What is Web Hosting?
Web hosting is the act of renting space and bandwidth so that you may publish a Web site online. A Web site needs a host to publish the site on the Internet.
Can I Just Host My Own Site?
You could, but it is definitely not recommended. First, most ISPs have clauses that do not let you use your Internet connection for Web hosting - doing so will result in termination of your account. Second, think of the headaches it can provide such as making sure your system is secure so that no one can hack into it, having your computer on 24/7, etc. In addition, think of the performance. Ektron Hosting uses powerful servers with lots of RAM and high performance hard disks. Ektron Hosting has multiple Internet connections at speeds far higher than what residential DSL or cable service can provide. Finally, there are all the issues of support. If something goes wrong, it will be your job to fix it - you will not have a professional to correct the problem.
What is Shared Hosting?
Shared hosting refers to the fact that your site is on one server and that this server hosts multiple sites. You are taking advantage of the economies of scale of having a high-powered server at your disposal for a fraction of the cost. Clients are unable to see other client sites on the server and clients are able to access Web files via FTP.
What is Dedicated Hosting?
Dedicated hosting means that you have one server dedicated specifically to your Web site(s). This is a non-virtual server that can be configured with any desired software. In addition, clients can access their Dedicated server(s) using Remote Desktop Connection (RDC) or other remote applications instead of being limited to just FTP access.
How Do I Know if I Need a Dedicated Server?
Here are some typical characteristics of a Dedicated server user:
- High bandwidth and traffic requirements.
- Special or additional security requirements.
- Special software requirements.
- Hosting for multiple sites such as an Internet site, Intranet, Extranet, etc.
- You want direct access to the server as if you were sitting in front of the computer.
What is Disk Space?
Disk space is just what it sounds like, the amount of space reserved on the Web server for your Web files. HTML pages are usually very small, but the images, scripts and even databases can take up large amounts of disk space. Because the majority of your Ektron files are stored in the SQL database, more disk space is needed on the SQL Server than on the Web server. Clients are able to purchase additional disk space on both Web and SQL servers.
How Much Disk Space Do I Need?
A typical Ektron site uses 250 MB to 500 MB of Web space and 250 MB to 500 MB of database space. If you have a lot of images, files and other downloadable content, that number will increase. If you use video, that number can increase exponentially. The good news is that disk space is relatively inexpensive and additional disk space can be purchased.
What is Bandwidth / Data Transfer?
Bandwidth / Data Transfer is the amount of data the server will allow your site to send in a month. This refers to how much traffic and activity your site has as well as how many content authors are connecting to the server via the Workarea. Once you go over your monthly limit, you will be charged an overage, which is the same rate as purchasing additional bandwidth ($2 per GB per month).
How Much Bandwidth Do I Need?
Bandwidth needs are completely dictated based on how your site is used and how popular it is. If your site is mainly informational and people are just accessing text and graphics, you will have much lower bandwidth requirements than someone streaming videos, podcasts and the like. Most sites will use less than 10 GB of bandwidth per month. The good news is that Ektron Hosting offers flexible bandwidth plans, so if your needs increase or decrease, you can adjust your bandwidth allocation each quarter.
Do You Offer Web Statistics?
Tracking for your site is provided within Ektron as well as via LiveStats XSP. Log files are used to generate visitor information. Additional scripts (such as Google Analytics) can be added as well.
Will there be forced advertising on my site - things like banner ads or popup ads?
Never. You are paying for space that is only yours - no one may put ads on your site except you.
Why don't I just go with the cheapest hosting?
There are hosts that while offering cheap prices do back that up with acceptable performance and service, but there are things to be noted:
- Look very closely to what is written in their terms of service (TOS) and acceptable use policy (AUP) documents. Some hosts try to limit the activity of the customer through these two.
- Unlimited bandwidth or space — It is simply impossible for a company to offer unlimited space or bandwidth to use. As hosting companies and their associated technologies are themselves limited (i.e. bandwidth or hard disk space), unlimited offerings are usually just an advertising gimmick. Often you will find clauses embedded deep within the company's terms of service contract that negate the unlimited offering. The clauses are usually arbitrary, such as excessive CPU usage will be grounds for account termination.
- The quality of bandwidth and overall performance — Some hosts user lower quality Internet connections to offer cheaper prices. Do a self-test by visiting the host's Web site multiple times in a day to see that it remains fast loading.
- In general, Windows Hosting is more expensive than Unix hosting. This is because of the licensing fees associated with Microsoft software.
- Test out the support and look at the online documentation.
Can I Have E-mail Accounts Using My Domain?
Yes, Ektron Hosting can provide POP3 e-mail accounts with your hosting package. Clients will have an online control panel to manage clients and be able to access new e-mail over the Internet using a Web-based e-mail client. In addition, all e-mail accounts feature Postini E-mail Filtering. Postini features include: high-level spam filtering , inbound virus blocking using the McAfee engine, Directory Harvest Attack (DHA) and DoS blocking, user-specific quarantines, automated user management, Disaster Recovery spooling, user-managed white and black lists and more.
Which Internet Backbone Carrier Do You Use?
Ektron Hosting utilizes multiple, national carriers to provide redundancy.
Is My Site Behind a Firewall?
Yes, our network is protected using an industrial strength firewall. In addition, the firewall is segmented into “mini-firewalls” so that client servers are protected from other network appliances.
What is the Typical Support Response Time?
Typical support requests are handled same business day. Emergency requests are responded to immediately for resolution.