Web Hosting Tips

Writen by David Heffelfinger

You make a living writing enterprise java applications, and you would like to work on your own projects for fun or profit, you would like to create your own web site or you would like to have a place to host your open source project. You look around for hosting providers, and all you see is PHP and PERL support, with very few hosting companies supporting Java, what to do?

Although the number of hosting companies supporting Java is increasing, support varies from nearly non-existent to companies that are deeply committed to their Java support.

There are three types of hosting plans available:

• Shared hosting
• Virtual Private Server hosting
• Dedicated Server hosting

With a shared hosting plans, several web sites are hosted on the same server, sharing the server’s resources and using the same IP address. Virtual Private Server (VPS) plans consist of a server that is split into multiple virtual servers, each virtual server has it’s own IP address, some companies call these types of plans Virtual Dedicated Servers. Dedicated servers are the most expensive type of plan, each dedicated server customer gets their own physical server, nice to have, but prohibitively expensive for personal web sites and small operations.

At Ensode.net, we recommend that you find a hosting company that provides Virtual Private Server (VPS) support (some hosting companies call it Virtual Dedicated Server), since they provide a nice balance between price and control. A VPS server is like having your own server, usually with root access, which gives you the freedom to install any application you might need, including version control systems like Subversion or CVS, WebDAV, or anything else you might need. With a VPS plan you will most likely get your own IP address, and your server will be not only your web server, but also your mail and database server.

VPS hosting plans tend to be somewhat more expensive than shared hosting plans, but it is our belief that they are worth the extra cost since they provide much more control and flexibility. If you are a Java developer, chances are you are used to “getting your hands dirty”, and working on a server using good old Unix commands. Shared hosting plans tend to have “user friendly” (dumbed down?) interfaces, which might simplify administration, but can also severely limit what you are able to do, for example, let’s say a shared hosting company gives you 300 megabytes of disk space to host your web site, and an additional 300 megabytes for your email, if your web site takes 5 megabytes of space, but your email server is getting full, there is no way to allocate more space to store emails and reduce the allocation of web space. In addition to leaving you unable to reallocate resources as needed, you can also forget about installing any applications on your server. Another disadvantage of shared hosting plans is that an IP address is shared among several customers, which could have potential problems. For example, if one of the customers uses their mail server for bulk emailing, the IP address of that mail server may be banned from several systems, in a shared hosting plan environment, this would affect all the customers using the same server.

With few exceptions, shared hosting plans that support Java do so through a shared JVM, which means that you have no way of starting or stopping the JVM, and the same JVM is used to run the Java applications of all the hosting company’s clients on the server. With a VPS plan, since you have access to your own (virtual) server, it is a given that you get full control over the JVM.

You can use your favorite search engine to find companies that offer VPS plans. Good luck and may your site become immensely popular.

David Heffelfinger is a software engineer with over 10 years of experience developing enterprise software applications. He is editor in chief of Ensode.net, a technology web site providing information about Java, Linux and other technology topics. He can be contacted via email at dheffelfinger@ensode.net.

Writen by Gabriel J. Adams

Game server hosting is a specialized version of internet hosting, designed to for gamers to use to play games via the internet.

Usually, gamers use a piece of software called a game client to connect to the game server. Many individual game clients may be connected to a game server at once.

There are actually two basic types of gamer servers – listen servers and dedicated servers. Listen servers are mostly used by individual players. For example, you might use a listen server at a LAN party.

Dedicated servers are generally setup on a remote server (i.e. The server is not in the same locality as the gamers). Usually, this server will be part of a data center, which is a facility which contains many servers for various purposes.

Maintaining a dedicated game server can be very expensive, as a game server usually will require large amounts of bandwidth. (Bandwidth, also called data transfer, is a measure of the amount of data that comes and goes from the server.)

Sometimes a gaming clan will collectively pay for a game server for their use, but often times the best way to get access to a dedicated server is to pay for access. There are many Game Server Providers

Game Server hosting may also come with extra features, such as voice capability. Ventrilo is a good example of this. Ventrilo is a voice communications system that gamers can use to communicate between themselves. Using a headset with microphone, game players can communicate, plan strategies, etc, without taking the time to type.

Another interesting feature available to you with some game server hosting providers is advanced stats. With this feature, you can get advanced statistics on every player on your server. Some servers even allow you to use Google Maps to pinpoint where each user is from, or view a map showing the location of all the players on your server.

Get Dedicated game server hosting from Leet Game Servers.

Writen by David Bongard
Colocation Hosting

Collocation hosting is a recent buzzword in technological breakthroughs. Collocation is best defined as the process of locating of equipment in another location. On the contrary the client in alternative locations defines collocation hosting as the location of personal servers – usually the collocation is of high-end data center. This data center is invariably a packaged composition and this process of collocation hosting includes the likes of – a high speed internet connection, space, highest level of security, regulated air temperature and professionally managed server solutions to name a few. Collocation. The collocation service providers could come in different hues which could extend from space service providers who rent space in the data centers and are companies in their own right, the data center owners or even those who are collocation resellers and not even located on site.

