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How Many Servers Does A Web Hosting Service Need?

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How Many Servers Does A Web Hosting Server Need?

How Many Servers Does A Web Hosting Server Need?

Web Hosting customers don’t always realize what goes on behind the scenes of their web hosting service. The layman often thinks that the web hosting service is just another software installed on a monster computer, bit of which are sold to the end user. But there’s a lot more that goes on behind setting up a web hosting service. While some hosts use separate machines to run services like email, FTP, HTTP etc., some hosts install all these services on a single machine. This article takes you into the web hosting world and shows you which software servers are running to give you the best web hosting experience with different services.

Web Server

The web server is one of the most important parts of your web hosting service. The web server is what actually delivers your web page to the user’s browser. It also handles different requests for information that your browser makes and also takes care of incorrect or erroneous requests. When you see 404 error pages or warning messages, these are all served up by the web server. Web hosts commonly use IIS, Apache, Nginx and Tomcat amongst many different web servers. Web servers use the HTTP protocol to communicate with the user’s browser. The administrator also has the capability of restricting folders, files and websites through the web server configuration.

Mail Server

The mail server is essential when providing email service. The mail server allows the sending and receiving of email on specific ports. The mail server helps filter the received mail to different users’ folders and thereby allows multiple domains to be hosted on a single physical machine. Mail servers are also capable of redirecting mail and applying conditional filters to weed out unwanted mail and fight spam. Most mail servers allow the use of third party plugins or software to aid them perform their functions. For example mail servers can intelligently use third party RBLs or black lists to identify if a mail sender is actually a source of spam which should be rejected before he can reach the mail server. Mail servers usually use IMAP, SMTP and POP3 protocols to serve their purpose.

FTP Server

Almost every web host offers FTP services to transfer files. But most users don’t realize that this requires an FTP server at the hosts end. An FTP server allows connections using the FTP protocol, for the transfer of files. This aids users in downloading or uploading files in simple, quick and efficient way. FTP servers control the bandwidth usage, user connections, authentication system and even file management for the user. FTP servers are inexpensive to maintain and are now considered as included in any web hosting package.

SQL Server

An SQL server is a database management server which allows users to create and store data in relational tables, using the Structured Query Language or SQL. On windows machines, Microsoft MS SQL is installed, whereas Unix based hosting systems usually come with open source alternatives like MySQL, Postgresql, MariaDB among others. Web hosts sell databases based on the package that the user takes. Each database requires CPU and memory resources to function properly. Databases form up the backbone of most websites which have a Content Management System or which store a large amount of data.

Others

Some web hosts offer their own DNS service, for which they need to run a DNS Server on their systems. The DNS server just maps the domain name to the servers IP address so that when a visitor is using a service on a website, he is served up the right information from the right source. Premium web hosts offer File Sharing services and have a Web DAV Server either separate or integrated into their Web Server (as above). This allows users to quickly sync files to and from their website onto their mobile devices. Almost all web hosts also provide an SSH service so that users can connect securely to different ports for different services on the account.

While web hosting may seem like an easy business, managing all these services can be quite a task, which web hosts need to do on a daily basis.

Is FTP Better Than A Web Based File Manager For My Website?

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Is FTP Better Than A Web Based File Manager For My Website?

FTP accounts are given with all web hosting accounts, so that users can upload, download, transfer and modify files in their hosting account. But contemporary web hosting control panels like cPanel, Plesk, HSphere etc. also offer a web based file manager which works through the browser. The web based file manager does not need any additional software to be downloaded, but an FTP client is need for accessing the files through FTP. Then why use FTP rather than the file manager? We list a couple of points in favour of using FTP over your browser based file manager. This article advocates for the use of FTP over your web based file manager in certain circumstances.

Multiple Files

When transferring multiple files to or from your website, FTP is definitely your best bet. FTP clients allow multiple connections to the server, thereby allowing you to start multiple file transfers simultaneously. This can drastically increase your file transfer speed and same a lot of your time. This is especially useful when dealing with a large website with lots of files spread across a large number of files and folders. Web based file transfer interfaces usually do not allow multiple file handling and only allow you to transfer files one by one. This can be a headache and make it difficult to transfer many files quickly. FTP clients put files into a mail queue and allow you to set priority for file downloads. You can set a “Very High” priority on small files and set a “Low Priority” on Large files which will take time.

Bandwidth Throttling

FTP clients like FileZilla allow you to restrict the amount of bandwidth that the file transfers should take. This prevents donkey work like file transfer to take up a major chunk of your internet speed and allow you to use the network simultaneously for other important purposes. This can also be important if your ISP throttles your connection and gives you a slower speed at different times of the day. An online file manager rarely has such an option, especially because it is supposed to be rudimentary.

Automation

FTP clients allow you to automate many tasks. Some software allow you to batch edit documents in your account on the fly. Other FTP services allow you to perform certain functions or execute commands based on file downloads or uploads. For example some FTP clients allow you to shut down or restart the system when a file queue completes downloading. This can be especially useful for unattended systems where you have left the files to download over a long period of time and don’t want to monitor the progress. You can also open up programs or pass on information to software on your machine about the file downloads.

