New Advances in Web Hosting
One of the things that happened after the dot com boom was there was a massive need for companies of all shapes and sizes to have an online presence. This has also been seen with regards to tech people who want to share their wisdom and ideas with the world on the internet. This has meant that Web Hosting has grown at a dramatic rate as all users, organizations and individuals have been looking to interact. This has meant sharing ideas, information, footage, selling and marketing services and products and all of this has been made possible by operating systems which have supported the platforms of web hosting. In recent times there have been numerous advances in hosting web sites and these providers are always looking to provide customers with the most up to date technologies.
Web Hosting Platforms – what are they?
The Web Hosting platforms are actually the operating systems that support Web Hosting. The most traditional forms of Web Hosting Platforms used are Linux and Windows.
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
* Commerce Server 2002
* Biz Talk Server 2002
Web Hosting packages used to be bundled with only the minimum features but many of these features are vital to the package and they include:
Disk Space – All the Web Hosting accounts come with a certain amount of disk space that the customer can use to store all his/her files. The space differs from package to package. A shared Web Hosting has less disk space than the customized one.
Email Accounts – The price of the package can have an impact on how many email accounts are made available. These accounts are a feature provided by many hoists and sought after by many clients and some hosts allow their clients to have full control over their mail settings. Of course, some web hosts will do all of this for their client. How each client sets u their email accounts is down to their preference but there are a number of options including POP3, auto-responders, aliases and forwarders.
Uploading files via FTP access – Another feature that appears in a great number of hosting accounts is the ability to have FTP access. If the user wishes to load files to their site or edit or erase content held on the server, the simplest way to do it is via FTP access, which is far quicker than utilizing a web=based interface to do the same task.
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.
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.
Web hosting software
The development of the new Web hosting software is the recent advancement in the Web Hosting field. This software makes Web Hosting more efficient and effective. They are available to assist in the functioning of Web Hosting in the following ways:
* Enabling account setup to be done automatically
* Management of dedicated servers
* Automation of monotonous tasks that used to consume the time of system administrators
There are numerous ways that this software is of benefit to a company. In choosing an automation software approach, the company is able to make the management of their dedicated server an easier process and vastly reduce the time spent on providing this resource.
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.
Web Hosting and VOIP – Voice over Internet Protocol technology
The Web Hosting industry is ever growing and coming up with new technologies to serve their customers better. The Web Hosts in the market compete with each other in providing the most up to date and latest technology to the clients. There has been a recent advancement in Voice over Internet Protocol technology in Web Hosting field. The new advancement has enabled anyone with a computer and a broadband Internet connection to communicate worldwide without paying the usual long distance fees.
As this new technology is fairly cheap, many service providers have figured out that VOIP is able to give them an edge and can be seen as a new and innovative addition to their range of services and one which can be implemented with no real trouble. This has led to a surge in VOIP companies who are seeking to find a way into this lucrative market.
The Web hosting industry is not far behind and is beginning to follow suit. Many of the top rated Web Hosts have come up with the plan to launch VOIPo, a VOIP telephone service. The hosting provider hopes to extend this offer to all over the world.
Launching the Virtual Rack:
The “virtual rack solution” was created by one popular web host and it offers the benefits of rack solutions to customers who may have as little as two servers running. The chief goal of this product is to enable customers to have 100% customization on their own web hosting.
Having installed the virtual rack, the client is able to choose the servers they truly desire or need. There is also the provision for them to choose which type of network and security-based technologies they would like to have. These can range from loaded balances that are provided by server iron to the range of ASA firewalls from Cisco. If a customer ever wanted to tell their Web host exactly how they would like their web site to be configured or to demand what IP arrangements would be best for them, the Virtual Rack will allow them to do it all.
The recent advances and developments are sure to make Web Hosting more efficient and effective. They will help in serving the purpose of the consumers in a way more than expected!
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