Servers

Web and FTP Servers

Every network that has an internet connection is at risk of being compromised. Whilst there are several steps that you can take to secure your LAN, the only real solution is to close your LAN to incoming traffic, and restrict outgoing traffic.

However some services such as web or FTP servers require incoming connections. If you require these services you will need to consider whether it is essential that these servers are part of the LAN, or whether they can be placed in a physically separate network known as a DMZ (or demilitarised zone if you prefer its proper name). Ideally all servers in the DMZ will be stand alone servers, with unique logons and passwords for each server. If you require a backup server for machines within the DMZ then you should acquire a dedicated machine and keep the backup solution separate from the LAN backup solution.

The DMZ will come directly off the firewall, which means that there are two routes in and out of the DMZ, traffic to and from the internet, and traffic to and from the LAN. Traffic between the DMZ and your LAN would be treated totally separately to traffic between your DMZ and the Internet. Incoming traffic from the internet would be routed directly to your DMZ. Therefore if any hacker where to compromise a machine within the DMZ, then the only network they would have access to would be the DMZ. The hacker would have little or no access to the LAN. It would also be the case that any virus infection or other security compromise within the LAN would not be able to migrate to the DMZ.

In order for the DMZ to be effective, you will have to keep the traffic between the LAN and the DMZ to a minimum. In the majority of cases, the only traffic required between the LAN and the DMZ is FTP. If you do not have physical access to the servers, you will also need some sort of remote management protocol such as terminal services or VNC.

Database servers

If your web servers require access to a database server, then you will need to consider where to place your database. The most secure place to locate a database server is to create yet another physically separate network called the secure zone, and to place the database server there. The Secure zone is also a physically separate network connected directly to the firewall. The Secure zone is by definition the most secure place on the network. The only access to or from the secure zone would be the database connection from the DMZ (and LAN if required).

Exceptions to the rule

The dilemma faced by network engineers is where to put the email server. It requires SMTP connection to the internet, yet it also requires domain access from the LAN. If you where to place this server in the DMZ, the domain traffic would compromise the integrity of the DMZ, making it simply an extension of the LAN. Therefore in our opinion, the only place you can put an email server is on the LAN and allow SMTP traffic into this server. However we would recommend against allowing any form of HTTP access into this server. If your users require access to their mail from outside the network, it would be far more secure to look at some form of VPN solution. (with the firewall handling the VPN connections. LAN based VPN servers allow the VPN traffic onto the network before it is authenticated, which is never a good thing.)

In this day’s websites normally requires simple web hosting plans for smooth performance of the website and email transfer that is essential. There are two modes of hosting planes are generally available, first is Linux hosting and second one is Windows hosting. Both have several advantages and disadvantages respectively but Depending upon small business owner’s requirements suitable managed hosting plan can be selected for a specific website.

Well in most of the normal situations, the general preference of small business owners for choosing web hosting plan moves towards the Linux server hosting plans rather than window server hosting, because there are numerous optimistic factor that influence people to choose it.

Expenditure Factor

The truth is that Linux hosting plans are much economical than Windows servers plans. For all small business people the web hosting price matters vastly. They wish to receive many options or you can say facilities at a tiny expenditure. Most of them not required supreme type of security and they also do not bother whether it is MS-SQL database server or some thing else to develop their database. Thus Linux server is the best option for them at really least cost with several kinds of features.

Open Source Factor

Linux is an Open Source code and enables people from all around the world to promote their own knowledge for its development. This is one of the main reasons where Linux servers have the power to eject Windows servers far away form competitive hosting industry. Now a day’s, due to its farthest adaptability Linux becomes a unique platform for lots of fresh technologies that are mostly used in competitive hosting industry. This means that a Linux server gives you numerous features than Windows servers can does.

Scripting Language Factor

There are many scripting language available on the Internet like Perl, Python, Java, and PHP to build your site. All these scripting languages and have been developed on Linux / UNIX web servers and they do not required Microsoft support to run them. But when you use those scripting languages which can be run on windows servers like ASP.Net then you require MS-SQL to develop the database and other supports of Microsoft. Now it is easily understandable that for small business owners Linux hosting is best to host their website into the internet.

