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- Virtual/Shared Hosting Vs Dedicated/Managed Hosting
- Unix Vs Windows NT/2000
- Unix proper (Solaris, AIX, HPUX) vs. Linux (Red Hat, SuSE, Corel, etc)
- RAID Backup Solution
- 64-bit Vs. 32-bit Processing
Virtual/Shared Hosting Vs. Dedicated/Managed Hosting [ Back To Top ]
The information below is comparing the general differences between Virtual/Shared and Dedicated/Managed.
| Service | Virtual/Shared | Dedicated/Managed |
| Real world comparison | Apartment | House |
| Static IP Addresses | 0 - 1 | 4 - 8 |
| Additional Sites |  |
 |
| Centralized Management | |
|
| Server Policies & Software Controlled by | Hosting company | You |
| Number of Clients per Server | 200 - 300 | 1 |
| Root Access | |
|
| Shell Access | varies widely | |
| Bandwidth | |
|
| Web space (disk space) | 1 MB to 3 GB, buffered Average 100 - 300 MB |
Typically 25 GB or more unbuffered |
| Security | Good | Excellent |
| Any software can be loaded onto a dedicated or managed server, however for comparison we will use common software | ||
| E-mail: POP3 | Typically 1 - 100 | Unlimited |
| E-mail: Autoresponders | Typically unlimited | Unlimited |
| E-mail: Forwarders | Typically unlimited | Unlimited |
| E-mail: Own SMTP | |
|
| E-mail: Own SMTP For Any Domain | |
|
| FTP Accounts | Typically 1 - 50 | Unlimited |
| Perl/cgi-bin | |
|
| Php | |
|
| Frontpage | |
|
| MySQL | In general, but some charge | |
| MySQL Databases | Usually 1 - 10 | Unlimited |
| MySQL Users | Usually 1 - 10 | Unlimited |
| Sub Domains | Usually 0 - 25 | Unlimited |
| SSL Ready | |
|
Notes:
- The only difference between managed and dedicated hosting is the amount of included technical support time and help you receive. Additional time may be purchased.
- The more virtual/shared accounts you use the more your price goes up.
- With virtual/shared you are at the mercy of the hosting company's rules unlike dedicated/managed where you set the rules.
- With virtual/shared you are on a server with a bunch of people that can slow down the server and cause you problems, this is not true with dedicated/managed.
- With dedicated/managed you have full control over what software and programs are installed and used.
- With dedicated/managed your limits on e-mail, amount of software, etc are only limited by your own rules, the size of hard drives, RAM and CPU.
- Dedicated/managed presents a more professional and stable look.
- Building a serious, professional and/or big business based on virtual/shared hosting is like running a business out of an apartment where the owner and landlord can change rules and policies at anytime and you have no real recourse but to leave.
Unix Vs Windows NT/2000 [ Back To Top ]
What makes the computer usable is the operating system otherwise its just a pile of parts. You can compare the operating system (OS) to human customs and languages. And just like humans that have different languages, customs and perform tasks in different ways, so do operating systems. There are many different operating systems such Unix, Windows, Mac, etc. We are going to look at Unix and Windows.
Unix:
Unix has strong roots which date back to its creation in 1969, but have design concepts that date even earlier. This long history gives Unix a stability Windows can only find in dreams. In fact, there are Unix servers that haven't been rebooted or crashed for 5, 6, 7 and even more years! Windows has barely been around that long much less compete with those records. Windows servers work better if you reboot them constantly in order to clear out the RAM and reset important settings. Unix servers laugh at the idea of needing to be rebooted.
In addition, Unix is also known for its highly complex and professional processing. Unix can handle multitasking much better than Windows, meaning the server can perform more tasks and handle more clients than Windows. For the above two reasons and many more most mission critical servers run Unix, in some form.
However, it is important to be complete in our review and point out the disadvantages too. Unfortunately, it is rare to find something that is all pro's. The good news is Unix has very few con's. One of the biggest Unix con's is the fact Unix is very fragmented, which is changing. Unlike Windows that is designed by Microsoft, Unix is designed by many companies such as Sun Microsystems, IBM, HP, etc. Each one of these companies has its own version of Unix and to make matters worse there are different kinds of Unix. These include Unix "proper", Linux, FreeBSD, etc.
This means at times you have to be careful when choosing software for Unix, because some software will only work on one type or manufacturer's Unix. The good news is there is a lot of software that works on all types. The most important issue when using Unix is to stay with a major name brand like Sun Microsystems' Solaris.
It is important to note that this fragmentation isn't all bad. In many ways it is actually good. Unlike Windows that is only designed by Microsoft and they control what Windows will or will not do, this is not true with Unix. Because there are so many companies designing Unix there are more opportunities for new ideas and concepts to be introduced into the environment.
Confused? Think of it this way: Unix is like a car. The different Unix manufacturers are the different car manufacturers like Ford, GM, Toyota, Honda, etc. While the different kinds are pickups, SUV's, sedans, etc. Now they all produce cars, but no one company controls the overall car design. This means there is a lot of room for creativity and expansion, since each car manufacturer can design cars their way. And just like the creators of Unix have a base they must stay with so do car manufacturers or its no longer a car.
