Web hosting: Talking the Talk

Apache. Popular, open-source server software. Apache is noted for its speed, stability, and security.

ASP. Active Server Pages, a proprietary Microsoft server-side technology to produce dynamically created Web pages such as shopping carts, newsgroups and discussion forums. ASP pages must be hosted on Microsoft servers. (There are similar technologies, such as CGI, PHP, and SSI, that will allow you to create the same kinds of pages on UNIX or Linux servers, but they do it differently.)

Backup. Making a copy of your files and data so they can be restored in the event of a server crash or other catastrophe. Some hosting companies do this for you on a scheduled basis; others leave it up to you to make your own backups.

Bandwidth. The amount of data transferred between your site's server and the rest of the world. Usually measured in Gigabytes per month (although some hosts have daily or even hourly limits). Assuming that your average page size, with graphics, is about 30K, then 1 Gigabyte of transfer per month would equal roughly 30,000 page views.

CGI. The Common Gateway Interface is a standard defining the way software on a Web server will interface with other server-side programs and client-side scripts and forms. It allows the creation of interactive and dynamic Web pages.

Collocation. A type of Web hosting agreement in which a customer places their own server equipment on the Web host's premises. Typically, the Web host is responsible for providing electrical power to the server and an Internet connection to the outside world, and the customer is responsible for maintaining the machine itself and all the data residing on it.

Under most collocation agreements, the hosting company will not touch the customer's server unless it causes a hazard to the data center, the people working there, or the rest of their network; in which case they can (and will) disconnect it from the network, shut it down, unplug it, or even physically remove it from the building if necessary. But except in these extreme cases, they won't touch it. The customer is responsible for physically maintaining the machine and its data, including performing all necessary security updates.

For obvious reasons, collocation usually is not a good choice for beginners.

Contract Period. The length of the agreement between yourself and the hosting company. Monthly accounts are common, with the contract automatically renewing itself every month unless either the customer or the hosting company terminates the service. Some hosting companies also allow for quarterly, annual, or other contract periods, usually with nominal discounts for longer terms.

Dreamweaver. A highly advanced, professional Web site development program published by Macromedia. It is a perennial favorite of professional Web site developers and Webmasters, but it does has a rather steep learning curve.

Free BSD. A UNIX-based operating system used by many Web hosts.

Free Hosting. Hosting you don't have to pay for. Most ISP's give their customers a few Megs of space for personal Web sites, and some companies offer free hosting to pretty much anyone who asks for it. They usually make their money by placing gazillions of banner and/or pop-up ads all over your lovingly-created site; and you will have absolutely no control over this.

Freeloading. Eating someone else's food without paying for it. A common practice of Web developers and other techies. "Local freeloading" refers to the eating of food (usually doughnuts) brought by others to one's present work location. "Remote freeloading" requires negotiating an invitation to travel to a site physically removed from one's present location to eat food paid for by others, and is considered an advanced skill.

Front Page or Front Page Extensions. Microsoft Front Page is an entry-level WYSIWYG (What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get) Web site design program published by Microsoft. Front Page Extensions are special files that must be installed on your server if you want to use Front Page to develop and upload your site. (By the same token, if you are not using Front Page, then these extensions should not be installed.)

Front Page extensions can be installed on either Microsoft or UNIX-based servers. Most hosting companies include the option to install them at no additional cost.

FTP (File-Transfer Protocol). This is a method used to upload, download, and manipulate files to, from, and on a server, without actually opening or rendering those files. Unless you are using Front Page, FTP is most likely how you will upload your site to your server. (Front page has a built-in "Publish" function that accomplishes the same thing, but does it a bit differently.)

Some Web site design programs (like Dreamweaver) have built-in FTP programs. You can also run FTP from a command line, but you'll have to learn the commands. A list of some of the basic FTP commands can be found here.

Nowadays, most people use graphical FTP clients, such as the free FileZilla that can be found on this page.

Your Web host may also allow you to set up an FTP server on your site so others can download files. You can also arrange it so that selected individuals (or even the entire world, if you like) can upload files to a designated directory on your server. Unless you have a particular reason why you need this capability, however, it's better to disable incoming transfers.

Hosting. The practice by which a company (the host) agrees to store and serve files belonging to someone else (the customer).

Hostname. For practical purposes, the unique name by which your slice of the server will be known on the Internet. (The server itself will also have a hostname, known as its "canonical hostname." Usually, the canonical hostname will be of little or no importance to you as a site owner.)

HTML. Hypertext Markup Language, the primary language in which Web pages are written. Invented by Sir Tim Bernards-Lee while he worked at CERN, the primary characteristic of HTML is the enabling of users to reference materials external to the document itself through the use of hyperlinks. HTML also allows external content, such as images, to be rendered as if they were part of the page itself.

When viewing a Web page using most Web browsers, you can see what the HTML code for that page looks like by clicking View, and then Page Source, on the browser's menu bar.