Dependability Factor

Now a day’s Linux is vastly known as really steady and dependable. This means that Linux servers are little faster, easy to use and reputed as non crushable than a Windows server. Thus, Linux servers will provide more upgraded facilities for your website at a minimum outlay.

Familiarity and Executing Speed Factor

Linux servers have years of experience for providing services than Windows servers in hosting industry. There is no such recommendable difference in executing speed between Linux servers and Windows servers, but it is viewed that Linux servers are slightly quicker in processing normal website pages.

Efficiency Factor

Windows support ASP which is a programming language supported by Microsoft, which allows people to fabricate dynamic database motivated website pages by connecting with a MS-SQL server or Access server. It increase the production cost as well. Linux neither requires ASP language nor MS-SQL databases to build dynamic database driven website pages, because it simply uses MySQL database which is freely available.

The importance of Successful server recovery for business survival cannot be overemphasized because servers are important for business operations. Servers are continuously supporting operations by serving files, applications, transaction data and other kinds of support information and tools without which businesses and individuals would find it harder to survive.

Server downtime effects differ depending on the nature of the business. Server downtimes can have costly effects in banks, airports, medical and security businesses. For example, in banks if current account information is not available, even for a short time during business hours, it can cause serious problems. With thousands of transactions every minute, reconstructing lost current account details is better imagined. The servers serving current account transactions have to be handled with utmost caution and must have immediate online access to backup data to continue operation if there is a problem.

Data backups are not without negative aspects because they can get corrupted or contain data that is not up to date. If this is the case the task of data reconstruction or data recovery from the damaged media becomes essential. Data reconstruction applies usually to not too much data. When data is much data recovery from affected data becomes essential.

Data could be loss and through deletion might be recovered than data lost owing to a serious physical damage to the media. Expertise and experience are usually needed to recover data lost. Data recovery software could be used to recover data in some cases. The alternative may be to change damaged components or analyze data streams to rebuild damaged files.

International companies and even individuals use servers of different models for example Windows, Linux, Unix or other proprietary operating systems. Server recovery, planning, and execution can prove critical to the very survival of a business. Servers are constantly serving files, applications and data to support business operations. If they are down, the operations suffer and profits are lost.

Podcasting servers basically act as storage for your podcasting files. They are large containers for your podcast files equipped with large hard drives as well as dual power supplies. Te podcasting server waits for the requests for your podcast files in an environment, which is climate-controlled. The server sends out the files once they are requested by a client. The server provides a web page to the client computing tool using a system, while the client computing tool doles out a podcast file into the server through the system. And then the server would input the information to the podcast file together with the other information from the web page. After which, the client computing tool would be running the program along with the added information coming from the server.

Servers that are in these individual locales usually provide unlimited file storage and the amount of storage which is used would depend on the capability of the server which is used by the customer. Fees are basically structured on the kind and amount of servers employed. Additional storage services can also be offered to customers by these locales, some of which could even do regular and periodic maintenance. Normally, they try to make sure that their system would not be down for more than 10 or 30 minutes each time. Also, they are extremely customer focused, and are able to work quickly so that they would be available once duty calls.

Dedicated hosting servers are specialized computer servers or storage units that are stationed somewhere away from or at your office. They are extremely helpful in that they can hold and operate datat that you need for a given website or application, without slowing anything else down. One can understand the significance of the cyber technology that has become a crucial part of our daily lives. There has been a major increase in the number of Websites. Jobs that were dependant on the physical presence of the customer or the client in an office or service center can now be done over the Internet. Dedicated servers offer faster processing and more disk space and RAM than shared hosting. A dedicated server not only allows an individual or user to customize and individualize settings for their unique requirements, it also augments all kinds of Web-based works with faster delivery and maximum performance.

