My Biz Hosting

The elements of the perfect web host

www.mybizhosting.com — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 14:36:50 +0000

What should you look for when picking a web host? Dependability is a major factor. Look for companies that provide 24/7 system assurance and customer support. While this might seem extraneous when ordering, you’ll definitely miss it when you’re trying to find out why your site’s gone down at midnight and locked out your most important customers in another time zone.Advertising is another key component to a successful site. That’s why it’s important to check what deals and discounts a site offers on promotion, whether it’s installing a listing in local directories or offering affordable ad spots in desirable locations. Location-based advertising is really growing in popularity, as it targets the people who you really want to be seeing your site.Be wary of sites that offer unlimited bandwidth and space, and instead look for realistic limits on these options. It’s better to buy hosting that you know you can use, and that offers room for expansion, rather than to find yourself suckered into a deal that’s not able to deliver on its promises.Research the hosting sites that you’re interested in and confirm their credentials. Look for customer testimonials and evidence that the site has been around for at least a few years. If a site lacks contact information or other important details, you should probably be moving on. If there is contact info, exchange a few e-mails with them to verify that they will support you according to the terms outlined on their site.

“Movin’ on up” to cloud hosting

www.mybizhosting.com — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 10:30:54 +0000

“The cloud” has become an ubiquitous topic in computing over the last year, and web hosting has not remained untouched. The name may make it seem like a fairy tale, but cloud hosting has very concrete applications. In simple terms, cloud hosting refers to a process in which a site operates on multiple servers rather than on just one. This makes it an attractive option for sites planning to expand in the future. Before, expansion involved switching from a shared to a dedicated server, which required a lot of stress and downtime during the move. Now, expansion is virtually effortless (no pun intended), since any increase in traffic or usage is simply reflected in your bill.There are plenty of options if you’re looking to take advantage of cloud hosting’s many benefits: Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), Cloud.bg, HPC Host, NetDepot, Rackspace, ReliaCloud, and more. However, users should be aware of the security concerns with cloud hosting (and cloud computing in general), mostly associated with the variability of the physical hardware. People are concerned about who has access to their data when multiple sites are being hosted on multiple servers. These are valid concerns, and cloud professionals have taken it upon themselves to form the Cloud Security Alliance, which identifies and works to solve different areas of concern. These include encryption and key management, identity and access management, application security, portability & interoperability, architectural framework, and more.

HostingConsee the faces behind web hosting

www.mybizhosting.com — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 20:40:30 +0000

The New York Comic Con made headlines recently (presumably it was a slow news day). HostingCon is very similar, minus the costumes, anime characters, and comics. Instead, HostingCon is “the premier conference and trade show for the hosted services industry,” according to its website. 2011 marks the seventh year of the show, and will take place August 8-2011 in San Diego, California.With only a few months having passed since HostingCon 2010, the convention hasn’t started taking speaker proposals yetbut they plan to start soon. You can stay updated with the HostingCon newsletter available for sign-up at the site.The exhibitor hall, however, has already started filling up. It looks like cloud hosting will again be a major topic in 2011, with exhibitors like CloudLinux and Fuscan Linux Cloud slated to appear. Microsoft, a Platinum Sponsor, will be on-hand at booth 115. The Ping! Zine Web Hosting Magazine, which we’ll cover in more detail at a later date, is a Media Partner and will be presenting at booth 536.Even though the convention is a ways off, it’s not too early to start thinking about attending. There’s still time to register with the Super Early Bird special, which lasts until December 31, 2010 and saves 260 on the “Full Conference w/ Lunch.” After that, you can still save with the Early Bird special, which lasts until June 30, 2011. After that, registration is available at a regular price. You can choose to register for exhibits, single days, the full conference, and lunches.