Everything comes to an end, and there are times when shutting down a server for the last time may just be the right thing to do. Whether the hardware is old and the websites need to be moved to a new server, or you have just decided to move on, there are certain steps you should take to make sure the process goes smoothly.

1. Keep backups of everything. Even if you have already made it clear to clients and users that the server will soon be gone, you should still keep backups around for a while, just in case.

2. Announce the shutdown well in advance. Do not wait until a few days before such a major change. Give anyone else involved time to prepare.

3. If you are migrating to a new server, have everything set up on the new server before you pull the plug on the old one. There should be minimal downtime.

4. Help customers adjust. If you were running some type of reseller or hosting business, refer your customers to another good host and help them move their sites. You never know when you may want to do business with those customers again.

5. If your website was particularly valuable in terms of content, consider selling it intact or passing off the content to someone who may want to use it and preserve it.

6. Keep or sell your domains. If they were at all valuable to you, they might be valuable to someone else or to you in the future. Do not just let them expire.

7. If you know of any places that recommended your site or advertised for you, make sure to notify them that you are closing.

8. Accept that change is part of life and move on with your life.

Photo Source: Flickr

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Yesterday, the popular tech blog GigaOM posted a story about Ian Drew, executive vice president of marketing at ARM Holdings. ARM is known for its low-powered processors that have cornered the market on smartphones, tablets, and many other devices.

Lately, Drew has become quite popular with the announcement that ARM is bringing their chips to the server market. In an arena that has been dominated by behemoths, Intel and AMD, it might surprise some to even think of an ARM processor in a server. But it is no surprise to technology experts working in web hosting, especially in data centers.

Power costs money. Energy consumption is an environmental and financial expense that many data centers are trying to significantly cut. As Drew explained,

“While the x86 world focused on pure megahertz, we have focused on the megahertz per milliwatt”

ARM-powered servers will introduce boxes that are powerful enough to still perform well on the Web, while also reducing energy consumption and, as a result, cost. Drew says the ARM advancement into the server realm will not happen overnight. They will begin testing next year and expect to produce market-ready low-power server chips within the next three to five years.

Source: GigaOM http://gigaom.com/2010/07/29/arm-server-foray/
Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons

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Getting the right hardware and network setup for your server is difficult enough. Choosing the right operating system, configuring it, and then maintaining it can be overwhelming. Here are a few tips to get you through the process.

1. If you are on a limited budget, you should definitely consider a free and open source operating system like Linux, FreeBSD, or OpenSolaris.

2. You can support your own server if you have the technical knowledge. Otherwise, you should get a commercial operating system (open source or proprietary) that comes with support.

3. Make sure the OS you choose is one you can live with for a long time. It is never a good idea to change the server OS once the server is live.

4. Think long term. You want an OS that will be stable, updated, and supported for years to come.

5. If you are trying a new OS like Linux for the first time, test it using a virtual machine like Virtualbox. You can learn a lot from it before ever even installing it on your server.

6. Make sure the software and web applications you want to run will be compatible with the server operating system you choose. You do not want to find out that they are not compatible after the fact.

7. Paying more will not necessarily get you better quality. Weigh the pros and cons of features, security, and stability to make your decision.

Photo Source: Flickr

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Backing up your server may be the single most important thing you ever do. It could save your websites, your clients, and your business. We have covered quite a few backup issues on this blog. Here is a summary of some important points.

1. Always use a remote backup server. Although there are some benefits to local backup, it will be useless when the entire server crashes.

2. If possible, avoid using your home computer as your backup server. Use a dedicated backup server or lease backup space from a web host.

3. Use rsync or similar program to perform remote incremental backups.

4. Automate the backup process with a cron job.

5. Backup all website files and databases.

6. Periodically test your backups to make sure the process completed correctly.

7. Make sure users or clients also perform their own individual backups for added protection.

Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons

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If you’ve owned a website for any period of time, chances are good you understand the importance of hotlink protection. Thousands of leechers hotlinking can take down the fastest of servers and rack up huge bandwidth bills. I’ve always made sure to set up hotlink protection of my sites, but was surprised yesterday to find that one of my sites was gobbling up bandwidth.

