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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) - Web Hosting
Welcome to our FAQs. Please keep in mind these are general FAQs and not answers to technical questions about your account with Red Line Services. If you have a problem and would like an answer please visit our support center knowledgebase or open a ticket.
- What is the difference between Linux and Unix and Windows hosting?
- Why should I not use unlimited bandwidth/space/transfer?
- How do I track how much traffic my website gets?
- I have a highspeed internet connection (DSL/cable). Can I just host my own site?
- What are PHP, ASP, Ruby, Perl, etc?
- Why would I need a dedicated IP?
- What are error pages?
- What is domain parking?
- What is web hosting?
- What is Apache and IIS?
- What are Virtual Private Servers (VPS)?
- How do I register a domain name?
- Do I have to change my domain if I get a new host?
- What are subdomains?
- What is cPanel?
- What is managed vs unmanaged dedicated servers?
- I am using too much transfer - is there any way for me to make it use less?
- What is cgi-bin?
- Will there be forced advertising on my site?
- How can I pay for web hosting?
- What is a grid?
- What is MySQL, MS SQL, etc?
- What are some hosting scams?
- What is overselling?
- What is a domain name?
- How do I upload my site online?
- Why don't I just go with the cheapest hosting?
- What is a dedicated server?
- What are name servers (DNS)?
- What is virtual web hosting?
- What is FTP?
- What exactly is diskspace?
- What exactly is transfer (bandwidth)?
- What is ICANN?
- What is uptime?
- What is an IP Address?
What is the difference between Linux and Unix and Windows hosting?
Answer:
Just like Mac OS and Windows are different (but do the same things), Linux (and Unix) and Windows do the same things differently.
There are certain online applications that will only run on Linux/Unix environments and others that will only run on Windows. ASP and ASP.NET, two programming languages (created by Microsoft) will only run on Windows computers.
Windows web hosting is usually slightly more expensive than Linux/Unix web hosting.
Why should I not use unlimited bandwidth/space/transfer?
Answer:
Unlimited data transfer/diskspace is a scam.
There is no such thing as an 'unlimited hard disk'. Offering unlimited space when hard disks have a finite amount of space is strike one.
Data transfer is not cheap. The connections on which the data is transferred have a limit in size. Using the analogy of a highway - any highway allows 'unlimited' number of cars to pass through. But imagine what would happen if the LA-freeway traffic was to end up on the El Paso (a city of 500,000 people) highway system. There would be absolute gridlock! The speed would slow to a gridlock, and everything would slow down. The same applies to data transfer. Sure you can have unlimited transfer, if you want your site to load in an hour. Strike two.
All hosts offering unlimited transfer/diskspace have clauses in their ToS (terms of service) that discreetly mentions that if you use up too much resources (which they are free to define as they like), they reserve the right to kick you off. Isn't that convenient? Strike three.
Unlimited email, FTP accounts, etc are a different issue. While theoretically you can have an unlimited number, you are still constrained by the amount of disk space you have.
How do I track how much traffic my website gets?
Answer:
There are two ways to track how much traffic your website gets.
The first way is through server-side statistics. Provided by your web host (some do not), it includes information on your site visitors.
The other way is through a remotely hosted website. A remotely hosted program can give you more detailed information about your visitors, and it also discounts hits from automated-systems (and thus gives a more accurate traffic assessment).
I have a highspeed internet connection (DSL/cable). Can I just host my own site?
Answer:
Definitely not!
DSL/cable is fast for single or few users (such as yourself and your family). But when dozens try using that connection, it is simply inadequate.
There is a reason why DSL at 5mbit can be upto 100x cheaper than an industrial-strength connection also at 5mbit.
Many ISPs providing DSL/cable service also have clauses in your contract that forbid you from hosting a website on their connection.
What are PHP, ASP, Ruby, Perl, etc?
Answer:
PHP, ASP.NET, Ruby, and Perl are examples of programming languages. Programming is used online to create dynamic and interactive websites. Different software packages require different programming languages - make sure your web host supports the programming languages you need.
Why would I need a dedicated IP?
Answer:
For most people, a dedicated IP is not needed. Some special services (such as anonymous FTP or streaming video) may require a dedicated IP.
If you have to ask, it likely is not for you!
What are error pages?
Answer:
Often times people incorrectly link to a page (or a page gets deleted) and so you get 404 Error. This means that the page that you were trying to look for could not be found.
A custom error page lets you put your own message on the error page. It is smart to have a custom error page - it lets you ask the user to notify you how the error occured, and also links them to your homepage.
What is domain parking?
Answer:
After you have bought a domain, you may want to place it somewhere so that if someone types in your domain they do not get an error. When you park the domain, the user knows that a website should be coming soon.
This is not necessary. Not parking your domain will have no consequences whatsoever.
What is web hosting?
