Website Hosting » downtime

How to Perform a Web Hosting Transfer Without Downtime

DN — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 21:10:02 +0000

Most web site owners have to upgrade their hosting account sooner or later, as their site begins to grow, both in daily traffic levels and the amount of content contained within its pages. Unfortunately, many webmasters choose an unreliable hosting provider, and they find themselves having to change providers within a few months time.

There are several risks associated with web hosting transfers, including data loss and site downtime that can greatly impact the opinion and subsequent actions of your site visitors. Fortunately, the following information can help you minimize site downtime and keep your site visitors satisfied throughout the duration of the web hosting transfer.

Keep Your Current Hosting Plan

Most people make the unfortunate mistake of canceling their current hosting plan out of frustration, leaving their site out of commission until the new web hosting plan is purchased and active. Even if you are very disappointed with the level of service and reliability of your current host, DO NOT cancel your current plan until you are absolutely sure that your new hosting plan is completely functional.

Sometimes there are periods in which a hosting account is inactive until domain name transfers are finished and the DNS servers are pointing accurately, which could take a week to ten days in some cases. Having you old hosting account on standby will give you access to a web server that can host your site during the transfer.

Become Acquainted with Your New Web Hosting Plan

The next step in preventing downtime will be familiarizing yourself with the new control panel and hosting account. Ideally, you will want to choose a hosting account that uses the same control panel, not only to minimize the learning curve, but also to prevent any unnecessary mistakes that could be caused by lack of experience.

You may even want to host a small mini site in order to test the reliability of your new hosting account before moving your main web sites to the new server. After all, you don’t want to transfer your web site from one unreliable web host to another.

Make Comprehensive Backups

The final step in eliminating site downtime during hosting transfers is creating comprehensive redundant backup of all of your hosting files. This means downloading all of the files on your web server with an FTP client and then burning them to a disc or external hard drive. Even having the files on your computer is not considered safe, as a virus or hardware malfunction could cause the files to be lost permanently.

After you have created a comprehensive backup of the site, you can upload it to your new web server, while keeping your site hosted with the old hosting account. After you have uploaded the files to the new server, you can then point your DNS servers to the new hosting provider and complete the transfer process.

Most experts recommend making several backups of your site, as well as scheduling routine server backups to prevent site unnecessary site downtime in any situation.

Original: How to Perform a Web Hosting Transfer Without Downtime

Monitoring Server Network Uptime

DN — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 19:52:39 +0000

(From Website Hosting)

A reliable and trust-worthy web host provider is essential for maintaining a functional website. Although many may claim to provide optimal uptime rates, those that deliver near perfect rates are typically the most sought after. While various web hosts offer different network uptime rates, many users feel most comfortable with hosts that guarantee at least a 99% uptime.

A web host’s network uptime is basically the timeframe that the provider’s server is online and up and running to deliver services to users. Usually, reliability and uptime is measured in the number nine. For users depending on web hosting providers to support e-commerce ventures and other larger company websites with heavy traffic flow, a 99% uptime is vital to keep websites online.

Breaking Down the Nines

Although minuscule differences in the percentages, a tenth of a fraction means a loss of uptime capability. A 99% on average reflects a 14 minute and 23 second per day, an excess of 7 hours per month, and almost 88 hours per year downtime rate. While a 99.9% uptime rate indicates a 1 minute and 26 second loss of service per day, over 44 minutes per month, and almost 9 hours per year, and a 99.99% rate means an 8 second per day loss, 4 minutes per month and 52 minutes per year. The optimal 99.999% server network uptime indicates a downtime of less than half of a second per day, approximately 26 seconds per month and 5 minutes and 15 seconds per year.

Finding the Uptime Rate

While reputable web hosts usually offer a 99% uptime, it’s not uncommon for providers that don’t guarantee a respectable uptime to list server uptime rates buried within the user service agreement. Typically, however, the average uptime rate should be listed on the web host’s website among the feature details of a specific web hosting plan. For UNIX/Linux users, the following command can be used to view uptime: $ uptime and for Windows: systeminfo | find “Up Time”

What You Should Know

There are several things to keep in mind when monitoring and calculating network uptime including:

Frequency between intervals of checking website uptime
Downtime alert methods
Available reports for tracking site performance long term
Pricing options.