Secure Connections

FTP systems allow you to use an encrypted connection to transfer files. Using multiple methods of encryption, FTP allows more security than conventional browser based file managers, due to the multiple failure points in them. SFTP, FTPeS, FTP over SSH etc. are some common options that you can use when using FTP. These options need to be enabled by your FTP server in order to use them. Browser based file managers can also be accessed over a secure https connection, but the main cause for concern is browsers which are needed to access the files. An added security measure is that FTP clients can provide you a log of the files that were transferred so that you know exactly what is going on.

File Modification

FTP clients allow you to quickly change file permissions, file ownership, file locations and even allow you to edit files directly in the FTP client. This saves you time in uploading the file again. Some FTP clients also allow you to open a new connection in the same window so that you can copy or move files to and from each account. This can be especially useful when you are migrating a website from one server to another.

When in a hurry, you can always use a web file manager to make small changes or upload / download a couple of files. However, for mass file management, FTP clients become indispensable.

Using a secured connection to transfer files through FTP

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This article explains how you can create an encrypted secure connection to our server, to upload or download files using the Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP).

This option works only with the default cPanel Username and Password.

It does NOT work for sub-accounts created in the FTP User Accounts section of cpanel (username with an @domain.com) To encrypt a connection made by a sub-account, you can refer to out article on FTPeS (FTP over Explicit TLS)

SFTP File Transfer

SFTP:// Secure File Transfer Protocol to encrypt your FTP connection

FileZilla:

SFTP through FileZilla

  1. Open FileZilla
  2. In the Host: field type in
    yourdomainname.com
    or type in
    sftp://yourdomainname.com
  3. In the Username field type in the full cPanel Username
  4. In the Password field type in the cPanel Password.
  5. In the Port field type in 22 (or leave blank if you have typed sftp:// in the domain name above)
  6. Click on the Connect button
  7. You should now see the welcome message and be connected through SFTP.
  8. You can verify this by clicking on the Lock icon at the bottom of the FileZilla window.

SFTP Certificate

 

 

How much hosting space will you need for your website and email accounts? (Give Examples)

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Web or hosting space is the complete amount of megabytes or gigabytes that a hosting company offers you with your plans of hosting. You might already have an idea that, this space is utilized to keep the images and HTML that is showed on websites when your website is viewed. However; what many people do not know is that, the amount of hosting space you have also consists of the log files of your website, PHP files, FrontPage, CGI programs, Java script files, as well as external connected CSS and mostly some emails, and email accounts.

The hosting space for your website is always listed in gigabytes as well as megabytes. Megabytes (mb) are approximate to 1,000,000 bytes (1 million bytes) and gigabytes (GB) which is approximately 1,000,000,000 (1 trillion bytes). Although it will normally be very great to have 1 megabyte because it sounds like enough space, it can be very small after you add up all the sizes of the files, apps and information you save on your website. This is why it is important for online businesses to always have the very best space so that, you do not end up suffering when your website storage becomes more.

For a small business for example, you will be better off with 1,000 megabytes at least especially if you are running on a low budget. However; megabytes for a medium scale business will be better around 1,000,000 megabytes. This way, it can have the best usage time. Most times, there are some companies or businesses who want to host more than a single site on their hosting plans. If you have such an aim in mind, you will need to have gigabytes of website space or storage to achieve that successfully.

The good thing though is that, hosting space is not so expensive and many website hosting providers that provide plans that have many gigabytes of hosting space.

  • If you are hosting a simple site, you will not need to have more than 50 megabytes of hosting space which is when speaking in real terms.
  • The hosting space you need will have to go up if you need or will be hosting a bigger website.

Before you decide to buy a hosting plan, you need to calculate your website space requirements. This can be done when you locate your site files on your hard drive and obtain a space on complete space made use of. You can easily check on your computer.

All web spaces have a specific way of being used. The weight or space each process carries however will differ based on the size of company that is being dealt with here.

 

  1. FrontPage extensions. These mostly have to do with the developing of software from Microsoft that lets assemble and keep all of your web pages through a graphic border.
  2. Log files. They are mostly a list of every request that is made to the website server of your hosting company.

There are so many other spaces and they will tell which ones you will need.

Backup your entire website in 5 easy steps.

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Backup your entire website in 5 easy steps.

Q. Why do I need to take a backup?

A. Data Backup is easy to do and can save you great amounts of time as well as ensure that your data is secure in the case of disaster. In case if your data is lost, Ask yourself, what would you do and how much would it cost if you couldn’t recreate it. Sometimes you wouldn’t be able to continue doing business as usual or even continue to conduct your business.

Q. How important is a backup?

A. Backing up data is vital for businesses as lost information can cause a major crisis or worse, lead to business failure and in the event when your computer decides it’s time is up, you won’t be at a total loss.

Q. How do I take a backup through cpanel?

  1. Login into your CPanel with the username and password.
  2. Click on Backup.
  3. Click on Generate / Download a Full Backup.
  4. Select Home Directory in Backup Destination and enter your email address. others just leave blank and click Generate Backup.
  5. Done! You just perform a full backup in CPanel. You will receive a notification email once the backup is done.

Note: Taking a backup in your Home Directory, will need you to have atleast 30% free space in your hosting account.