Answer:
Web hosting is the act of providing disk space and data transfer on a server to a client. A host is a company that provides web hosting to you.
What is Apache and IIS?
Answer:
Apache and IIS are used to serve web pages. Apache can run on any operating system (such as Linux and Unix and Windows), and IIS can only run on Windows.
Just like on your home computer you may have Microsoft Office to read documents and spreadsheets, Apache or IIS are needed on a server to deliver webpages. Whenever someone requests a page, Apache (or IIS) would figure out what the page should look like and will then send it to the user.
What are Virtual Private Servers (VPS)?
Answer:
Consider this a cross between a virtual web hosting account and a dedicated server.
A normal virtual web hosting server can have over 100 accounts on one server. With so many accounts on one server, the amount of resources you have is minimal. A VPS allocates you a finite amount of resources on a server. For example, with a VPS you may get 25% of the resources on a server. Therefore there will be a maximum of four other users.
A VPS is a great stepping stone when virtual web hosting is not enough to meet your needs. It lets you have access to a lot more resources without having to manage and administer a dedicated server.
How do I register a domain name?
Answer:
You have to go to a domain registrar to register a domain. While most places offer to register .com/.net/org, if you want a country extension (such as .ca for Canada, or .co.nz for New Zealand), you may have to find a special registrar that can register such a domain for you.
Do I have to change my domain if I get a new host?
Answer:
If you registered the domain and the domain is in your name - no. You can use your domain with any web host you want.
What are subdomains?
Answer:
Subdomains are an extension of a main domain.
For example, Yahoo! can be accessed at yahoo.com. Yahoo! Sports can be accessed at sports.yahoo.com. In this case, sports is the subdomain.
What is cPanel and HELM?
Answer:
Often times a web host will give you access to a control panel from which you can manage your website (such as creating email addresses, seeing web statistics, etc). The most popular of them is cPanel for Linux and HELM for Windows.
What is managed vs unmanaged dedicated servers?
Answer:
When you installed your computer, you were told to install antivirus software and a firewall.
After that, you regularly update your computer with patches to keep your computer secure from hackers.
A managed dedicated server is when your host does those updates for you. With an unmanaged dedicated server, it is your job to make sure the server is kept up to date.
This is not an easy task. The world of dedicated servers moves at breakneck speed, and keeping up can be a daunting task.
I am using too much transfer - is there any way for me to make it use less?
Answer:
In most cases: yes (but it will require some effort).
In general, a page is comprised of HTML (which is the content), CSS (which is the design), and images (the graphics).
You can work on reducing the size of all three elements. To compress your HTML, find an HTML compressor. To compress your CSS, use a site like CSS Optimiser. To compress your images, use a GIF/JPEG compressor.
What is cgi-bin?
Answer:
Basically, cgi-bin is the folder where perl scripts are executed. With the popularity of PHP and Ruby (to name only two), Perl is not used very often.
For some quick background - Perl is actually a general programming language, whereas PHP and Ruby are designed to be used on websites. So in the early days, when PHP and Ruby (and others) did not exist, many web programmers used perl. To run programs in perl, it had to be run through cgi-bin.
Will there be forced advertising on my site?
Answer:
Not if you are paying for your web hosting. If you use a free host (such as Geocities or Tripod) they may place ads on your website. The two most popular free blog hosting companies (Blogger, owned by Google and Wordpress.com, makers of the very popular WordPress blogging software) do not force ads on your site.
How can I pay for web hosting?
Answer:
We accept Visa and Mastercard. We also accept Paypal and money orders however there me a delay before your account is created.
What is a grid?
Answer:
A relatively new idea, a grid breaks the classical situation of one server hosting many sites, and instead connections hundreds of servers together.
In classical virtual hosting, one server may host 100 websites. If one account suddenly tries to use too many resources, the server may crash, making all 100 websites inaccessible. A grid solves that problem by using 100 servers to host 10000 websites. By distributing all sites across so many servers, it becomes very unlikely for one site to crash the entire grid.
What is MySQL, MS SQL, etc?
Answer:
MySQL, and MS SQL are examples of databases.
When working with data that require manipulation, a database makes accessing and manipulating the data easier.
What are some hosting scams?
Answer:
Some popular scams:
- Unlimited bandwidth/space. As explained on our FAQ page on unlimited transfer/diskspace, this cannot actually work.
- No contact information. You want to make sure your web host is a real company that can be contacted in case of an emergency.
- Long term contracts only. Things can change (overnight), and you may need to change your hosting plan. Getting locked in may cost you a lot in the long-run.
- No money back guarantee. If you buy something and it doesn't work out for you, you usually return it. The same should apply to web hosting.
- Complicated uptime guarantees. Some hosts claim uptime guarantees, but the actual Terms of Service have clauses that are basically a free pass for the host.
What is overselling?