Additionally, there are uptime website monitoring services that are readily available for those that depend on uptime for respective online endeavors. Pingdom is one of the top uptime monitoring services currently available. The service is offered as a free app on iPhone and Android phones and monitors sites every minute with SMS, Twitter and e-mail downtime alerts. Pingdom offers a free 30-day trial, and plans ranging from $9.95 – $39.95. Other monitoring services include: Mon.itor.us, Service Uptime, Host-Tracker,and BasicState.

Uptime and reliability are two components of web hosting that should never be compromised, especially for supporting e-commerce websites. A final caveat: Always inquire about a web host’s uptime rate before signing the user agreement. Once the agreement is signed, it’s often difficult to get out of the obligations.

Original: Monitoring Server Network Uptime

What to Know before Canceling a Hosting Plan

DN — Mon, 09 May 2011 22:37:32 +0000

(From Website Hosting)

Dealing with site downtime, slow loading webpages, and inconsistent performance can be frustrating for a webmaster. Being that the majority of webmasters do not utilize free hosting, most are paying their hard-earned money for access to server resources that are supposed to maintain the efficiency of their sites. When this does not occur, it can be easy to become upset and feel the need to cancel the hosting plan immediately. However, doing so would obviously leave your websites without hosting services, and there are various other factors that need to be considered before you cancel your hosting plan and switch hosts. The following paragraphs provide tips for canceling a hosting plan and changing hosting providers.

Contacting the Current Hosting Provider

Rather than canceling a plan it may be best to simply contact the hosting provider and attempt to reach a resolution, either by obtaining a significant discount or requesting a refund for services that have already been paid for. Even if the hosting provider is hesitant to provide such compensation, many times simply contacting them and issuing several complaints can improve the performance of your hosting plan, as the hosting provider will switch the server resource allocation of your sites to a more powerful server temporarily in order to provide satisfaction. Even if you intend to cancel the plan anyways, contacting the hosting provider and issuing persistent complaints may enhance server performance for the time being until you can find a more professional hosting company.

Finding a New Hosting Account and Preparing It for Transfer

Many webmasters overlook the importance of finding a hosting plan that is compatible with all of their current online operations (i.e. – purchasing a Windows hosting plan when there is a need to operate Microsoft-based applications). It is also important to login to your new hosting account and set up all of the Cron jobs that are operating within your current plan to ensure that your automated tasks continue to run as scheduled after the transfer. Before transferring any of your websites to the new web server, be sure to conduct a complete backup, and store this backup on external media, such as an external hard drive or USB flash drive, to ensure security and redundancy of your site’s data can prevent data loss.

Canceling the Plan and Conducting the Transfer

If your current hosting provider refuses to offer some form of compensation such as a refund, there would be no sense in canceling the plan after you’ve already paid for the services, and it would therefore be more beneficial to simply allow it to expire. However, this does not mean that you have to wait for it to expire to transfer your most important sites to the new hosting plan. Instead of canceling the plan, simply transfer your most profitable websites to your new hosting provider, either via FTP, or by restoring the backup that you previously created within the control panel of your old hosting account. Fortunately, the majority of hosting providers offer cPanel with their hosting plans, so you won’t have to become acquainted with a new control panel, and you should be able to instantly restore all of your website on the server relatively easily.

Original: What to Know before Canceling a Hosting Plan

How to Confront a Web Host about Downtime

DN — Thu, 05 May 2011 21:36:27 +0000

(From Website Hosting)

While downtime is an inevitable problem that every webmaster will have to face at one time or another, professional web hosts usually do an excellent job of minimizing this issue. However, even the most successful and established web hosts can offer services that are less than desirable, especially when they are being overloaded with new clients. Of course, confronting a web host about site downtime can be difficult because you don’t want to upset the company that is currently responsible for maintaining the continuity of your websites. Nonetheless, contacting a web host when your website is down is absolutely essential to minimizing downtime and subsequent profit losses. Consider the following tips to learn how to confront a web post about downtime.

