Web servers

Question: What is Reverse DNS? Answer: Reverse DNS is a method of determining the domain name associated with an IP address. It is the opposite of DNS, which finds the IP address associated with a domain name. According to Internet standards, every IP address should have a domain name, and …

Question: What is root and su? Answer: On Linux and other Unix-like systems, root is the default username of the system administrator or super user (su). Typically, the root user is the only one that has complete read and write access on every file located on a server. Shared hosting …

Question: What is “directory listing” and how do I enable/disable it? Answer: On an Apache HTTP Server, directory listing refers to a directory on the server that does not have a default index file. The file is usually called index.html, index.htm, index.php, etc. That is the default page that visitors …

Last week you learned how a routine server reboot can be a costly affair at some dedicated hosts. Even for those of us with more endearing hosts that do not charge for restarts, the process can sometimes take a bit longer than it should. Instead of contacting your provider every …

Question: Should I setup my own dedicated servers or use the cloud? Answer: The tech world is currently abuzz with positive, negative, and neutral news about cloud computing. Some small to medium sized businesses have successfully transitioned to it and are perfectly happy. Others are sticking with traditional dedicated hosting, …

Question: What are Xen, Vmware, and Hyper-V? Answer: All three are popular virtualization software. Xen is a free and open source virtualization solution and is therefore included in some Linux distributions. Vmware is a commercial company with many virtualization products. Hyper-V, formerly known as Windows Server Virtualization, is a commercial …

Question: I run Windows on my home computer, and I noticed that my Linux dedicated server is always using a lot of RAM. Why? Answer: Windows and Linux utilize RAM in different ways. Someone new to Linux might be alarmed to see that the amount of free RAM Linux leaves …

Do you make regular backups of your data? Even if you do, you will always experience significant downtime in the event of a hard disk failure on your dedicated server. One solution to this problem is to upgrade from a single drive to a RAID array. Simply put, the technology …

You’ve seen data centers that can survive a nuclear blast as well some of the most secure data centers in the world, but how many server rooms can survive the impact of a direct explosion? The video above shows a bomb-proof data center design in action. Dubbed LSR 18.6E, it’s …

Question: I’m starting my own custom web server and want to use a free web hosting control panel. Can you name a few? Answer: Unfortunately, the list of free hosting panels is not very long, but there are a few quality choices out there. Here they are in no particular …