There are many Web hosting providers who have quality operating system servers to ensure the proficiency of your business and the necessary programs to run it. The most trustworthy are those who provide a Linux operating system. For the past few years there has been a gradual shift from Microsoft Windows operating systems to Linux. This is because Linux has a certain number of advantages compared to Windows. For one, Linux is far less likely to be infected by a virus. Getting a Linux operating system can be of immense benefit to the concerned individual who wants to set up his or her own business on the Web.

Virtual private servers have been used for quite some time, but lately they have gained popularity and more and more people have a need for something other than shared and dedicated web-hosting services. A virtual private server is a single physical server that is split into multiple virtual servers. What this means is that the single physical server is portioned in such a way that the one server appears to be multiple servers. While this portioning of a single server has been effective for quite some time, newer software such as Xen, FreeVPS, and others have revived the popularity.

Virtual private servers are practical for those that need something a bit different than either shared or dedicated hosting. The attractiveness of Virtual private servers or VPS is that they allow root level access to each of the clients, yet they do not require physically dedicated servers. Businesses and individuals that really need a customized server and web hosting plan often go for the virtual private server because it gives them more privacy and customization than a shared server, but usually is not as expensive as a dedicated server is. Many find that a virtual private server is just able to fulfill their needs more accurately and efficiently than any other type of hosting service.

Virtual private servers are used in a variety of situations. Many times they are used for duplicate or copy websites. This allows changes to be made to the copy site before making the changes to the main site, to ensure that the website will be as accurate and as unflawed as possible. Testing the copy site allows the individuals running the website to ensure that it is as professional and up-to-date as possible at all times. Virtual private servers are also used quite often to create honeypots, which refers to the ability to allow a specific machine to run software that knowingly has security or other flaws. Honeypots are considered to be easier to deploy in a timely fashion, which allows one to gain more insight into the world of computer safety without compromising the safety of ones main server.

There is a well-known variant of virtual hosting that is called clustered hosting; this is a technology that involves a cluster of physical machines that are each running virtual hosts. Whether you choose clustering or virtual private servers, this can be the solution to your web hosting needs. If you have the need to gain more control and customization than you can get with shared hosting, one should definitely look into VPS hosting options. VPS is great for many, including those that want more control as well as web hosting resellers.

For those who have a website of their own that is getting more and more traffic each day, one of the biggest dilemmas is whether to go for dedicated servers or stick to their shared servers. For those who are starting a website and need to choose a host, consider the given questions: Do you really require large bandwidths?

Can you pay the $100 per month to the host?

Do you have a database or a CPU intensive site?

Do you require a specific kind of server configuration?

In case you answered most questions in the affirmative, you need a dedicated server for your site. This kind of server will cost you around $100 each month but here is a list of its benefits:

• You have the entire machine at your disposal.

• There are no other sites eating up your resources and hence you get great performance.

• All database queries will get responses much faster.

• You are the one to have the root level control.

• You can install any software according to your needs.

The dedicated servers ensure that you have super fast connectivity between the web applications that you have and the database. The database queries are met with greater speed and efficiency if you are using this server. In fact, you can even install applications that are not allowed by shared servers. At the same time, you will not have the worries of numerous other websites eating up your resources and resulting in overcrowding.

Shared Hosting:

But if you have a website that does not require such high resources, you can go for shared hosting that costs just about $5 to $20 a month. But since you are sharing the resources with many other sites, the pages may take a lot of time to load. However, if your site does not have any CPU intensive or database functions, then the load time won’t bother you.

Be it shared servers or dedicated servers; you need to take care of the host you are choosing. Go for a host who has good customer services on offer. See the way they behave with you before the sale and try to gauge their standards. See if they are giving the benefits of switching to dedicated servers from a shared ones in case you need one and vice versa.

When it comes to hosting a website, many individuals are torn between whether to use collocated servers or dedicated servers. In fact, many individuals do not know the difference between the two. There are several differences to be found between collocated servers and dedicated servers and the different functions of each may make an option more or less attractive to the website developer. There are many companies that will offer their customers the use of either a dedicated or collocated server and there are several advantages and disadvantages to each type of service. Ultimately, the decision rests with the website developer and their needs for the website.