Determine the Cause

There are many possible causes of site downtime, with the most common being server resets and administration, security lapses such as DDoS (distributed denial of service) attacks, and hardware damage. More than 80% of the time the downtime will be caused by simple server administration tasks, and this is why shared hosting experiences more downtime than any other hosting type, as the web host has to reset and perform administrative tasks on web servers that are being used to power thousands of different websites for dozens, or even hundreds, of different webmasters simultaneously. By determining the cause of the persistent downtime you can decide whether or not it would be more beneficial to upgrade the hosting plan to one that is less susceptible to downtime (i.e. – if the downtime is being caused by frequent server resets in a shared hosting environment), or to change hosting providers altogether (i.e. – if the downtime is being caused by security lapses or hardware problems).

Ask about Downtime Duration

After determining the cause, you should inquire about the expected duration of the downtime in order to accurately assess the possible losses that may occur. It is also recommended to have a backup hosting plan with a different hosting provider that can be resorted to in case of extended downtime from your primary host. Not only will determining the expected downtime duration give you an idea of what to expect, it will also help you assess the reliability and honesty of your current web host. If your host is continuously making misleading statements about when the downtime will be resolved, this may be an indication that it is time to switch to a more reliable, trustworthy, and less burdened hosting provider. Contrary to popular belief, some of the busiest web hosts are also some of the most unreliable, as their extensive client base does not allow them to truly value or adequately service each individual customer.

Request Some Form of Compensation

If the downtime lasts for an extended period of time or is persistent, you should request some type of compensation, whether it be in the form of a refund or a discount for future services. Most web hosts offer a 99.9% uptime guarantee, and specify the compensation that will be provided if they fail to uphold this guarantee within the hosting contract, or on the sales page of the hosting plan. Hosting providers that do not honor these guarantees adequately, or simply deny the extensiveness of their downtime issues, clearly do not deserve your business.

Original: How to Confront a Web Host about Downtime

When Is It Time to Change Hosting Providers?

DN — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 20:37:04 +0000

(From Website Hosting)

Finding a suitable hosting plan is challenging enough, especially considering all of the gimmicks and guarantees used by modern hosting providers to solicit and appeal to new clients. Even after choosing a hosting plan/type, you have to be continually vigilant and aware of the service provided by your web host in order to avoid paying for services that are not worth the monthly costs. Unfortunately, the majority of webmasters have had to change hosting providers due to unforeseen complications like site downtime, slow loading pages, server errors, security issues, and other problems that could’ve been avoided by dealing with a reliable hosting provider. However, even some of the most popular hosting providers that have built a significant reputation online offer services that are questionable from time to time. So is your hosting company simply having a bad day, or is it time to change hosting providers? The following three paragraphs list three features of a hosting provider that warrant changing hosts.

Repetitive Site Downtime

Even with a 99% uptime guarantee, it is important to realize that this guarantee is based on a yearly time schedule, and 1% of a year is 3.65 days. This means that the hosting provider could feasibly get away with having your site down for a total of 3.65 days out of the year without violating the 99% uptime guarantee. However, some hosting providers exceed this uptime guarantee, and are therefore not worthy of ongoing business. As soon as you realize that your site is down it is imperative to contact your hosting provider and demand an explanation and estimated time of repair. Sometimes the site downtime can be caused by something as simple as a server reset, while other times it can be the result of a serious security lapse. While server resets usually will only leave a site off-line for about 15 minutes, security lapses and other server issues usually cause at least a half an hour to an hour or more in site downtime. In general, if you experience downtime during more than two days out of the week, for two weeks out of the month, then it may be time to change hosting providers.

