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Web Hosting Glossary Access - Microsoft's application for creation and maintaining databases. It is commonly used by developers who maintain online databases running on Windows NT. ASP (Active Server Pages) - Active Server Pages are HTML documents that are typically embedded with Microsoft's Visual Basic scripts or Jscript. These scripts are processed by the server before being served to the user. ActiveX - ActiveX is a set of properties that specify in what way applications share information with each other. These properties are known as ActiveX Controls. Aliased Nameserver - An aliased nameserver is one that has been labeled as your own except that it is actually owned by your web hosting provider. This allows domains hosted on your server are listed as "ns.your-domain.com" rather than "ns.your-providers-domain.com". Aliased nameservers are often offered with reseller accounts. Apache - A web server program. Apache is one of the world's most popular web server programs, it was built and is maintained by a group of open source programmers and it is often used because of it's excellent performance, security features and that it is free. Anonymous FTP: Anonymous File Transfer Protocol. Allows the public to log into an FTP server with a common login, avoiding the need to assign passwords to anyone who wants to download files from your Web site. This is unnecessary unless you plan on providing downloadable files to the public.
Co-located Hosting - This type of hosting gives complete control over their server. You are responsible for supplying the physical hardware, the software that runs on the hardware and the administration of the server, the web hosting provider wil supply you with the Internet connection and rack space to house your server. Control Panel: An online interface often used to facilitate Web site management and editing. Control panels often allow hosting customers to perform basic functions (make changes, check data, etc.) without contacting customer service.
Cookie - A cookie is a text file sent from a web server to a user's web browser. Cookies are typically sent back and forth between between the two in order to exchange data such as registration information, or to prepare custom content to the user. Database: A collection organized records of information that can facilitate searching, sorting, and recombination of data.Data Transfer (Bandwidth): The amount of data that you are allowed to transfer (usually monthly). Data = images, text, audio files, video files and everything else that a server transfers to a user's web browser. Approximately 40,000 page views = 1 GB of data transfer. Web sites that get a lot of visitors (and page views) need larger amounts of data transfer (or bandwidth). Also, graphics-heavy sites will need more data transfer than more basic sites. Dedicated Servers (Dedicated Hosting): The opposite of Shared Web hosting. Servers that are owned by a Web hosting company but rented out and used by a single customer. Web sites in need of a lot of disk space and/or data transfer and/or Web sites that have very specific software needs may opt to rent a dedicated server. Shared Web hosting is usually sufficient for most small and medium sized businesses. Disk Space (Storage Space): The storage capacity for images, HTML files, audio files, video files, graphics, etc. A Web site planning to have a large amount of pages and/or planning to use a lot of images (or other large files) will need a greater amount of disk space. Domain Name: Domain name is an easy-to-remember address that can be translated by DNS into server's IP address. Domain names are hierarchical. Domain's suffix indicates which TLD (top level domain) it belongs to, for example .com, .gov, .org, .net, or .jp. Recently ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) added several new TLDs, like .biz, .pro., and .museum. Dedicated Hosting - This hosting feature allows a web site to have its own server. It is more flexible than shared hosting as webmasters have full control of the server, including choice of operating system. Server administration is still taken care of by the hosting provider. Diesel Generator - A diesel engine powered generator used for providing a backup power supply in the event of a power outage. Domain Names - Domain names are the words users enter into the address bar of their browser to visit a site. These domain names are attached to a DNS. The DNS (Domain Naming System) is used to translate these domain names into IP addresses. Each web site on the Internet has an IP address behind the name. Email Forwarding: When email sent to different email addresses is automatically sent (forwarded) to another specified email address. For example, you could have multiple email addresses (i.e. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) that would all be forwarded to one address (i.e. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) for easy checking and responding. Firewall: Software and/or hardware combination that protects a computer or network from unauthorized access. Flash - A popular application designed by Macromedia. Flash is widely used on the Internet as it requires little bandwidth, which makes it friendly to users with low speed connections. FrontPage Extensions: A set of programs and scripts that allow specific features of a Web site created with FrontPage to perform correctly. FTP: File Transfer Protocol. The most common method for uploading files to servers. FTP allows files to be uploaded from local machines to servers, where the files can be GB: Gigabyte. 1024 Megabytes.
