Kaiser Webs Solution Blog

Web Design, Web Hosting, SEO and Online Business

Bandwidth is very important to a webmaster as this is the measurement of data from a website’s server all the way to the visitor’s computer. The faster, the better. If you expect a lot of traffic or a lot of downloading from your site, then you should consider higher bandwidth. Oftentimes, webmasters forget to consider future requirements and thus, find themselves shutdown for failure to measure their expected bandwidth by choosing the right hosting plan for their site.

Bandwidth works just like water passing through pipes from the water company and getting to your home. The internet is also connected through a series of “pipes” or in this case, cables. These cables have a specific capacity for the amount of data that it can handle for a specific period of time. This dictates the speed that the information travels from point A to point B and vice versa. Going back to describing bandwidth like water pipes, you can’t send more water than what the pipes are built to accommodate. Same with the cables.

That is why it is important to consider the right amount of bandwidth needed by your website. This will determine how much data can be transferred from your server going to the user’s computer and back.

A scheduled downtime is a common event among among web hosting providers and is the type that is anticipated. This usually happens when there are scheduled maintenance to be done and since this is anticipated, customers won’t be surprised to find their site down. They will also appreciate the fact that the maintenance is aimed at improving the overall quality of the service that they are paying for.

An unscheduled downtime on the other hand can be a cause for concern as there are no prior announcements made. This usually happens when there are network failures within the infrastructure or serious software failure in the system.

Based on previous incidents, software failure is the leading culprit of an unscheduled downtime. It is usually caused by either the operating system or one or more of the applications crashing.

Web hosting providers usually offer a 99% uptime guarantee for their servers. It’s like indirectly saying that you should expect a 1% chance of downtime. To appreciate the percentile measure of reliability, we will translate this in the equivalent number of hours per year. Basically, the 1% chance of downtime translates into 7.2 hours of downtime a year. You think you can handle it? Also keep in mind that this 1% only refers to the server downtime and not the entire system.

Companies that do online business are advised to move their operations in-house. A major drawback to this though would be felt on the financial side as the infrastructure can cost a lot.

Having a couple of monitoring reports available for the downtime of their web host would probably be the next best thing to have. There are advantages to having a third party monitor your downtime. This will guarantee that your investment is money well-spent and that your business will be running smoothly. Also, by having their links placed on the site, it assures the customers of quality service.

There are necessary issues to be resolved when deciding whether to purchase a managed or an unmanaged server. Things like geography, terms of service, backbone providers and lastly, the power supply back ups.

If you only have one server, you may be better off getting a managed server than an unmanaged one for the fact that the cost you have to pay just to hire competent personnel will be telling. You will need to hire people to maintain and monitor your server 24/7. If you decide not to hire, you face the risk of downtime if problems are not solved fast.

The other option, a managed server will free your company from all the responsibilities that come with having a server. Having only one managed server will not cost a lot compared to an unmanaged server. Of course, if you have a cluster of servers, the cost will increase significantly.

See if you have the technical means to do server maintenance and monitoring. If not, you would be better off with a managed server. A managed server isn’t bad at all as it is likened to a dedicated server with many value added services included. You also get the basics plus a lot more which is like having your own team of server and database administrators 24/7.

The Overview

Of all the documents that you will be presented with when selecting a provider, the Service Level Agreement or SLA would most probably stand out as the most important piece of document to have and to study as well. The SLA represents the agreement between you and the provider regarding services.

Levels of Service Defined

The SLA will cover several items such as the services, the responsibilities, the priorities as well as the warranties and guarantees. Definitions may also vary between several points such as availability, serviceability, performance, operation or other attributes of the service.

The term used to refer to the services may either be “target” or “minimum.” The SLA basically gives you some form of leverage regarding the service that you receive from the provider. It also keeps you well informed of what deal you’re getting yourself into. Remember that the SLA is referring to what you are getting and not hot the service is provided by the provider.

The clauses of the SLA should have the following:

Specific area of service that will be rendered
Penalty when service fails
Options for support
Duties and responsibilities of client
Dispute resolution
Conditions for termination of service

The SLA and Its Guarantees

Guarantees differ from every provider. Each of them will give a certain level of guarantee to try to get you to avail of their program. The more common of the guarantees are the money back guarantee and the uptime guarantee. If the client and the provider have a dispute, the SLA will be used as a reference or guide to settle the problem in black and white.

Details of the SLA

When selecting a hosting provider, always make it a point to read through the SLA to keep you well informed on the services as well as your rights. Give special attention the the following when going through an SLA:

30 Day Money Back Guarantee – Are you really getting your money back on the 30th day or are there advance notices that you have to accomplish? Try to clarify this with the provider.

Uptime Guarantee – If there are non-compliance issues regarding the uptime services of your provider, you will find the process to follow right here. You will also find the things to expect regarding the uptime guarantee here.

Permitted Files – There are some files that may not be allowed by your provider for uploading. It may be allowed but on a more expensive plan. Make sure to clarify this.

Finally, other things that the SLA should also cover are the disk space and bandwidth services as well as the arrangement regarding the domain name.

There comes a time for some companies when their web hosting needs become too much for a server or two to handle. It becomes too complex that they would need to step up their service to enterprise-level hosting. Enterprise hosting is a high capacity solution that can provide the needs of a company with a complex requirement. This service is load-balanced and connected to large databases and is handled by multiple servers. It is backed by a security appliance and is usually developed by network architects or designers.

Below is a list of features that companies who need an enterprise-level hosting look for:

More hard drive space
More Bandwidth
Better Technical Support
Need for Advanced Features
Need for Extended Services

Web Space

If you are bent on getting an enterprise hosting package, you should get the best out of your investment. That said, make a list of your present space requirement and how much space you’ll be needing in the near future.

Bandwidth

Bandwidth plays a big part in the quality of exchange between your company and your clients. Getting an enterprise hosting package will make the bandwidth a non-issue. Make sure though, that when looking for an enterprise hosting provider, that they have at least a T-3 backbone connection. A connection like this may be able to pass data at speeds of up to 45Mbps. Also consider how much bandwidth is being used by the current demand in the system or simply the demand of the of the host provider’s customer. Ideally, bandwidth should not be less than 30% utilized during off-peak hours and not more than 70% at peak hours. Lastly, when selecting a provider, choose the one that is the closest to the internet backbone connection. The reason for this is that, the more ‘upstream’ connections a host provider has to the Internet backbone connection, the higher the risk of data loss and bandwidth loss for your website.

Technical Support

It is very important that you choose a provider who are reliable and have 24/7 support. After all, having a reliable tech support will play a major role in your site’s success.

Platform Support

The platform is made up of all the hardware running from internet connectors to the software that is bundled in the system and is simply known as the heart and soul of the web hosting service. Before finally deciding which provider you’re choosing, double check on their track records. See if they have a particular platform that they specialize in. Don’t hesitate to inquire about them from their customers and lastly, consider other technical information to determine the reliability of the platform of a particular provider.

Advanced Features and Add-ons

See if there are add-ons and value-added features provided in the package but remember to look ahead of these add-ons. Also check if they have extra service like developer training, consulting, access to development and design teams. There’s nothing like getting your money’s worth.

E-commerce Concerns

E-commerce software bundles are now incorporated by hosting providers into their packages. Some may offer just the basics while some may opt to offer the complete package. Before finally deciding on your provider, compare the packages that they have that is right for your requirements. Also make sure that they have SSL support.