Poor Customer Support

Chances are if you’ve been experiencing site downtime then you’ve also had to contact customer support. Regardless of the reason for your call, the hosting support staff should be responsive, friendly, and knowledgeable on all subjects related to hosting. Wait times should not exceed 2 minutes, and calls should not be disconnected unexpectedly (there is nothing more frustrating than waiting 10 minutes on hold only to have the call disconnected). Thus, good customer support is defined not only as access to intelligent and helpful human beings that speak English fluently, it is also defined by an efficient phone system that is not easily overloaded by a large volume of calls. If you’ve had more than two bad experiences with your web host’s customer support, it may be time to change hosting providers.

Hidden Fees

Although hidden fees can easily be found within the fine print of the hosting agreement, they are called hidden fees because the majority of webmasters do not notice them until they have been charged. An honest hosting provider will openly disclose all fees before charging them. Hidden fees to look for are customer service fees, plan renewal fees, setup fees, cancellation fees, multiple domain hosting fees, and even domain ownership fees. If you’re noticing that your monthly hosting cost is higher than expected on a regular basis, it may be time to change hosting providers.

Original: When Is It Time to Change Hosting Providers?

What Is Enterprise Cloud Hosting?

DN — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 21:54:41 +0000

(From Website Hosting)

The cloud hosting environment has revolutionized the industry by providing an incredible hosting solution that is powered by a network of servers, rather than being limited by the restrictions of a single web server. When a command is issued to a web server within the cloud hosting environment, the system finds the most capable server on the network and directs traffic to it to maximize bandwidth and disk space optimization. By ensuring that traffic is always sent to the most capable web server on the network, it is possible to minimize site downtime, slow page loading times, and the majority of hosting problems associated with cheaper web hosting plans. The following information discusses a new type of cloud hosting that is revolutionizing the online business world – enterprise cloud hosting.

What Makes Enterprise Cloud Hosting Different?

Conventional cloud hosting plans usually utilize a plethora of VPS (virtual private servers) that evenly distribute traffic within an infinitely expandable server network. However, with enterprise cloud hosting, instead of utilizing VPS servers within the network, all of the servers are dedicated servers, which are significantly more powerful. Each dedicated server is capable of handling dozens or even thousands of websites by itself, hence the reason why dedicated hosting is an enterprise-level solution that is often utilized by large corporations and online entrepreneurs. An enterprise cloud hosting plan gives you unlimited access to an entire network of dedicated servers that your websites can utilize at any time. Thus, enterprise cloud hosting provides the same versatility as conventional cloud hosting, yet with the additional power of dedicated servers.

The Unique Billing Structure of Enterprise Cloud Hosting

Fortunately, in order to gain access to such a network of dedicated servers business owners do not have to pay an exuberant amount each month. In fact, the enterprise cloud hosting environment is unique because you only pay for the server resources that you utilize on a monthly basis. Enterprise cloud hosting providers use proprietary applications to monitor the use of server resources by each web hosting client. At the end of the month, the total amount due is calculated based on a set rate that is charged for each type of server resource. For example, the hosting company may charge a specific amount for every gigabyte of bandwidth that was used during the month. This means that you’ll never have to worry about paying for too many server resources, or having inadequate server resources to make sure your websites are functioning optimally.

The Infinite Expansion of Enterprise Cloud Hosting

The majority of web hosting providers either own or have access to state-of-the-art data centers that hold hundreds of web servers simultaneously. With a cloud hosting plan, you have the ability to utilize all of these web servers at any given time, so your websites should never experience downtime and your visitors should never encounter slow loading pages. With an enterprise cloud hosting plan you never have to upgrade to another level of hosting, as this will happen automatically as your traffic levels and disk space needs increase. In essence, you’ll have access to all the hosting your online business will ever need, without ever paying more than you need to.

Original: What Is Enterprise Cloud Hosting?

The Downfalls of Multiple Domain Hosting

DN — Thu, 27 May 2010 15:59:12 +0000

(From Website Hosting)

Multiple domain hosting has many benefits that make it one of the most popular choices available. While there are only a few negative aspects, they should still be considered when choosing a hosting type and provider. If planning to own and operate many websites, multiple domain hosting is the best option.