HTML (HyperText Markup Language) - The language used by web browsers and web servers to communicate. Server side operations such as database processing, while maybe performed in a different language must all be output back to the web browser in HTML to be viewed. HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) - The protocol used to tranfer HTML files across the Internet. HTTP requires a client browser and a HTTP server. IP Address: Internet Protocol Address. A unique number identifying all devices connected to the Internet IIS (Internet Information Server) - Microsoft's server software for Windows NT/2000/2003. Intranet - A large internal network structured in a similar way to the Internet. Intranets are typically established by large corporate organizations to help communications within the organization. The difference between the Internet and an Intranet is that the latter is restricted to authorized users only. IP (Internet Protocol) - This designates the format of data packets that are used to transfer information over the Internet. IRC (Internet Relay Chat) - A popular text based multi-user chat network. ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) - A high speed solution to transferring data oover phone lines. It can tranfer data at speed up to 128,000 bits per second over a standard phone line. Commonly this type of service is being replaced with DSL due to the much higher transfer speed attainable with a DSL service. KB: Kilobyte. 1024 bytes. Linux: A UNIX-like operating system used by Web servers. Load Balancing - This is used to distribute data across 2 or more servers to ensure that a single web server is not overloaded with traffic thereby affecting network performance.
Managed Hosting - A dedicated server that is supplied with a full suite of technical support, setup, maintenance and monitoring services. Managed Hosting differs from Dedicated Hosting where customers are provided with their own server but still have to take care of all the administrative duties related to the server. MIME (Multipurpose Internet eMail Extensions) - A protocol that allows users to tranfer non-text email messages containing audio, video or images. Mirror Site - A mirror is an exact copy of an existing web site or FTP server. Mirrors are used to spread traffic load on busy web sites or FTP servers. Merchant Account: Enables the processing of credit cards online. Microsoft Access: Microsoft's low-end relational database. Miva Empressa: An XML-based server-side scripting language. Miva Empresa installs on most Unix and Windows web servers and enables the server with XML based Miva Script, commerce processing and database. Miva Merchant: A dynamic browser based storefront development and management system that allows merchants to create and administrate multiple online stores from anywhere in the world. MS SQL: Microsoft SQL Server. A relational database management system. Windows hosting plans often include MS SQL databases. MySQL: A popular open-source relational database. UNIX hosting plans often include MySQL databases.
Name Server - A server responsible for translating domain names to IP addresses. NOC (Network Operations Center) - A hosting company's "home base". The NOC is typically where most administrative, technical support, and physical server housing takes place. OC (Optical Carrier) - Represents the speed of fiber optic networks. OC speeds range between 1 and 48, typically hosting companies use OC3 fiber connections which allows for the transfer of data at a rate up to 155.52 Mbps (Mega Bits Per Second). Payment Gateway: Enables the authorization, processing and managing of online transactions. Perl: A programming language that facilitates data management and processing. PHP: A scripting language. PHP commands are embedded within the HTML of a Web page and is useful in the arena of dynamically generated pages. PHP scripting can add numerous interactive elements to a Web site. POP: Post Office Protocol. A protocol used to retrieve e-mail from a mail server. POP3 Email Account: POP3 email allows all emails addressed to your domain to go to one place. If a host allows multiple POP3 email boxes, you can have multiple (separate) email addresses. Parking - All domain names when newly purchased need to be stored on a server. Most domain registrars will temporarily place the new domain on their servers until the new owner changes the DNS to point to a different site. While the domain is in this temporary location the domain is known to be parked. RAID (Redundant Array of Independant Disks) - A method of data protection. Data is stored over a number of disks (typically hard drives) so that the information will still be available if a disk fails. Reseller - A reseller is an operation that on-sells another companies hosting