Archive for server resources

Jul
22

Critical Dedicated Web Hosting Factors for Arcade Sites

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Online games are increasing in popularity every year, with more people signing up for flash gaming sites and playing games in all genres. The gaming niche is an excellent source of traffic, because there are so many different sources of traffic due to the wide variety of game types. Almost everyone enjoys playing games fr time to time, which means there is a constant demand for fun games online. Fortunately, you do not have to be a game creator or programmer in order to have hundreds of games on your web sites for your visitors to enjoy. You can find many flash games that can be uploaded to your site online, and the process is usually very simple. However, you will need adequate server resources, which is where dedicated hosting comes into play.

Having Adequate Server Resources for a Gaming Site

Dedicated web hosting is perfect for any site that needs to host a lot of multimedia content such as videos, pictures and games. In order to keep your site operating smoothly you need access to comprehensive server resources such as adequate bandwidth and disk space. Disk space is especially important if you are going to be hosting many games on the site at once. Bandwidth is important because it directly affects how many visitors can play the games at once without the game skipping and poor performance occurring. After all, no one wants to play a game that is constantly skipping, especially a flash game, which is noted for being easy loading and simple to play.

Adding Flash Games to A Website with Dedicated Hosting

Adding flash games to your web site is rather easy when you have a dedicated server, especially considering the comprehensive support included with fully managed dedicated hosting. If you have a lot of games to upload at once then you may want to consider using an FTP client to connect to your dedicated server and upload the content to your site. Once the games have been uploaded to the server you can embed them on your web pages by using a flash embed code to link to the internal location of the game on your server. If you have trouble carrying out this procedure you can contact the qualified support staff of your web hosting provider.

Accommodating Traffic Surges with Dedicated Hosting

One of the most attractive aspects of dedicated hosting is the almost endless amount of bandwidth that is allocated to your web sites. Since the server is only being used by your web sites you do not have to worry about other site and webmasters preventing your site form performing optimally. Thus, you can drive a seemingly unlimited amount of traffic to your site on a daily basis. The greatest aspect of flash game websites is the residual traffic they generate. Once an individual plays your games they will likely return to play them again in the near future. With a dedicated server you can ensure that their experience with your site will be just as enjoyable as it was before.

May
28

How to Fix a Server Resource Site Suspension

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Nobody likes having their web hosting account suspended for any reason.  Going through a server resource usage suspension though can be on of the more stressful combination of web site hosting problems because of the many factors that come into play.  Let me see if I can help you, to make your next server resource suspension at least go a little smoother, or at least let you know what you can expect.

Notification of the System Resource Usage Problem

Now the situation starts with getting some sort of notification via e-mail about the problem at hand.  Often, web hosts will give you details on where the script is hosted on your site that is causing the problem.  It is often up to you to decide what that script is though.

Next, you have to figure out a way to disable that script or disable the part of the script that is causing the problems.  For example, if you were using WordPress to manage your web site, turn off all the plugins.  I wouldn’t disable WordPress all together, but switching off the plugins or changing to the default theme might help find the cause of the problem.

Fixing a Server Resource Usage Problem

The truth of the issue is you will have to turn things on and off, disable this, delete that and more.  It will take some detective work to find the root of the issue that is causing the shared server’s RAM and CPU to go up so much.

Your web host will often review your account status ever 24 hours or so, to see if your changes are having any real impact in reducing your server resource usage.

Although it sounds like a way to get more money from you, upgrading to a VPS or dedicated hosting plan are a reasonable fix for the problem too. Your web site might have grown in popularity and usage so much, it is time to look for a hosting plan that will give you more proverbial “elbow room” when it comes to RAM or CPU usage.

I hope that helps with fixing your own server resource issues or, at least, lets you know what you can expect if you ever find yourself in a similar situation.  Feel free to post your own tips or questions in the comments, would love to hear what you have to say about this debatable topic.

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© Mitch Keeler 2010 | Check out my firefox help site and my tech blog too!

 


Mar
19

Unix Hosting Vs. Windows Web Hosting – Factors to Consider

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Choosing the right web hosting plan for you can be difficult at times, especially if you are not sure what each plan entails. With so many different types of web hosting plans, it seems as if there is an endless sea of web hosting solutions to choose from. The main differences between web hosting solutions is the amount of server resources that are allocated to you, as well as how much total control over the server you have. Aside from limits, there are also basic differences in the visual and functional aspects of the server environment. When referring to web hosting solutions that use certain operating systems, there are some key fundamental differences that should be weighed before making your decision. The most common forms of web hosting are Windows and Unix based web hosting plans.

Cost

The first thing most people look for when shopping for a hosting solution is cost. When comparing Unix and Windows based web hosting solutions, Unix is most definitely the cheaper option. This is because there are free Unix operating systems available, like Linux. Windows server software is nowhere near free, so therefore the overall cost of Windows web hosting is higher.

