Archives for April 2007

Wormly Website Monitoring

A while ago I started adjusting my business a little bit to add more redundancy and to be better prepared for disaster. Disaster recovery is a biggy every business owner should have on his/her mind. Earlier this year I signed up for an external backup service and now my money making sites get a weekly off-site backup. In case my servers blow up completely I will then be able to restore my sites within a very short time-frame. Let a tornado ripp the data center into pieces (god forbidd) and my data is safe in a different part of the country.
 
Now I am currently test-driving an external website monitoring service to stay informed about the status of my server. Why? About 2 weeks ago a heavy thunderstorm with tornadoes caused a power outage for the data center my servers are in. The data center continued to run on generator power until a main breaker blew up and my server lost power. At the same time the data center monitoring solution apparently failed, too. I found out about the problem way after it happened and I was not happy. So, I was already sold on an external monitoring solution just hadn’t decided yet. A few days ago I was recommended to an external monitoring service provider and decided to give it a try. The timing seemed to be right as well as the price. And if you’re not convinced, there is always a free trial. The service I am currently experimenting with is called "Wormly" and is located at "Wormly Website Monitoring". Wormly is an Australia-based company founded in 2005 by Julian Szemere.
 
What can Wormly Server Monitoring do for you?
 
Several website monitoring and web server monitoring sensors are available. HTTP, PING, SMTP, POP3, IMAP, DNS, FTP, TCP, and DNS are the main options. You can also choose between different monitoring intervals and that way configure a rock solid uptime monitoring package for your needs. Even the smallest package comes loaded with features that would cost me extra $$$ somewhere else. The monitoring service uses a minimum of 4 locations world-wide to verify your server/website status before alerting you. And the alert notifications can be send via Email, SMS, or Instant Messaging as an example. Here is what I will now call the "Wormly Difference". Wormly offers to monitor your servers health, too. You upload a small agent file (PHP based), point the control panel to the location on your server and within 10 minutes or less you see performance charts being populated.
 
Well, it looked great from the outside and I was eager to get started and give this service a real life test. I have to say – it does not happen often that I am sold on a product within minutes after using it. But the Wormly Web Monitoring Service has blown away all my initial doubts and concerns about their service and what I should expect for the low advertised price. The control panel interface is simple and extremely effective in providing straight forward functionality. It works lightning fast and best of all – I did not need to even consider reading any documentation upfront. This web interface is very straight forward and extremely easy to use – even for a beginner. Within in 5 minutes I had my first server configured for monitoring and alerts where setup to notify me on my cell phone and external email. Alerting was tested and different layers for the alerts were defined.
 
With the configuration done so quickly and everything working right out of the box I suddenly had plenty of time available to look at the performance graphing in details. Some of the graphs provide short-term benefits while others can help me a lot in my long-term planning. Is my box low on memory and paging a lot – I can now easily see all necessary information and even export it. Awesome.
 
Even though I thought I would have everything under control, I decided to take a look at the help files and documentation and I am glad I did. Wormly did a great job compiling an extensive list of documents filled with information. I work in Information Technology for almost 10 years and I am doing web hosting since 1999 and I think I know a lot, but there were quite a few gems documented that helped me to get a better understanding of how to get the best out of the monitoring service that I eventually would have missed otherwise. A beginner does not have to be afraid of not understanding specific terminology or what does a specific feature do. The help files take will care of these concerns. And if that is not sufficient there is always support available.
 
I hope you can feel a little bit of how excited I am using the Wormly web server monitoring service. I think I was not sure what to expect, but I can say for sure that I am very impressed with Wormly at this point. Monitoring itself is good – it’s awesome if the service you use, offers an easy to use interface, great features and great prices. If you are in the market for web server monitoring, this is definitely something worth checking out. www.wormly.com

Control panel screenshots:

Main Page Wormly Control Panel – Bigger Screenshot click here

Wormly Monitoring Section – Bigger Screenshot click here

Wormly Server Graphing – Bigger Screenshot click here.

Website Availability Report – Bigger Screenshot click here.

Alert Notifications – Bigger Screenshot click here.

Wormly Help Section – Bigger Screenshot click here.

StartLogic VPS & Dedicated Servers Review

If you are just starting off on your feet when it comes to web hosting, or are looking for a different provider, StartLogic seems to be a great choice to start out with. They offer different web hosting packages at extremely affordable prices and StartLogic is unbeatable when it comes to customer service. Whether you are seeking highend E-commerce solutions or want a hosting service that has top quality security measures in place to protect all of your vital information, StartLogic might be your best choice. The wonderful thing about StartLogic is that they offer money back with a guarantee, you have 24/7 live technical support that will help assist you in all of your needs and they constantly keep the servers you are hosted with updated with the latest and best software along with equipment.

If you are looking for a robust and cheap web hosting package by StartLogic, you may want to look into the “Virtual Server” package. This package includes web hosting of unlimited domains and websites. Disk space is available of up to 20-60 GB, Data transfers from 1-2 TB, Memory from 1-2 GB, Control Panel options made available by, a minimum of 1 IP address and an all inclusive software library. All websites on your VPS are hosted in a 15,000 square foot “state-of-the-art” data center. The web hosting data center has multi-homed and multiple gig E backbone infrastructure uplinks and each service comes with a cool 99.9% uptime guaranty!

