Internet Domain Hosting

Internet domain hosting is an important part of the internet since it allows individuals with a low budget to setup and run their own website, without the need for large expensive servers that have to be hosted in a costly data centre rack. Internet domain hosting has been around since the beginning of the internet because people have needed a place where they are able to host their websites with ease, and in every case at least one domain is in use meaning that web hosting providers have to factor in the management of domains as well with their internet domain hosting packages. Internet domain hosting providers can now be found in large numbers, mainly down to the fact that the cost of setting up an internet domain hosting business, or in other words a ‘web hosting business’, are very low if you start out on a standard reseller web hosting package. When considering an web hosting provider that sells internet domain hosting packages, there are several factors that you need to consider; the main factor that you need to consider when looking for a web hosting package is your requirements – having a web hosting plan that doesn’t meet youe requirements is just going to be a waste of money. Although a majority of internet domain hosting providers are reputable and can provide good service, there are still some that are out there to scam users.

For those that don’t know, web hosting providers use powerful computers called servers to host their internet domain hosting clients on. Because servers are complicated machines, there are many terms that you may come across when searching for an internet domain hosting package which you may not know the exact meaning to, but in most cases are very important terms. These terms can include:

• bandwidth – this is the amount of data that can be transferred between your website and visitors’ computers in a set amount of time, which is normally a month, and is measured in gigabytes (GB)
• disk space – this is the amount of physical space that you can use on your web hosting account, and is normally the fixed limit that you can use on the hosting server’s hard drive
• RAID – this is a form of server backup which means that the hosting server has multiple hard drives to increase server reliability, thus ensuring that your internet domain hosting package will receive the highest amount of server uptime that is available.

Web hosting providers that don’t use high specification servers to host their internet domain hosting packages will most likely be a poor web hosting service, meaning that you should check out web hosting reviews and the specifications of the servers being used by a web hosting provider before committing to anything.

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What Is DNS Propagation Process And Why It Takes So Long To Initially See My Website Live?

You may wonder why your new website is taking more than 72 hours and not immediately to be seen “live” and “in stable form” on the internet. May be, sometimes, a little less than 72 hours! Definitely, the website does not immediately become “live” on the internet even after you have purchased the domain name, the hosting account with your WHP (Web Hosting Provider) for the domain name to reside, and the website uploaded with the domain name in the hosting account. The domain name takes some time to become live because of the following reasons that are necessary.

The most important reason is the DNS propagation. So, what is DNS propagation and what has it got to do with your domain name?

DNS stands for Domain Name System. DNS servers translates the domain name that is understood by the computers into domain names that is understood by human beings. All the internet service providers, most of the large businesses like the Microsoft, Dell, etc. also have their own web servers, and most of web hosting services have at least two DNS servers. People who use the web use DNS system all the time when they are browsing. Let us see the complete unseen process by outsiders, people who have no knowledge of what DNS is, of how websites actually are being seen by most of the web surfers.

There are top-level 13 master DNS servers which knows which DNS server authorises which domains. When the Internet Service Providers (ISPs) do not know which domain you are looking for, it (the ISP’s DNS server) checks the master-level DNS servers to find that domain, gets the information about that domain, and then passes you that domain. All this happens very fast.

Changing your website to another hosting company will require the changes made to the DNS information about your domain too. This is a very critical process that needs complete knowledge of how to do it, so either learn it even if you are going to change the site only once, or get help from your existing or the new hosting company.

Again, the changes can take another three days to broadcast to all other DNS servers all over the world (and complete the DNS propagation process) that you have moved your site to another hosting company. During this period of DNS propagation process, now called “redelegation”, some surfers find your domain with the old DNS information if they use “whois” service, some will find your domain with the new DNS information. Some surfers will automatically go to the new web server and some to the old.

If you posses a static IP and not a dynamic IP, and use the same ISP throughout your domain’s life-cycle, that is, till you no longer need the domain, you can have your own DNS server. This will need you to be an expert in the related processes. The 2 or more DNS servers for every domain are needed because if one DNS server fails, the other DNS server takes over instantly to keep your domain online.

All the computers communicate with each other on the internet using IP addresses, also called the numerical web addresses. An IP (internet protocol) address looks similar to 72.200.40.20 (this is an fictitious IP address). This works similar to any unique telephone number or the residential postal address. Everything in the process is quite complicated to understand by the common person who knows nothing about the technicalities of how things work on the internet.

