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We discussed domain names, their significance, IP
numbers, key points to remember while selecting a domain name etc.
last week. This week we discuss the next step - how to find a physical
space in the Internet that will host your webpages under your own
domain name (yourdomain.com)
The domain name is an intellectual property, you
may or may not use it to build a website. However, if you decide
to build a website named after your selected domain name (yourdomain.com)
- you need physical space in a web server or Host. Host is a computer
with special features (notably a 24-hour telecom connection with
Internet called backbone). You have the options of:
-
Have your host or web server at your premises,
get leased telecom lines, hire programmers and maintenance staff
etc. It gives you unlimited freedom but costs huge sum of money.
-
Place a dedicated server at a data centre, hire
programmers and other maintenance staff. Suits large websites
with dynamic content and considerable programming input.
-
Hire space with others in a shared-host. Most
economical and popular option - more than 90% small and medium
enterprises use this option. (We focus our discussion on this
option here)
The next decision you need to take is the platform
or operating system of the server. There are largely two options
:
-
Unix / Linux host supporting open source
-
Microsoft supported platforms (Windows NT, Windows
2000) supporting ASP and other Microsoft suits
There are pros and cons for both, no such thing as
one best solution. While Unix / Linux option is cheaper and faster,
Miscrosoft supported options provide user friendliness, flexibility,
regular upgrades etc. The best solution depends upon your actual
requirements - something your technical expert is better placed
to decide.
The third and final decision is the location of your
server. Earlier, options were limited - USA or Europe as there was
hardly any data centre in India. However, many Indian data centres
and web hosts have come up during last two years. The ground rule
is to select a location that is nearer to your target audience.
What To Look For In A Web Host
There are plenty of vitally important things to look
for in a host OTHER THAN PRICE . Do not get carried away by price
alone - check how competent is your host and what features are offered.
Some of the features you may look for are:
-
Speed & Reliability
Quality of backbone connection to the net, Server
configuration, how fast ? What is the uptime, do the host guarantee
99.99% or above uptime ?
-
Customer Service
How competent, fast and friendly is the customer
service ? Is it 24 hours x 7 days a week ?
-
User Friendliness
How easy to set up and maintain various facilities.
Do they provide web based control panel for setting up mail
lists, add/delete autoresponders, edit html pages etc. from
your browser ?
-
Global Hosting
How many clients ? which countries ? User satisfaction
level ? Are they able to host domains with extensions from your
country ?
-
Back Up Routine
Frequency of systems back-up, hourly ? daily
?
-
Price
How competitive is the price ? How much disk
space ? What are the payment options ? Do the host accept credit
card ?
In addition to above general selection criteria, you
should also be looking for:
-
e-commerce support including secure-server
-
Support for your application programs (Java, PERL,
CGI, C++, TCL, Python etc.)
-
Microsoft Front Page Support
-
POP3 e-mail accounts
-
Infobot support
-
List Server support etc.
You must be sufficiently confused by now !! Well,
in next issue we shall discuss how to get best advise from the web
free of cost. We shall list web resources that will help you compare
and decide the best host for your application.
Related Links:
Source: FAIDA
- Newsletter on Business Opportunties from India and Abroad
Vol II, Issue 18; October 11' 2001
Author :
Dr. Amit K. Chatterjee
(Amit worked in blue-chip Indian and MNCs for 15 years in various
capacities like Research and Information Analysis, Market Development,
MIS, R&D Information Systems etc. before starting his e-commerce
venture in 1997. The views expressed in this columns are of
his own. He may be reached at amit@infobanc.com
) |
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