company and customers.	You are just letting people enter the main company through your door.
You can provide any amount of plans or create any different packages for your customer.	You only advertise the plans and packages of your main company to others.
You can provide reseller web hosting and also join any other service you want to provide. For e.g. you can also sell domain names with websites.	You can individually advertise for companies offering individual services.
You will have your own brand and your own customers.	You will have some people you know and you will make them the main company’s customers.
you will have your own brand and your own customers.	You cannot change any options offered by the main company.
You have to provide good customer support for your customers.	your main company will take care of the customers.
You can promote your company at any amount you like.	You have to promote your main company extensively to get a reasonable profit.
Advertisement may be done wherever necessary for reseller hosting.	Very excessive advertisements like buttons, banners, ads, pictures, links, posts and websites are used to attract people in affiliate hosting.
Reseller hosting requires more work.	Affiliate hosting requires less work.
You need skills and talents to maintain your own company in reseller hosting.	Affiliate hosting does not need any capital amount.
Reseller hosting needs a startup capital.	You don’t need any skills or talents for affiliate marketing.
Reseller hosting will popularize your brand name among the customer. Even if your main company shuts down, you will can still run your company and maintain your customers.	If your company shuts down, you have to find another company for affiliate marketing.
You can start a reseller hosting business and gradually increase your business and become a direct web hosting service provider company.	You have to keep advertising your company and refer people for commissions.

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Advantages And Disadvantages of Cloud Computing

Pros and Cons of Cloud Computing

Cloud Computing is shaping how we live and work today. Like it or not, it has become an integral part of our lives. Companies and businesses of all shapes and sizes are now turning to cloud Computing. But nothing is perfect and Cloud Computing is no exception. While it is vastly beneficial, it also has some risks and concerns that should not be overlooked. So in this section, let’s discuss the advantages and disadvantages of Cloud computing in detail.

Advantages of Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is an emerging technology that almost every company switched to from on-premise technologies. Whether it is public, private or hybrid, Cloud computing has become an essential factor for the companies to rise up to the competition. Let us find out why Cloud is so much preferred over the on-premise technologies.

◈ Cost efficiency – The biggest reason behind shifting to cloud computing is that it takes considerably lesser cost than an on-premise technology. Now the companies need not store the data in disks anymore as the Cloud offers enormous storage space, saving money and resources of the companies.

◈ High Speed – Cloud computing lets you deploy the service quickly in fewer clicks. This quick deployment lets you get the resources required for your system within fewer minutes.

◈ Excellent accessibility – Storing the information in cloud allows you to access it anywhere and anytime regardless of the machine making it highly accessible and flexible technology of present times.

◈ Back-up and restore data – Once the data is stored in Cloud, it is easier to get the back-up and recovery of that, which is quite a time taking process on-premise.

◈ Manageability – Cloud computing eliminates the need for IT infrastructure updates and maintenance since the service provider ensures timely, guaranteed and seamless delivery of your services and also takes care of all the maintenance and management of your IT services according to the service level agreement (SLA).

◈ Sporadic Batch processing – Cloud computing lets you add or subtract resources and services according to your needs. So, if the workload is not 24/7, you need not worry about the resources and services getting wasted and you won’t end up stuck with unused services.

◈ Strategic edge – Cloud computing provides your company a competitive edge over the competitors when it comes to accessing the latest and mission critical applications whenever you need them without having to invest your time and money on installations. It lets you focus on keeping up with the business competition by offering access to most trending and in demand applications and doing all the manual work of installing and maintaining the applications for you.

Disadvantages of Cloud Computing

Every technology has positive and negative aspects that are highly important to discuss before implementing it. Aforementioned points highlight the benefits of using cloud technology and following discussion will outline the potential cons of Cloud Computing.

◈ Vulnerability to attacks – Storing data in cloud may pose serious challenge of information theft since in cloud every data of your company is online. Security breach is something that even the best organizations have suffered from and it’s a potential risk in cloud as well. Though advanced security measures are deployed on cloud, still storing a confidential data in cloud can be a risky affair.

◈ Network connectivity dependency – Cloud computing is entirely dependent on the internet. This direct tie up with internet means that you need a reliable and consistent internet service as well as a good connection speed and bandwidth for your business to reap the benefits of cloud computing.

◈ Downtime – Downtime is considered as one of the biggest potential downside of using Cloud computing. Your cloud providers may sometimes face technical outages which can happen due to various reasons such as loss of power, low internet connectivity, data centres going out of service for maintenance etc. This can lead to a temporary downtime in your cloud services.

