The steps are pretty simple so far, but before you are geared up to go forward with the server upgrades, you have to first decide which operating system works the best with your firm goals. The two most popular platforms used in a lot of various industries are Windows-based servers and Linux servers for operations. Numerous companies tend to prefer a Windows-based server to use since it is easy to operate and is optimized for networking and cooperation, which can be very useful for a large corporation. Linux servers can be a little more quirky to manage because they require a bit more of advanced system knowledge. This is why many people prefer to have a professional man server for them, or they will hire someone in-house specifically for the job. Normally, a Windows-based server is more expensive to install and operate, while a Linux-based server is more economical to install, but costs can add up paying someone to manage it for you if you do not have the appropriate knowledge. Selecting on which operating system for your dedicated server to install depends on various factors and of course, your budget.

Choosing an encoding parallel platform is a vital priority, otherwise more time and money will have to be invested trying to make odds compatible. Also be sure to check that the administrator assigned to tend to your dedicated server is prepared with the right training and platform-specific knowledge that you and your hardware require. Current trends have made it widely known that companies which use independent sources to manage their dedicated servers have seen a sizable increase when it comes to in-house productivity. Why is this? In house employees are free to go about their core business strengths while not having to worry about technical maintenance. Business server colocation host will usually offer two main options for clients, managed or unmanaged services. Hosting companies are there to help.

The primary business can assume as much or as little responsibility when it comes to the control and flexibility of their servers. Also, hosting companies offer their clients a commanding technological foundation to support their goals and free them of superfluous problems. One of the main reasons businesses want to use managed dedicated servers is because a host company reduces downtime. A data center is properly equipped with cooling systems to prevent overheating and most importantly, powerful backup generators to keep you up and running. Once these services are outsourced to data centers, a vast majority of clients have seen a large scale reduction in downtime, affirming that these professionals are positively impacting their business workings. If a company suffers chronic downtime, clients are equally likely to go to different suppliers who do not have that problem. A reputable server colocation hosting company can keep the state of at least 99% uptime, your customers will appreciate. Hopefully this will serve as a guide when planning the growth and development of your business on a more technical front.

Are you using Dedicated servers for your Online Business? Do share your experience with us, here in the comments section.

Version Next Technologies is now offering a dedicated server with an Intel 5620 Westmere dual quad core processor, 24 gigabytes of RAM and a 2 terabyte hard drive for only $495 per month, 70% lower than competitor prices.

ATLANTA, Version Next Technologies, a Global Net Access  brand, a leader in Infrastructure-as-a-Service, mission-critical datacenter colocation, dedicated servers and cloud services, announces a drastic price reduction for a new dedicated server offering. Version Next Technologies is now offering a dedicated server with an Intel 5620 Westmere dual quad core processor, 24 gigabytes of RAM and a 2 terabyte hard drive for only $495 per month. This price is not a temporary discount either. It is the new permanent price for this dedicated server.

This move is unprecedented in the industry. Version Next Technologies is selling this particular server for more than 70% less than similar servers offered by competitors. Some competitor’ prices are close to $1200 for the same configuration.

“No one can come close to this offer,” said Sanyog Shelar, Vice President of Version Next Technologies. “It is truly incredible. We worked for a long time with suppliers and our engineering team to be able to bring this product to market at this price. But, Version Next Technologies has been extremely disruptive in the hosting industry before, with our Enterprise Blades and most recently with our new Cloud solution. This new dedicated server offering is just another example of Version Next Technologies breaking new ground in the industry.”

In addition to the 8 x 2.4 GHz processor and 24 gigabytes of RAM, this new server from Version Next Technologies comes with a 1000 Mbps uplink, built in RAID controller and free application monitoring. That means plenty of bandwidth for handling loads of traffic, and the on board RAID controller supports RAID 0, 1 or 10 to ensure the safety of stored data. Plus, all Version Next Technologies servers come standard with AppMonitor, which provides deep application level troubleshooting for Ruby, Java, .NET and PHP applications. This solution goes beyond normal server monitoring. With AppMonitor, you gain insight into the end user experience and are able to fine-tune your application with actionable feedback.

