Filed under: web hosting
If you have ever set up either a personal or business website you will no doubt have encountered the concept of website hosting and depending on the level of service you needed you may have investigated a few different hosting solutions. The following article aims to give a useful overview to the options that are available to you and how they meet the differing aims of security, availability, costs, technical guidance and performance.
A hosting provider will either provide clients with space on servers to store and make their website accessible or a location in which they can house their own web server.
Colocation Hosting:
When a hosting provider offers the use of a data centre to house the client’s own server, it is known as colocation. Although the client will need to supply the server they can still benefit from the physical safety and security of the data centre and the facility’s high bandwidth to boost performance and availability. According to the package they sign up for they may also benefit from expert maintenance supplied by the provider.
Shared Hosting:
For less critical and lower performance driven websites, particularly where security is not such an issue, clients can opt to host their website on a shared server provided by the hosting company. In this scenario the site is stored on the same physical server as the websites of other clients (usually many others) and consequently, if there are performance issues, security issues, corruptions etc that occur with the sharing sites they may have knock on effects on each other.
Websites which are hosted on shared servers may also have to share resources such as server configurations and software, and therefore will not necessarily provide the solution for clients wanting a bespoke or tailored hosting solution.
The big advantage of shared hosting is however, the fact that it is more affordable for smaller scale operations and you can even find some resellers who will offer free web hosting on shared servers, funded by advertising.
Virtual Dedicated Servers:
Otherwise referred to as a Virtual Private Server (VPS), this uses a shared physical server but employs separate operating system installations or partitions for each site so that there is less shared resource between sites and more independently tailored software configuration. Virtual dedicated servers therefore carry a lower risk of security issues such as malware propagating from one site to another. and higher performance levels as the virtual spaces can be set up independently.
Dedicated Hosting:
In this scenario a website is hosted on its own physical server, usually within a data centre and therefore will not be affected by knock on issues from other sites sharing the server. In addition, the client will be able to fully configure the server to their needs, either with their own access or by handing over control to the hosting provider (see Managed Hosting).
Clustered hosting:
The term clustered hosting applies to any hosting solution in which the website is hosted on multiple servers, whether they be dedicated or shared servers. The solution provides a good solution for client’s looking for a high levels of uptime – because if one server fails the website can still run off the remaining servers – and performance – as load balancing can be employed so that web traffic is evenly distributed between the different servers so that individual servers are not overloaded.
Cloud Hosting:
This is essentially a form of clustered hosting whereby websites are stored on multiple servers via the cloud and can therefore benefit from the high levels of capacity, scalability and load balancing that the clustered solution offers whilst bringing it to a wider consumer market. With cloud hosting the client has access to a vast resource of servers so that they can use and pay for as much or as little as they need at any given time without the physical hardware restrictions of traditional hosting.
Managed Hosting:
This type of hosting package is ideal for a client whose website will require more complex configuration or will need to be adaptable to the changes in the clients requirements, e.g., business domains with changing propositions and marketing strategies.
Managed hosting services can incorporate any of the other hosting packages but are most often associated with dedicated hosting plans. Here the provider will offer the management and maintenance of the website’s server configuration using a level of knowledge that the client is not likely to have themselves to ensure that performance, availability and security are maintained to a high level.
Importantly, providers can ensure that the server set up is fully responsive to changes in the website’s proposition or usage, such as the introduction of an ecommerce element or spikes in the level of traffic hitting the site.
Whatever level of online presence you are looking for with a basic understanding of the different elements on offer, you will be well placed to pick a Hosting solution to suit your needs; whether you want an affordable mass market cloud solution for a personal website or a robust and fully managed dedicated server solution for a critical and high visibility business domain.
Filed under: Dedicated Hosting, web hosting
Any business shopping around for a web hosting solution will no doubt come across terms such as shared hosting, virtual private hosting (VPS), managed hosting and, the latest to enter the lexicon, cloud hosting. Often the holy grail is purported to be, if you can afford it, dedicated hosting, but what exactly are the reasons for choosing a dedicated hosting solution and is it the right fit for you?