◈ Vendor lock in – When in need to migrate from one cloud platform to another, your company might face some serious challenges because of the differences between vendor platforms. Hosting and running the applications of your current cloud platform on some other platform may cause support issues, configuration complexities and additional expenses. Your data might also be left vulnerable to security attacks due to compromises that might have been made during migrations.

◈ Limited control – Cloud customers may face limited control over their deployments. The cloud services run on remote servers which are completely owned and managed by the service providers, which makes it hard for the companies to have the level of control that they would want over their back-end infrastructure.

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What’s difference between http:// and https:// ?

In address bar of a browser, have you noticed either http:// or https:// at the time of browsing a website? If neither of these are present then most likely, it’s http:// Let’s find out the difference…

In short, both of these are protocols using which the information of a particular website is exchanged between Web Server and Web Browser. But what’s difference between these two? Well, extra s is present in https and that makes it secure! What a difference A very short and concise difference between http and https is that https is much more secure compared to http.

Let us dig a little more.

HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP is a protocol using which hypertext is transferred over the Web. Due to its simplicity, http has been the most widely used protocol for data transfer over the Web but the data (i.e. hypertext) exchanged using http isn’t as secure as we would like it to be. In fact, hyper-text exchanged using http goes as plain text i.e. anyone between the browser and server can read it relatively easy if one intercepts this exchange of data. But why do we need this security over the Web. Think of ‘Online shopping’ at Amazon or Flipkart. You might have noticed that as soon as we click on the Check-out on these online shopping portals, the address bar gets changed to use https. This is done so that the subsequent data transfer (i.e. financial transaction etc.) is made secure. And that’s why https was introduced so that a secure session is setup first between Server and Browser. In fact, cryptographic protocols such as SSL and/or TLS turn http into https i.e. https = http + cryptographic protocols. Also, to achieve this security in https, Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) is used because public keys can be used by several Web Browsers while private key can be used by the Web Server of that particular website. The distribution of these public keys is done via Certificates which are maintained by the Browser. You can check these certificates in your Browser settings. We’ll detail out this setting up secure session procedure in another post.

Also, another syntactic difference between http and htpps is that http uses default port 80 while https uses default port 443. But it should be noted that this security in https is achieved at the cost of processing time because Web Server and Web Browser needs to exchange encryption keys using Certificates before actual data can be transferred. Basically, setting up of a secure session is done before the actual hypertext exchange between server and browser.

Differences between HTTP and HTTPS

◈ In HTTP, URL begins with “http://” whereas URL starts with “https://”

◈ HTTP uses port number 80 for communication and HTTPS uses 443

◈ HTTP is considered to be unsecure and HTTPS is secure

◈ HTTP Works at Application Layer and HTTPS works at Transport Layer

◈ In HTTP, Encryption is absent and Encryption is present in HTTPS as discussed above

◈ HTTP does not require any certificates and HTTPS needs SSL Certificates

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The Advantages of Web Hosting over a Web Builder

Web builders make the process of getting a website online easy. They remove the need for any level of technical knowledge. Most use graphical interfaces which mean you can drag and drop the elements of your website into place, and you don’t have to worry about installing, configuring or coding. This is appealing, but there is another option – using web hosting and setting your website up manually.

Web hosting has many advantages over a web builder. Here are a few:

Flexibility

Think of this analogy: The easiest way to choose clothes in a store is to select the mannequin which you think is the best dressed, and then pick those exact items from the shelves. This will give you a stylish outfit and you’ll know that all of the pieces fit together. But unless you are the same size as a mannequin – and the same proportions – the clothes will not look the same on you as they do in the store. Plus there might be other options that suit you better – different colors or different styles. And you might be better buying a skirt in one store and a top in another.

The same applies when you are building a website. The web builder option is quick and easy. You will get a website that looks good and that functions well. But you will have less options and less control.

Setting up web hosting and then creating your website from there means you are in complete control. You can create a design without the restrictions of the web builder’s templates. Plus you can add as many pages and functions to your website as you need.

Transferability

When you use a web builder you are often locked in. That means you can’t lift your website – design, graphics, content etc. – and transfer it somewhere else.

When you build a website manually it is much easier to transfer your site between hosts. Not only do you own the design, but you are in control of it as well.

The Time Saving Myth

Many people believe that building a website using a web builder is the quickest option. This is only partially true.

In the short-term you will get your website online quicker because the learning curve is not as steep. But you will still have to learn how to use the web builder, which will take some time. Issues arise when you take a longer-term approach to this. Each web builder is different so unless you stay with the same provider forever, you will have to learn a new system if you decide to move. This is another downside of the non-transferable nature of a web builder – you cannot transfer the skills you learn to other systems.