Most web hosting providers only allow the use of one website per domain. This is due to the number of customers they’re hosting. By allowing only a single website the provider is able to maximize their profits and thus increase bandwidth and storage space to accommodate new customers. Consequently the main method for hosting multiple sites is through the use of add-on domains.

Despite the many benefits available, it’s important to contemplate the two primary shortcomings of multiple domain hosting. These include:

Accumulation of traffic
Disastrous downtimes

One of the biggest issues with multiple domain hosting is the accumulation of traffic. If a website or group of websites becomes popular, traffic increases thus eating up bandwidth, server storage space and other aspects the client is paying for. To counterbalance this, the user could simply upgrade their accounts or open a new account to split the traffic.

Also, by checking the log files of each domain name, it’s easy to spot which domains have the most traffic. That way when the client splits accounts, they can identify which domains to place in the new account.

The second downfall is the disastrous results of a server going down. Since all aspects of all sites are on a single server, if that goes down, all sites go down. This showcases the importance of finding a trustworthy and reliable hosting provider.

On the other hand, most servers rarely go down. Also, any decent web hosting provider has backup servers in case of a natural disaster or malicious attack. If an issue does occur, the system switches from the primary server to the backup with little time lost. When searching for a provider, it’s imperative to ascertain the amount of time it takes to switch servers.

Overall, the many benefits of multiple-domain hosting greatly outweigh the costs. Most hosting providers have contingency plans in case of any major issues that arise. Multiple-domain hosting continues to be one of the most popular choices available. As the internet continues to grow and websites expand to networks of websites, the need for this type of technology will greatly increase.

Original: The Downfalls of Multiple Domain Hosting

Important Tips to Prevent Site Downtime

DN — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 23:11:50 +0000

(From Website Hosting)

Properly managing your online business can be a fairly difficult task, especially if you are in charge of all of the administrative task that go along with it. Different hosting accounts offer differing amounts of responsibility of your website, so while using a hosting account that comes with complete control over your web server, keep in mind that this control comes with plenty of responsibility. Your primary responsibility is to keep your customers satisfied, which means you are going to need to make sure your site is easy to use and appealing to the eye. However, customer satisfaction is also achieved by maintaining the reliability of your website. One of the most common yet fixable problems in eCommerce is site downtime.

What is Site Down Time?

Site downtime is when your site goes down and is offline for a while due to server problems. Downtime can result from a variety of internal errors, and sometimes it is just caused by routine server administration such as server resets. Usually your web hosting company will do their best to reset the server in the middle of the night to make sure there is minimal loss of service, however sometimes the server may crash due to other reasons. If you are running on a private server then you can ensure a minimal amount of downtime by maintaining the server correctly. While some downtime can be explained by routine server problems, other cases cannot be dismissed so easily. In many cases downtime can be attributed to the malicious intent of another individual or a security breach such a virus. To prevent such an occurrence you need to adhere to the following information.

Server Firewalls

One of the best ways to protect your web server from security breaches is to setup a competent firewall for your protection. Most web hosting companies offer firewalls by default, however many of them are configured with certain security loopholes that can be exploited by a knowledgeable hacker. If you want your site to be completely secure, then you may want to use your own powerful firewall, or make a few adjustments to the current firewall. If you are not familiar with the process of securing a server properly using a firewall, then you may need to seek the assistance of a qualified internet security specialist. With a good firewall you should be able to block IP addresses and restrict certain kind of traffic to prevent spam attacks. You should also have adequate protection against site intrusion.

(DdoS) Distributed Denial of Service Attacks

One of the most common and detrimental attacks on a server is called a DDoS attack. This kind of attack is simple in nature, yet can be very difficult to prevent. The reason why we mention this attack is because it is responsible for a lot of downtime on many sites. Some times even professional competitors will attack your site using this method simply to bring your site down for a certain period of time. The DdoS attack works because the perpetrator floods a site with a ridiculous amount of traffic in a short period of time, thus causing the server to shutdown due to internal server limits. When this happens many websites can god own at once, causing an even more difficult situation to resolve. Before you purchase a hosting company make sure you inquire about their abilities to deal with such attacks.

