web hosting

Avoiding the Pitfalls of Unlimited Domains

The more popular the web hosting business becomes, the most difficult it becomes to distinguish a quality provider from an inferior imposter.  It takes far more than a few testimonials and a professional website design to identify a reliable host.  The search becomes even more difficult when running across companies that offer “unlimited” domain hosting plans.  Unlike the multiple variation, this form doesn’t limit you to a measly two or three domains – you have the freedom to run as many websites as your heart desires.  With these capabilities you can scratch that expensive dedicated server off your list.  Virtualization is no longer worth looking into, right?  Hold on before you put off your plans.  There is a lot you should know about unlimited domain hosting.

Uncovering the Truth

As a customer, it is important to understand that web hosting is a major industry with a terminology all its own.  What a particular term means to you can have an entirely different meaning in this environment, as is the case with unlimited in regard to domains.  Although several companies will lead you to believe that you can launch websites until your heart is content, you can probably host up to 5 domains before things go haywire.  Anything more increases the likelihood of draining critical resources such as bandwidth, memory and CPU.  When this happens, you might not have a single website available let alone 5 of them.  Therefore, you should look at unlimited domain hosting as another clever tactic similar to the incredible disk space and transfer offerings used to entice unknowing customers.

Instead of allowing you to broaden your web presence, an unlimited domain hosting solution could end up creating unlimited ways to get your sites shut down.  Despite the advertisements, some of these plans come attached with complex stipulations and restrictions that typically don’t work in your favor.  Beneath the technical jargon and fine print you will discover limitations on CPU and RAM usage, file size, FTP uploads and the list goes on.  All these complications in an arrangement that is supposed to offer the freedom of unlimited.  Go out of bounds and you could find yourself trapped at the mercy of an unruly web host.

Save Yourself

It may not be fair, but it is pretty easy to understand why companies heavily promote unlimited domain hosting packages.  It is just another way to sell a service to customers who simply don’t know enough about how the technology works to realize the ploy.  In most cases, no harm, no foul.  Others however, turn out be disastrous.  The truth is that some of the industry’s leading providers are making their names off of these misleading yet ingenuous marketing gimmicks.  It is up to you to know the game and read between the lines.  There is a great chance that unlimited domain hosting will continue or eventually be replaced by offerings promising even more irresistible capabilities.  While you can’t change the hosting market, you can prevent yourself from getting stuck in a jam.

Free Control Panel Software for Your Server

If you need a control panel program for your server, it is important to know that the options span much further than commercial versions such as cPanel and Plesk.  In fact, there are some free control panels on the market that make excellent choices for a dedicated server.  The options discussed in this article will be GNUPanel, SysCP and Webmin.

GNUPanel

A relatively new option, the GNUPanel is an application scripted in the PHP5 programming language and designed to run on the Debian distribution of Linux.  The standout features of this software include domain and FTP management, mail management and database administration.  This control panel lets you control popular applications such as the Apache web server as well packages like PHP and MySQL among others.  The software also enables the automatic installation of various third-party programs including Joomla, phpBB, osCommerce and Wordpress among others.  Hence the name, GNUPanel has an open-source license under the GPL.  Although this control panel is currently restricted to the Debian platform, its developers say the application is currently being designed to support other operating systems.

SysCP

The SysCP control panel allows you to manage your web space, mail, CGI scripts, DNS settings, create custom error pages, view statistics and more.  The features integrated into the software provide you with the ability to control a wide variety of applications including Apache, BIND, Courier and ProFTPD.  While there are numerous modules built-in into the control panel, there are even more extensions available for download that enable you to administer other aspects of the server.  Some of the third-party modules for SysCP include tools that allow you to manage applications such as Fetchmail and SpamAssassin, perform backups of your critical data and more.  This control panel supports five major Unix-like distributions with the most notable being Debian, Gentoo, FreeBSD, OpenSuSe and Ubuntu.  Under the GNU GPL, SysCP can be freely distributed and modified.  Before installing SysCP, be sure to check for compatibility as it supports certain versions of the afore mentioned operating systems.

