Is Your Web Server A Dinosaur?

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by Michael Wong

Do you know the difference between a Virtual Server and a Virtual Host? Most people don't.

Nearly all web hosting companies offer an outdated technology, called Virtual Hosting. And your site is probably on one.

So, what? Well, if your Web site is on a Virtual Host, you have little or no control over the way your web server, FTP, and mail services behave. This is because all of the software is configured by your provider, rather than by you.

You probably can't do any of the following:

A Virtual Server gives you complete control over how your server functions. You have your own, independent Web, FTP, and email servers and your own set of configuration files that let you control your services without any need for intervention from your provider.

In essence, a Virtual Server lets YOU be the system administrator, not someone else.

Recently, I moved my Web site to a Virtual Server, at vservers.com. Here are just a few of the benefits I have found so far.

1. How much would it cost you to host 20 domain names, on 20 Virtual Hosts? At an average cost of $24.95 per month, it would add up to almost $500 per month.

   The more domains I add on, the greater the savings. You don't intend to have more than one Web site? Don't be so sure. Look at the survey of how many domains people own, further down in this newsletter.

2. The traffic on the different domains varies wildly.

   I used to host eBoz.com on a Virtual Host, Hiway.com. One month, my disk space exceeded the preset limit of 60MB and some of the CGI scripts stopped working because there was no disk space left to store the data.

   Now, if my disk space is running low, I simply back-up and delete the log files to free up disk space.

3. I used to receive hundreds of spam emails a week, often from the same source.

   Now, I am able to set a spam-relay protection file, with a list of addresses who have sent me spam in the past. The server checks incoming email against the list of spam addresses and automatically rejects any that match the list. They don't get a second chance to spam me. Now, I only receive a handful of new spam emails each week.