Check for Dedicated Server Downtime

November 16, 2009

In need of an easy way to check for dedicated server downtime?  Downforeveryoneorjustme.com is the web site you want to bookmark for such an occasion.

dedicated hosting server online checker

This awesome web site service allows you to type in your domain name you want to check, and then see if it is down or if you might be the cause of the issue.  A very interesting web site tool indeed.

If you like that one – you might also check out:

It is a funny customer service relation story that I think just about everybody can relate to. 

Best of the Forum and Message Board Scripts

October 21, 2008

There are a lot of message board or forum scripts out there, which are the best of the best?  Well here are a few of my favorites.

VanillaVanilla is a unique forum script from Lussumo.com. It is an open-source, standards-compliant, multi-lingual, fully extensible discussion forum for the Web. Instead of focusing on categories, it focuses more on the conversations and recent threads that are being talked about at any given time. Adding themes, styles and add-ons you can create a different looking place to host all of your conversations in no time at all.

SMFSimple Machines Forum, SMF in short, is a free, professional grade software package that allows you to set up your own online community within minutes. Its powerful custom made template engine puts you in full control of the lay-out of your message board and with our unique SSI – or Server Side Includes – function you can let your forum and your website interact with each other.

phpBBphpBB is one of the most widely used open source forum solutions to date. It has an easy to use administration panel and a really simple (and user friendly) installation process that allows you to get up and running with your own forums in minutes.

There are others out there too, such as vBulletin and MyBB but I feel the three above are the best of the best.  The best thing about dedicated hosting is you should have enough man power to run any number of the scripts with no issues at all.

4 Important Article for Dedicated Forum Hosts

October 14, 2008

Looking to start up your own forum on a dedicated server?  Be sure to check out these previous posts filled with tons of advice and tips.

1. Dedicated Server Hosting (by Project)

You’re thinking of ordering a brand new, shiny dedicated server. You’ve got your domain name, you’ve chosen a reliable dedicated hosting provider like Lunarpages, and you’ve found the best dedicated hosting coupon available. So…now what?

2. Importance & Advantages of Control Panels

As two of the most popular and powerful control panels for dedicated server hosting on the market, cPanel and Plesk can support a wide variety of scripts, programs, installations, and server requirements. It is almost essential for every new dedicated webmaster that you choose to install some kind of control panel on your dedicated server, because it will help automate the process of installing scripts and deploying them properly. If you choose to work with SSH/Shell access, you will have to memorize and use shell commands. For an advanced webmaster, this is perfectly fine, but if you’re new to the dedicated hosting realm, there are many advantages to using a control panel on your dedicated server.

3. Fantastico Web Hosting

CPanel is arguably the most powerful control panel on the planet when it comes to dedicated server hosting. This is why it’s also the most popular choice for webmasters these days. If you’re unfamiliar with cPanel’s web hosting technology, you should definitely research this amazing control panel before you add it to your dedicated server. But cPanel works with a variety of really cool programs, not the least of which is the Fantastico Script Library.

4. Forum Scripts Perfect for Dedicated Hosting

When it comes to dedicated hosting, getting a forum up and running shouldn’t be a hard task at all.  Here are a few alternatives to pick from when trying to decide which forum script might be best for your dedicated account.

Forum Scripts Perfect for Dedicated Hosting

May 5, 2008

When it comes to dedicated hosting, getting a forum up and running shouldn’t be a hard task at all.  Here are a few alternatives to pick from when trying to decide which forum script might be best for your dedicated account.

Vanilla – Vanilla is an open-source, standards-compliant, multi-lingual, fully extensible discussion forum for the web. Anyone who has web-space that meets the requirements can download and use Vanilla for free!

SMF – This is a a free, professional grade software package that allows you to set up your own online community within minutes. SMF is written in the popular language PHP and uses a MySQL database. It is designed to provide you with all the features you need from a bulletin board while having an absolute minimal impact on the resources of the server.

phpBB – With a large and highly customizable set of key features coupled with a standards compliant interface, phpBB will grow with, and compliment your web site. With millions of installations worldwide, it is no wonder phpBB is one of the most popular ways to create and support a community.

VBulletin – vBulletin is a professional, affordable community forum solution. Thousands of clients, including many industry leading blue chip companies, have chosen vBulletin – It’s the ideal choice for any size of community.

These are only a handful too.  With a dedicated hosting account, you wouldn’t have any need to worry about server resources, disk space and bandwidth.  Try a few of these and see which one works out best for you.

Fantastico Web Hosting

March 31, 2008

CPanel is arguably the most powerful control panel on the planet when it comes to dedicated server hosting. This is why it’s also the most popular choice for webmasters these days. If you’re unfamiliar with cPanel’s web hosting technology, you should definitely research this amazing control panel before you add it to your dedicated server. But cPanel works with a variety of really cool programs, not the least of which is the Fantastico Script Library.