IP address. The numerical address that identifies "your" server from every other Internet-connected device in the world. If you are ready to upload files before your domain name resolves to your server, you will need to access it by using its IP address. Every computer attached to a network has an IP address.

Linux. A free, open-source, UNIX-like operating system originally developed by Linus Torvalds when he was a student. Now maintained by thousands of volunteers worldwide under Linus' general oversight, Linux has become legendary for its reliability and speed. Many commercial Web servers use Linux as their operating system.

Miva Merchant. Popular and powerful software used to create and power e-commerce applications like shopping carts and storefronts. Some high-end Web hosts, like Apollo Hosting, include Miva Merchant with their hosting plans. Most, however, charge extra for it (and some don't offer it at all).

Nameserver. The computer that will map requests by visitors to your domain name to the actual slice of hard drive on the actual server on which your site resides. In order for your domain name to resolve to your site's server, you will have to provide your domain registrar with your Web host's primary and secondary nameservers. Typically, they will be named something like:

NS1.WEBHOSTNAME.COM
NS2.WEBHOSTNAME.COM

But other names are also possible (one well-known Internet company calls their nameservers Itchy and Scratchy).

Your Web host will provide the needed nameserver information to you when you open your hosting account. You may also need to provide the nameservers' IP addresses to your domain registrar (usually you don't).

It only takes a few minutes to associate your hosting company's nameserver information with your domain name. Typically, this is done by logging onto your registrar's control panel using your username and password, and then just typing in the nameserver information in the appropriate box. But it may take several more days before the change propagates throughout the entire Internet.

Outage. An interruption in service. Some outages are planned for maintenance reasons, while others are unexpected. Frequent or extended outages without a good explanation are one reason to start looking for a new Web host.

POP3 Accounts. POP3 is the Post Office Protocol, used for storing and delivering email to its recipients. Different Web hosting plans include varying numbers of POP3 accounts, from one to unlimited. (You will need one account for each email address on your domain.)

Resolve. A domain name is said to have fully "resolved to" a server when the nameserver information that was provided to that domain name's registrar has propagated throughout the entire Internet, and the domain name is universally mapped through that nameserver to the Web server on which the domain's data actually resides. It typically tapes several days for a domain name to fully resolve to a server. (Translation: When anyone in the world can type see your Web site by typing your domain name into a browser, then the domain name has fully resolved. This will take a few days to happen.)

Server. The computer on which your files will be stored and which will "serve" requests from Internet visitors to your site. In most cases, other people's Web sites will also reside on the same machine ("shared hosting"). If you require very high security or have a very large or very popular site, you can also purchase "dedicated hosting," which means yours will be the only site residing on the machine. Dedicated hosting is much more expensive.

Most Web servers utilize some flavor of UNIX, while others run on a Microsoft platform.

SMTP Server. The Simplified Mail Transfer Protocol Server handles outgoing mail. Most Web hosting packages do not include SMTP servers (or do, but try to keep it a secret). This is not generally a problem. You can use your ISP's SMTP server to send your outgoing mail, and your Web host's POP3 server to retrieve your incoming mail.

SQL (Structured Query Language). A standard used in the creation of databases. If you wish to use any SQL database-driven pages or features on your site, make sure that your hosting plan includes a sufficient number of SQL databases.

SSI (Server-Side Include). A protocol that is used to direct the Web server to dynamically generate data for a Web page whenever it is requested.

Storage. The amount of hard drive space that your contract entitles you to occupy on the hosting company's server. Usually measured in Megabytes.

Transfer. Usually means the same as Bandwidth (above). Can also refer to the process of moving your site from one Web hosting company to another This is not at all difficult to do, but some companies in this highly-competitive business will take care of all of the details for you to make the process even easier.

UNIX. A powerful operating system originally developed by Bell Labs. Today, there are many different "flavors" of UNIX and UNIX-like systems, including SCO Unix, HpUx, Free BSD, Solaris, and Linux. Many Web servers run on UNIX-like platforms.

Upload. To transfer files and data from your computer to the Web server.

Uptime. Period or percentage of time that a server has been "up" (that is, working properly). This may be expressed in terms of actual time (years, months, days, etc.), or as a percentage. To say that a server has had 99.9 per cent uptime means that it was working properly for 99.9 per cent of the period during which the measurements were taken.

World Wide Web. The World Wide Web is what most people think of as the Internet; but in reality, the two are not the same thing.

The Internet is composed of wires, cables, routers, satellites, and computers that belong to many different networks, but which are interconnected together. Hence the name "Internet." (Your computer is part of the Internet whenever you are online.) Many different types of data travel over the Internet.

The World Wide Web was invented by Sir Tim Berners-Lee while he was working at CERN, the European Particle Physics Laboratory in Geneva, Switzerland. The Web uses the Internet and a special protocol called Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) to transmit documents that are formatted in Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), and which usually are viewed using a Web browser (like Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox).

The primary characteristic of HTML is the enabling of users to reference materials external to the document itself through the use of hyperlinks. HTML also allows external content, such as images, to be rendered as if they were part of the page itself.