It is obvious that there is a need for every company to have an online presence and the same can be said for those who like to impart information or have technical skills. The growth of web hosting can be seen because of Internet savvy people who like to impart knowledge and market themselves whilst offering music, videos and pictures. The ability to do all of this is created by operating systems, the Web Hosting platforms. There have been recent breakthroughs in Web Hosting and the hosts are always looking to improve their services and provide cutting edge technology to clients.

What are Web Hosting Platforms?

What is known as a web hosting platform can generally be describes as an operating system whose primary task is to support the act of Web Hosting. Linux and Windows are the two types of Web Hosting platforms that are seen as the most traditional.

The first is Linux – Linux is definitely viewed as the Web Hosting Platform that the term traditional can be bestowed upon. Linux is commonly seen as the platform that is highly reliable and provides an efficient return of memory and disk space. Over 70% of web servers around the globe are users of Linux and Unix and this is because of the phenomenal power the platform is able to offer clients. Its popularity is also due to the low cost of the platform.

The other platform is Windows – Window is what Microsoft has offered to the world as a response to web hosting and its popularity is on the increase. Part of the reason for this surge in popularity is due to the programming aspects contained within it which offers developers the chance to use ASP and ASP.NET programming environments. Another string reason for using this platform is due to the way it integrates with other .NET server technologies, including:

* SQL Server 2000

* BizTalk Server 2002

* SQL Server 2000

Web Hosting packages used to be bundled with only the minimum features but many of these features are vital to the package and they include:

* Disk Space – Each web hosting account is equipped with a limited number of disk space that a customer can utilize to save their files on the size of the disk space varies from company to company and package to package. Disk space that is saved on a shared web host space will be less than one on customized space.

Email Accounts – The Web Hosting package allows a certain number of email accounts depending upon the price of the package. The email accounts are a common feature of hosting, particularly while hosting a domain. There are some Web hosts that let their customers have control over their mail settings. Other hosts will do all the set up for the clients. The configuration of the email accounts is a matter of personal preference but however there are basically four main types of mail accounts – POP3, forwarding, aliases and auto responders.

FTP Access – Another common feature of all the paid hosting accounts is the FTP access. The FTP programs allow the users to upload files, edit and delete the contents on the server much more quickly than using a web-based interface.

Progression in modern Web Hosting:

With the advancement of technology and companies going global, the requirements of the companies as well as the individuals have changed. The Web Hosts are also committed to deliver the latest and up to date technologies to their customers.

The level of service and technology that is bring offered by technology today, for instance the Windows Server technology and the Windows 2003 Server, is probably at the highest it has ever been. Modern technology ensures there is a tremendous level of support for website developers and they can continue in confidence knowing that Microsoft, a single vendor, is wholly committed to this continual development of technology.

The advances in operating systems in the recent years, especially in the areas of inter-operability, have brought the available feature sets of Windows and Linux based website hosting offerings much closer to each other. Earlier both these operating systems had cut and dry advantages to one over the other for particular applications. These differences have now diminished, thanks to the advancements!to the point where the choice of operating system a hosting service company makes is frequently not a concern to the client. Today, with a few exceptions, as mentioned above, you can often make your choice of hosting packages based on the available feature set and factors concerning the company themselves, rather than the operating system they have chosen.

Web hosting software

The key step forward in recent years in web hosting fields has came through web hosting software, which has greatly increased the effectiveness and efficiency of the hosts. The manner in which the new software can aid the host can be seen in the following functions:

* Enabling account setup to be done automatically

* Management of dedicated servers

* Making many tasks able to be automated allowing administrators increased time to work on other issues.

There are numerous ways that this software is of benefit to a company. In choosing an automation software approach, the company is able to make the management of their dedicated server an easier process and vastly reduce the time spent on providing this resource.

Dedicated server software for Windows include: The Windows dedicated server software are Plesk for Windows, Easy Admin Exchange Control Panel and Helm for Windows. Other server software for Windows includes Cold Fusion MX and Anti Virus & Security Software.