Another great web hosting package choice that is worth mentioning is the “Dedicated Server” package. Dedicated servers come in many different price combinations and we are only looking at the basics here. The different standard plans include: Celeron, Pentium 4, AMD Athlon and Dual Xeon as a CPU choice. The price ranges from $99 a month to $349 a month, depending on which plan you choose to select. There are different disk space storage amounts available.With the Celeron dedicated server plans, the HP server hardware features the Celeron D 3.06. Other CPU options in general the Athlon 64 3200+, Intel Pentium 4 chips as well as Dual Xeons. The RAM on each package ranges from 512 MB and can be expanded all the way up to 4 GB. The bandwidth allowances range from 500 GB – 3500 GB.

Reflecting on the two different packages, they both are great options depending on your needs and your budget. They both have advantages and disadvantages against each other. We encourage you to carefully analyze your needs to pick your best option. Important is the top quality you are receiving from StartLogic no matter if you go dedicated or VPS. With both packages you will get awesome live technical support, tons of software and a lot more that will help you to get most out of your web hosting. StartLogic is a truly affordable and reliable option from our own experience. You can find all the necessary details at StartLogic.com

Powweb Cheap Web Hosting Review

If you are looking for that one plan package when it comes to web hosting, the Powweb one package plan may be just what you are looking for when it comes to web hosting. This cheap web hosting plan is only $5.77 a month and no setup fees apply! This web hosting plan is great for people who are just starting off in the world of web hosting and want to get started at an extremely affordable price with lots of features.

The very affordably priced hosting package includes disk space of 300 GB and data transfer (also defined as Bandwidth) of 3000 gigs (GB) per month (100+ GB per day). Also with the hosting package you will get “Load Balance Technology.” You are entitled to full website access and complete control of the website. You will also have the opportunity of accessing: Member Operations Control Panel, DNS Management, Sub-Domains, 24/7 FTP Access, a Web Based File Manager, Password Protect Directories, Custom Error Pages, SnapShot Instant Click & Restore Daily Backups and Solid Unix Platforms, all of this is a part of the Website/Access control that you will be enabled to have when you purchase this package, along with other benefits that will be listed below.

The available automated Script Installer includes: WordPress, phpBB, Gallery & Gallery 2, osCommerce and PHP-Nuke (with more options as well). The supported software that you will get includes: FrontPage 98/2000/2002 Extensions, CGI-BIN, SSI, .htaccess, Cronjobs, Flash, Shockwave, Midi and Multimedia Support. The Database includes: MySQL Databases, phpMyAdmin and Daily Database Backups. The Web Statistics & Logs have Webalizer & AwStats Web Statistics, Bandwidth Report, Access, Error and Referral Logs (also known as raw log files) and Real-Time Logging. You will also get a full E-mail Service, Customer Service (24/7 support along with much more), Customer Service and E-commerce Ready services as well as a bonus offer of a web address and an easy to use website builder!

You can get 3 months of web hosting with a $30 set up fee, and you pay $53.31 total. If you choose to get the 1 year package, you will not have to pay any set up fee (!), and you will also only have to pay $69.24 (cool savings of $24.00). The great part about the yearly offer is that you get one year of web hosting including a free domain name at no charge to you at all! The “best value” package offers no set-up fee, 2 years worth of a free domain registration and will only cost you $138.48 (allowing you to save a whopping $78 (!!!)). This is truly a a steal and a great package to work with considering everything that you will be getting for such a minimal fee. If you are just starting out with your website and want worry-free web hosting, this is a wonderful package to look into, especially with as much money as you will be saving. This article did not list the entire benefits that you will receive by signing up with Powweb. If you are more interested in checking out the full details of this service, check out: Powweb.com       

AN Hosting

Finding a good web hosting provider is still a dauting task. We spend time and efforts to review the services of "AN Hosting" and found it to be a great option when looking for cheap web hosting. "AN Hosting" developed a very successful business plan in 2001, and today it continues to be a leader to choose when it comes to web hosting! An Hosting offers an abundance of everything that you will need when it comes to data transferring, disk space and the availability to host 10 websites on just one account! You will receive e-mail features, plans for developers, first time business endeavors, e-commerce features and excellent technology support. This article will entail all of the details about the features that you will get if you decide to sign up with An Hosting.

You will get private disk storage space that allows for 250,000 MB (which you can upgrade to the Mega Plus and get 300,000 MB), Data Transfer/Bandwidth that provides 2,500,000 MB (again, you can upgrade to the Mega Plus for $3.00 more and get an extra 500,000 MB of space), you will also receive 20 domains on just 1 account, get a free domain for life, FTP accounts, unlimited MySQL Databases, Add on Domains (19) and Sub Domains. You also get a 30 day money back guarantee 99.9% uptime guarantee and the best thing about it is that they do not charge you any hidden fees.