The main difference between a collocated server and a dedicated server is the ownership of the server. With a dedicated one, the user is provided with exclusive use of a server that is owned by another entity, generally the hosting provider. A collocated one is owned by the user and is housed in a rental space along with the servers of many other companies and individuals. In other words, with a dedicated server you rent it and with a collocated server, you rent the space to house it. Each option is more cost effective than purchasing and housing the server on your own, but there are major differences in what you can and cannot do with the equipment.

With a dedicated server, the individual has exclusive access to it and can place any software, content, or applications on it that they wish. Websites that use dedicated servers also have a higher reliability and can handle a great deal more traffic than sites that are hosted on shared servers. With a dedicated server, any issues that arise with it are the responsibility of the company that the individual is renting it from, which could be a good or bad thing. One of the biggest disadvantages to a dedicated server is that the individual only owns the data on the server, not the server itself, so if they are dissatisfied with the service they are being provided, they have little recourse until their contract expires.

One of the biggest advantages of a collocated server is that the individual owns and has full access to the server at any time. The applications can be run from a remote location while the server is housed in a secure facility with an uninterruptible power supply, internet connectivity, and increased security features. Allowing the server to be collocated frees up valuable space in the home or business that would be needed to house the server and allows the individual to split the cost of utilities between all the individuals with servers housed in the area. The biggest disadvantage to collocated servers is that all issues, maintenance, and needed repairs to the server must be handled on your own.

Web servers are basically considered to be a vital core of the whole structure of the Internet. It is very important to have a good enough understanding of the basics of web servers, regardless of the web hosting company you choose. This would especially be true when you are panning to launch or if you already run an online business.

Each web host provider is equipped with special computers called servers that connect online and provide or serve the web pages and websites once they are requested by online browsers and users.

And so, once an individual wants to view a particular website or web page through clicking a link, this request would be sent to the designated computer or server where that particular web page or website is stored.

A lot of web servers are run and managed by web hosting service providers, however any personal computer that is hooked on to or has access to the Internet could also function in a similar way. A big difference would be that the owner of that certain website, instead of the web hosting service provider, would have to be the one who needs to perform the various technical tasks which are associated to the whole process of getting the website connected online and to make sure that is regularly maintained and ran properly.

In order to ensure that your server would be able to deliver the best results, try to choose a good and efficient web hosting service provider, which is equipped with multiple high-speed Internet connections, as well as back-up supplies, which are reliable to be used in the event of power outages.

In your search for available email servers that you can put to good use, perhaps you have entertained the notion of why not just obtain one for free (if you can) instead of paying for it? Ah yes, the most important question: where can you get free email servers that offer the best of what these mail servers have to offer in order to carry out your own purpose?

Internet – the best source always

Online inquiry will enable you to obtain varied resources where you can obtain mail servers for free that are suited for professional and individual applications. Depending on the type of search engine you use, your sources for email servers can range from those that feature ingenious setups of spam protection, mail tracking, and instant mail delivery direct to the recipient’s mailbox. Some even offer as much as 10GB of available mail space. Other types of mail servers also support pop-up blockers, fast uploading of files, anti-virus protection, and a firewall, not to mention message filtering and additional tools for effectively managing your accounts.

While there are also those types of servers that provide a more personalized service to customers (some providers have this available for free or as part of their extended services, while, understandably, some provide this for a price) like external consolidation of all your email accounts, step by step validation of sender’s personal information so as to find out if the mails are really included on the list of mails you want to receive, control of mails being sent by you or other people using the same server, and lots more.

As the primary user, it is your task to choose wisely which mail server you are going to use and install. You can go for those servers that offer 100 up to 250MB of available mailbox space or go as high as 1GB if you wish, complete with all the trimmings of an excellent and high performance mail server, such as blockers, firewall, anti spam and virus protection, and more. But what matters most here is that that you can get the exact features you need to handle both personal and business communications with total ease and efficiency.