We shall learn more about the IP Addresses, the Service Providers, the Domain Names, and the Domain Name Registrars in a separate article. To understand why your website is not seen immediately while the DNS propagation process is going on, we will concentrate only on the DNS and the DNS propagation process here. So what are they?

DNS

DNS means Domain Name System. The dedicated web server that uses the DNS software is called the DNS server. There are literally thousands of such DNS servers, spread all over the world. They act like the internet’s Yellow Pages that keeps track of all the information about all the websites, including your own registered website.

A single such DNS server will keep the information of only those websites that it is responsible for and will have a lot of pointers to find other websites. So, there are no DNS servers that store all the information of all the websites.

The DNS server has 2 main functions to follow:

1) The IP addresses are translated into domain names.

For example, a domain name, say mydomainname.com, is actually assigned digit numbers like 72.200.40.20 (this is a fictitious number). It is hard to recall such digit numbers and easy to use its alphanumeric name, in the above example, the mydomainname.com. The DNS server easily translates this domain name into the IP address of mydomainname.com in the example. This translation is done very fast by the DNS server.

2) The DNS server is the authority for the domain names assigned to it.

The network where your website resides has its own domain name system (DNS). The network, in fact, must have at least two such DNS servers as this is the industry-wide standard. These DNS servers are the authority for your website’s name, or in other words, your domain name. Your network provider service inserts the information of your domain name in its DNS server. Hence, the DNS server that has your domain name’s information has the authority over your domain name.

The DNS server stores some critical information about your domain name which is called your DNS Record.

Now, having seen what a DNS server is, and what it does, we shall look into more information about the Domain Name System (DNS) propagation process that is causing you to wait for almost 3 days to see your website live on the net.

The DNS Propagation Process

The domain registrar publishes the domain name at the first DNS level in the DNS propagation process. Hereafter, the domain name is broadcasted to the DNS servers all over the world.

This process is called the DNS propagation process which takes almost 3 days to complete. This DNS propagation process takes place if new registration of a website, in this case, your new domain name is formed and must be broadcasted to all the DNS servers in the world. Another case is that if a domain name is changed, and the third case is if the authority assigned to the domain name is changed.

There are so many DNS servers all over the world that it takes so long to broadcast your domain name to all of them. All these DNS servers constantly update themselves, called the DNS propagation process, and will recognize your new domain name in due time. When it will completely do so cannot be guaranteed though!

Only after the complete DNS propagation process is completed then everyone can see and access you website. Sometimes, other people can see your website live, but you cannot! This is because the DNS server that is the authority of those people’s website has completed the DNS propagation process, but your own ISP’s DNS server has not! This is, therefore, you will not be able to see your website and domain name stabilized for about 3 whole days due to the DNS propagation process, ideally.

To be continued…

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DOMAIN NAME

A domain name is what you enter into your web browser’s address bar in order to visit an internet website. A domain name is usually mapped to a specific IP address with the use of DNS servers to make sure that you are routed to the correct server. Domain names can be purchased under different TLDs, each country having its own TLD along side the international TLDs that you may be more familiar with such as .com and .net. Domain names are normally purchased from web hosting providers for example when you purchase a web hosting package, or alternatively directly from a domain registrar whose speciality it is to supply domain names to those who need them. Domain names can only be alphanumeric with the exception of a few symbols, but are better than the often confusing and numeric only format of IP addresses which domain names are designed to mask. Domain names can often be anything you like, just as long as your desired domain name hasn’t already been purchased by someone else; this means that you can take your business or brand online using the same name which can give you an extra source of income when it comes to selling your products or services to your target audience.

Although websites can be access using an IP address if they have their own dedicated IP address, a domain name is the best way to bring in more visitors to your website from the web in general as well as through other methods such as word of mouth. A domain name provides you with a name that you can customize to your liking, for example if you are wanting to setup a business website then you can easily use your business’s name as your domain; if you are an individual wanting a domain name then you can choose one of your liking, but in both cases it does depend on whether your desired domain is available for registration. Domain names should be simple but still to the point since in the end you will want to be able to give your domain out to people both face to face and via internet means of communications such as forums and blogs. The length of a domain can also play a large role in how memorable it is for those who may be returning visitors to your website.