Building your website manually is different. To build your website you will probably use a content management system like WordPress or Joomla, or one of the popular shopping cart platforms if you run an online store. The skills you learn on these platforms will transfer wherever your website is hosted. So, in the long run, you will save time.

The other factor that explodes the time myth in relation to web builders is content. The design and structure of your website is important to making it a success, but the most important part is the content. This includes the copy, the images, and the graphics.

When it comes to content it doesn’t matter what platform you use, it still takes time to create. Web builders can speed up the design part, but they cannot help you create quality content. You will either have to spend the time creating the content yourself, or you’ll need to pay someone to do it for you.

So the argument of whether to use a web builder or web hosting comes down to the same sort of decision you make when you go shopping: Do you take the easy but inflexible option and buy an outfit put together by someone else; or do you spend a bit more time choosing something that is right for you?

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What are the differences between HTTP, FTP, and SMTP?

Prerequisites

Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)

The Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is an application-level protocol that uses TCP as an underlying transport and typically runs on port 80. HTTP is a stateless protocol i.e. server maintains no information about past client requests.

File Transfer Protocol (FTP)

File Transfer Protocol(FTP) is an application layer protocol which moves files between local and remote file systems. It runs on the top of TCP, like HTTP. To transfer a file, 2 TCP connections are used by FTP in parallel: control connection and data connection.

Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP)

Email is emerging as the one of the most valuable service in internet today. Most of the internet systems use SMTP as a method to transfer mail from one user to another. SMTP is a push protocol and is used to send the mail whereas POP (post office protocol) or IMAP (internet message access protocol) are used to retrieve those mails at the receiver’s side.

HTTP stands for Hyper Text Transfer Protocol, FTP for File Transfer Protocol, while SMTP stands for Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. All the three are used to transfer information over a computer network, and are an integral part of today’s internet.

Why do we need three Protocols for transferring files?

We need the three protocols as they all serve different purposes. These are HTTP, FTP, and SMTP.

1. HTTP is the backbone of World Wide Web (WWW). It defines the format of messages through which Web Browsers (like Firefox, Chrome) and Web Servers communicate, whilst also defining how a web browser should respond to a particular web browser request.

2. FTP is the underlying protocol that is used to, as the name suggests, transfer files over a communication network. It establishes two TCP connections, “Control connection” to authenticate the user, and data connection to transfer the files.

3. SMTP is what is used by Email servers all over the globe to communicate with each other, so that the assignment you submitted at 11:59 pm reaches your professor’s inbox within the deadline.

How do their implementations differ?

All the three are Application Layer Protocols, using TCP as the underlying Transport layer protocol. But the way they use it, and are implemented in general, is vastly different. The below table briefly differentiates between them.

PARAMETER	HTTP	FTP	SMTP
Port number	80	20 and 21	25
Type of band transfer	In-band	Out-of-band	In-band
State	Stateless	Maintains state	-
Number of TCP connections	1	2 (Data Connection and Control Connection)	1
Type of TCP connection	Can use both Persistent and Non-persistent	Persistent for Control connection. Non-persistent for Data Connection	Persistent
Type of Protocol	Pull Protocol (Mainly)	-	Push Protocol (Primarily)
Type of Transfer	Transfer files between Web server and Web client	Transfer directly between computers	Transfers mails via Mail Servers

◈ HTTP is stateless. A Stateless protocol implies that the HTTP Web Server does not maintains which request had originated from which user. Hence, to give a customized service to the user, HTTP uses Cookies.

◈ FTP is Out-of-band, as it uses a separate channel to send data (Data connection), as to send control information (Control connection).

◈ As SMTP is much older that HTTP, it restricts all its messages to be in 7-bit ASCII format. Whereas HTTP has no such restriction.

◈ HTTP encapsulates each file in a different HTTP message. Whereas, SMTP places all the contents of a mail in a single message.

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What is a Domain Name?

New computer users often confuse domain names with universal resource locators, or URLs, and Internet Protocol, or IP, addresses. This confusion is understandable. It is worth learning the differences between them because these terms are ubiquitous. It is also helpful to be able to use terms correctly when communicating to technicians or other people within a professional organization.

This naming convention is analogous to a physical address system. People find web pages in a manner similar to the way that they use maps to find physical locations. If the Internet is like a phone book, and a web page is like a physical building, the URL would be the precise street address of that building. The IP address would be like the car that travels to its destination. There are also other useful metaphors for understanding this relationship.

Domain Names and URLs

The universal resource locator, or URL, is an entire set of directions, and it contains extremely detailed information. The domain name is one of the pieces inside of a URL. It is also the most easily recognized part of the entire address. When computer users type a web address directly into the field at the top of their browser window, it initiates a process of locating the page requested. To do so, the instructions contained inside the URL, including the domain name, must correctly point to that location. The IP address is a numerical code that makes this possible.

