Hildrvalkyrie.com

Archive for April, 2009

You have your new business and you are planning to set up your website and tell the whole world about your business and that you have a lot of products and services that you want to share. You also have in mind the design of your site and a catchy domain name. So what will be the next step? The answer is, to find a web hosting provider that will host your website. Puzzled? Let us start with the basics.

What is Web Hosting?

In simple terms, web hosting is renting a space on a web server. A website is not simply a domain name, it is a collection of files linked together by HTML code to display text and graphics on a computer. In order for anybody to see this collection of files you’ve created, it has to be housed on a computer somewhere that has access to the internet. Not just any computer will do, of course. A web server is a computer set up with special software that allows it to receive requests from the internet for the website files it has stored on it and to send those files out over the internet so that the requesting computer can display them. It is very much like a waiter in a restaurant taking your order and bringing the food that you ask for from the kitchen, hence the name “server.”

Along with making sure your files can be seen by internet users around the world, a web server provides other important services as well. First and foremost is the ability to create email addresses based on your domain name and to send and receive email with them. The web server also has various types of software installed on it that allow your website to run programs, create and manage databases, display video, and many other functions you might find useful. Almost any type of computer can function as a web server, but it’s the software that’s on it that makes it a server.

When you avail of the web hosting services, the fee that you are going to pay goes to the maintenance of the server’s hardware and software. You also pay the cost of keeping the website online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in a secure data center with a fast and powerful internet connection with repetitive uninterruptible power supply. And to pay for the expertise of the people who do all the work.

What kinds of web hosting services are offered?

Shared Hosting – Most websites are not huge affairs with hundreds of pages and thousands of files and graphics, and they are targeted toward a particular audience, so they will not get as many visitors as the large general sites like Yahoo! that are targeted at everybody who uses the internet. As such, the average website therefore is not going to require the full resources of an entire web server to run it. Web servers are designed to be able to handle dozens, even hundreds of websites at once because they are powerful machines.

Shared hosting is simply the concept of hosting more than one website on a particular server. Over 95% of all websites on the internet are being run in a shared hosting environment. Since the resources of the server can be split among the clients hosted on it, so can the costs of operating the server, so shared hosting is universally cheaper than any other type. Shared hosting packages are generally designed so that each client is allotted a certain amount of each resource, with different payment levels representing different amounts of resources such as disk space, bandwidth, email addresses, and so on. Shared hosting is also known as virtual hosting.

Dedicated Hosting – If you do have a big, powerful website that gets lots of visitors and has a tendency to hog resources, then you might want to have a web server all to yourself. Some companies also prefer the extra security of not having to share the server with anyone else who could do something accidentally or on purpose to crash it. Renting the use of an entire server is known as dedicated hosting. The web hosting company still owns the machine and takes responsibility for maintaining the hardware and the web hosting software, but you have greater control over the configuration and use of the server. There is also such a thing as semi-dedicated hosting, in which a web server is only split between a very small number of clients, such as 2 to 4, with strong partitions between each to prevent them from interfering with one another. Since the hosting company is still responsible for the upkeep of the server, this type of hosting is also known as managed hosting. For obvious reasons, dedicated hosting always costs significantly more than shared hosting.

Server Co-Location – If you really want complete control over every aspect of your web server, you might very well choose to buy one and maintain it yourself if you have sufficient knowledge. However, chances are that you still don’t have the resources to keep your server completely safe from power outages, roof leaks, thieves, unwary employees and other hazards and keep it on the internet on a fast, high-bandwidth connection at all times. You need a data center to provide those services for you. Co-location is the rental of physical security, continuous electrical power and a fast, reliable internet connection for a server that you own. The data center is not responsible for any of the hardware or software maintenance of a co-located server, you are. This can be a cheaper alternative to dedicated hosting if you have the necessary expertise and time to run a web server yourself.

Are there any platforms to choose from?