This new server configuration is designed for multiple use cases, including reseller and cloud computing infrastructure. Resellers are welcome to take advantage of this new offer at Version Next Technologies, as it will help them consolidate resources and lower costs. Additionally, this server configuration is particularly well suited for building a private cloud infrastructure. RAM is a notorious computing bottleneck for cloud environments. Therefore, with a minimum of 24 gigabytes of RAM, this server helps alleviate that problem for a much lower cost than was possible before.

“At first glance, $495 for this high performing server with all these attributes seems outrageous,” continues Mr. Sanyog, “but we think it is the right thing to do for our customers and the long term growth of our company. We think it will encourage long term customer loyalty and solidify our leadership position as this market continues to evolve.”

Learn more about this incredible new dedicated server and place an http://billing.version-next.com/cart.php?a=add&pid=55.

With dedicated server hosting only you are the host who using a single server. Thus, you will be able to use all of the server features for your website. No need to share your disk space, bandwidth or other hosting features with other website users.

Web servers have severe threats from a number of of factors including Unauthorized access, Improper usage of information, Denial of Service and Physical Threats etc. Web hosting experts however suggest a number of measures to fight the menace of web server data threats. The article is all set to illustrate some security measures for the web servers.

Intrusion Detection Systems:

In the terms of web hosting professionals, IDS or Intrusion Detection System is an effective security mechanism that allows seamless protection for network perimeter, extranets and other internal network in real-time framework. A premiere IDS system observes the network data stream to combat any malicious attacks on the system or network. If IDS is put in the place as an appliance and as software, software security should be analyzed first.

Host Security:

Operating System configurations are usually set up by the vendors to push the features and functions, however they leave the security issues easily. Here web hosting experts keep the emphasis on securing the operating system since it will lead to more secured server components automatically. While choosing a operating system, ask for various security checklists like security certification levels, chosen platform Compatibility and remote administration as well as logging utilities.

Secure Coding Habits:

A single flaw in the program code may allow a chance to attackers to compromise a Web server. This is the primary factor that leads to the stringent security measures to combat any security threat to the scripts. In addition, a very stringent Encryption mechanism should be placed during the coding to encrypt the passwords against any potential security breach.

Another major security threat comes in the form of Information Leakage where vital and sensitive data is leaked from the servers in the form of developer comments, error messages or source code. It can compromise the server security and later serious threat to system. Creating and implementing some stringent security firewalls helps web hosting company professionals and other network administrators to fight the bugs. Thus information security should be placed in order to ensure data access to those users only who are authorized to access and use the data.

Summary:

Organizations employ a number of vital security measures to ensure a real time combat against the web server security threats. They deal with the menace like Improper usage of information, Denial of Service and Physical Threats in very proper manner.

Plugin Configuration

First you need to configure the plugin in ClientExec’s server section (go to admin -> servers) as shown in the picture below.

“Use Secure Connections” should be set to “Yes” if you have cURL and openSSL compiled into PHP.  “Verify Certificate” should be set to “Yes” to ensure for maximum security however if you are having problems with this set to “Yes” try setting it to “No”. The “Access Key” is used to access your Interworx-CP server.  This value is generated within Interworx-CP under the NodeWorx->API Key menu.  Under the “Available Plugin Events” you can check under which events ClientExec will interact with Interworx-CP. At least have “Create” checked to have the accounts created inside Interworx-CP.

Interworx-CP Package Configuration

Before configuring the packages in ClientExec, you must create package templates in Interworx-CP.  This is done under the “SiteWorx” menu by clicking on “Packages”.   Clicking on “Add” in the image below will allow you to add new package templates if there aren’t any setup.  Once configured remember the package name as we will need to enter it in the ClientExec package configuration.

Package Configuration

Now you have to link a given ClientExec package with a Package you must previously create in Interworx-CP. Remember the correspondant package type in ClientExec must have the setting “Show Domain Options” set to Yes in order for the plugin to work.

The first thing you need to do in the package configuration screen is select the server you configured in the previous step and move it to the right side using the [>>] button. Then enter the Interworx-CP package name in the box as previously setup in Interworx-CP.