Webmin

The Webmin control panel is becoming an increasingly popular option for dedicated server customers.  This software is incredibly easy to use and loaded with a number of features, which are primarily modules that provide the ability to administer the server.  It comes standard with modules for Apache and BIND, a BSD firewall, bandwidth monitoring, a cron job manager and much more.  Aside from the built-in modules, Webmin  supports a variety of third-party extensions that can be downloaded from the web.  It also gives you the option to develop your modules.  Webmin currently supports more than 80 different operating systems including Unix, FreeBDS and several variations of Linux.   Because it is under the GNU GPL as open-source software, many developers from all over the world have contributed to the code and improved the software.  The most recent versions of Webmin have been released under a license similar to that of BSD, basically meaning that it can be freely distributed and modified for both commercial and non-commercial use.

Introducing Cold Fusion Hosting

Now an Adobe product, Cold Fusion is one of the most powerful programming languages available.  As a server-side scripting technology, it is used to create dynamic web pages and applications, quite similar to languages such as ASP, Perl and PHP.  Cold Fusion gives developers the ability to create and deploy interactive features that power self-service applications, content management systems, e-commerce sites and much more.  As a tag-based language, it is said to be one of the most comprehensive programming tools to use in the world.  In order to enjoy all Cold Fusion has to offer, you need a web hosting provider that supports it.

This article will go over the factors you must consider when looking for Cold Fusion hosting.

Available Version

When it comes to Cold Fusion hosting, it is always best to choose a web hosting provider that offers the most recent version of the language.  This will allow you to benefit from the latest features to create powerful, user-friendly web pages and applications.  It also makes it much easier to integrate the language with the database system you prefer to work with.

Possible Limitations

Choosing the right Cold Fusion solution is very important as some environments prevent you from getting its full potential.  For example, there are a few shared hosting providers that will limit the use of its tags because they are often viewed as security risks.  This is mainly due to the  mere structure of a shared server.  This is very understandable as the vulnerability of your site opens potential threats to everyone else hosting on the server.  You can get around these limitations by opting for dedicated server hosting.  Though it is considerably more expensive, dedicated hosting gives you complete control over which tags can or cannot be used on the server.

Cold Fusion Features

Cold Fusion is a powerful feature in its own right but there are some minimal requirements.  Most web hosting providers will set you up with everything required to get the maximum use out of this dynamic programming language.  All that is really needed to excel with Cold Fusion is a complimenting database to provide back-end in support for your web applications.  This shouldn’t be a problem as Cold Fusion integrates seamlessly with popular databases such as MySQL, Postgre SQL and MS SQL.

Cost Factor

Lastly, you need to consider the budget you have available to put towards a Cold Fusion hosting package.  Because it is one of the oldest languages around, you can find Cold Fusion offered in many low cost hosting packages.  However, some companies charge a pretty penny for all the advanced functionality it offers, especially when bundled with compatible Microsoft products.

In the end, it is mainly the complimenting features such as bandwidth and software add-ons that will impact the cost of Cold Fusion hosting solution.

While it goes without saying, Cold Fusion hosting is something you should only seek when having a specific need for the functionality it offers.  Though it may not be as popular as ASP or PHP, the language is widely available.  As with any hosting service, the most important aspects of this niche are reliability and quality technical support.  A stable platform will give you all the ammunition you need to thrive with a Cold Fusion website.

34SP Recognized by Netcraft

Leading web hosting provider 34SP, recently added another notch to its belt by debuting in Netcraft’s Top 50 Most Reliable Hosting Provider’s Network Performance list.  The induction is attributed to the provider’s commitment to ensuring that its customers enjoy the best performance possible.

Netcraft is well known throughout the web hosting industry for measuring and publishing the response times of the top 50 leading hosting company’s servers.  The firm’s measurements are made at 15 minute intervals from individual points around the web while the averages are calculated immediately over the following 24-hour period.  According to the data compiled by Netcraft, 34SP is currently ranked as 25^th amongst the world’s top 50 web hosting providers.

Stuart Melling, 34SP cofounder, stressed the importance of upholding server uptime for their customers in a recent interview.  Melling states that 34SP was founded on the core values of high availability and reliability, qualities that enable every individual, developer and small business owner to get the most out of their hosting solution at a reasonable price.  34SP has been able to thrive in the industry by utilizing the best server hardware and software technologies coupled with an expert support staff that works tirelessly to make the customers happy.   Now recognized on a global scale by Netcraft for its network reliability, it is clear to see that these investments have paid off.