The Collocation Hosting Option

Collocation hosting of services by self may not be the simplest of procedures but they are invariably accompanied by innumerable advantages. The collocation hosting service providers would enable the client to benefit from the data center’s security, network and environment at all times. This collocation of hosting services is done at the state of art high-end data centers and need to focus on numerous factors if they are to be a success story. The start up operations would depend on the number of servers that need to be collocated, the bandwidth service providers, the business strategy being adopted and the location of data center of choice – these and more would determine the start up costs of the project.

Service Profiling

A visit to a few data centers could be very informative – a commonality factor which is visible in all data centers is what is known as the ‘rack’ and this rack is important for the collocation service hosting provider charges a monthly rental for the rack space used. The servers in data centers are stored in cabinets, which in turn are stored on racks. The collocation hosting follows a few protocols which are fundamental to the collocation hosting services and need to well comprehended by all collocation hosting services user at best – the upkeep and maintenance of the servers is the sole responsibility of the user and not the collocation hosting services provider and the cost of the high speed internet is borne by the user and not the service provider.

Evaluation Protocol

The choice of an ideal data center is not by cost – rather it is by the quality of the data center. The data center of choice needs to adhere to a set protocol which will include – high end security, fast internet connectivity, environment, power backup and fire protection measures to name a few. The collocation hosting service providers selection then is more than merely selecting a high end data center – it is rather a combination of numerous factors the most important – other than the selection of a data center – being flexibility and control which is best exhibited by the freedom to select the software and the hardware configuration of choice.

Writen by Lance Winslow

The California Institute of Technology has been working with a brain implant called autonomous micro-drive that moves electrons around in the brain as it searches for strong neural signals. The scientists successfully implanted a brain prosthesis in a dish of rat brain slices and a similar array of rat brain cells was able to fly a virtual F-22 fighter jet. This is interesting because learning to fly a F-22 takes years of training and costs The US Military millions. So if a half a rat brain can do this? Well then so much for the Tom Cruise Glory of the Fighter Pilot? We all know that the fighter pilot of the future is quickly becoming obsolete with the innovations in UAV Technology.

As Computer Human Interface for Controlling Aircraft becomes more prevalent we are seeing issues with response times, runway incursions and target affixation issues due to visual perception overload. If it were only a video game it would not be so critical, but crashing 30 to 80 million-dollar piece of hardware because you lost your concentration is not in the tax payers best interest. Crashing when your mind is stuck on another thought is too costly to contemplate.

http://worldthinktank.net/wttbbs/index.php?showtopic=47

We must also consider issues with which brain to use? Today we are using in test rat brain cells. However one must consider other brains. For flying jet aircraft you certainly would not wish to use rat cells if the aircraft or compartment with the rat brain cells were pressurized at 10,000 ft like an airliner. The rats normally do not live that high? So then would you want a brain cells of llama, which can live up at Machu Picchu altitudes? Or would you wish to use the brain cells of an Eagle, Condor or Swift? After all these brain cells will be flying a plane right? They will be use to the gyrations of motion and speed, changing barometric pressure rapidly after all evolution has made them this way right? In the case of a hand launched UAV, perfect indeed, that is basically what a bird does all day anyway. Flies in concentric circles and looks for food, then swoops it. So those brains are perfectly made for this right? Some might say for this effort why not just hire the damn bird and pay it in food like the Indians and their falcons? Makes sense, find insurgents tell us were they are by circling twice and do a couple of loop to loops and get some juicy tri-tip raw steak? Now that is one happy birdbrain? And you get the rest of the organism for free? It reminds me of the homeless guy sign: “I’ll work for sex?” And he probably would? When I mentioned this to a friend he said “me too” only he wanted a Super Model? Go figure? What is it that living organisms want? The trade off seems reasonable, the bird wants to fly and wants good cuisine, raw meat right? Dolphins get paid in fish, “thanks for all the fish” they say as they swim away from your domain.

Speaking of Dolphins; for underwater unmanned vehicles using a rat brain Sounds stupid when you can use a Dolphin brain cells that use those Sounds already. How does the brain work? What signals is it use to, what alpha, beta, delta, theta brainwaves does it work on? Now then, using Dolphin brain cells for flying an F-22 might not work if the plane is pressurized to 10,000 feet, no Dolphin has ever been that high? And no rat has ever dove 1000 leagues under the sea.

Since EA –electronic attack may inevitable in future wars and definitely in the battlespace and those electronic attacks may include scalar weapons we should be cognizant of the fact that our organic brain will be instantly rendered useless, as the cells will be dead. Unless? Yes, unless we enclose them in a NanoTech case surrounded by lead so that the brain will survive the attack and go on to complete the mission. As nano-technology becomes more feasible and better, the actuators maybe able to withstand electronic attack by using fluid dynamic and material memory actuators and running on signals processed by rat, bird, dolphin, human, monkey brain cells at very low or extremely low frequencies. These signals will be coming from brain cells completely secure, encased and encapsulated in a better than organic skull. Since the cells are normally encased in a skeletal evolved structure normally, we must encase these cells in more than merely a dish obviously. Perhaps by increasing the output of the signals by adding nickel or some organic and metallic element to the nutrient bath, which will splash the brain and provide the simulation of an organism surrounding it, then we can increase the signal output and event he processing ability of the brain cells.