Using Plesk hosting control panel, users can make amendments to their DNS settings of every added domain . Plesk administrator allows the user to make changes to the DNS settings, but it is crucial to have enough knowledge about DNS before proceeding with any changes.
WARNING : An inappropriate DNS setting can result in a malfunction of web, emails and the FTP services.
What are the Types of DNS Records ?
Five types of DNS records exist, namely :
A Address (Records) – This setting is responsible for translating the host name with the IP address.
CNAME (Canonical Name) – CNAME is required for creating additional host names or aliases or canonical names for hosts.
NS (Name Server) – It defines the relation between a domain name and the name servers that holds the information about the domain.
MX (Mail Exchange) – It holds the information about the delivery destination of emails originating from a particular domain name.
PTR (Pointer) – The PTR is responsible for defining the IP address and host name of individual hosts in the domain. Translates the IP addresses into host names.
Excerpt
The Plesk control panel is capable of retrieving the default DNS settings from DNS Server configuration. Users can make amendments to these values according to their needs and requirements. The following steps should be followed :
Step 1 : Log into the Plesk control panel that is installed on the domain for which you wish to amendments to the DNS.
Step 2 : Look for the DNS icon for accessing the DNS settings
Step 3 : You should be able to see the DNS Zone Status ie. either ON or OFF. By default the Status
is Switched ON.
Step 3a : You can make changes to the status by hitting the Enable/Disable icon.
Step 3b : Upon switching the DNS zone off, the page would get refreshed, after which the list of nameservers would be shown.
Step 3c : In-case you have remote DNS, and wish to switch the DNS OFF for a particular domain, it is necessary to create relevant NS entries for that domain and remove the irrelevant name server entries.
Step 3d : Users can make a quick test run on these NS by choosing any of them. Choosing any name server would perform an NSLookup and checks the DNS records of a particular domain on particular name server. NSLookup is used for verifying the A record for the domain, the CNAME record for www, and the MX record for ensuring if the records are resolved appropriately on the remote name server. Whatever the results may be, they are shown in the GUI.
Step 4 : To proceed with adding a DNS record, you must choose the type of record you wish to create and click Add Record. There are different setup procedures for different record types. To create DNS entries for a particular DNS zone, you need to include the name of the for every entry. For avoiding errors, there are certain fields that cannot be changed within this zone.
Step 4a : You must enter the domain name for which you wish to change/create the A record. In-case you want to define the A record for primary domain, you must let the field remain blank. While, in case you wish to defining an A record for a name server, you must enter the relevant details about the name server (ie. ns1). Further, you must enter the relevant IP address for which you wish to link up the domain. Select OK to save the entered details.
Step 4b : Enter the domain name for which you need to create the NS record. Do not populate the field if it is for the primary domain. Populate the fields with relevant name server details. You must copy and paste the details that have been provided. Hit the OK tab for saving the entries.
Step 4c : For changing the MX records, you must enter the domain name which you intend to create these records. Again, if it is for the primary domain, you are not required to add anything. Enter the mail server details ie. mail.domainname.com. Choose the priority of mail exchanger. Hit the OK tab for saving the entered details. For convenience, you can remember the rule of thumb “Lesser the value, higher the Priority”.
Step 4d : Regarding the CNAME record, populate the fields with the alias domain name for the one you want to create the CNAME record. Then, define the domain name within which you want the alias to reside. Hit OK for saving the entries.
Step 5 : For removing the DNS record, you are required to check the box against the appropriate entry and hit the Remove tab. Then, you are required to confirm the removal.

Change DNS in Plesk

For the purpose of restoring the DNS zone by the DNS template, the IP address can be chosen from the drop-down list for setting in the template, then enter the “www” prefix if necessary, then hit the Default tab for restoration.
You can contact our Support Department via. Live Chat or send an email to support@version-next.com for any assistance regarding DNS issues.

So let’s start with the space. Web space (disk space) is the amount of data you can store on the hard disk of the web server. Each web hosting accound comes with a certain amount of space, usually over 50 MB and less than 1000 MB.

Obviously, the amount of needed space depends on the size of the website. Most websites are composed of html (text) pages with a few images (gifs or jpegs) or even a little bit of Flash animation. Text is very economical; it occupies very little space. Images and flash are more expensive; they require a lot of space. If you’re new to the web you might think it’s great to have a lot of colorful images to make your website really beautiful. Don’t make this common mistake!

Your aim should be to say as much as you can on a page while maintaining it’s size under 50-60 KB including images. The reason? There are still lots of people using slow dial-up connections of under 56 Kbps. For them a 150 KB will take more that 21 seconds to load. A 60 KB page will take more than 8 seconds to load. That’s still a lot of time! A good page size is under 30 KB. A maximum page size is 50-60 KB.

