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Databases, Unmanaged Hosting, and More...

Do You Need Databases?

Once you start running scripts, it's more than likely you'll need databases too.

The most commonly used one on Windows servers is Microsoft SQL Server.

The most commonly used one on Linux and FreeBSD servers is MySQL.

Of course the Microsoft one isn't free so you'll need to pay extra for that generally.

MySQL is Open Source Software just like Linux and FreeBSD so it's free.

So for any scripts you need to check what the database requirements are.

Other factors to bear in mind are how many databases you're allowed?  Often each script uses just one database.  But if you're only allowed one and plan to install several scripts there could be problems.

What size databases are you allowed?

How many connections are you allowed to your databases at any time?

How many people are sharing the database server?

These can all affect how effectively your scripts run, and can potentially cause problems for you.

As an example:

My online information publishers forum at InfoProfitsTalk.com needs a MySQL database to run.

As the forum got busier, more visitors used more and more database connections.

To help keep it's shared database servers stable, Pair limits each database to no more than 15 connections at once.

So obviously when I had more than 15 visitors on the forum at any one time, this caused database issues.

So that's one of the reasons I moved to dedicated.  I then had a server all to myself.  The databases were on my server (I wasn't sharing a database server with anyone else) and it all ran perfectly from there, since there were no more restrictions.

If you have VERY busy databases, you may well need a dedicated database server.

For example I know some VERY busy forums that run on TWO powerful servers - one is the main server that handles the visitors, and the other server is purely a database server that processes and delivers the requested information to the first server.

What's The Best Control Panel?

There's almost as many different control panels as there are web hosting companies.

Many web hosts create their own personalised control panel.

The control panel can effect how easy a web hosting account or dedicated server is to use, and how many features a web hosting account or dedicated server offers you.

Generally before committing to a host, you'll want to try out a demo of their control panel and ensure it works for you.

How To Find More Information On Your Server

Once you're on your server, be it a dedicated server or simply a shared account, it can be good to know exactly what specification it is.

Just for your own peace of mind and also for your interest.

You can do this by running a UNIX command called dmesg. You simply telnet into your server (if you're allowed) using software like Putty:

http://www.putty.nl

And then at the command prompt type:

dmesg

And you'll see detailed information on your web server and exactly what hardware it has.

This command is only supported on Linux and FreeBSD - not Windows.  If you aren't able to run this command for any reason, you can get your web host to run it for you and give you the information it outputs.

What Exactly Is "Resold" Hosting?

We've already touched on this somewhat -

Resold Hosting is when the person selling you the web hosting does not generally own the web server.  They're renting it at a data centre and then reselling it to you.  In effect they're the middle man.

Issues with this as we've already mentioned is that the person selling you the web hosting is not physically near the server.  If there's issues with the server, they can't actually access it.

Any server hardware issues you tell them about usually just get passed on to the data centre for resolution.

And often resold hosting is run by very small or home based businesses.  They're generally unable to guarantee you 24 hour support and that causes even more potential issues for you.

That said, some reseller hosting is very professional.  They've chosen to spend the money on more support technicians as opposed to spending money on building or renting a data centre.

It's one thing to bear in mind, and this is where research in to hosting companies comes in.

Before going with any single hosting company, I strongly recommend you do a search on the company name at the following forum:

www.WebHostingTalk.com

This is a very busy and established forum - generally for people that run hosting companies (and resell hosting) but there's a lot of customer questions there.  It's a wealth of knowledge, so take advantage of their Search function to get more feedback before committing your sites to a host.

Now one important point worth mentioning -

Let's take this example:

I (living in the UK) could rent a web server in a data centre in Texas in the US.  I then resell space on that server to my hosting customers.

Of course that's a very clear example of me having absolutely no physical access to the server.

If there's any hardware issues with the server I would need to put in a request to the data centre and hope they take care of it quickly.

And since I wouldn't have visited the data centre (it's unlikely) I would have to make the assumption by doing my initial research that they have full server monitoring, do full backups, have high quality bandwidth and server hardware ...etc. basically I would need to feel confident they're doing what they say they're doing and offering a high quality service too.

Managed vs. Unmanaged Dedicated Hosting

Now when we talk about Managed or Unmanaged hosting - what's that about?

Well, it only refers to when you have a dedicated server.

If you're very technical and know how to administer your own web server, all you really want is a computer in a data centre attached to a big pipe direct to the internet.

Oh yes - and you want an operating system installed.  But that's all.

That's what's known as an unmanaged web server.

Why?  Because it is literally unmanaged.  You have to manage everything yourself.  The only thing the people you're hiring the server from will do is replace hardware if any fails.  And that's pretty much all.

The unmanaged option costs less - the reason is all the administration is done by YOU.

Many resellers of web hosting do this.  They simply rent a bunch of computers at a data centre, and look after all the day to day running themselves.

By doing this they can rent servers cheaper, and make more profits when they resell you hosting.