Providing the correct and most natural pressurization and climate controlled environment for the cells in use based on that organisms natural habitat will help with the signal processing and abilities of the cells. Providing Super Vitamin C, electrolytes and drugs and nutrients to the blood surrounding the brain cells along with the proper climate controls to remain stable no matter what altitude the aircraft flies is essential.

Should the brain cells also remain upright at all times? Riding on a 7-ring gyro? Probably not, however Gravity forces within high “G” turns is a consideration. The brain cells literally need to be connected to the aircraft. So as the brain connects to eye muscles these connections could be connected to control surfaces and the brain put in a box on a gyro within a vacuum. Using the whole brain rather than only cells maybe another consideration in this case. The brain literally connected to the aircraft and thus attached to the structure and control surfaces. Artificial Intelligence similar to merging man with machine only in this case merging rat with aircraft, Dolphin with submarine and Rat with tank?

One might ask at this point why not just get a bird and strap his wings to larger wings with servo assist like the Future Fighting uniforms (superman suits), which are robotic attachments for endurance and strength? After all birds like people and nearly all species have some type of inner navigation system, either by way of magnetic pole directional innate characteristics, sun or star situational awareness or memory area mapping. So then why not just use this ability? Use the whole organism, the whole brain, the whole bird. Fit the bird into the plane like a glove or like a super fighting force body suit? Imagine becoming one with a jet fighter, where reflex was the rule. You think, you go, your bend or lean and you are there. When I use to race motorcycles and you can ask any one who has ever raced street bikes that you literally become one with the bike. Fighter pilots have indicated that some of the planes they had flown they felt this way about. Well what if you made it even more so as they are doing more and more with the Apache Attack Helicopters? What if the common cockpit initiative was like this where each aircraft fit like a glove and was an extension of one’s body, instead of putting on a uniform you put on a whole aircraft, a submarine, tank? You would then be trulky one with the land, sea or air.

When matching organic to silicon, or organic to mechanism or organic to quantum, we should be thinking here.

Writen by Steve Ashton
Aside from the big name web hosting providers, there are many smaller, niche-oriented web hosting companies. Could these be a better deal, or provide better service for your highly targeted site than a general web host? First it’s important to understand what a niche web host is.

Definition of a Niche Web Host

A niche web hosting service is targeted to a very small and distinct group of customers (called a niche). Services are modeled around the basic needs of members of that target customer group, and niche web hosts can range from offering hosting services only for certain types of web hosting, or for a certain type of site.

Types of Web Hosting

• Email Hosting – These are targeting businesses who want their email saved to a different server than their web site, so if the site goes down, they can still access email.

• Image Hosting – Image hosting has become more popular over the last few years. It is targeted towards individuals who simply want space to host and display image files without the need for a full web site, or as a supplement for a full web site.

• Reseller Hosting – Only reseller accounts are sold. You can’t buy web hosting from them for your own personal use.

• Audio / Podcast hosting – Audio hosting sites are nothing new, but they’ve usually been targeted towards musicians, allowing them to display their work, and oftentimes giving them a one- or even multi-page site to include images and information about themselves as well. Now, with podcasting becoming more popular, some sites allow you to upload your podcasts and make them available for public download.

• Genre Sites – These are hosting companies that target their services to certain types of web site owners, such as musicians, artists, photographers, web designers, authors, etc. They provide tools, and sometimes web site templates, that are specifically designed to be of use to their target market.

The Cost of Niche Web Hosting

While you may think many niche web hosts would provide their services at discounted rates, since they’re often offering fewer services (such as just image or email hosting), that’s not necessarily the case. While you may only pay $2 – 3 for email or image hosting monthly, you can now find some of the larger, full-service, web hosting companies offering their services for those rates.

Due to the fact that niche web hosts are targeting smaller customer groups, they actually tend to charge more than their general web host competitors. This is because they don’t have the luxury of selling space in bulk to huge groups of general customers. They also sometimes charge increased fees, because they provide specialty tools or templates for their target customers that the general hosts to not.

Is it for You?

While a general web host can provide most, if not all, of the services you need, it’s more a matter of preference than anything else. The exception would be if you find a niche web host that is providing specialty tools that you’d like to use in your site or other hosted services. Niche hosting for limited services, such as email or images, can be a good value. That’s especially true if your current general web host limits the number of email accounts you can set up or the space available for images. Consider the benefits a niche host will provide in relation to the cost that you would be charged. If they offer something special that you consider worth the price, then niche hosting might just be for you.

Copyright 2006 Stephen Ashton