Considering an average page size of 30 KB, you can put approximately 33 pages on 1Mb of space. If you have 10 MB of space available, you could host 330 pages. I only wish I had so many pages to put online. Don’t worry, I’m working on it!

The idea is this: unless you run a busy forum your needs for space are likely to be rather modest. Just keep in mind to achieve an average of 30KB/page and you should be more than fine even with 10 MB of web space.

Bandwidth is the amount of data that you’re allowed to transfer per month. It includes all uploads and downloads regardless of the protocol used (HTTP, FTP, POP etc.). Bandwidth depends very much on the average page size, but it also depends on the number of visitors your website will have and the average number of pages they visit. For an average page size of 30 KB, 20,000 visitors per month and 3 pages per visitor your website will need about 1800 MB (1.8 GB) of bandwidth per month. Most low cost hosting packages include that amount of bandwidth. Not to mention that 20,000 visitors per month is only a dream for most websites. Most don’t even have 2,000 visitors per month.

I took you through all those numbers just to give you an idea how to estimate your needs. If you’re just launching your website you will not need neither a huge amount of space, neither a huge amount of bandwidth. For 99% of people a hosting account with 10MB of space and 1Gb is more than enough.

Conclusion: Unless you have reasons to believe that your website will definitely have lots of visitors and unless you’ll offer movies or music for download (legally of course ), I see little reason for you to worry about space and bandwidth.

Just make your own calculations and also try to make sure that the host you choose allows account upgrades. That is to make sure you will be able to get more space and/or bandwidth if/when you need it without going through all the trouble of changing hosts.

Tһеrе аrе different operating logic scale, depending οח уουr needs. Fοr example,Windows operating logic optimization, networking аחd collaboration, wһісһ mау bе wһу tһеу аrе tһе mοѕt well lονеd.

Bυt, wһаt wіll happen іf уουr server below attacks? All уουr information wіƖƖ bе lost οr relentlessly hυrt, wһісһ іח turn саח affect tһе performance οf уουr business operations. Many people dο חοt take preventive measures tο try tο keep tһеіr dedicated server security guard wаѕ attacked. Tһе following іѕ tο keep уουr information reliable ѕοmе οf tһе tips.

1. Mаkе sure уουr software іѕ up tο date аחd patched

2. Disable a service tһаt уου dο חοt υѕе. Tһе space саח חοt bе wasted

3. Fixed audits οf уουr logic log, search fοr suspicious activity οr errors

4. Mаkе a firewall саח check IP addresses within tһе specified time

5. Complexity οf уουr password, change tһеm еνеrу 3 months

6. SCHEDULE [fοr Windows] consistent anti-virus аחd [fοr Linux] check rkhunter

7. Back up аll data regularly, bυt bе careful חοt tο save tһе backup οח tһе server

8. Oחlу installed οח tһе server authenticated аחd certified applications

9. Track security alerts frοm Technological Cyber іח case tһеу apply tο уουr systems/programs

10. Apply аll οf tһе above tο аחу οtһеr hardware used tο log іחtο уουr server аחd аחу server fοr уουr application development

11. Regularly audit your system logs, searching for suspicious or erroneous activity.

Tһаt’s іt. If уου give a close attention tο tһе above matters, уου саח increase tһе safety οf уουr server significantly.

To help you get started in the world of reseller web hosting, here are a few tips you may look into or follow:

1. Act as a referral partner for the parent company.  This is a safe and easy option for reseller hosting, since it doesn’t involve you having to run customer accounts.  Instead, you earn commission for every customer you refer to the parent company who then signs up.  The downside to this option is that you need to have an online marketing presence, through a review website or ad campaign

2. Start small.  One of the great advantages of reseller hosting is that you only need a computer and an internet connection to get started – you don’t need to invest lots of money or get to grips with complicated technical applications.  For that reason, you should start by concentrating on reselling web space.  This is simple and straightforward, and a good way to earn whilst building a client base and gaining experience.

3. For the same reason, it’s also a good idea to start with shared hosting, since this is the simplest form of web hosting that you can resell.   As your business expands, you can look at offering more advanced reseller services, such as dedicated and co-located hosting, domain name registration and merchant accounts.