Web hosting providers offer both Linux and Windows platforms to choose from. Web hosting providers typically use free editions of Unix based Linux operating systems such as Debian, Red Hat, or Free BSD, this alone reduces the end cost of a web hosting plan to the consumer due to there being no licensing fees incurred like there is with the Windows operating system.

The free editions of Linux are released under what is known as the GNU license, this license has no costs involved, and also allows access to the source code of the operating system to allow for modification and optimization which is very important, this allows the host to optimize the operating system to their hardware requirements, and also allows quick fixes for any security issues that may come up.

Typically Unix web servers are the most stable, with the flexibility required to allow upgrades and expansion. Almost always Unix servers that are setup for serving websites are configured in text mode which uses fewer resources, they do not run a graphical user interface which allows the server to devote as much of its own resources to the websites it is hosting. Unix based operating systems support the following. PHP, MySQL, PostgresSQL, Perl, CGI-BIN, Ruby on Rails and many more.

Windows is of course is the most widely known operating system, and as you know, you pay to use the Windows operating system on your desktop, and this is no different when it comes to using the Windows Server operating system. The Windows Server operating system does support some technologies that Unix currently does not. Only Windows hosting plans support scripting languages such as Active Server Pages (ASP), Cold Fusion, Active Perl, C++, C#, and Visual Basic.

Only Windows Server operating system will run Microsoft applications such as Microsoft Access Databases, Microsoft SQL Databases, IIS. If you are planning to use any of the above languages or database types on your website, you will need to purchase a Windows hosting plan.

You could spend a long time trying to learn everything there is to know about web hosting, but if you’ve read this far then you should be armed with the basic knowledge you need to understand what different web hosts are offering you. Your next task is to figure out what you need and go out and find a host that wants to give it to you at a great price! To know more about web hosting, you can visit our site BNS Hosting and we will be glad to entertain all your questions.

Hosted PBX with the advanced VoIP telephone services helps small business organizations to maintain steady communication with clients throughout business and non-business hours. This helps them to project a professional business image.

State-of-the-art Call Management Features

The VoIP hosted PBX telephone system facilitates organized call management. It is designed with advanced call handling features such as auto attendant, voicemail, voice to email, fax to email, call conferencing, call waiting, automatic call distribution and more.

The auto attendant receives all incoming calls with professionally recorded salutation messages and provides callers with a list of options including dial by name, dial by extension and more. Depending on the option selected by the caller, calls are quickly transferred to the appropriate extensions. The system efficiently manages numerous calls arriving simultaneously and performs instant call routing without giving off connection busy signals. All this eliminates the need for call answering personnel in your office.

Sophisticated Call Handling for Uninterrupted Communication

The find me follow me call forwarding feature allows calls to official numbers to be transferred to alternate telephone numbers including designated personal landlines or cell phones. Thus, your business can be managed conveniently from locations other than your main office. Unanswered calls are promptly routed to the voicemail system, enabling callers to leave voice messages. So the system eliminates the possibility of missed calls. The voice messages are forwarded to your email account, enabling you to immediately respond to your clients even from overseas sites.

Reduces your Telecom Expenses

By equipping your business office with the highly advanced VoIP hosted PBX telephone system, your telecommunication expenses can be reduced considerably. Outgoing calls to national and international locations can be made at low charges. Further, based on your business requirements, several extensions can be easily maintained from an existing telephone connection.

All these features can be enjoyed without purchasing and installing costly onsite PBX hardware. The required hardware is maintained by the service providers at their site and PBX services are offered using broadband Internet or telephone networks at reasonable monthly charges.