However, this can create a lot of work for them with installing software on the servers, making sure there's no security leaks...etc.  They really need to understand how to administer servers - and that takes a long time to learn.

With managed hosting - there's different levels of managed hosting.  Check with any web host exactly what they're managing and exactly what they expect you to look after.

One reason I chose to have my dedicated server with Pair is because just like a shared hosting account all the techie stuff is hidden and you're just given an easy to use control panel so you can get on running your business.

You have all the power of a dedicated server, without all the technical headaches, since that's all hidden and looked after for you.  This allows me to just get on with running my business.

Confirm with your web host exactly what they'll look after, and decide exactly how much you want managed.

Unless you understand how to administer a web server, I would go with managed and then just focus on running your business, rather than getting distracted with the technical aspects of running your web server, which is very unlikely to actually make you any money and can cause a lot of work for you.

However, with the Pair set up they hide a lot from you.  Including root access.  Root access is when you have full control of your server.  If you know what you're doing, that can sometimes be helpful.

However, Pair hide that from you, since as well as being helpful root access can also potentially cause problems.  Therefore in this case limiting the functionality means more security.  So it's a trade off that you need to decide is right for your business or not.

As an example of something bad that could happen if someone roots (takes root control) of your server - they could install spam software on there, and send several million spam from your server before you can stop them.

This does happen, and that's why security of your web server is so important.  If you want to administer your own server, you must know how to protect against all such eventualities.

Another possible option is get an unmanaged server, but hire someone to administer it for you.  That might be the right option for you, but it may not be the most straight forward or the most cost effective one.

What Are "Virtual Servers"?

A virtual server is a cross between a shared hosting account and an unmanaged dedicated server.

With a virtual server you get the power of having root access to a server, without the cost of renting a full dedicated server.

These are specially set up shared servers - let's say a server is divided in to 10 individual virtual servers.

Each virtual server will look and act like an unmanaged dedicated server.  But of course you're only getting 10% of that server's power.

It's a useful option if you need the power of root access, without all the power of a dedicated server.

However, because you get root access a virtual server is often unmanaged and unless you know exactly what you're doing, you won't get very far with this.

Bringing It All Together

At the very least, everything you've gathered through this report will give you a far better understanding of web hosting than most people on the internet.

The advantage to you then is that you're far better equipped to make the right decision for YOUR business and hopefully you won't make off the cuff decisions regarding your web hosting, that unfortunately a lot of people do, and cause them problems down the road.

So when you're ready to get your web hosting, or to make a move, first of all research the company here:

www.WebHostingTalk.com

Ask your potential host questions if you wish about their bandwidth, their redundancy systems in case of failure, what hardware they use in their servers...etc.

And what's beneficial too is if that company has a forum, spend some time there and get to see what kind of customer issues there are.

Now, this may seem a lot of trouble to go through especially if you're just looking for low cost.  Well, this is still a very important subject, so time learning about it is useful.

You don't need to be a technical wizard by any stretch, but it's useful to understand the subject.

Now, I know I keep using them as a case study, but I've been very happy with their service and have no plans to move away from them (unless the quality of their service deteriorates for any reason) and that's Pair.com

Their shared hosting offerings start as low as around $7 a month.

If you just need some web hosting to place your pictures on for eBay auctions, this will do very well.

If you're initially expecting very low amounts of visitors to your site, this will work well too.

Then all you need is your address (your domain) and you're live on the internet.

For getting your domain name, you can get one very affordably for only around $9 a year.  At the moment I'm using the following company to get my domains:

www.NameCheap.com

That company is known as a domain registrar and it's a very important service to your business, so again do the research by searching for more information here:

www.WebHostingTalk.com

And then as your business grows you can simply upgrade through the different offerings of your web host since it's strongly recommended you choose one host and stick with them as you grow.

The reason for this is sticking with one host will minimise the downtime of your site as you move up from one web hosting account to another.

Whereas moving your site from one host to another is a convoluted process that can make it difficult to access your sites (if at all) for around two or three days.

Then when you finally get to the stage when your business is ready for a dedicated server, make that careful decision too.

Once again I recommend:

Pair.com

Also coming highly recommend are:

RackSpace.com

How To Start Your Own Web Hosting Business

In this report I've gone in depth into what to look for when choosing a web host to host your web sites on.

Well, from that you can also see how if you so choose you could go about setting up your own web hosting business.

Now this is potentially a huge subject, so this chapter will simply be an introduction, but in a nutshell here's the theory:

As you can see, there's a lot involved, and this can get very technical. And it's obviously strongly recommended you understand the concepts and industry well before you even consider getting involved in that side of the business.

Part 1 - An Introduction

Part 2 - What Exactly Is a Web Server?

Part 3 - Your Web Server Memory and Operating System Options

Part 4 - Bandwidth, and Backups

Part 5 - More About Backups, And How To Monitor Your Sites Automatically

Part 6 - Databases, Unmanaged Hosting, and More...