Software

Since Windows is manufactured by a Microsoft, a Windows based web server is guaranteed to be compatible with all Microsoft software such as VBScript and Microsoft Access. Unix web hosting does not provide compatibility with Microsoft software, which means it is not a viable solution for websites that require the usage of Microsoft applications.

Reliability

Although both Unix and Windows web hosting are considered to be reliable, Unix based web servers generally experience less downtime and therefore are slightly more reliable than Windows based web server. However, the actual reliability of a web hosting service will ultimately be determined by the competence of the web hosting company itself.

Support

When an error occurs in a Windows based web sever due to Microsoft software, the only people that can usually fix the bug in the software is Microsoft. Unix on the other hand is an open source software, which means that anyone with the skill can write code for it and repair any bugs for it within a very short time.

The Final Decision

Before you make the final decision, you need to consider the above comparison, and think about what feature s you’re going o be enabling on your website. If you will need to have Microsoft software on your website, then you can definitely rule out Unix web hosting. If you are not concerned with the type of software, but instead would like to have your own custom solutions made and enjoy more server uptime, then you may want to consider Unix web hosting. You’ll also want to consider the price of each hosting plan. If you;re on a strict budget and Microsoft software is not a concern for you, then you may want to consider a Unix web hosting plan. In the end the final decision is up to you, and should be based on the knowledge you have acquired here and the needs of your website.

Mar
10

Questions About Free Web Hosting

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The internet is an ever-growing sea of entrepreneurs and small business owners, and with every passing day new people are joining the gold rush trying to get their piece of the pie. If you are in this situation and you’re trying to make a name for yourself in the online world, then you’ll need a web hosting solution. Simply put, you’re site cannot exist without a web host. A web hosting plan gives your site access to a web server, which stores all of the site’s data and makes this information viewable to the world. Selecting a web hosting plan when you know absolutely nothing about web hosting or site creation can be nearly impossible to do correctly. In fact, you’ll almost always regret your first decision unless you do all of the research necessary before deciding upon a web hosting solution. If you’re having trouble figuring out which hosting plan would be right for you, then you may want to consider a free web hosting solution.

Free Web Hosting Really Exists?

Yes. You can get free web hosting from many different  companies, the only set back is you’re not going to be able to build your business with free web hosting. However, you can become acquainted with the web hosting industry and you can learn how to build and operate your site with a basic free web hosting solution. Instead of spending your money on a plan that you’re not sure about, you can opt to test the waters with free web hosting instead. If you are looking for a free web host, just do a web search for the term “free web hosting.”

What Can I Do With Free Web Hosting?

The answer to this question is a broad one, in that you can do pretty much anything you would do with a regular hosting plan, except you are limited by the amount of server resources. Free web hosting provides a sample of what web hosting is like, and it let’s you site up a small site that you could use as a personal profile or a small personal blog. Free web hosting is similar to the food sample you’ll find at the food court in the mall – you can get a taste of what is on offer, but don’t expect to make an entire meal out of it!

Can I Upgrade My Free Web Hosting Plan?

One of the best aspects of free web hosting plans is that most web hosting companies will let you upgrade your free plan to a more inclusive paid plan. Many times upgrading is as simple as sending an email or making a phone call. If you are looking for a way to test the waters before you set your boat a sail, you may want to consider free web hosting with a company that offers the option to upgrade. Since free web hosting is such a limited solution, you are undoubtedly going to have the need for an upgrade in the near future, so you’ll want to leave this option open and make the transition as smooth as possible.

Aug
04

Why You Should Not Host Your Own Videos

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Marketing your Brand Using Free Hosting Services

Should you host your own videos, or should you turn towards some of the free video hosting services out there to do it for you?  This is an internal battle going on with many web hosting providers out there – and I’m going to tell you why the second choice might be the better one for you.

Video Sharing, Converting and Playing are All Server Killers

The number one reason why you should not host your own videos, is simply put in two words, server resources.  By outsourcing this task to a place like YouTube, Revver, and other online video sharing services, you take the load video hosting and distributing takes on a server.  For those of you using shared hosting services, this is particularly important, because you want to keep your resource usage as low as possible.

Open Your Videos Up to a Wider Audience, to Gain More Eyeballs

My second reason for saying you should not host your own video content is for marketing reasons.  Stop and think for a minute, who gets more traffic – you or YouTube?  YouTube would be the obvious answer to many.  Now, how could you turn that to your advantage?

  • Publish videos people are looking for
  • Make sure to include your brand name and domain name

Now you are creating one more way for people who might be randomly surfing for content via YouTube (or any other video sharing service out there) to find your videos, and your web site.

If you have the resources to host your own videos, because you do not fear the server resource issue, chances are you don’t need to market yourself using these means.  However, for us small guys and gals in the wild and wacky world of web hosting, we need every advantage we can take – and this is one free service available to you worth taking advantage of.

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© Mitch Keeler 2009 | Check out my firefox help site and my tech blog too!