Did Keith Olbermann refuse to offer an on-air apology? Is coverage of MSNBC host’s suspension media overkill?
Politico, which broke the story of Keith Olbermann’s donations to three Democrat candidates in the midterm elections, is reporting that the “Countdown” host was yanked from the air for refusing to make an on-air apology.
Read more on Orlando Sentinel

EHS to host free lunch for veterans
Edwardsville High School is hosting a free lunch for veterans on Nov. 10.
Read more on Edwardsville Intelligencer

Take two: Pair of CTL teams advance to state
COLVILLE — They didn’t exactly take the path they’d hoped to, but Cashmere still wound up at the same destination: Hosting a first-round state playoff game. The Bulldogs got there by beating sixth-ranked Colville a 27-7
Read more on The Wenatchee World

Protest against G-20 in S Korea
SEOUL – Thousands of people chanted anti-globalisation slogans in South Korea’s capital to protest this week’s Group of 20 summit.Part of the crowd attempted to march down nearby streets but were stopped by riot police, who fired…
Read more on The New Zealand Herald

With good telecommunication and customer-oriented services, businesses can easily become successful. A feature-rich phone system can contribute a lot towards this. Now small and medium-sized businesses can also enjoy premium communication with affordable hosted PBX VoIP phone systems.

Auto Attendants and Live Person Answering Service

With the advanced auto attendant feature, you can easily impress your callers. As in expensive traditional phone systems, all calls are automatically attended and welcomed with professional sounding greetings. Further, calls are directed to the required extensions, call queues, mailboxes or unlimited depths of the auto attendants. In addition to this, there is a live person answering service integrated into this phone system.

User-friendly Features of Hosted PBX VoIP Phone System

Advanced features of hosted PBX VoIP phone system ensure you never miss any important business calls. If there are multiple calls coming simultaneously, it has advanced functionalities to efficiently manage them. It functions as a call center in which incoming calls will be placed in the queue and routed to a group of sales or service agents of your office.

The customer portal is another user-friendly feature of the PBX phone system. With the web interface of this phone system, you get the privilege to configure your PBX as required. It gives you the convenience to create call queues and groups, listen to and delete your voicemail, view call detail records and billing information, upload music on hold and more.

Manage Business Calls Even While on the Move

There is no need to worry about managing business calls, even when you are on the move. Hosted PBX phone system has functionalities to route calls to your personal phone numbers or to any given extensions. Since it is a server-based system, it is entirely managed by the service provider.

Voice mail, conference calling, detailed reports, custom configuration and other sophisticated features are part of advanced hosted PBX VoIP phone systems. Along with creating a bigger corporate image, you can cut down your calling costs and acquire greater mobility to manage your business.

Owing to its outstanding communication capabilities, affordability and scalability, the VoIP-enabled hosted PBX phone system has become the most favored telecommunication choice of small business offices. Using this phone system, small businesses can remain connected with their clients even from distant locations. This significantly enhances their business image.

Easy to Maintain Additional Extensions

With the state-of-the-art VoIP PBX phone system, outbound calls to international locations can be made at economic charges and this helps small businesses to significantly cut down their telephone bills. Moreover, this phone system supports several extensions from a single telephone connection, so that a virtual business presence can be created anywhere, without setting up any physical offices.

Unique Communication Features

The VoIP-enabled hosted PBX phone system is designed with high-tech communication features such as automatic call distribution, voice to email, call conferencing, caller ID, music on hold, fax to email and more. The built-in auto attendant answers calls with appropriate business greetings and presents callers with options like dial-by-name, dial-by extension and so on. Calls are instantly transferred to appropriate extensions according to the preference of the caller. It efficiently handles numerous calls arriving together and transfers calls without delay.

The find-me/follow-me call forwarding option allows business owners to respond to their customers through their personal telephone numbers including cell numbers set as extensions. Calls that remain unanswered after a specific number of rings are routed to the voicemail box, prompting callers to leave voice messages. Voice messages are forwarded to email accounts so that responses can be provided to callers even from distant locations. The arrival of new messages is instantly alerted on designated cell phone numbers. In short, the system eliminates the possibility of missed calls.

An Economical Choice

In the VoIP-enabled hosted PBX phone system, data and voice is transmitted through a single network, thereby saving upfront costs and reducing network management tasks. The service providers maintain all the needed hardware at their site and offer PBX functions at reasonable monthly rents through a hosted server using broadband Internet or telephone networks.