The other con of Unix is it isn't as user friendly, "out of the box", as Windows. This is one of the reasons why Unix administrators get paid $45,000 to $85,000 and up and Windows administrators make $42,000 to $72,000 and up. Many companies feel the extra money is well worth the gain. We would like to point out that our choice in Unix software makes Unix as user friendly as Windows and in some cases even more user friendly. Also, we are here to help you with your Unix experience.
We strongly recommend Unix to most of our clients, because we know they will experience less downtime, faster responses, be able to handle more clients and have more room for growth and expansion. We do acknowledge some of our clients have applications that depend on Windows and because of this we support Windows NT/2000 running on Dell servers. However, most of our clients will never have a server need for these applications.
Windows NT/2000
Windows is generally easier to setup and use, "out of the box", than Unix. Windows also supports a boarder range of applications over Unix. In addition, more companies offer commercial support for Windows based programs. However, we must stress that with our setup Unix isn't very difficult to use and we are here to help. Our Unix administration software makes Unix as easy to use as Windows and in some cases easier.
Windows machines often cost more, on the lower end, and carry higher price tags for their applications. We recommend running Windows ONLY in situations where your server applications depend on it. For most companies and users Unix is the preferred route.
Unix proper (Solaris, AIX, HPUX) vs. Linux (Red Hat, SuSE, Corel, etc) [ Back To Top ]
Unix proper is considered a higher grade and more professional version of Unix. Unix proper has built in features that Linux has yet to support such as auto rebooting and auto killing of processes. In many cases Unix proper is more robust and offers better expansion over Linux. For those in the IT field this is similar to Oracle vs. MySQL. Oracle is more robust and can handle bigger databases, however MySQL isn't far behind.
The debate continues over which is better, however Sun Microsystems receives 10 out 10 stars when rated for its version of SPARC Unix (Solaris). One other difference which often makes Unix proper stand over Linux is the fact Linux is generally run on no name custom servers. Unix proper is run on quality controlled professional grade servers. This is in the process of changing since both IBM and Sun are working on hardware built just for Linux. This difference in hardware often gives Unix proper the advantage. For these reasons we have chosen Sun Microsystems' for its reliable, professional grade hardware and its integrated Unix which is Solaris. We do generally prefer Unix proper over Linux. However, we do acknowledge some Linux versions have been integrated with hardware with great stability, such as Sun Microsystems' Cobalt Raq line.
We will watch these new lines of Linux specific hardware and in the future may offer these IT solutions. Linux is making big advancements and is quickly becoming an enterprise worthly OS.
RAID [ Back To Top ]
RAID stands for Redunant Array of Inexpensive/Independent Disks. RAID has 11 levels. RAID 0 to 9 and 1+0 also known as 10. RAID 1 and RAID 5 are the most common for servers. RAID 1 means there are two hard drives with one mirroring (copying) the other drive. RAID 5 means there are three drives all mirroring each other. In RAID 1 and RAID 5 if one hard drive dies the server will continue on as if nothing happened. This means your server is there when your clients need it.
RAID 1 and RAID 5 can only lose one hard drive. If either one loses more than one hard drive all your data is lost. This is why it is common to use backups for RAID. However if you use one hard drive and a backup, like tape, and your one hard drive dies your server dies. This is why a combination of RAID 1 or RAID 5 and tape are used.
So why do some companies use RAID 5 instead of RAID 1? Because RAID 5 offers more storage and is slightly faster than RAID 1. It is important to note that the data protection is the same.
64-bit Vs. 32-bit Processing [ Back To Top ]
The advantages of 64-bit processors over 32-bit processors is quite a long list. In most settings 64-bit processing allows applications to load much faster meaning you have less waiting time. 64-bit processors, rarely, have to split integers into multiple parts, thus increasing speed, security, and performance. Sun Microsystems UltraSPARC series are faster than Intel's Itanium and AMD's 64-bit processing. This is because Sun Microsystems uses 64-bit RISC processing, which is faster than standard 64-bit processing.
Features and benefits:
- Can handle larger databases - meaning more clients and more information in your databases. In addition, you don't have to upgrade the CPU as often.
- Better security and encryption - meaning SSL and other encryption protocols, such as SSH, work with better efficiency and can handle stronger encryption with faster results. This means your business can use some of the latest security methods without effecting your services' speed. This is very important to your clients that don't want to wait to get the desired information.
- Better multitasking over 32-bit - meaning the server can work on several activities at once with less impact. For example, loading webpages, sending out mail, getting mail, searching databases, etc all at the same time. The server will be able to handle more activities without you or your clients noticing. This means you can handle more clients with either more or bigger services.
- More RAM - meaning you can load and use more programs/services and/or put more demand/usage on your current services. This means you can handle more clients say running searches on your databases. Currently 32-bit has a limit of 2 GB and 64-bit 4 GB, which on a server can be very important.
- and many others!
