Web Hosting: New Technology
It is obvious that there is a need for every company to have an online presence and the same can be said for those who like to impart information or have technical skills. The growth of web hosting can be seen because of Internet savvy people who like to impart knowledge and market themselves whilst offering music, videos and pictures. The ability to do all of this is created by operating systems, the Web Hosting platforms. There have been recent breakthroughs in Web Hosting and the hosts are always looking to improve their services and provide cutting edge technology to clients.
Web Hosting Platforms – what are they?
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 can be seen as the older and standard type of web hosting platform. Linux is seen as very reliable and is able to utilize its disk space and memory effectively. It is said that in excess of 70% of web servers use the Linux / Unix system because it is cheap and has fantastic power and can be relied upon.
Windows is the response of Microsoft to provide to web hosting and is rising in popularity all the time with many web developers. This is because it utilizes ASP and ASP.NET. It is also true that the Window operating system works very well with other .NET sever systems like:
* Commerce Server 2002
* BizTalk Server 2002
* BizTalk Server 2002
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:
* Space available on the Disk – Each and every web hosting account contains a finite amount of disk space that can be utilized by a customer to place all their files on. The total size offered on the disk varies by firm and by each individual package. Potential clients should be aware that the disk space offered by a shared web host will be smaller than the space offered by a customized host.
Email Accounts – The Web Hosting package allows a certain number of email accounts depending upon the price of the package. The email accounts are a common feature of hosting, particularly while hosting a domain. There are some Web hosts that let their customers have control over their mail settings. Other hosts will do all the set up for the clients. The configuration of the email accounts is a matter of personal preference but however there are basically four main types of mail accounts – POP3, forwarding, aliases and auto responders.
* 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.
Recent Advances in Web Hosting:
With the advancement of technology and companies going global, the requirements of the companies as well as the individuals have changed. The Web Hosts are also committed to deliver the latest and up to date technologies to their customers.
The technology up gradation of the Windows Server technology and the release of the Windows 2003 Server provides what is now arguably known as the highest performance server environment. It provides outstanding support for the web developers and has a single vendor (Microsoft) committed to its ongoing development.
One area where the advances have brought many changes is with regards to the Linux and Windows operating systems and the features provided by the two have never been closer. There used to be key differences between the two, allowing users to make a distinct choice between the two but this is no longer the case and the differences are now minimal. It is now the case where a hosting company does not have to make a massive choice over which operating system to offer as it is not a major concern to a client. Nowadays, it is more likely a client will base their choice of web host on the range of features and price they offer as opposed to the operating system they have in their package.
Web hosting software
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:
* Allowing users to benefit from the automation facility of creating accounts
* Management of dedicated servers
* Automation of monotonous tasks that used to consume the time of system administrators
The software helps the companies in more than one ways. By opting for and hosting the automation software, the management of the dedicated server becomes easy to control and the provisioning of resources comes down from hours to minutes.
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.
Linux also offers a number of dedicated server software packages including,the Linux dedicated server software are centOS Linux, Fantastico De Luxe, cPanel / Web Host Manager, Red Hat Enterprise, Plesk for Linux and Anti Virus Software and Security Software.
Voice over Internet Protocol technology in Web Hosting
Like any growing industry, Web Hosting is creating new technologies to provide a better service to their customers. Due to the competition in the market there is a need for firms to provide improved services and one of the areas of advancement is Voice over Internet Protocol and this technology has been widely used in the web hosting industry. Basically, this technology enables people with a broadband internet connection on their computer to communicate with other people around the world without having to pay the usually associated high costs.
The beauty of VOIP is that it adds an increased level of service without any difficulty which makes it attractive to firms. This means there is a large number of firms offering the service in an attempt to cash in on it.
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:
One major Web Host provider has created the “virtual rack” solution and its aim to offer the much liked private rack solution to clients who can only run a limited number of servers. The ultimate goal of this product is to enable customers to have the full range of customization on their Web Hosting.
As soon as the customer is in their private rack, they can choose which servers they would like. There is also the ability for them to select security technologies or advances networks which best suit their needs. This may range from the top of the line firewalls from Cisco ASA or perhaps a load balancer from server iron. However a customer wants their configuration, they can request it from their web host as well as asking for the IP arrangement they would like to receive.
All of these modern changes and progressions will make Web Hosting far better value for money and efficient than it has ever been before. The recent advances and developments are sure to make Web Hosting more efficient and effective. With exceeding customer expectations a vital goal for every firm, the changes in technology will allow many Web Hosts to do just that.
About Matt Ewing : Matt Ewing is a professional blogger in the web hosting industry. Visit WebHostingMadness.com to read his reviews on the top 10 hosting companies this year.