Filed under: Dedicated Hosting, Managed Hosting
It’s all to easy when you’re surfing the net to completely forget the impact that doing so may have on environment. We instinctively know that it’s greener to look up some information online than drive down to the library for example, but that is partly because we tend to think of the internet as somehow ethereal with no physical base and therefore no tangible effect on the environment. However, all of the data that we view on the web must be stored somewhere and the vast majority lives on servers in large data centers which unfortunately do have a significant environmental footprint.
Reports in 2007 found that Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) accounted for 2% of the world’s harmful gas emissions with data centers in turn culpable for 14% of that figure. As our use of the internet and the trade in digital information grows – and in particular as the concept of cloud computing continues to take off with our data being stored remotely ‘in the cloud’ (i.e., on providers’ vast server networks) for us to access anytime anywhere – the demand for data centers is continually abounding. Providers are therefore increasingly looking for solutions and innovations to become more efficient to meet the twin objectives of cutting their own costs whilst reducing their unsustainable environmental impacts.
All data centers comprise of two key elements which can each provide a number of opportunities for financial and environmental efficiencies. The first is the actual IT equipment. the stuff that provides the core function and purpose of a center, such as the servers themselves and the network switches serving them. The second is all of the infrastructure that is required to house the IT equipment and keep it running efficiently and securely. The infrastructure can be made up of cooling equipment, security devices, lighting etc.
The ratio of energy that is used in the data center’s infrastructure to the energy used to power the IT equipment is known as Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) and is the industry standard in measuring their efficiency. A PUE score of 2, for example, would signify that for every unit of power being consumed by the IT equipment a further unit was being consumed by the infrastructure.
Renewable Energy
The first step to becoming a greener data center can be to ensure that the source of the energy or electricity being used is renewable. This can be achieved either partnering up exclusively with a supplier of renewable energy or by sourcing energy directly using sustainable methods. Some providers are going as far as locating solar energy farms on site to obtain the energy they need.
Energy Monitoring
It is also important to have accurate and in depth monitoring of the energy that is consumed at each point within the data center so that further efficiencies can be spotted. Most providers will have monitoring in place to calculate the PUE score but the accuracy of this monitoring and the assignment of energy consumption between the IT equipment and infrastructure can potentially vary slightly from one center to another.
Energy Efficiency
It is unavoidable that the largest proportion of energy used by a data center will be used by its IT Equipment, such as the servers, which is the fundamental purpose of the center. However, savings can still be made here, and throughout the supporting infrastructure, by employing the most energy efficient hardware that can be sourced. A significant amount of energy is, for example, lost in inefficient power suppliers before it even reaches the servers. Although this might mean a high initial outlay the power savings, will over the long term translate to financial as well as environmental savings.
Temperature Management
Often the biggest consumer of power, aside from the IT equipment, is the equipment used for cooling the data center.
There is a slight myth in that conditions inside a data center need to be kept at a low temperature. In reality they can operate efficiently at temperatures up to 80F, so providers can make immediate power savings by simply turning down the thermostat. In addition the main chunk of the cost for keeping the interior of a building cool is usually spent on chiller units. As a result, providers are increasingly looking to other solutions to make both energy and cost savings. Amongst these alternative solutions is the choice of locating the data center in naturally cool environments such as Alaska or Scandinavia and then allowing the cool air from outside to circulate through the building. There are also so-called free cooling mechanisms which (although not strictly free) can use pumps to recycle the cool air within the data center rather than chillers.
As well as circulating cool air, many data centers use cold water to reduce their temperatures. Again this can be a cost effective and sustainable option when for example data centers are located by their own source of water and then use purify the water themselves. Cooling water does need to be purified for this purpose but not to the same extent as mains water so the data center can carry out the process with less wasted energy consumption if they do it themselves using a local source.
