Hosting Options

Although the Internet has come to be known as a "virtual" entity, it is important to understand the implications of informed decisions regarding the hardware and physical attributes of your Internet site. The right decision is a balance between the amount of control you can maintain over your site and the cost of hosting it. These costs can include leveraging fault-tolerance solutions and bandwidth aggregation. Good planning will also enable you to grow your site later with little complication.

The four basic types of Web site hosting options are a shared server, a dedicated server, a co-located server, and a data center location. Of course, you always have the option of hosting your own Web server. The same issues defined in the following sections should apply to the decision to take your Internet Information Services server in-house.

Shared Server

Today's new innovative and modern computers enable you to distribute the processing capability and storage capacity of a single computer among multiple Web sites. The computer hosting the multiple Web sites is called a shared server. With the flexibility of Microsoft Internet Information Services and a relatively powerful computer, you could literally host thousands of Web sites on a single computer. The number and scope of these sites, of course, is limited by the speed and storage capacity of the system and the bandwidth of the connection to the Internet. A single Web site on a shared server is referred to as a virtual server because it appears as a single Web site on a single computer.

In addition to a generally lower cost, a Web site on a shared server provides the benefit of less administrative management. A Web site owner can control the Web site's content without knowing how to manage IIS or even Microsoft Windows 2000.

However, the overall performance of any Web site on a server will depend to some extent not only on its own content and usage, but also on the content and usage of any other sites residing on the same computer. For small- to medium-sized sites that contain primarily static content, a shared server is often a good value. This generally is recommended as a starting point, allowing for cost savings during the learning period that should determine what you really want a Web site to do and, thus, what it will require.

When selecting a hosting company with a shared server environment, consider some of the following issues:

• How many Web sites are hosted on a single server?

• Do you have access to the log files for your Web site?

• Will the company support Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)?

• Can you use an Access database or SQL database if needed?

• What if you outgrow the shared servers?

• What happens if your site stops functioning as 3:00 a.m.?

• What kind of support is available to you?

These are just a few of the questions to consider when you define your requirements. You might want to test the performance of other Web sites hosted on the company's shared servers and run a TRACERT to verify the Internet connectivity. Hundreds of companies offer these services, so take the time to pick the one that's right for your Web site.

Co-location and Dedicated Servers

When you need almost total control over your own Web site, you may use a co-location or a dedicated server, which many Internet providers offer. The term dedicated server implies that the Internet provider owns the server, both the hardware and the software. The term co-location server implies that you own the server.

Also, keep in mind that the growth of a Web site's size and popularity will inevitably affect the overall "fitness" of the site. When a site has outgrown a shared server, either in size or in consumption of resources, it may be necessary for the site to be moved to a server of its own.

With a dedicated server, the specifications of hardware and software are usually determined by the Internet provider. However, when you own the equipment in a co-location, you have control over which hardware is used and which software is installed and run on the system. You also control other factors, such as security, configuration, and maintenance of the site—usually resulting in a lower cost from the Internet provider. On the other hand, support from the Internet provider for co-location equipment is minimal, and the technical expertise necessary to run the server will be higher for you, the client.

Co-location servers and dedicated servers are similar from a logistical stance. Both servers usually contain a single Web site residing on a single computer, but this is not always the case. You will likely receive administrative access to the server, at least remotely, and share in the responsibility of its management. You may or may not have the capability to host multiple sites on the server, or in effect create your own shared server. Other important considerations are the tools and applications available from the ISP. You might need your own server to load additional software not provided or supported by the ISP.

One benefit of a co-location or dedicated server is that it allows your Web site to be placed directly on a high-speed network connected directly to the Internet without the significant cost of a dedicated high-speed connection. For example, if you have a high-traffic Web site and want to provide 45Mbps of bandwidth to the server, you could get your own T3 Internet connection for tens of thousands of dollars per month, or you could get a co-location or dedicated server connected to your Internet provider's high-speed connection for a fraction of the cost.

Data Centers

When your services have outgrown co-location or dedicated servers, either one or many, it's time to evaluate your own data center. Although many options are available, the most effective choice is to contact an Internet backbone provider that has a large data center and rent a full rack or a cage. In addition to a warehouse-style location, a data center typically provides amenities, such as redundant power, fire suppression, and physical security.

A cage is exactly that: a fenced-in area of about 50 to 75 square feet with a locking gate. A cage usually contains up to five racks, or cabinets. A rack holds up to six servers, depending on the size of the computers and peripheral computers. The benefits to a cage include a reduction in space costs per server and better access to your hardware.

If you choose to acquire a cage, you will also need to get an allocation of bandwidth. Bandwidth is usually charged separately and depends entirely on the level you want. In this case, you are paying your Internet backbone provider for a portion of its connection to the Internet. For example, you could opt to pay for 1Mbps of bandwidth whether you use it all or not, and thus pay a flat discounted price. Or, you could choose to pay for a base, or minimum, of 10Mbps with the ability to burst into 100Mbps, and pay a bit higher rate per megabits per second used. Either way, the cost is a lot less than buying your own dedicated connection.