According to a recent statement, 34SP dramatically enhanced the reliability and overall performance of its network and hosting services by investing in an extensive infrastructure upgrade.  This upgrade was powered by the substantial increase in sales for the provider’s hosting solutions, an impressive lineup that features personal hosting, business hosting, VPS hosting, dedicated servers, reseller hosting and add-on products that range from SSL certificates to additional scripting technologies.  34PS has also made significant improvements to its customer service and technical support system.  Investments have been recently made toward hiring additional support staff members, upgrading local office and data center hardware, and expanding the customer support operations within the 34SP global headquarters.

The reasoning behind the additional support investments came as the result of an active client survey 34SP conducted early 2009.  This survey involved a large number of approximately 15,000 34SP hosting clients with personal, business, VPS and dedicated server accounts.  The provider revealed some intriguing statistics from the survey regarding its referral rates.  When presented with the question of whether or not they would recommend 34SP’s hosting services, 98% of the clients involved responded with a definite “Yes”.  The host points to this finding as confirmation of the positive impact its reliability and quality customer support has on referral rates.

About 34SP

Based in Manchester England, 34SP is an award winning web hosting provider that specializes in solutions designed for individuals, web designers, seasoned developers and small to medium sized businesses.  The company puts an emphasis on delivering industry leading reliability, personalized support and world-class service.  34SP compliments these qualities with generous incentives and a money back guarantee to assure customer satisfaction.

The Planet Offers Attractive Discount for Resellers

On February 24, 2009, global IT hosting leader The Planet, announced that it would be running a promotion to help its resellers increase their revenues.  From the 24^th of February through March 31, resellers who buy five or more servers will get discounts of up to 68% per server.  Customers can then use the bulk servers to deliver upgrades to their busier clients who require dedicated server platforms.  These additional severs can also serve as an extended infrastructure for resellers who want to provide value-added or shared offerings such as applications and custom services.

Urvish Vashin, dedicated hosting General Manager for The Planet, says the provider is more than happy to give its loyal customers such a tremendous account.  Vashin notes that web hosting is a highly competitive market and this special promotion will give The Planet’s customers a wide variety of options with an excellent value for their money.  With the bulk discount offerings, resellers have the benefit of upgrading their customers to a dedicated environment in a cost effective manner.

The recent promotion allows resellers to take of advantage of significant discounts on the purchase of five or more high performance servers.  The hardware options include the Celeron 2.0+, the Dual Xeon 2.4, Dual Xeon 2.8 and Dual Xeon 3.2, the Pentium 4.2.4+ and the Xeon 5130.

Discounts on The Planet’s bulk servers are structured as follows:

The price on five to nine servers ranges from $69 to $119 a month per server

The price on 10 to 19 servers are greatly reduced, ranging from $59 to $109 a month per server.

The price on 20 or more servers is the best deal, dropping from $49 to $99 a month per server.

According to The Planet, resellers also have the option of enjoying additional savings by leveraging the provider’s Unmetered Servers promotion, a special offer that was recently announced.  For a limited time, The Planet is giving away its popular unmetered bandwidth solutions for no cost on reduced priced servers.  The packages are regularly priced at $200 for 10 Mbps and $1,800 for 100 Mbps of bandwidth each month.  This is how the deal works – the Dual Xeon 3.2, which is regularly priced at $299, can now be purchased at the discounted price of just $144 per month and comes bundled with 10 Mbps of unmetered bandwidth.   The same server with 100 Mbps of unmetered bandwidth is only $544 a month.  The Planet is expecting its customers to take of advantage while these amazing offers last.

About The Planet

The Planet is a worldwide leading provider of on-demand IT solutions, currently servicing well over 20,000 businesses and 15 million websites.  This company gives its customers a wide variety of options to choose from with dedicated servers in Planet Alpha and managed hosting with Planet Northstar.  The Planet utilizes world-class data centers, the best in server hardware and software tools.  Its enterprise-class network infrastructure allows customers to enjoy that competitive edge needed to succeed in today’s business environment.