services. Typically the hosting company will provide the infrastructure and equipment, and the reseller finds the customers to use the hosting companies service. Some resellers operate as an entire hosting business supplying the hardware, software, network and technical support of another web hosting company, while others simply work as sales agents for other web hosting companies. Server: A computer or device on a network used to store files and maintain network resources. This computer/device handles requests for Web pages. Setup Fee: Initial fee charged by a host to create your hosting account. Shared Web Hosting: The opposite of Dedicated Web hosting. Multiple sites hosted on a single server. Multiple Web sites share the system resources of a single server, with each single Web site being allotted specific amounts of resources. Shared Web hosting is the most common (and cheapest) hosting option. Shopping Cart Software: Software that allows users (customers) of a Web site to add and delete items into an online "shopping cart" and then proceed to purchase the item(s). A shopping cart is an essential component for most e-commerce Web sites, as it allows users to browse for and purchase products online. Some Web hosts provide free (usually more basic) shopping carts, while others provide a shopping cart for an additional fee. Different shopping cart programs range greatly in usability, functionality and features, so choose wisely before creating your online store. SMTP: Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. A protocol for sending email. SQL: Structured Query Language. A database query and programming language used for accessing, updating, and managing data in a relational database system. SSI: Server Side Incudes. Often used by Web developers in order to facilitate in updating content on Web sites. An SSI is a variable value that a web server can dynamically add to an otherwise static Web page. SSI-enabled Web pages will often be found with .shtml extensions. SSL: Secure Sockets Layer. Allows encrypted, authenticated communications over the Web. SSL provides security in online commerce. URL's starting with "https://" indicate the utilization of SSL. Static (Dedicated) IP Address: A unique and unchanging IP address. The opposite of dynamic IP addressing, in which a Web site's IP address is different with each connection to the server. With dynamic IP addressing, several domains can use 1 IP address. With static IP addressing, your Web site gets an unchanging IP address that is not shared with other sites and can be called up in place of your usual www.domain.com. Storage Space (Disk Space): The storage capacity for images, HTML files, audio files, video files, graphics, etc. A Web site planning to have a large amount of pages and/or planning to use a lot of images (or other large files) will need a greater amount of storage space. Subdomain: A subdomain is a division of a Web site, a section set apart with a different sub-domain name. For example, subdomains of Web site "domain.com" could be "support.domain.com," "clients.domain.com," etc.
Telnet - A command line interface that allows remote users to communicate with web servers. TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) - A very important network protocol, TCP allows two hosts to connect to each other can exchange data, TCP also has checks in place that make sure that data is received exactly as it was sent. TLD (Top Level Domain) - "webhost-advisor.com" is this site's top level domain, with the suffix being ".com". Other suffixes include ".net", ".org" and ".info". UNIX: The most commonly used operating system among Web servers. Unix is a text-based, multitasking operating system that is designed to be used by many people at the same time. Virtual Private Servers (VPS): Shared hosting servers in which each hosting space is alloted its own amount of dedicated resources. A step above shared Web hosting but a step below dedicated Web hosting. Virtual Web Hosting: Also known as shared Web hosting. Multiple sites hosted on a single server. WAP: Wireless Application Protocol. A set of protocols that standardize the way that wireless devices can be used for Internet access. Web-based Email: Allows a user to access email from any computer that has an Internet connection and a Web browser. Web Statistics: Reports on visitors to your Web site. Statistics range from basic (how many visitors), to advanced (referring URL, search phrase, etc.). Windows Hosting: Hosting on a web server that uses Microsoft Windows server software as it's operating platform. Windows hosting plans are useful in the arena of dynamic content generation and database functionality. Windows is a graphic-based, multitasking operating system.
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