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| IT
Services- Web Hosting |
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| What
is Web Hosting? How Does it Work? |
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Simply put web hosting, or web site hosting,
is the process of creating an internet web site and allowing
others around the world to view the web site. A web hosting
provider is basically a business which rents space on its computers
(commonly these computers are called servers.) What happens
is that after a web site is created, it is uploaded or transferred
to the hosting provider's server. The hosting provider then
allows the world to view the web site when someone types in
the web address (or domain name) of the internet site. And then
the site (or specifically the page) is sent to the person requesting
to view the site. Essentially, web hosting can be defined as
providing space on a server which allows others to view your
web site.
When a site is on the server it is controlled by the software
on the computer; i.e., the server software. Currently over 60%
of all servers on the internet use the server software known
as Apache server. What happens is that when a web site is created
on the server, the server software is told where the web site
is on the hard disk and the details of the account. Then when
a user types in a domain name (web site address) and requests
a specific page from their internet browser, that request is
sent to the web hosting provider's server where the web site
is located. The server software then finds the specific site
and page requested in its list of details, and figures out which
page the user wants and then sends that page to the user's internet
browser where the page is displayed. Basically, the server software
is the intermediary between the files on the server and the
browser requesting the web pages. Server software can process
millions and millions of requests each day. |
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| What
is Server? |
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A server is nothing more than a computer.
It has a hard drive, a cpu, memory and all of the things you
will generally find in a home computer. Your home computer can
be a server if you want it to be. A server by definition is
just a computer which serves other computers. A web hosting
server is nothing more than a computer which serves web pages
to the computers requesting them; i.e., to the person running
the internet browser. So while in the generalist sense every
computer can be a server; correspondingly what makes a computer
a good server?
A web hosting server is a server set up to perform web hosting
tasks quickly and efficiently. A web hosting server does not
need pretty graphics because typically it runs by itself without
input from a person. It is essentially (after you set it up)
fully automated. And unless it is necessary, it doesn't have
a monitor. (Of course like all things it needs maintenance from
a qualified professional from time to time to ensure it is running
efficiently).
A good web hosting server does have a few characteristics that
make it different from a normal home computer. One of the characteristics
is redundancy. Typically, a server has multiple hard drives
which store the data. With a multiple hard drive system data
is saved on more than one hard drive so in the event of a hard
drive failure the redundant drive takes over exactly where the
first hard drive failed. This process is known as RAID. Another
redundancy you will find is that some servers will also have
multiple network access cards (for faster input and output)
and two power sources. The name of the game with servers is
*reliability*.
Aiming for reliability with a server typically means that the
latest and greatest is not necessary the best for a web hosting
server. Web hosting servers typically wait until *all* the bugs
are out of the hardware and software because they want their
clients' websites up at all times. (Of course servers should
always have the latest and greatest security patches.) With
these characteristics in mind sometimes it shocks the average
person that most servers run lower end cpus. At the time of
this writing the 3.0 Ghz chips are entering the market but you
will find a lot of web sites hosted on Pentium III cpus. And
quite frequently Celeron chips are used which range from 1.0
Ghz to 1.7 Ghz. The reason for this is two-fold: these chips
generate less heat which is important to keep heat down in a
server and web hosting does not generally demand much cpu processing.
RAM (the computer's main memory) is actually more important
at times than the cpu. Typically a server should have 512 MB
to 2 GB of memory, with 1 GB being a sweet spot for processing.
But the question always arises-if a Pentium III does a very
good job at web processing won't a Xeon cpu or dual AMDs do
better? Maybe-it really depends on what is on the server. If
you have just web sites and they don't use much scripting programs
(PHP or Perl or CGI) or don't have huge shopping sites like
Amazon.com on them, a lower end cpu is going to perform pretty
good. Of course the dual AMDs and Xeon are going to outperform
the Pentium III but not as much as you are going to pay for
the premium in pricing for the cpus and the additional requirements
brought on by the increased heat (more fans, bigger cases, etc). |
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All Rights Reserved. |
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