Web Hosting: New Technology
Published on August 17th, 2008 by Matt Hedges in Web HostingWith the dot com boom, website hosting became a necessity for all the companies regardless of size and capacity. It has also become a latest craze for the individuals who are internet savvy and love to share information with other people on the internet. Web Hosting thus fast grew as a service that provides individuals, organizations and users with online systems so that they can interact with others, promote their products, share information, images and videos. The Web Hosting is supported by the Web Hosting platforms - the operating systems. There have been lots of recent advancements in Web Hosting and the Web Hosts are continuously striving to offer their clients with the latest and the most upgraded technologies.
Getting to grips with Web Hosting Platforms.
What is known as a web hosting platform can generally be describes as an operating system whose primary task is to support the act of Web Hosting. Linux and Windows are the two types of Web Hosting platforms that are seen as the most traditional.
Linux - This is the most traditional form of Web Hosting Platform used. It is widely regarded as the most reliable and uses memory and disk space efficiently. More than 70% of the web servers in the world make use of Linux / UNIX due to its exceptional power and reliability and also because the cost of Linux / UNIX hosting is low.
The other platform is Windows - Window is what Microsoft has offered to the world as a response to web hosting and its popularity is on the increase. Part of the reason for this surge in popularity is due to the programming aspects contained within it which offers developers the chance to use ASP and ASP.NET programming environments. Another string reason for using this platform is due to the way it integrates with other .NET server technologies, including:
* SQL Server 2000
* BizTalk Server 2002
* SQL Server 2000
In days gone by, there may have only been basic functions for web host packages but there are more now and some of the most commonly found and essential ones are:
* Disk Space - Each web hosting account is equipped with a limited number of disk space that a customer can utilize to save their files on the size of the disk space varies from company to company and package to package. Disk space that is saved on a shared web host space will be less than one on customized space.
* Accounts relating to emails - The actual amount can depend on the physical cost of the package but there will be a provision of email accounts with a Web Hosting package. Amongst all of these packages, the provision of email accounts is extremely common and come in useful when hosting a domain. Having control over the email account can be offered to the customer if the Web Host wants to but there are many Web Hosts who will perform all the set-up processes for the customer. Whilst different users may have their favorite type of email account and their own preference there are 4 key types of email accounts and there are auto responders, aliases, forwarding and POP3 accounts.
* FTP Access - A provision of FTP access is a feature that is found in many modern bought hosting accounts. Having access to FTP enables the user to load files, amend or erase content on the server at a faster rate than they could if they used an interface based on the web.
Progression in modern Web Hosting:
As technology surges onwards and more companies find a presence online, the needs and wants of individuals and companies are evolving rapidly. This means that Web Hosts also have to progress to be able to deliver the most modern technologies to their clients.
The level of service and technology that is bring offered by technology today, for instance the Windows Server technology and the Windows 2003 Server, is probably at the highest it has ever been. Modern technology ensures there is a tremendous level of support for website developers and they can continue in confidence knowing that Microsoft, a single vendor, is wholly committed to this continual development of technology.
These improvements have meant that Windows and Linux are closer and there are instances of inter-operability between the two. Previously, each system has distinct advantages over the other but now there is not the same distinction between the two. This means that which system is offered by a host is not as important to a client as it once was. The majority of clients today are able to base their web his decision of features and factors if the company itself as opposed to the operating system they use.
Software for hosting a Web Site
The key step forward in recent years in web hosting fields has came through web hosting software, which has greatly increased the effectiveness and efficiency of the hosts. The manner in which the new software can aid the host can be seen in the following functions:
* Enabling account setup to be done automatically
* Management of dedicated servers
* Ensuring that monotonous tasks can be automated saving the time of system administrators
The company is aided by the software in a number of ways. Automation can reduce the time it takes to provide control and services from hours to minutes and the whole process becomes easier to control.
The Windows dedicated server software are Plesk for Windows, Helm for Windows, Easy Admin Exchange Control Panel, Cold Fusion MX, Anti Virus & Security Software to name a few.
Similarly, the Linux server is supported by software packages including centos Linux, cPanel / Web Host Manager, Red Hat Enterprise, Anti Virus Software and Security Software, Fantastico De Luxe and Plesk for Linux.
> Web Hosting and Voice over Internet Protocol technology
As the Web host industry continues to go from strength to strength, there is a growing need to develop new products and technologies to ensure customers remain satisfied. The Web Hosting industry is fiercely competitive and rival firms know they have to push technology forward to be in a position to best serve their clients and win customers. One key development in recent times in the Web hosting industry revolves around Voice over Internet Protocol technology. These advances has allowed any computer user who also has access to a broadband Internet connection to be able to communicate with other people all over the world without being charged the level of fees that is normally associated with this level of communication.
The service providers have discovered that the VoIP can add a new, and often very appropriate, dimension to their services without much difficulty. The VOIP companies are coming up in great numbers in hopes of cashing in on the rather new industry.
It can be seen that the Web host genre is coming up quickly with regards to this provision and is looking to follow on. A sizeable proportion of the key Web hosts have devised plans to launch VOIPO, a telephone services that utilizes the benefits of VOIP. This is something that a Web Host provider would seek to distribute across the world
The Launch of Virtual Rack:
A popular Web Host has come up with a “virtual rack” solution, which is designed to make the features of its popular private rack solution available to customers running as few as two servers. The main aim of launching the private rack product to provide the customers with complete customization on there web hosting.
Once the customers are in a private rack, they can pick the servers they want. They can also pick which advanced network and security technologies they prefer, whether it’s advanced firewall from the line of Cisco ASA firewalls or load balancers from server iron. With Virtual Rack, the customers can tell the Web Hosts how they would like their configuration to be, and exactly what IP arrangement they want.
There is no doubt that the advances and improvements in Web Hosting have greatly increased the efficiency and effectiveness of the industry. All of these steps have played a part in fulfilling customer needs and serving the consumer purposes in a far better manner and one which may have exceeded expectations.
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