Domain Names and IP Addresses

An Internet Protocol, or IP, address is different than a domain name. The IP address is an actual set of numerical instructions. It communicates exact information about the address in a way that is useful to the computer but makes no sense to humans. The domain name functions as a link to the IP address. Links do not contain actual information, but they do point to the place where the IP address information resides. It is convenient to think of IP addresses as the actual code and the domain name as a nickname for that code. A typical IP address looks like a string of numbers. It could be 232.17.43.22, for example. However, humans cannot understand or use that code. To summarize, the domain name is a part of the URL, which points to the IP address.

What's in a Domain Name?

Domain names function on the Internet in a manner similar to a physical address in the physical world. Each part of the domain name provides specific information. These pieces of information enable web browsers to locate the web page. The naming system is closely regulated in order to prevent confusion or duplicate addresses. As demand increased exponentially, a new Internet Protocol version, or IPv6, was created to expand the amount of domain names available.

How do Domains Work?

Domain names work because they provide computer users with a short name that is easy to remember. Users enter web addresses into the URL field at the top of their browser's page from left to right. The domain name itself is read from right to left according to the naming hierarchy discussed below. This link provides directions to the network, which ultimately results in a successful page load at the client end of the transaction.

The common fictitious domain name, www.example.com, is comprised of three essential parts:

◈ .com - This is the top-level domain.
◈ .example. - This is a sub-domain.
◈ www. - This is a sub-domain prefix for the World Wide Web. The original use of this prefix was partly accidental, and pronunciation difficulties raised interest in creating viable alternatives.

Many servers use a three-letter naming convention for top-level domains, and they are separated from sub-domains by a dot. The significance of the top-level domain is the most important for new users to grasp. It identifies the highest part of the naming system used on the Internet. This naming system was originally created to identify countries and organizations as well as categories.

The most common categories are easily recognized by new computer users, and they include:

◈ .com
◈ .org
◈ .edu
◈ .net
◈ .mil

A significant expansion of the top-level domains occurred, and they now include:

◈ .biz
◈ .museum
◈ .info
◈ .name

Country codes are also easily recognizable to new users because the abbreviations are the same ones used for other purposes. The organization of the domain name hierarchy and the ability to reserve them for only one purpose has already undergone several modifications. Discussions and debates concerning the availability and affordability of domain names can be expected to continue.

Sub-domains are organized to the left of the top-level domain, and this is the part of the domain system that is most recognizable to humans. It is common to see several levels of sub-domains, and some countries developed specific conventions of organization to communicate information within their internal naming systems.

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Difference Between URL and Domain Name

URL (Uniform Resource Locator) and Domain name are the common terms having relevance with internet or web addresses and are used interchangeably sometimes. Although these terms are absolutely dissimilar.

The major difference between URL and domain name is that URL is a string that provides the information location or complete internet address of a webpage whereas domain name is a part of URL which is a more human-friendly form of an IP address.

Comparison Chart

BASIS FOR COMPARISON	URL	DOMAIN NAME
Basics	URL is a full web address used to locate a webpage.	Domain name is the translated and simpler form of a computers IP address (Logical address).
Relation	Complete web address containing domain name also.	Part of URL defines an organization or entity.
Subdivisions	Method, host name (domain name), port and path.	Based on sub domains (top level, intermediate level, low level)
Example	http://www.want2host.com/2019/04/what-is-bulletproof-hosting-and-how-it.html	want2host.com

Definition of URL

When you want to access a website, you just write a web address in a web browser. Each web page is uniquely identified by a unique name (identifier) known as URL (Uniform Resource Locator). To extract the desired information the browser parses the URL and utilizes it to obtain a copy of the requested page. As the URL format depends on the scheme, the browser starts with extracting the scheme specification followed by determining the rest of the URL with the help of scheme.

URL contains full specification which includes a method, host name, port and path.

◈ The method specifies the protocol used to retrieve the document, for example, http, https, ftp.

◈ Host name string specifies the domain name or IP address of the computer where information is located, or server for the information operates.

◈ Port is an optional protocol number needed only if the popular port (80) is not used.

◈ The path is the file path in server more commonly the location of the file.

Definition of Domain Name

The domain name was invented to simplify the IP address and make it more human convenient and friendly. An IP address is a logical address (numerical label) assigned to every computer connected to a computer network. It basically identifies the location of the computer on the internet and also helps in routing the information. For example, 166.58.48.34 is an IP address. These are not so convenient to remember and hard to roll off your tongue.