Materials
As with any manufacturing process, key savings can be made in the production of all of the equipment used in a data center, from the servers to the cooling systems. By sourcing materials locally, for example, the initial carbon footprint of those materials can be cut. Once they have served their purpose, they may also still have a life beyond that; servers which have been superseded for a particular role or function should still be re-purposed within the center in another role where they are still adequately powerful. Those elements which cannot be reused within the data center may still be of use to others and so reselling them may be a further option.
Finally, units which are completely redundant can still be broken down into their components and then repurposed or resold and, failing that, the core materials in the components should be recycled as appropriate. All repurposing and reselling will reduce the demand for new equipment to be built and acquired and therefore as well as saving the data center money from purchasing new equipment it will also reduce the consumption of the raw materials and the energy used in their construction.
Most large data center providers are constantly exploring new and innovative ways to reduce their PUE scores and therefore their energy consumption, keeping costs down and increasing their green credentials. However, the booming demand for services such as cloud hosting and Colocation means that this challenge will never go away.
Filed under: Managed Hosting
As businesses put more and more emphasis on the online side of their operations for marketing and as a point of sales the performance of their websites becomes more integral to their success as a whole. Therefore, many businesses are now opting to place the management of their website infrastructure into more trusted hands and are opting for managed hosting.
In summary a managed hosting service is one that provides businesses with a complete package of a dedicated server to host their website, software, the set up and the ongoing maintenance of their server. Therefore, allowing the business to completely outsource their hosting requirements.
At the heart of the managed service package is the dedicated server. With a dedicated server, the client uses (most often rents) an entire distinct server within a data centre on which to host their website. This server is not physically shared by any other website or client and therefore will not suffer from performance issues that result from sharing, such as, load handling, malware or physical damage during the maintenance of the sharing website’s hosting.
A managed hosting service will also benefit from server colocation whereby the server is physically housed away from the businesses own premises and within a purpose built data centre. These data centres are usually located on the internet backbone (offering high degrees of connectivity) and have advanced systems in place to preserve the performance and up-time of the server, such as fire protection systems, security and back up servers/cables/power.
In practice managed hosting can incorporate a variety of different services offered by the hosting provider that distinguish it as being proactively managed, such as, advanced levels of server configuration (which the business itself may not be capable of achieving), software/operating system updates, malware protection/scans, performance monitoring and assistance in the deployment stages. What’s more providers will often include a certain level of client support access as part of their service – sometimes even 24 hour telephone support.
Managed hosting in particular gives businesses the flexibility to respond to changing business needs. For example, in a scenario where a website is likely to receive abnormally high levels of traffic at short notice the managed hosting provider will be able to offer bespoke solutions that may have proved too costly or technically out of the reach of a business managing their own hosting.
The key advantage of managed hosting that underpins all of the aforementioned benefits of a data centre location, the use of a dedicated rather than shared server, and the server management, is that the client business will gain from the expertise of the hosting provider in providing a bespoke and high performance hosting solution. Some businesses will be able to run a self-managed server but it can be difficult and costly to match this level of expertise in-house, without the economies of scale that a managed hosting provider utilises.
As managed hosting can offer the complete gamut of hosting services, providing the client with a fully outsourced, flexible and robust hosting platform, they do tend to come at a higher cost than simple colocation for example. However, for businesses looking to focus their expertise and resources on their own propositions whilst benefiting from a high degree of online reliability and performance, managed hosting really is the ideal solution.
Filed under: web hosting
Anyone who has been left high and dry when their web host has shut shop knows what a pain it can be to find a new home for one’s site. Web hosts are dime a dozen, but it can be quite a task to sort the good ones from the fly-by-night operators. What should you look for? What does all those jargon mean? Well, let’s find out. A web host is the company that rents you space on a server where you can upload your website content so that it is accessible online. Unless you own your own web server, the chances are you are going to require a hosting service if you want people from around the world to visit your site.
Posted on January 13th, 2012 by admin
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