Linux also offers a number of dedicated server software packages including,the Linux dedicated server software are centOS Linux, Fantastico De Luxe, cPanel / Web Host Manager, Red Hat Enterprise, Plesk for Linux and Anti Virus Software and Security Software.

Web Hosting and Voice over Internet Protocol technology

The Web Hosting industry is ever growing and coming up with new technologies to serve their customers better. The Web Hosts in the market compete with each other in providing the most up to date and latest technology to the clients. There has been a recent advancement in Voice over Internet Protocol technology in Web Hosting field. The new advancement has enabled anyone with a computer and a broadband Internet connection to communicate worldwide without paying the usual long distance fees.

The service providers have discovered that the VoIP can add a new, and often very appropriate, dimension to their services without much difficulty. The VOIP companies are coming up in great numbers in hopes of cashing in on the rather new industry.

It can be seen that the Web host genre is coming up quickly with regards to this provision and is looking to follow on. A sizeable proportion of the key Web hosts have devised plans to launch VOIPO, a telephone services that utilizes the benefits of VOIP. This is something that a Web Host provider would seek to distribute across the world

Launching the Virtual Rack:

The “virtual rack solution” was created by one popular web host and it offers the benefits of rack solutions to customers who may have as little as two servers running. The chief goal of this product is to enable customers to have 100% customization on their own web hosting.

Having installed the virtual rack, the client is able to choose the servers they truly desire or need. There is also the provision for them to choose which type of network and security-based technologies they would like to have. These can range from loaded balances that are provided by server iron to the range of ASA firewalls from Cisco. If a customer ever wanted to tell their Web host exactly how they would like their web site to be configured or to demand what IP arrangements would be best for them, the Virtual Rack will allow them to do it all.

There is no doubt that the advances and improvements in Web Hosting have greatly increased the efficiency and effectiveness of the industry. All of these steps have played a part in fulfilling customer needs and serving the consumer purposes in a far better manner and one which may have exceeded expectations.

About the author: Gregory Trune is a professional web hosting blogger. Visit WebHostingMadness.com to read his reviews on the top 10 hosting companies each month.

Due to the rapid speed of success achieved by web hosting companies, web hosting services have become a trend in online business. A web hosting company hosts your website, whether personal or professional. It can also provide you with a host of benefits, and to add to it, your to-be employers might also appreciate seeing your details from your own website, rather than from any other place. Internet has emerged as a great medium for conducting business, and a website is a prerequisite for this purpose, which facilitates the need of a web hosting company. To make such things work, a webmaster must be aware of how important web hosting is.

There are several types of web hosting like shared hosting, VPS hosting, dedicated hosting, free hosting, paid hosting and clustered hosting. While choosing a web host for yourself, choose among these available ones but according to your needs and demands.

Some common types of web hosting are mentioned below:

Shared hosting

Simply put, a solitary server hosting and supporting several web pages is called shared hosting. Newly started businesses which are unable to spend larges sums of money to acquire dedicated servers suit this type perfectly. As a result, other expenses like maintaining a system administrator are done away with.

The shared web hosting provider, much like dedicated hosting, provides the customers a lot of features like management of server, backup of files, security updates, etc.

Web hosting can be conducted in two basic ways: based on the IP address and based on the name. In the former case, the host having his unique IP address provides every website that he hosts with their individual SSL certificates, which gives the website owners a lot of security. In case of the latter way, a lot of websites which the provider hosts are assigned just one IP address, which everyone uses.

A shared web hosting is cheap, no doubt, but it doesn’t have the level of security offered by the IP-based web hosting.

The name-based web hosting system has other drawbacks as well. They are not fully compatible with old browsers. So an HTTP/1.0 browser will be unable to send requests which carry the name of the host, unless they are upgraded. Due to the fact that they share a common digital certificate, they even cannot support HTTPS websites. It becomes impossible to access them if the Domain Name System chokes out a website which a name-based web server hosts.

CPU, disc space, and your website’s Bandwidth being affected or slowed as other sites are using the same server are the problems of a cost effective shared web hosting system. This system also puts certain system level things out of your control like scripts and the system software being used. But you can be comfortable without such features if your website is relatively small. You might want to gain knowledge about Virtual Private Sector or VPs if such things do bother you and you want some control over the things powering your website.