Original: Important Tips to Prevent Site Downtime

KnownHost Holiday VPS Coupon – New Upgraded VPS Plans, 75% off, Lifetime Discounts

DN — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 12:58:37 +0000

(From Website Hosting)

Please use the coupon code KH2010 and receive 75% off your first month followed by a 10% lifetime discount. This is an exclusive promotion including lifetime discounts which will not last long as we expect the servers allocated for this special to sell out fast due to the newly upgraded VPS plans. You can start with a VS2 and seamlessly upgrade to a larger VPS with no downtime as needed or just add resources a la carte. We hope to see you join the growing KnownHost family!

What discounts does KH2010 get you?

75% off your first month & 10% lifetime discount on the VS2 or larger. Yes, if you start with the VS2 and later decide to upgrade the 10% lifetime discount remains so in turn your discount increases. *Please note this is accepted on monthly subscriptions only, if the coupon is used on quarterly or annual payments we will cancel the order accordingly*

Original: KnownHost Holiday VPS Coupon – New Upgraded VPS Plans, 75% off, Lifetime Discounts

The Critical P’s – Prioritizing and Performance vs. Price and Popularity

DN — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 12:09:37 +0000

(From Website Hosting)

E-commerce web hosting solutions are designed specifically for the online business owner and most of them will be able to accommodate your site’s needs. However, there are some very basic differences between each plan, and these differences need to be scrutinized carefully. Without knowing the importance of each feature, it can be difficult to prioritize and make a decision based on performance. Instead, most customers choose their ecommerce hosting plan based on price and popularity.

Basing your decision on these factors is a poor decision, because in the need you still don’t know what you’re paying for. Ecommerce hosting solutions are supposed to be all-inclusive packages that help your online business thrive, yet many of them are basic packages that only provide frustration and a long learning curve.

Although the popularity of a web hosting company is a good indicator of it’s service, basing your decision solely on price and popularity will almost always result in mishap, and in the end the performance of your hosting endeavors will suffer. In the world of ecommerce hosting, there are several main attributes that comprise the performance of a particular plan: Reliability, Features, and Cost Effectiveness.

Reliability

Perhaps the most important attribute an ecommerce hosting company can have is the reliability and support it provides. Without proper support you could find yourself dealing with confusing dilemmas on your own. This can result in loss of time and money, and even downtime for your website. When it comes to testing the reliability of a web hosting company, you should take the initiative yourself, rather than relying on the opinion of others. Make a few phone calls to the customer service department and ask a few questions. This way you can see how long it takes them to address your issues, how friendly they are, and how knowledgeable their service representatives are.

Some companies may require you to have an account with them before they provide customer service, however you can always make an inquiry about their services, which will serve the same purpose. Only once you’ve tested the customer service for yourself should you rely on the opinions of others. Customer reviews on forums may be helpful, but you don;t want to base your decision solely on this information.

Features

All good ecommerce hosting plans should include a variety of features that make your job as an online business owner easier. Although there are many features to consider, the only one that should be noted here is the shopping cart. Shopping carts make the shopping experience more convenient for your customers, which ultimately translates into more sales and a greater return on your investment. Without a convenient shopping experience, many of your customers will leave your site and find another online business to spend their hard earned money with.

Cost Effectiveness

While price should not be a deciding factor, you also want to make sure you aren’t overpaying for a solution that may prove to be incapable in the long term. Be sure to compare the cost effectiveness of each ecommerce solution before making your decision. If you notice that a particular company is charging more than another, then make sure you understand why the price is higher. If there is no logical explanation for the raise in price, then they may be overcharging you, which is a good indicator that they are not a trustworthy business.

Original: The Critical P’s – Prioritizing and Performance vs. Price and Popularity