This particular site, a Wordpress blog, normally uses 2GB of data transfer in a month, but had gone through 6GB and was using quite a bit of memory. As it turns out, I had forgotten to setup hotlink protection after switching server providers a few months ago. I was lucky to catch the problem before it became much worse. Lesson learned– it never hurts to double-check your hotlink protection.

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Much of the discussion about web hosting and servers centers around operating systems, software, and web applications. But one should not overlook hardware, which can make or break website performance. Here are a few hardware tips to make sure you get the most for your money.

1. When possible, opt for the quality, server-grade CPUs (i.e. 64-bit Intel Xeon dual or quad core)

2. The more RAM you have, the better. You can never go wrong by adding memory to your system.

3. Get large, fast hard drives, especially if you plan to run virtual private servers (VPS).

4. For large-scale sites, server redundancy is a good thing, if you can afford it.

5. Multi-core processors improve performance, but correlate the amount of processing power you get with your actual needs. In other words, there is no point in having a 64-core processor for a couple of blogs.

6. Find ways to save power, especially if you have to pay for it. Green servers will save you money and save the environment.

7. Remember that technology is constantly evolving. Plan on needing to upgrade in the future.

Photo Source: Flickr

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Over the course of the past year, we have covered many dedicated server maintenance issues, particularly for servers running Linux. In no particular order, here is a list of some of the more important tips you should remember when taking care of your server.

1. When possible, rely on the distribution updates and repositories. Only add third-party software when absolutely necessary.

2. Periodically run fsck to check the file system.

3. Monitor system and service logs.

4. Disable unused services.

5. Periodically optimize MySQL databases.

6. Monitor CPU and RAM usage.

7. Optimize RAM and swap usage.

8. On larger servers, run the database server on a separate machine, optimize the servers for scalability, and consider using a CDN (Content Delivery Network).

Photo Source: Flickr

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Web hosting is a vast subject, and we have covered many areas of the topic over the past year. Here are a few tips to help you keep your server in the best web hosting shape possible.

1. Keep backups of all data, both account storage and databases. If possible, keep the backups on a remote server and schedule regular incremental updates

2. Update the kernel and other software regularly.

3. Use a script installation service to help users install web applications

4. Provide a web-based control panel to help users manage their sites

5. Enforce strong passwords and encourage users to update their passwords regularly

6. Use a monitoring service for the web server, mail server, database server, and any other critical services

7. Maximize disk and memory usage only to the point of ideal performance and do not over exert the server

8. Always announce any changes, updates, reboots, or maintenance, giving users plenty of time adjust.

Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons

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Do you really need 500 GB of space and a terabyte of bandwidth? What about that quad-core server you’ve been renting for the last twelve months? While web hosting needs often increase over time, they can decrease as well, often without you realizing it.

If you have a high-end web hosting plan or a large server, it might be worthwhile to double check and see if you are really using what you’re paying for. You might discover that while you needed a dual-core server a few months ago due to a high traffic event, things are back to normal and single core machine will suffice. Or maybe you overestimated your needs when you bought that $29.99 web hosting plan.

Either way, it’s a smart idea to double-check your hosting usage. You could save hundreds of dollars.

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Over the past year, we have covered many server security issues. Here is a brief summary of some of the highlights.

1. Do not allow direct root/administrator login
2. Make sure passwords are secure and changed regularly (by force if necessary)
3. Use a network firewall, such as APF
4. Use an application firewall, such as ModSecurity
5. Chroot all non-root users to keep them out of system directories
6. Use virus scanners and spam filters
7. Close mail server open relays
8. Keep all software and scripts up-to-date
9. Test your server for security holes
10. Keep up on the latest security news
11. Use SSL for secure data transactions
12. Set permissions as strictly as possible on any web-accessible files

Image Source: Wikimedia Commons

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