The Domain Name System (DNS) converts a domain name into its specific IP address that computer want to communicate. When a user enters your domain name into a web browser, the browser uses your domain name to search and identify the correct IP address and as a result, passes the website associated with that IP address.

DNS has two distinct aspects; abstract and concrete. Abstract specifies the name syntax and rules for the names assigning authority. Concrete defines the implementation of the distributed computing system which effectively maps names to the addresses.

Domain also contains domain suffixes isolated by a delimiter character. Individual sections in a domain may represent sits or groups, but these sections are known as labels. Some suffix of a label in a domain name is also known as a domain. For example, want2host.com, here the lowest level of the domain is want2host.com, and the top-level domain is com.

Note that the domain name database is distributed among different machine (servers) that communicates through TCP/IP protocols rather containing it in a single machine.

Key Differences Between URL and Domain Name

1. The URL is the complete internet address used to locate a requested page and has a domain as its part. Whereas, Domain name is the simpler form of technical IP address which defines an organization or entity.

2. Domain name is partitioned into levels. The labels (sub-domain, domain suffix)are separated by delimiter character and follows a hierarchical naming system. On the other hand, URL provides more information than a domain name, and its partitions are method, host name (domain name), port, path, etc.

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What is Bulletproof Hosting and how it affects you?

What is Bulletproof Hosting

Bulletproof hosting is a service provided by some domain hosting or web hosting firms that allows their customer considerable leniency in the kinds of material they may upload and distribute. This leniency has been taken advantage of by spammers and providers of online gambling or illegal pornography.

Bulletproof hosting providers have a high rate of turnover, as many hosting providers choose to shut down, whether forcibly or voluntarily, if their alternative would be to compromise client freedom (as this is their main selling point)

The World Wide Web presents itself as a useful source of information for people around the globe. However, if we look at the other side of the coin, it is full of cyber threats. There resides malware in the form of viruses, spyware, spamming content and the list goes on…We all know that! But have you ever thought from where and how these threats come into the web and attack online users? The technology behind this is bulletproof hosting which is also known as bulk-friendly hosting.

So what is Bulletproof Web Hosting Service?

Well, before we delve deeper into this technology, let me give you a brief about how a regular hosting service works. The majority of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have standard Terms and Services under which they do not allow a certain type of online materials to be uploaded or broadcasted online. This is done in order to minimize the risk of their IP subnet being suspended or blocked by anti-spam filters.

However, when it comes to a bulletproof hosting service, there is considerable leniency in terms of the type of material which is uploaded and distributed. This is where spammers, hackers, and online attackers take the advantage. Therefore, bypassing the laws, some domain hosting firms allow activities like spamming, phishing, online gambling, illegal pornography, etc.

How to Stop Bulletproof sites Attack You?

◈ Using a Web proxy is an effective way to only allow connections that are approved and block the ones with newly registered domains (such domains are a strong indication of a bulletproof hosting attack).

◈ Malware makes use of Domain Name Server (DNS) to trace IP addresses so as to connect to websites hosted at bulletproof hosts. Therefore, DNS monitoring techniques should be used to identify systems that are connected to a malicious website and can be blocked.

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What Is Cloud Web Hosting And Will It Work For Me

There is a bit of a buzz surrounding cloud web hosting these days and if you are researching various hosting options, you will certainly run across this term. But, there are only a handful of web hosts currently offering this solution, thus although it is a rather popular option it is also fairly new so your choices in web host are a tad limited.

As this solution gains in popularity, though, it is likely more and more hosts will start offering this as an option. This will benefit the customer by giving them more choices in companies to utilize, but it will also reduce the price for it with the increased competition in the market.

What is Cloud Web Hosting?

Cloud webhosting is hosting that uses the resources of several clustered servers. Basically, this means that your website uses the virtual resources of several servers to accommodate all the aspects of hosting your site. The load is balanced, security is taken care of and hardware resources are available virtually so they can be used when needed. The cluster of servers is the cloud.

Who can Benefit From Cloud Web Hosting?

Cloud hosting is often a solution for web sites that have outgrown the resources of their existing shared hosting provider. If a web site is extremely popular and causes a strain on the resources supplied by a shared server, you may need to find another solution. Often this solution is dedicated hosting where your site resides on its own server. The problem with dedicated hosting, though, is that it is both significantly more expensive and requires a certain level of IT know-how. With cloud hosting, you can have many of the advantages to dedicated hosting without most of the challenges.

Scalability: With Cloud Web Hosting you can Access Resources you Need as you Grow

One of the primary advantages to cloud web hosting is its scalability. Visualize a group of clouds. Your website is being run in these clouds but it suddenly gets busy. You can gather more clouds around your site to help support it so your users see no degradation of services. However, if you no longer need the additional clouds you can let them float away. Sites that have spikes in resource use can benefit from this option.