4. Work towards getting your own server.  This will give you a greater share of the profits over time.  However, it also involves greater responsibility for maintenance, back-up and repair, so you should only consider this option when you are confident that you can handle these technical requirements.

5. Don’t neglect your marketing and sales strategy.  Your reseller business won’t make money if nobody can find you.  So be very clear on who your target customers are, and how you can reach them.  This means constructing a well-optimized home site for your reseller hosting business, and running a well-targeted ad campaign.

6. Finally, don’t be afraid to ask for help, guidance and customer feedback.  There is plenty of free advice available on the web to help you decide on the approach that will best suit your purposes.  Remember, you may need to try several approaches before you find the reseller hosting strategy that works for you.

SO now you have a new server, what to do with it? The sky is the limit! Or is it? Naturally, and logically, there are restrictions. But a little extra attention for some details goes a long way… Let’s go over some of them.

Security: This is important, and cannot be stressed out enough. THEY ARE OUT THERE. Sounds dramatically? It is! If you want to keep the bad guys away start spending quality time on the firewall before activating services such as MySQL or Postgresql. I am not exaggerating. In the first night my server was active (I hadn’t even discovered these forums yet) I got 16 logon attempts from a total of 3 different IP addresses. Where the heck they came from is beyond me, but this is common behavior (this isn’t a surprise for me; been here, seen this before). They are out there! Trust me on this.

By default you might feel safe, no icky things in your logs, everything seems in order… Yes and no. Go Daddy charges you for used up space, and doesn’t risk default processes gobbling up your disk space without you knowing it. I think this is a very fair business policy, but it comes with a price. Namely that you’re probably left in the dark about your security. Do you have a “/var/log/secure” file telling you details on login attempts, failed login attempts and such?

If the answer is no then this is most likely because you do not have the “syslog” package installed (“sysklogd.i386″ to be exact). Want it? Then do (as root): “yum install sysklogd.i386″. And wham, in no time you’ll see what’s happening on your box. Careful: This comes at a price. Not a big one, but those log files do take up disk space no matter how you put it. Fortunately not all is lost.

If you installed that MC program mentioned earlier now is a good time to use it. Go to the /etc/logrotate.d directory. Here you’ll find a file called “syslog”. Press ‘F3′ to view it. Don’t worry if you don’t understand everything in there. What counts here is the first line. Notice stuff like “/var/log/messages” and “/var/log/secure”?

As the name suggests this is a configuration file telling a program on your server called “Log rotate” to actually rotate the files being mentioned in the config files which you find in that “/etc/logrotate.d” directory. So what does this mean? That every day (assuming default behavior) the system will archive your logfile and tell the main system to start using a new one. So, for example, let’s focus on “/var/log/secure”. A very important file in my opinion. If you wait a while (and I suggest not doing this behind your computer, but getting some sleep too) you’ll eventually notice 2 ‘secure’ files. One called ‘secure’, the other called ‘secure.1.gz’. What is this? Simple.. The first (’1′) of the compressed (‘gz’ stands for ‘gzip’ which is a compression program on Linux) logs. Still didn’t get MC? Shame on you! If you are on the console you can still easily view this file, just use something like: “zless /var/log/secure.1.gz” (you need to be root). ‘Space’ goes to the next page and ‘q’ quits. Using MC you simply press ‘F3′.

To conclude a personal comment: Go Daddy, I really hope you’ll consider using some ‘preview’ option. It really makes life easier (I know I could ‘edit’ my post, but still… “A good preparation goes a long way”).

Creation of Backup – Regular backups are necessary as we do not know when a failure can occur. It is a good practice to take backups of all documents, images and database and make sure it is stored in the right place.

To perform regular kernel security updates and keep all software’s up-to-date and secure.

Easy script installations such as Fantastico or Softacolous can be useful in daily installation requirements and keeps you safe from unwanted server errors and bugs.

Control Panels can make your life easier when you are about to manage their sites.

Frequent update of passwords is important to increase security of your dedicated servers.

Monitoring is a good habit which helps you to understand your dedicated server better. This mainly can be through monitoring software or a remote panel offered by your hosting provider.

Use only that is required. You should leave more space for your CPU, RAM and disks to deliver better.

Maintenance should be taken seriously as this increases your dedicated server lifespan and mainly include software updates, software upgrades, migrations, service checks, security monitoring.