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Business Site Hosting
It is important to choose a reliable efficient and effective web host for
your web business. You need to make sure that your web host offers all the
features that you would require for your business web site.
Different options available
Understand the distinctions between shared, collocated, unmanaged dedicated
& managed dedicated hosting so you choose the one that is right for
your business.
It is crucial to understand the difference between the types of hosting
offered. As the hosting industry has matured, hosting offers have split
into a couple of distinct categories, each with its own strengths and weaknesses.
- Shared hosting (or
virtual hosting)
In shared hosting, you are sharing one server with a number of other client
sites. Shared hosting is less expensive for businesses to create a Web
presence since many clients are paying for use of the server. Since companies
other than yours are using the resources of that server, it is usually
not sufficient for web sites with high traffic. The hosting company manages
the server almost completely, and you won't be able to install special
software programs on these types of machines.
- Managed dedicated
hosting
Contrary to to the shared hosting, the dedicated hosting environment provides
an exclusive server or servers devoted solely to your web site. Managed
dedicated hosting is a service that fully manages and monitors your web
server by qualified professionals. Since dedicated servers can be difficult
to operate technically, managed hosting has become popular for small to
mid-size companies. The service typically includes basic system maintenance
and patches to applications maintenance, security, monitoring, etc. Managed
hosting is Ideal for those who have outgrown the shared environment or
have limited IT resources.
- Unmanaged dedicated
hosting
Unmanaged dedicated hosting refers to dedicated servers with
less, little or none of the skilled people support you'd expect to find
in managed hosting. Because full management involve lots of skilled people
hours, unmanaged hosting is only for those with expert-level IT resources.
- Collocated hosting
Collocated hosting is for you if you prefer to provide your own hardware
and software. This allows businesses an alternative to costly facilities
improvements and server space requirements for effectively securing hardware,
providing redundant connectivity and implementing effective data backup
and recovery strategies. The host is responsible for making sure its network
is available, and you are responsible for all support and maintenance
of your server.
Reliabiity is no. 1 consideration
It is important that you understand how important quality servers are to
your businesse. Find a hoster that has a vast amount of experience to support
a wide variety of applications, and one that can bring that expertise to
you through their services.
Make sure the host is flexible and upgradable.
Keep in mind the future needs of your web site. Go with a host that will
allow you to grow. You don't want to get locked in and end up unhappy. In
many cases hosting companies will have great intro rates. But as soon as
you start to grow in storage space or bandwidth, the costs go through the
roof. If the traffic to your site explodes, or in the future you may need
a database solution then your host must be able to accommodate the changes.
Look for a host that has a reasonable growth plan with reasonable prices.
More technical questions you may ask
If you are familiar with techical issues, you may ask the following question
to your potential hosting company:
- How many lines do they have coming into the facility?
- What is the average utilization of their connections?
- Do they have redundant power to the servers?
- Do they have a generator on-site?
- How often do they test their generator?
- What sort of security measures do they have in place for the network?
- What physical security do they have?
- What type of fire suppression systems do they have in place?
Business Hosting Providers
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