Example: Joe owns a website that specializes in downloadable Christmas projects for children. Coloring templates, origami tree ornaments, story ideas and craft projects are all available for use during the Christmas season. Of course, his website is open all year round but he only has a busy season starting in late November, falling off in January. Once the holiday season starts Joe sees an increase in traffic. Near the second week in December his site is visited so often and items are downloaded continuously causing a strain on his shared host's server. His account is suspended and he has to scramble to get his site back up and running on a dedicated machine.

Joe now experiences downtime affecting his customers all for one small portion of the year where he experiences heavy traffic. With cloud hosting, though, he can increase his site's available resources and use what he needs. When his traffic decreases again in January, he can release those resources and run his site efficiently on only what he needs.

Immediacy: On Demand use for Additional Services Helps you When you need it

When you need additional resources you do not have time to wait for customer service to assist you by increasing your bandwidth allotment if needed. If you really have a spike in resources then you risk having your site suspended for causing degradation in services to other sites on your shared server. You may experience down time or slowness on your site caused by the increased traffic. But with cloud web hosting you can increase your available resources immediately, when you need it. This can save you a lot of stress and may even save some customers because the process is seamless. Customers or users on your site will not see any change.

Savings: With Cloud Web Hosting you Only pay for what you use, Saving you a lot of Money

It used to be that when you outgrew your shared hosting environment that your only other option was to move to dedicated hosting. However, this cost a lot of money. For the web site that did not need all the resources available on a dedicated server or did not need them all the time such as in the example of Joe above, the money spent was wasted on unused services. However, with cloud hosting what you pay for is the resources you use. When you no longer need them you release them and you are no longer charged for them.

Scalability, immediacy and savings allow you to efficiently run your website. You can grow and shrink the available resources per your needs. You can get what you need when you need it and you only pay for what you use. This allows you to concentrate on what you know best - running your website. You won't have to worry about your hosting solution.

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What is the Difference Between a Primary Domain, Alternate Domain and a Subdomain?

PRIMARY DOMAIN

Your primary domain is simply the domain you used to purchase your server. The main controls for your server will be shown under this domain. However, the controls apply to the entire server, including additional domains that may be hosted on the server.

ALTERNATE DOMAIN

An alternate domain is any domain that has been added to your server after the primary domain. By default, all alternate domains are completely independent domains. They can have their own content, email addresses, and settings.

◈ Server functions, such as adding a database or an email user, are handled under the primary domain. Just think of the primary domain as a shortcut to the server controls. If you first click on the alternate domain, you can also click on Manage this Server to get to the server controls. Both options go to the same place.

◈ DNS settings, domain registration, and nameserver settings are still handled directly under the alternate domain.

SUBDOMAIN

A subdomain is a subset of an existing domain. For example, store.gs-example.com is a subdomain of gs-example.com.

Subdomains do not need to be added in the AccountCenter as alternate domains, unless the domain itself is not on the server. On a DV server, you can either use the Plesk subdomain feature, or add it as its own domain.

Subdomains should not have their own zone files. If you do add a subdomain as an alternate domain in the AccountCenter, click on it to make sure it does not have a zone file. Click on Remove Zone File if it does, but do not remove the alternate domain entry (if you added it because the domain itself is not on the server). If you need unique DNS entries for a subdomain, add a new entry to the parent domain's zone file.

It is possible to have separate email addresses for subdomains, if you add an MX record to the parent zone file specifically for the subdomain.

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Difference Between Domain and DNS

The main difference between domain and DNS is that the domain is a piece of string that helps to identify a particular website while the DNS (Domain Name System) is a server that translates the domain to the corresponding IP address to provide the required webpage.

There are many websites on the World Wide Web (WWW) including education, e-commerce, government, entertainment sites. It is necessary for each website to have a domain name. It helps to identify the website. The domain is unique to a particular user and others cannot use that name for their websites. When the user enters a domain in the browser, the DNS converts that name to the matching IP address to provide the required webpage. In brief, DNS resolves the domains to IP addresses.

What is a Domain

There is a massive number of websites available in the WWW. It is necessary to have a domain or a domain name to make a website visible to the user.  A domain is a piece of string that helps to identify a website. For example, the domain of this website is “want2host.com”. The domain name contains an extension to represent the type of the website or the company the website belongs too. The .com refers to a global company while .gov represents a government organization. Similarly, .org represents a non-government organization.