Virtual Private Server (VPS)

Much like a shared server, even a VPS has a single server, but it uses software which divided it into many virtual machines. So though many websites still use the same server, each VPS gets its own RAM allotment, besides bandwidth and disk space, and they can operate independently by using the resources allocated to them.

Due to the fact that webmasters are allowed more freedom than a shared host, they can perform various operations by running a different operating system and having their unique script and software, which wouldn’t affect other websites using the same server.

The liberties associated with dedicated servers are nearly identical to the root level access to the main server that you get in a VPS. At a comparatively lesser price than a dedicated server, you can install your preferred software; create accounts etc in a VPS.

Because of the internal division of a VPS system, the sense of security is much greater than a shared hosting service. In the latter, all sites are at a risk if the main server is hacked into, but that is not the case in a VPS system.

As far as the division of the server is concerned, it usually occurs evenly with the total equal distribution of resources among the number of websites that are sharing the server. So, if there are 10 websites on a VPS server, everything starting from the disk space to the RAM is divided into 10 parts, with each website getting 10% of the whole.

Dedicated hosting

As mentioned earlier, dedicated hosting is meant for huge concerns who wish to have sufficient control of the website in their hands. In this case, a website gets a single server for its individual capacity, thus giving webmasters total control of the website. Besides the software, all other factors like supervision of power, security, etc. is addresses by the web hosting company.

If your website requirements are large bandwidth, greater resources like disk space and if you are looking for a high quality, customized server, opting for a dedicated host seems to be the perfect solution. You can then choose a host of features for your website like operating system, settings, software and multi-media necessities. A dedicated hosting service is also the answer to all those who cannot afford to purchase a server of their own, but want similar services.

Your expenses can be saved up to 85% with a dedicated server. You may not have the financial resources and technical know-how to maintain, install and run your own IT staff but have a high traffic to your website. Then, if you can not pay for a network administrator, the programs will run everything smoothly and most of the other functions.

Security is no longer an issue with dedicated server at the helm of all affairs, since you would be the sole user of a server. Even downtime problems are eliminated because of this unique access to the server. Those companies which need to have a database of clients and such other information on their website feel more secure on a dedicated server.

So while the costs of a shared host are less, they are never very secure and never so easily accessible as dedicated web hosts are. Using the latter might require you to shell out some extra expenses, but given that it gives you a very higher level of safety than a shared server makes the additional expenses worth incurring. For purposes of business growth, a dedicated server is a must!

About the author: Sick of hyped up web hosting companies that don’t deliver? Bookmark the tools and real user reviews you need to find the best hosting companies at www.webhostingmadness.com.

Your web host will offer you a control panel. But you can probably guess by the name, but a control panel helps you to manage your website. It keeps all the functions a user may need in one handy place which makes it easier for them. These tools can conclude traffic information statistics, FTP accounts, e-mail account provision, the ability to add sub-domains, file management and much more.

There is a white variety of control panels available. cPanel is the most popular but others include NextGenCp, VDeck, Ensim, Sphera or Hostopia. Each panel is different and offer many tools and functions peculiar to their own product. The panel you receive may depend upon which platform you our web host uses. Factors for changing a control panel includes what features they have and how do they perform on a specific platform.

Basic features that you can expect to find in a control panel are as follows:

CGI Center

Cron Jobs

Addon Domains

Error Log

File Manager

Disk Usage

FTP Manager

Backup

Parked Domains

MySQL Database Manager

PostgreSQL Database Manager

File Manager

Disk Usage

Backup

Web/FTP Stats

Frontpage Extensions

MySQL Database Manager

Raw Access Logs

Raw Log Manager

Subdomain Stats

CGI Center

Network Tools

Web/FTP Stats

Raw Log Manager

Hot Link Protection

Subdomain Stats

How easy a control panel is to use is a good way of noticing the difference between them. A panel such as Plesk is really simple to use whereas the functionality of cPanel is highly regarded. To make the best choice between these control panels, it helps to know the strengths and weaknesses of them. What follows is a brief overview of the control panels:

cPanel:

cPanel is very commonly used on Linux based systems, it provides support for more than 10 different flavors of Linux, and as of yet, it does not have a Windows or OSX based version. cPanel helps users in managing/controlling everything, from administering MySQL database to creating and deleting email accounts and much more.

cPanel has a whole range of functions and provides much more than the majority of control panels. The amount of functions offered is a key reason why it is so popular, that and it is cheap.

