Disadvantages of dedicated hosting

If your site is too large for a VPS or shared hosting account to handle, you have little choice but to move to a dedicated server. This can be a good thing in many ways, but there are some unfortunate disadvantages dedicated server owners have to deal with:

• Increased cost. There’s no getting around this one. You’re paying for the whole shebang, even if you don’t use it all. Webmasters with highly fluctuating needs should look into cloud computing.
• More upkeep. Just like mansions require more upkeep than one-room apartments, owning a server entails more work on your part. This includes installing software, rebooting the system, and configuring updates. If this isn’t your bag of tea, find a managed server or hire a system administrator to do the grunt work for you.
• Less security. Commercial web hosts generally have better security in place than independent server owners. This is easily fixed by finding a provider that will help you manage security threats or investing in a server hardening service.

Photo | lampelina

Can a VPS hacker bring down an entire server?

Question: Can a VPS hacker bring down an entire server?

Answer: A virtual private server (VPS) works by sectioning off a full server or node (in the case of hardware virtualization) from the larger server or cluster. As such, the VPS functions like a fully independent server even though it is actually using the operating system of the larger entity. Therefore, the short answer is: no.

Even if a user or hacker manages to gain root access on a VPS, if it is configured correctly, that is as far as he can get. To him the fact that he is on a VPS will not even be technically apparent. There will be no way for him to even see the larger server or other virtual servers on the system. Therefore it is technically impossible for one VPS to affect the entire server or other virtual servers.

This reality makes VPS systems much more secure than traditional virtual hosting, where all users operating within the same server environment and operating system. Nevertheless, while the smaller entity cannot affect the larger one, the opposite can occur. If something is wrong with the main server, every VPS running on it will be affected. This is the downside to virtualization in general, but most would argue that the benefits still outweigh the risks.

Photo Source: Flickr

Dedicated game server hosting

A game server is a computer connected to the Internet that hosts multiplayer games for a particular game or multiple games. While some multiplayer games only have official servers, many allow community gamers to host their own games. There are two types: 1. temporary servers that any user can setup to host a particular tournament or match, and 2. a dedicated server that is always live and always available for connections.

The common tendency of a gamer who wants to hosts multiplayer games is to setup a normal PC box in their home with a regular DSL or cable line. Although this may work for temporary servers or small to medium numbers of connections, gaming on a larger scale can be taxing on an ill-equipped PC and a a home network.

In such cases it might behoove the gaming host to get a dedicated line and server-class computer to host their games. The other option is to purchase a hosting account for a dedicated server. The server can either be an un-managed server with a free Linux distribution or a customized gaming server that has been setup for that specific purpose. Either way, the eventual result is higher quality gaming and more enjoyment for the players.

Photo Source: Flickr

What is FFmpeg hosting?

Question: What is FFmpeg hosting?

Answer: FFmpeg is a suite of tools that provide users with video manipulation, editing, streaming, and recording capabilities on numerous platforms and multiple formats. As the name indicates, it supports a number of mpeg compression formats as well as other open and proprietary video codecs.

In order to have better than average video conversion and streaming on a website, you need a webhost that has FFmpeg installed on your server, accessible from web scripts, and ready to use. Since the advent of YouTube, many hosts have started offering dedicate FFmpeg server packages completely separate from their shared hosting accounts.

This allows the video conversion, streaming, and other tasks to use as much of the CPU and RAM that it needs to complete the tasks quickly and thoroughly. Normally, such servers will also include other related tools and libraries to support as many codecs and options as possible. Those may include but are not limited to Myplayer, xvidcore, Ogg (Theora and Vorbis), and LAME (MP3 Encoder).

Can you host copyrighted content?

One common issue new website owners run into is the hosting of copyrighted content. You may want to host a music video on your site, offer a song for download, or use another site’s image. Is this allowed? Unless you have permission from the copyright holder to use the content, your web host could remove it at any time.

Keep in mind that copyright infringement is illegal and although hosts aren’t responsible for their customer’s actions, they can be held liable for not putting an end to illicit activity in a timely manner. If your host gets a complaint from a copyright holder, you could find yourself kicked off their servers and out any deposits or fees paid.

This is the case for most North American and European hosts. Web hosting companies in developing countries are often much less stringent about the enforcement of copyright law.

TeamSpeak hosting

If you play PC games online, chances are good you’ve heard of TeamSpeak, a voice chat software popular within the gaming community that lets players easily communicate with one another. In order for peers to converse, however, a server running the TeamSpeak software must be set up. Luckily, there are a number of solutions for TeamSpeak hosting out there.

A number of providers offer TeamSpeak hosting for a low price comparable to an entry-level web hosting plan. Because it is so cheap, however, many game server companies offer it for free with a dedicated game server plan.

If you have the bandwidth and your ISP hasn’t blocked port 8767, you can even host a TeamSpeak server yourself at home. This forum post provides a good overview on the process.

Identify any site's host with WhoIsHostingThis

WhoIsHostingThis is a handy tool that will identify the host of most websites for free.

This is useful in a number of situations. In order to file a DMCA copyright complaint, for example, you must know the name of the infringer’s host. Or what if you just know of a site that has great reliability and want to patronize its host?

There are a few instances where the tool fails. If a site is self-hosted or uses its own IP range, the results sometimes show the provider of the IPs. However, it will usually show the name of a dedicated host if the site runs on its own server.

Overall, I would say WhoIsHostingThis is at least 95% accurate. If anything, it’s fun to play around with to kill time at work or home.

Court: Acceptable for host to terminate rude customer

In a ruling issued last week, a Los Angeles court ruled that a web host did not breach contract by suspending a rude customer.

The individual in question became angry after his hosting account was suspended for nonpayment. After leaving a rude voicemail at the company’s headquarters, the web host terminated his account. He then filed a lawsuit against the firm for breach of contract.

As it turns out, the customer promised “not to abuse whether verbally or physically or whether in person, via email or telephone or otherwise … any employee or contractor of [defendant],” when he agreed to the host’s terms of service at sign-up.

I guess it pays to be nice.

Source | Internet Cases

Finding good free scripts for your website

A good web hosting company often provides its website owners with automatically installable scripts for various popular tasks: blogging, photo albums and e-commerce, to name a few. In some special situations, however, it becomes necessary for a webmaster to search for free, reliable scripts on the web. Whether they are Perl, PHP, or ASP scripts, there are some good places to look.

Hotscripts. Hot Scripts is one of the older more well-known script repositories. It provides links, ratings, categories and annotations of thousands of Javascript, C, PHP, Flash, ASP, CGI, Python, and other scripts. This site lists both free and commercial scripts.

PHP Resource index. Another well-known and trusted site, PHP Resource Index lists both free and commercial scripts, allowing users to vote and comment on them. It currently has around 4,000 scripts indexed. Its sister site, CGI Resource Index, lists Perl and CGI scripts.

There are many other script indexes and repositories. Whichever ones you choose, it is important to be mindful of security, not just of your own website but of the entire web server. You will be responsible for installing any updates to your scripts and making sure they are secure. It is also important to understand that you, not your web host, must make the scripts work since you acquired them from third parties.

Photo: Flickr