What is Fantastico?

Fantastico is a fantastic script library, which is a fancy of way of saying it automates the process of installing really cool software on your server, like blogs, CMS, photo galleries, and more.

Why Fantastico?

Fantastico simplifies the process of installing a blog or other popular software extensions onto your website. Instead of downloading the necessary scripts, then uploading and installing them to your site, then configuring them based on your system, Fantastico allows you to click on a button and the rest is done for you automatically.

What does Fantastico web hosting include?

The better questions is what doesn’t Fantastico web hosting include, because it literally comes with everything you’ll need to get your website up and running in no time. Here’s a brief rundown of what comes with Fantastico by default:

  • Blogs – including WordPress!
  • Content Management Systems – including Joomla, Mambo, and Post-Nuke!
  • Ticketing Systems
  • FAQ Systems
  • Chatroom Software
  • Forum Software – including SMF!
  • Ecommerce Software – including osCommerce!
  • Image Galleries
  • …and more!!

Importance & Advantages of Control Panels

As two of the most popular and powerful control panels for dedicated server hosting on the market, cPanel and Plesk can support a wide variety of scripts, programs, installations, and server requirements. It is almost essential for every new dedicated webmaster that you choose to install some kind of control panel on your dedicated server, because it will help automate the process of installing scripts and deploying them properly. If you choose to work with SSH/Shell access, you will have to memorize and use shell commands. For an advanced webmaster, this is perfectly fine, but if you’re new to the dedicated hosting realm, there are many advantages to using a control panel on your dedicated server.

Automated Configuration

This is the biggest advantage to using a control panel. Within cPanel or Plesk’s administrative interface, you can simply click on a button that says “create email account” and five seconds later, you’re done. If you’re working in the shell of the server, you’ll need to know the specific shell commands that will allow you to do this.

Automated Installation

Another awesome advantage is if you have the Plesk Power Pack or cPanel’s Fantastico Script Library on the server. If you have either of these additions to the control panel, you can install blogs like WordPress, content management systems (CMS) like Joomla, or many other convenient systems like forums, chatrooms, FAQs, and more with the click of a button. Again, this means you don’t have to go through the trouble of installing the systems yourself – simply find the appropriate button, click it, and you’re done.

Affordability

There are so many web hosting tutorials out there that can help you work with cPanel, Plesk, or the control panel of your choice. This makes the learning curve incredibly easy, because it may only take you a day or even a couple hours to learn how to build your site and install the necessary scripts. Compare this to hiring another webmaster or a programming tech who specializes in what you need to do. This can save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars in the long run.

Dedicated Server Hosting

March 28, 2008

You’re thinking of ordering a brand new, shiny dedicated server. You’ve got your domain name, you’ve chosen a reliable dedicated hosting provider like Lunarpages, and you’ve found the best dedicated hosting coupon available. So…now what?

Have you decided what kind of dedicated server you are going to be running? Look over these fun options to find the best solution for your dedicated server hosting plan!

Media Server Hosting

This is becoming a very popular choice for dedicated server hosting, as media websites like YouTube.com or social network sites like MySpace.com utilize media in incredible ways. With media server hosting, you are running a website primarily to serve streaming or live media content to your audience. You can store music and video files to stream on the web using Flash Media, Windows Media, or even Microsoft Silverlight, the hottest technology for media server hosting.

Make sure you choose a dedicated web hosting provider who allows media server hosting and can offer competitive amounts of storage space and data transfer bandwidth. This way, you’ll never have to worry.

Game Server Hosting

Do you like multiplayer games? Need to host your game for players around the world to be able to join in? You can create a whole world and community on your dedicated server by running it as a game server. Depending on the popularity of your game or games, you may need to cluster or join many servers together to create a network of interlocked dedicated servers. These servers provide the massive amounts of bandwidth necessary to have game players from all over the world connecting to your website! Game server hosting is extremely popular and you can make a ton of money through advertising and player upgrades.

Social Network Server Hosting

If you like MySpace or Facebook, you can create a website of your own to match them or even make a better site. Imagine creating something as popular as Myspace…right on your own server!! This means you have control over membership payments, you can deploy advertisements and sell ad space, and you can collect the revenue from partnering with other companies, etc.

Hosting a social networking website means an incredibly heavy load on your web server, so make sure you choose a reliable dedicated hosting provider who can handle the CPU resources, bandwidth, storage space, and even features necessary for these massive web hosting accounts. You should choose a dedicated server hosting company who can allow you to grow as your website does and who won’t limit you to ordering 10 servers if and when you need them.

Other Dedicated Hosting Options

Chat server hosting, forum server hosting, blog web hosting, personal web hosting, and even adult web hosting are all options for your dedicated server. Remember, you can also run your dedicated server as a web or database server as well, so if your aim is just a simple, clean, dedicated server hosting solution for your business or ecommerce website, you can’t go wrong.