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Web Site Hosting:-
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Selecting a Server
Operating System.
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Usually,
Web hosts use either Linux or Microsoft Windows NT Server, but some
may let you choose. Selecting a server is more crucial when you
are purchasing a machine that will be maintained by your own Web
developers, most likely for a colocation setup or if you are going
to maintain the website yourself.
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Linux
vs. NT
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servers generally fall into one of two categories: |
Linux-based and
Microsoft Windows NT.
Because loyalties within the Internet community are held strongly
for both systems, it can be hard to know which is right for
you.
Linux a clone of Unix, the older and more popular of the two
systems, has a strong reputation for reliability and power.
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On
the other hand, many new to the Web find it difficult to understand
and navigate. NT is regarded as easier to use than Linux for
data-driven Web sites; it also supports the user-friendly Web
page design tools in Microsoft's FrontPage software.
Which should you choose? |
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using any of a host of computer and browser combinations will
be able to access your site, regardless of whether you choose
a Linux or an NT Server. While there are distinct differences
between the two types, this may be the most difficult decision
for a novice buyer to make. |
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If you or your Web developers have a preference, choose the
server system with which you feel most comfortable; if you
wish to use software on your Web site that can only run on
a specific server (e.g. Apache for Linux, IIS for NT) you
should choose to locate your Web site using that server.
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| What
is Web server software? |
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Web server software is the application that runs on your computer
and makesWeb pages stored on your computer available to Internet
users. It also co-ordinates such things as secure e-commerce
transactions and streaming audio and video.
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Web server software can also be integrated with databases to
make information stored in your database available to Internet
users.
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| What
are some popular Web server programs? |
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Unlike operating systems, of which there are fairly few, there
are quite a variety of different Web server software packages
out there. We'll look at some pros and cons of each.
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| Apache
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Apache lends itself particularly well to projects that are
heavily Java based. It offers superior handling of the Java
Database Connectivity (JDBC) application program interface
(a program which allows Java-based services to access information
stored in SQL-compliant databases).
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Apache, like Linux, is a piece of open-source software. It's
maintained by a group of programmers who create the software
for the thrill of it - not for any expected financial gain.
Apache was born in early 1995, as free Web server software based
around NCSA httpd 1.3, which was the most popular Web server
of the day, and a bunch of software patches. From that it earned
it's moniker, which stands for "A PAtCHY server."
Since then, it has been completely re-written, and has become
the most popular WWW server on the Internet. |
| Apache
pros: |
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Open source updates. it's constantly being updated and you
can add functionality as it becomes available.
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Free. The software is free. It's hard to beat that price. |
Multi-platform support. Apache can be used on systems that have
80x86-series (i.e. Intel) processors running either Linux or
NT as an OS, or on other computers running a Unix-type OS on
a different processor. |
Popular. Apache is the most-used Web server software package
in the world. As such, it's unlikely that further development
of the software will ever cease. |
| Apache
cons: |
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No Support. Apache's developers do not provide any type of
support for their product. There are third-party companies
that provide Apache support, but you have to pay for it.
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Runs best on Linux. Given two machines with the same hardware
and different operating systems (Linux and NT,) Apache runs
faster on the Linux machine. This means that if you decide to
go with Apache, you should also use Linux to get maximum performance.
If you've decided to use NT, it makes more sense to use the
Web server Microsoft includes with that OS. |
| Microsoft
Internet Information Server (IIS) |
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Essentially, IIS is the server software of choice if you want
to run an ASP-based site.
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IIS is Microsoft's main business offering in the Web server
software market. Billed as more of an extension of the operating
system, it is included on the "Windows NT Option Pack"
CD that comes bundled with NT 4.0. As a Windows-based application,
it offers the same ease of use as many other Windows applications,
including "Wizards" that assist with setup and maintenance
of the software. It should be easy for anyone familiar with
the NT OS to set up. |
IIS
really shines when it comes to the handling of Active Server
Pages (ASPs), pages that are generated by the Web server software
using Active X scripting - usually Visual Basic Script or JavaScript
code. IIS offers superior ASP-based interface to ODBC sources
like Access and SQL-Server. |
| IIS
Pros: |
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Microsoft product. Since IIS is a Microsoft product, it not
only has the same heavy backing as other Microsoft products,
but is integrated seamlessly into the OS itself. This means
you can do things like drag and drop files into the software
for instant availability on the Web with a minimum of hassle.
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Comes free with NT. If you do decide that NT is the best OS
to use, IIS is included in the box. |
Limits
bandwidth. Unlike other server software, IIS has the ability
to limit how much bandwidth your web pages have available. Thus,
if your ISP charges extra if you use more than a given amount
of bandwidth in a month, you can set your Web server to limit
itself to using that much bandwidth, saving you from having
to pay an extra monthly fee. |
Crash
protection. If one application running on the server crashes,
the Web server and other applications continue to run, and the
failed application restarts the next time a user requests it.
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| IIS
Cons: |
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Limited to NT-based systems. IIS is not available for use
on non-NT systems. This means that if you think a UNIX-based
OS is what you're looking for, you can't use IIS.
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Closed source. As with NT, the source code to IIS is
Microsoft's proprietary information - you can't get access to
it to make changes. This also means that there aren't many third-party
developers working on improving the core software. |
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