Figure 1: Domain Extensions

When the user visits a website or a webpage, the web address or its location on the web appears on the top of the web browser screen. It is the Uniform Resource Locator (URL). An example is as follows.

http://www.want2host.com/2018/10/dns-types-of-dns-records-dns-servers.html

In the above URL, “want2host.com” is the domain. This is the unique name belonging to the registered owner, and it points to the home page of the website.

The user can pay and register domain names from domain name registrar such as “GoDaddy. com”. Once he purchases a domain for his website, it is unique to him for the period of registration. When the user avoids renewing, that domain will be available to some other user. An individual or an organization can purchase a domain for their website for a reasonable amount.

What is DNS

Devices and services in the WWW use IP addresses. It is not possible for the users to type each IP address. DNS is the solution to this issue. It stands for Domain Name System. When the user enters the domain in the web browser, the DNS server converts the domain name to the corresponding IP addresses. The task of the DNS is similar to a phone book. The user can find the corresponding phone number by searching the name. Similarly, when the user enters the domain in the browser, the DNS converts that to the corresponding IP address to find and display the required website.

Figure 2: DNS

For example, when the user enters want2host.com in the web browser, the DNS search its database to find the matching IP address for that domain. After finding, it will resolve that domain name to the IP address of the website. Now, the user can communicate with want2host.com and retrieve the required webpage.

Difference Between Domain and DNS

Definition

Domain is an identification string that defines a realm of administrative autonomy, authority or control within the internet. DNS or the Domain Name System is a hierarchical decentralized naming system for computers, services and other resources connected to the internet or a private network.

Usage

The domain helps the user to identify a specific website while the DNS converts the domain names to the numerical IP addresses to provide the required computer services or the devices.

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Difference between cPanel and WHM

WHM (WebHost Manager) provides administrative control over your dedicated server or VPS. It allows a hosting provider to manage a customer’s account.

WHM is also a reseller control panel. It is what our customers receive with all Reseller hosting plans and use to manage all their resold hosting accounts in their reseller plans. However, a reseller has restricted reseller rights in WHM comparing to VPS and Dedicated Servers WHM (root user rights), so some functions are not available for them:

In WHM, you can: 

◈ create individual accounts 

◈ create custom hosting packages 

◈ add domains to the server 

◈ manage features of hosting packages and accounts 

◈ reset passwords/contact email addresses for cPanel accounts 

◈ edit Resource Limits for cPanel accounts 

◈ modify DNS zone records for each domain/subdomain 

◈ set up private nameservers on the server 

◈ access resold accounts without entering login details 

◈ perform basic system and control panel maintenance

cPanel is designed for managing separate hosting accounts on the server. End users/clients are able to: 

◈ install CMS using Softaculous 

◈ upload and manage files for their websites 

◈ add/remove addon domains and subdomains 

◈ create email accounts and manage email settings and SPAM protection 

◈ edit DNS records for their domains 

◈ check website statistics

◈ manage databases and backups, etc.

cPanel Basic Theme: 

cPanel Retro Theme: 

Take into account that when accessing cPanel via WHM of a reseller or root user, you can manage almost all options of the end user’s cPanel. However, some menus (like GoogleApps) can be accessed only when you are logged in as an individual cPanel user.

Here is the structure of WHM/cPanel users depending on their permissions: 

1. Server Administrator Panel (root access to WHM)

The top tier and highest-level user is the 'root' user. This is the server administrator who has full access to the server. The server administrator has total control over all WHM functions and can modify global server settings as well as customize settings for users with more limited privileges. A root user can access all levels of WHM interface, including reseller WHM and an end cPanel user. There is only one root user per server. 

2. Reseller Panel (WHM)

The reseller user is a subordinate of the server administrator. 

A reseller user has a more limited set of features comparing to the root user. They are limited by the server administrator to the features which affect the reseller’s customers’ accounts but not the whole server. 

Reseller access is provided with Reseller Panel (WHM) where they can manage all their resold accounts. The reseller also has access to all created accounts ('resolds'). The privileges of the reseller are set by the server administrator. There can be multiple resellers per server. 

3. Main Reseller cPanel

cPanel is a control panel used to manage the hosting account under your main domain. When you sign up for a Reseller package, you select a main domain name, it can be accessed via the main cPanel account. Login details for this cPanel coincide with WHM account details. If you need to reset the WHM password, it is required to reset the main cPanel account password, and they will both synchronize. 

4. cPanel account (resold)

Resold accounts are owned by the Reseller Panel (WHM). Resold accounts can be easily created, managed and maintained in Reseller Panel (WHM).

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What is KVM VPS Server Technology?

