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My Basic VPS Guide [15.] – The power of log files
Aug 8th
Well, it’ a nice weekend and thus I will add another post 
We know a few useful commands to find out something more about our system and the resources various programs, scripts and system itself consumes. Now we should be able to know what’s going on from the resources point of view, but we still do not know where to look for some helpful warning messages. And Linux powered VPS machines give you a very good source to find out something more than raw data from the top or ps commands. The source is called LOG FILES and it is holds all the log files with various very important data in text format.
Log files – where are they? Read the rest of this entry »
VPS optimization
May 15th
I talked a lot recently about how optimization of your code helps keep problems out of your way during your shared 
hosting life. Today I would like to give you something more to think about and possibly use. It’s a great “How To” from one of the greatest hosting forums I have come across so far.
It’s not great because it’s from this forum, but because it’s provided by people like you and me. It’s from people for people and there are lots of great things in there! One more reason to start your search for a web host on a forum instead of on a review web site 
For those of you who do not like to blindly click on links I will post a few preview quotes from the guide, but you will get much more as soon as you visit this forum. there you can ask questions about your specific needs
Restrict SSH Access
To restrict and secure SSH access, bind sshd to a single IP that is different than the main IP to the server, and on a different port than port 22.SSH into server and login as root.
Note: You can download Putty by Clicking Here (http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~s…/download.html). It’s a clean running application that will not require installation on Windows-boxes.At command prompt type:
pico /etc/ssh/sshd_config Read the rest of this entry »
Using CMS instead of your own coded plain html ;)
May 13th
I think it’s great when you are able to start your own web presence with your own coded web site. But if you do not feel like you are able to code a web site, or that a plain html/css/php web site is not enough for you and you are not that much happy about updating it manually every now and then…than here is a possible solution
Use Content Management Systems [CMS]
When you are starting to build your online web site you are standing before a decision. You need to decide whether you will code the whole thing yourself and use plain html/css/php for your web site. But this route is not very funny. It’s because you are not able to use the advantages of databases and the data stored in them! Read the rest of this entry »
In web hosting You need to have realistic plans!
May 12th
Hosting a web site online is a great thing. It gives you so many new opportunities. And even more opportunities are waiting for you to be discovered! But there is one thing you need to keep i your mind. You need to have a clear vision 
of what you can really get from a shared hosting environment at a certain host and with a certain budget.
Your budget matters
You may have seen many ad’s with hosts offering plans for $ 5 and less and others offering the same features for $30 per month. When you see such a big difference in prices you should start to wonder how is it possible? Well, sometimes the price difference is irrelevant, but sometimes it’s an indicator of the level of service you will get for your money. Many times you are told by the hosting community at different hosting forums, that in web hosting you get what you pay for, but it does not mean, that a shared hosting packages should cost $50 to provide you with a great service. I would say, that this saying is 90% true while with a VPS or dedicated hosting provider, because there you are renting the whole machine. But while with a shared hosting provider you should be able to get a good level of service for around $10 per month Read the rest of this entry »
Should you use your own email or a Gmail mail?
May 10th
I though, this would be a nice topic to start the week with. Many times you are standing before the decision. You have bought a domain name and now you do have a hosting for it as well. The next step is to bring the whole web site to life. And now comes the question. Should you use your own mail address e.g. your_name(at)your_domain.com, or should you go with a third party email solution e.g. Gmail or Yahoo! Mail?
Looking professional
The answer to the question is basically about how you want to be seen. Do you want to have a professionally looking image, or it’s not that important for you? This is the basic question you need to ask yourself. If you are trying to sell some kind of product, or service, than the image is an important thing for you and I think, it would make much more sense to go with your own email address. It adds the professional look and feel. You can always direct your customers to a third party mail address afterwards. Read the rest of this entry »
Why is it a good thing to have a back up strategy in place? [II.]
May 9th
The examples of back up strategies I talked about in my last article [click] are not the only ones. there are of course many more and it depends mostly on you and your needs. Today I would like to expand on the last article a little bit more. To back up something, or better said to have a back up strategy in place if something happens does not only mean to back up your web space data, database tables, but it can be understood in a much wider view.
What more back up strategies could be used?
We all know, that data are very valuable to use. We own a web site and users leave interactions on the sites, web sites change every day, we update them from time to time and thus data is valuable, but there is one more thing we could consider as very important. It’s our email messages!!! Read the rest of this entry »
Why is it a good thing to have a back up strategy in place? [I.]
May 8th
Yesterday, when I wrote the article about domain names and hosting , I thought about another very similar topic. It’s about the subject of back up strategy. What back up strategies do I have in place and what back up strategies are there. I know it might sound a little bit too secure, but it is always good to be prepared for bad things on the Internet!
What back-up strategies can be employed?
Basically, what this question tries to ask is what can be backed-up and what can not be. And it tries to ask what should be backed-up and for what reason. I think, that many of you will agree with me, that your data are very valuable to you and thus they deserve to be backed-up while hosted by a third party. But even when you host your data yourselves it’s a very good idea to back everything up! Read the rest of this entry »
Why is it a good idea not to register your domain at your host?
May 7th
Maybe I have written about this subject before, but today I run across a forum post at webhostingtalk.com talking exactly about this issue. Well, it’s not an issue as it’s more like a philosophy.
It’s all about : why it’s not a good idea to have your domain name registered with your hosting company. There are many opinions, but so far I think, that the majority thinks it’s never a good thing to make such a move. Many people like safety and thus I do not understand why would anyone want to expose himself to possible trouble.
The trouble is linked with the fact, that if your hosting company gets into trouble and you will not act quickly, or you will not even have the chance to act, than not only your web site hosted with that company gets into trouble, but you will not be even able to move your domain elsehewre! And this is a big security and service problem. Read the rest of this entry »
Why the image of a hosting company matters? [II.]
May 6th
As said in the previous article the image of a hosting company is “constructed” of many different pieces and working only on one of them is a very bad idea. Hosting companies should concentrate on the most important factors which are influencing a customer’s experience and the word of mouth will most probably bring them tons of new customers even without the need to spend excessive money on advertisement campaigns.
What company would I choose?
I talked mostly in general until now and I would like to give my own opinion. Maybe you are asking who I would go with if I would have the choice. Well, I am a comfortable person and I am not willing to sit behind the PC for 24/7 and watch if my site is operational and if there is no problem. And thus I am very concerned about the support level and service level. Read the rest of this entry »
Why to search for good offers at hosting forums… (2.)
May 4th
The question is the same as in my previous post, but I would like to expand on it. Many of you might say and think, that my critique towards review sites is not justified. That even hosting forums place advertisement links and banners on their web sites. Well, that’s true. I agree that even hosting forums do this, but there is one big difference.
The difference between hostin forums and hosting review sites
The big difference I am talking about is, that while on a review site you see tons of ad’s. But in contrast while on a forum you usually see only 1 or 2 banners… I know its because of the lack of space, but it’s still great
Did you ever visit a hosting forum? There is no so much free space to post ad’s and thus the space is limited. Hosting forums are limited by the space they can use for ad’s and it’s fine, because the ad’s do not distract you. Hosting forums and review sites do need to generate some kind of revenue and thus placing ad’s is the perfect way and I agree with this, but every owner has to decide whether his site should turn into an ad mess or be a great resource for knowledge and opinion… . Read the rest of this entry »