You will also receive unlimited e-mail accounts, unlimited auto-responders, IMAP, SMTP Support, POP3, Webmail Support and Spam Assassin. If you are a Developer, some great features that you will get include: PHP, MySQL, RoR (Ruby on Rails), CGI-BIN, CGI Library, Full .htaccess Control, Server Side Includes, Custom CRON Jobs, MIME Types and IP Banning. The E-Commerce Features include: OS Commerce Shopping Cart, Agora Shopping Cart, Cube Cart Shopping Cart, Zen Cart Shopping Cart and a $50 Yahoo Ad Credit, $25 Google Ad Credit, $25 Enhance Search Credit and $20 Search 1-2-3 Credit, along with free self-signed SSL Certificates, Webalizers and Sub Domain Stats.   

AN Host Technology uses support by Cisco Powered Network, Dual Core Dual Opteron Servers, SCSI, RAID-5 Technology, Diesel Generator Backup along with Storage Backups. How much can you get all of this for? Only $6.95. This package is unbelievable for such a low price, and you get much more support with this service than most other package plans give. You can buy many very affordable packages out there from different service providers, however, the majority of the other packages do not offer near as many services as An Host does. They have kept their package at a very low fee since 2001, and it still continues to be one of the best packages that you can purchase today.

If you would like to take a look at this specific package, head on over to: ANHosting.com. You can upgrade to the Mega Plus package and get much more for a very affordable price. The wonderful thing about this package is that you will get everything that you need in one, low, affordable price, with great customer service support. AN Host is one of the best providers that you can possibly sign on with.

PHP Web Hosting

Not every web host offers the same services. Choosing the right web host at the right time can save you a lot of trouble. When in need of PHP hosting the choice is yours, but buyer beware. Does your current web host offers PHP 4 and PHP 5? PHP is slowly but surely considered “aged”. Sure, there are tons of scripts and software packages that still rely on PHP4, but PHP5 is gaining a lot of ground. If you are installing scripts and software that run on PHP 4 and PHP 5, you should already choose the PHP 5 platform as the web hosting of choice. Why? Think long-term. Statistics show that customers who are satisfied with their web hosting will stay a minimum of 2.56 years with that web host.

The Web Hosting Resource Kit is a resource for web hosts AND web hosting customers. This puts us into a unique  position where we have access to information not easily available to everyone. We spent some time reviewing which web hosts support both PHP 4 and 5 and came up with the following list for you. All hosts listed offer 24/7 support and have very competitive prices.

LunarPages offers cheap PHP Web Hosting

Hostgator offers cheap PHP Web Hosting

Bluehost offers cheap PHP Web Hosting

All the web hosts we have listed have either a simple to use graphical chooser in the hosting online control panel to pick which version of PHP you want to work with or you can configure it by using your .htaccess file. You can even use both version of PHP at the same time if you want! All web hosts have extensive tutorials on how to do it and if all fails you can contact tech support for assistance.

Discount Web Hosting Offers

 The Web Hosting Resource Kit has tested and reviewed several discount web hosting offers. Not every “discount” hosting offer is actually a discount. Sometimes the hosting offer is too good to be true and the question is, is this discount really a discount or is it a risk to host a website with a company that cannot make any money from an offer. As with everything – there is no such thing as a free lunch. If somebody hosts your website, they do it for a reason. Nobody is just giving something away for free.

 Anyway – we have reviewed and tested several web hosting offers over time. We worked with tech support when support was needed. We worked with the billing department when the need was there. We tested refund policies and took some hosts to live up to the promise and got our refunds or had to fight for it. We are currently hosting about 200 domains across 3 different web hosts (including dedicated server hosting for high traffic / high need websites) and had plenty of opportunity to compare and test.

 We know that many folks are a) looking for cheap web hosting and b) for reliable web hosting. What good is a web host, if your website is down most of the time and support ignores your call for help. We compiled a list of about 5 web hosting businesses who offer great customer service, cheap web hosting prices, and where support is actually available. These web hosts do not offer free web hosting, but they offer low cost web hosting at a fair price. We do hope that the compiled list will be helpful for you to find a new web host for your website.

  

 

1)      PowWeb / 300 GB Disk Space / 3,000 GB Transfer / $5.77 per month

 

2)      Dot 5 Hosting / 200 GB Disk Space /  2,000 GB Transfer / $4.95 per month

 

3)      Host Rocket / 100+GB Disk Space / Unlimited Bandwidth / $4.95 per month

 

4)      StartLogic / 200 GB Disk Space / 2,000 GB Transfer / $5.95

 

5)      LunarPages / 250 GB Disk Space / 2,500 GB Transfer / $6.95 per month

 

 As you can see, all the web hosts we looked at offer very affordable web hosting packages. The average disk space available is 200 GB. That is plenty of room to upload all your digital pictures into a photo gallery (easy to be installed from pre-configured scripts available from the web hosts). The traffic allowances have been matching the available disk space. What good would a lot of disk space with not enough bandwidth available to serve your website content to website visitors. Compare the offers. We are sure you will agree with our statements and will be happy with any of these web hosts.