Traditional hosting services are being widely replaced by technologies such as VPS Hosting and Cloud Hosting. The benefits they offer outweigh the minor cost implications involved in upgrading to these hosting technologies. So, what is a virtual private server? A Virtual Private Server (VPS) as the name suggests, is a perceived private server even though it is installed on a computer running multiple VPS. This single computer can host several such VPS servers without any of them hindering the performance of other servers on the same network.

This virtualization is achieved by software called Hypervisor which segments the master hardware into smaller units. Each VPS is capable of running its own OS and will have dedicated resources irrespective of what other servers on the network are doing at any given moment. This ensures several benefits over Shared Hosting such as unrestricted root access, faster loading time, and privacy since VPS do not interact with other VPS on the same network. Selecting the right hosting for your company may have long-term ramifications for your business. So it is essential for you to decide wisely on the hosting that will be used by your company.

Why Switch To VPS?

Ideally, you should always host your website on a VPS since the cost of a private server can be substantially higher. With VPS you get better speeds and lower loading time which will not only delight your potential customer but will also help you in ranking better on search results. VPS will ensure better speeds even when you are getting higher traffic and more clicks.

Downtime and 503-server errors portrait your company in a negative light which may hamper your business. With shared server or even OpenVZ VPS, the resources are divided leading to its scarcity if other participants are utilizing more of it. Another problem arising out of the shared servers is a privacy concern. If another website hosted on the same server is being attacked frequently, you will also get affected since you are on the same server. To be able to install a special operating system and gain full root access, VPS is absolutely the best option.

Which VPS Is For Me?

There are several VPS options available in the market today. The virtualization technologies differ in the features they offer. So, it is crucial for you to understand what are your needs and then look for the VPS. The top technologies offered by most hosting providers are Citrix Xen, OpenVZ, and KVM. Each technology comes with its fair share of ups and downs, but more on that later.

The OpenVZ is a container-based virtualization Hypervisor for Linux meaning that you can only run Linux OS and no kernel-level modifications are possible. It can also be oversubscribed leaving you with lesser resources and slow speed. Citrix Xen or Xen eliminates all the problem faced with the OpenVZ. It is light hypervisor with a small footprint, it cannot be oversubscribed, and the host can run any OS. However, Redhat has removed support for Xen by default on Enterprise Linux 6, in favour of KVM.

What is a KVM Server? 

KVM is an acronym for Kernel-based Virtual Machine which is a virtualization technology built into the standard Linux Kernel. KVM allows you to run the kernel on the root node making it possible to run other operating systems. KVM requires the hardware to run its own virtualization extensions, but this should not pose a problem given that most non-Atom Intel processors and AMD processors come with these extensions. The virtualization is attained with the help of a hypervisor.

The KVM hypervisor is installed on the machine acting as the virtualization level of the system and enabling the host system to manage the guest virtual machines. The KVM virtualization technology is built into the standard Linux kernel which enables it to act as a hypervisor. The kernel will act as a second level hypervisor since the guest machine is packed with its own kernel. There are different types of hypervisor each catering to diverse requirements.

KVM VPS gives you the complete autonomy to set the values for your resources based on the requirements of your application. It provides virtualization of only the existing system’s hardware resources. So, all the shared resources such as disk space, CPU time, and network IO will be fairly distributed by the hypervisor. For developers looking to use an older system as a virtual server, it will be interesting to know that KVM can run a 32-bit guest OS on a 64-bit host. However, given that KVM VPS hosting options are offered at affordable prices by hosting providers, it is certainly not worth the trouble.

Additional Benefits with KVM VPS

KVM VPS Hosting offers additional benefits than those offered by standard VPS Hosting providers. With Want2Host KVM VPS Plan, you get dedicated IP, Neustar’s DDoS Protection, Top notch network built with Tier 1 ISPs, rDNS support, Multiple locations, CentOS 6 / CentOS 7 / Ubuntu 16.04 / Fedora 23 / Debian 8, Plesk Onyx, WHMCS, Tier IV Data Centre, and More.

It comes with a near-instant provisioning feature which will allow you to set up a server within minutes. Our VPS Server comes with a free SSD storage which reduces the risk of mechanical failures when compared with HDD. You also get robust infrastructure that ensures uninterrupted operations with 99.99% uptime. The data centres are protected with the best HVAC architecture and cutting-edge networking switches.

How To Select Best KVM VPS?

There are hundreds of hosting providers available across the internet. So, it is paramount to understand some crucial elements that you should seek before zeroing on any service provider. Live customer support will be an absolute necessity since you would be opting for new hosting. A problem can arise at any moment, so a 24*7 customer support is a must.

The hosting provider should be reliable and capable of delivering robust performance. Finally, compare the costing of plans offered by different hosting providers. While cost should not be the determining factor, but it is still vital to opt for plans that help you save money over the long run.

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