Answer:
Overselling is when a web host offers something that it could not support if all of its customers wanted to use it. The most common example is disk space. A web host may host 100 accounts on one server, offering each account 50 gigabytes of disk space. The actual hard disk on the server may have a capacity of only 300 gigabytes. So while the web host has offered (collectively) 5000 gigabytes to the customers it is hosting, it only has space for 1/6th that amount.
Overselling is usually harmless as very few will actually use their maximum allotment. Just because a car can go 6000 RPM doesn't mean people will drive at 6000 RPM.
What is a domain name?
Answer:
A domain name your address on the internet. Unlike the real-world, getting a domain name (or even multiple domain names) is not very difficult.
A domain name consists of two parts - the hostname and the extension. In the case of Yahoo.com, 'Yahoo' is the hostname, and '.com' is the extension.
While .com, .net, and .org are generic extensions, every country has its own extension too. For example, .ca is for Canada, .co.nz is for New Zealand, and co.uk is for the UK. Even the US has its own extension (.us), but it is not very popular.
You basically lease the domain name (in year blocks) from ICANN, which is a non-profit organization that handles the internet structure. As long as you keep renewing your domain name, no one can take it away from you.
Getting a domain name is as simple as going to a domain registrar and picking a domain to register. If a domain name is already registered, you can attempt to buy it. Famous domain sales include business.com for $7.5 million and vodka.com for $3.0 million.
How do I upload my site online?
Answer:
This depends on what your web host offers.
The most common way to upload file(s) is to use FTP. FTP is a protocol like HTTP. HTTP only lets you download files (it is what the web uses). FTP lets you download and upload files. Popular FTP clients include WS_FTP and BulletProof FTP. The web host you use will give you the necessary information you need to connect to their servers using FTP.
One other common way to upload a file is to use an online control panel and upload files directly through your web browser. This is far slower and not recommended.
Why don't I just go with the cheapest hosting?
Answer:
Replace 'hosting' with 'car' or 'TV' or 'computer' and ask that question again!
Because the barrier for entry is so low, there are many web hosting 'companies' that are nothing more one server run by a 15 year old kid. By spending a bit more, you can be assured of being the customer of a well established company that can deal with problems that may arise.
What is a dedicated server?
Answer:
When you get a web hosting account with a company, you are actually one of many accounts on a server. A dedicated server is when only you have full access to that server. No one else is allowed to host their sites on your server.
What are name servers (DNS)?
Answer:
When you type in www.yahoo.com, how does your computer know how to find www.yahoo.com? It asks the DNS servers.
The DNS servers (also known as name servers) tell people where to find a site. (It is actually far more complicated than that, but that is 80% of their function).
What is virtual web hosting?
Answer:
Also known as virtual hosting or shared hosting, virtual web hosting should be what 99% of people need.
Most people have websites that are not very demanding. In such a case, it would be wasteful to rent an entire server (also known as dedicated hosting). It would make more sense that you share a server with others (who also have low requirements).
There are downsides - while everything may be cheaper, the amount of power available to you is limited. In bad situations, another person on the same server as you may use up too many resources, resulting in your own site becoming inaccessible.
What is FTP?
Answer:
FTP is short for 'File Transfer Protocol'. It is the protocol that lets you upload files to your web host.
What exactly is diskspace?
Answer:
Disk space is the amount of data you can store at your web host.
Lets use the analogy of a desk. The bigger your desk, the more stuff you can have on it (even though it may be a bad idea!)
Disk space is usually measured in megabytes. An image is usually under 0.1 megabytes in size. Usually web hosts will give you far more disk space than you actually need (as hard disks are cheap).
What exactly is transfer (bandwidth)?
Answer:
Data transfer (synonymously referred to as bandwidth) is the amount of data you can send.
Using the analogy of a highway, each car is a unit of data. You can only let X number of cars on your highway before the transit authority shuts you down.
Usually data transfer is stated in gigabytes. A typical image is usually under 0.0001 gigabytes in size. Data transfer is much more expensive than diskspace, and will likely be the limiting factor in the hosting plan you choose (if you reach it). You may be surprised how much data transfer you actually need, so it is prudent to ensure you have enough (and that the web host you choose makes it easy to upgrade to a better plan).
What is ICANN?
Answer:
ICANN is short for Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. They are the non-profit organization tasked with ensuring that the internet stays up and running.
What is uptime?
Answer:
When your website is inaccessible, that is considered downtime. Uptime is the amount of time your website is accessible.
Higher quality web hosts offer uptime guarantees - if your website's uptime is less than what they advertise, they may give you credit for your next month's bill.
What is an IP Address?
Answer:
Anything connected to the internet has an IP address. This IP address is how you use to communicate on the internet.
For example, say you were visiting www.yahoo.com. How would www.yahoo.com know where to send the data back? It would know by using your IP address.
You can visit WhatIsMyIP.com to see your IP address.
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