Plesk:

One advantage that Plesk has over cPanel is that unlike the latter, it is available for Linux, as well as Windows Web hosting servers. Plesk’s interface is also quite similar to Windows XP. It’s a good looking control panel and has most of the basic features that are available in cPanel. It also has other applications like the web builder tool. With all its features, comes the price tag, that is, it is more expensive, specially when compared to cPanel

H-Sphere:

H-Sphere is also a popular control panel used by web hosts. Just like Plesk, it is also available for Windows, as well as Linux based web hosting servers. It offers a good range of features ranging from complete automation to key functionalities. However when compared with cPanel and Plesk it has less features.

DirectAdmin

If you want options that many control panels do not offer then DirectAdmin is for you. It has a wider range but it lacks some features that make Plesk or cPanel so popular. It is also purely for a small number of Linux varieties but it is considerably cheaper than cPanel.

Ensim

Available for Windows and Linux, Ensim doesn’t have a lot of features but it has an interface that is adequate.

Interworx

Interworx also caters only to Linux based Web hosting servers. It has got a clean and well-organized interface with some impressive features like the site usage snapshot.

Hosting Accelarator

This service is only for Windows and it can feel a bit cluttered which may overwhelm a number of users who are new to this style or technique.

Helm

Helm supports only Windows based web hosting servers. Apart from the usual features, it allows the user to see billing information inside the control panel.

CWIPanel

CQIPanel is available for Windows and has no real exciting features.

InsPanel

Again, InsPanel is Windwos based and has little to stand itself out from the crowd.

There are many control panels but cPanel remains the favorite due to its cost, easy to use functions and wide range of features.

Among the recently developed control panels, Pandela.com has come out with its NectGenCP control panel. It has been in development, since a few years and one must say that it is really impressive.

You can tell that modern internet technology has shaped this product. It is simple to use and has been created specifically for web hosting clients. It has such a great ease of use that even novices can pick it up in next to no time. It is said it takes no more than mouse clicks to perform any function. It may seem simple but there is a lot going on and all of the functions aid web site management. The makers of the service have also issued all users with a challenge and if they can think of something they would like in the next version of the product, they will incorporate it.

These are some of the features you could use in NextGenCP:

Gain control over your domain:

Users have full control over their domain as well as sub-domain. They can also register and host their own domain names easily and quickly.

Managing a Database:

This product makes it extremely simple to create and manage your very own database with just a few clicks of the mouse. phpMyAdmin provides the database management and the data is secured by Database Backup Manager.

Accounts for mail:

NextGenCP can be used to add and manage mail accounts very efficiently. Pandela.com provides an advanced SPAM filtering system, that ensures that the users will not be bombarded with junk mails, or viruses. It also includes mail filters, helps in organizing the mail accounts, as well as filter unwanted mails.

Site Tools:

NextGenCP offers many tools to improve the site and managing a website has never been simpler. Script Installer, Hotlink protection and IP Access Manager are just some of the tools on offer.

Sites Statistics;

Site statistics options in NextGenCP, provides complete information about the visitors, and the amount of bandwidth/traffic consumed by the site and mail accounts on a daily basis.

Support System

Every user of this product will be granted full support assistance. By sending off a support ticket, the matter will be considered by a staff member very quickly. It is said that the average time for response is 15 minutes.

All of the above features have contributed to making NextGenCP, one of the best control panels for web site hosting available in the market. And Pandela.com is not resting on this achievement, but moving on to make NextGenCP even better, with every passing day.

About the author:Tired of hyped up web hosting companies that don’t deliver? Get the tools and real user reviews you need to find the best hosting companies for you at www.webhostingmadness.com.