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Domain

A domain name is what you enter into your web browser’s address bar when you want to visit a website if you are not entering the web server’s IP address. Domain names can be alphanumerical meaning that they can contain both letters and numbers as well as a few very limited symbols. Domain names are seen as an easy to allow people to visit websites since in most cases they are easily remembered when compared to their alternative, IP addresses. Those wishing to start their own websites can purchase a domain of their choice from a domain registrar for a fee, and can then move on to purchase web hosting services from a web hosting provider if they are unable to source their own method of website hosting. Domain names can normally be anything that you want them to be since there is no governing body to say that you aren’t able to have any specific domain; however, you may find that the governing body of the TLD that you want to purchase your domain name under may have specific restrictions in place on what you can name domains.

A domain is normally used in conjunction with a website hosting package so that you can use your domain to host a proper website under your account, and not just be stuck using the basic tools such as holding pages that accompany many basic domain registrations. A web hosting package is needed for the web hosting of websites small and large, meaning that if you purchase a domain with the intent of hosting any form of website then a web hosting package is a necessary add-on. Most web hosting providers double up as domain registrars and vice versa which is the main reason for many professional web hosting companies offering a free domain with their website hosting packages. On the other hand, there are companies that are solely domain registrars who in most cases are able to offer you a more dedicated domain support service when compare to a web hosting provider selling domains who solely focuses on its web hosting packages and customers.

Domain hosting customers are normally provided with access to a web hosting control panel so that they are able to manage the web hosting package that they have purchased for their new domain that has just been registered. For example, if you choose a Linux domain hosting package then you will probably find that you are provided with access to the cPanel control panel to enable you to manage your domain hosting package with ease. If you have decided to purchase a Windows domain hosting package then you will probably be provided with access to the Plesk control panel so that you are able to manage the different aspects of your domain hosting package. Hosting control panels are important for those with a domain since they want to be able to control the different aspects of their web hosting account using a web based interface that they are able to access as they need. At the end of the day, a domain is more or less useless if you don’t have a website prepared or hosted for it since there won’t be any content for you to show off to your domain visitors.

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Domain Name Web Hosting

A domain name is the name you use when you enter a web address so that you can visit a website; a typical example of a domain name would be ‘example.com’. In order for any domain to work, web hosting is needed so that the DNS for the domain is able to resolve and so that there is a server where the domain owner can upload web pages for their domain. In basic terms, domain name web hosting allows you to host your website and all other services needed to ensure that your domain functions correctly under one easily managed domain name web hosting account.
Domain name web hosting comes with a control panel in most cases, which allows you to manage any part of your domain name web hosting account with ease. The two main control panels in the market for domain name web hosting are cPanel for Linux hosting, and Plesk for Windows hosting; however, your web hosting provider may use their own control panel system on their servers which may be different from Plesk or cPanel. If you are after domain specific hosting, then both allow you to manage just the core services of your account such as DNS hosting and mail forwarding, if it is part of your account.

If you want physical web hosting for your domain name, then hosting can come in two forms, dependent on the web host of course: Linux and Windows. Windows and Linux are two different operating systems, and Linux itself has many subsidiaries meaning that it can come in many different forms; each different form of Linux is known as a ‘distribution’, the most popular of which in the web hosting world are CentOS and Ubuntu. Other examples of Linux distribution include Gentoo, Slackware and Red Hat Enterprise Linux. Microsoft Window domain name web hosting mostly comes hosted on Windows 2003 Servers, although some hosts have started offering Windows Server 2008 web hosting.

Basic domain name web hosting normally just consists of an account that allows you basic DNS hosting, and in some case to setup email forwarders if you are just using the domain concerned temporarily. The main DNS server used in basic domain name web hosting and web hosting in general is called ‘Bind’ (Berkeley Internet Name Domain), which also better known as ‘named’ in some cases. Web hosts using Microsoft Windows might use the Microsoft equivalent in some cases, Microsoft Windows DNS Server, although there is a Windows version of Bind/named available for general use.

More advanced domain name web hosting accounts that actually allow the physical hosting of web pages normally allow the hosting of web pages and scripts developed using server side scripting languages with databases. This is where the choice of Linux and Windows domain name web hosting comes into play. If you have developed a website using PHP and MySQL, then you are normally able to choose between Windows and Linux web hosting, since both technologies are support by both hosting platforms. If you have developed your website using either classic ASP or ASP.NET with a Microsoft SQL Server database, then you can only choose Windows domain name web hosting because all are Microsoft technologies.

As with any type of web hosting, domain name web hosting accounts are hosted on a physical server to ensure reliability of your website and the other accounts that are hosted on the same server as you. If your website is very popular, then you may need to consider a VPS server or a dedicated server for your domain name hosting needs so that you don’t affect the performance of the hosting server, and in turn the other websites hosted alongside you.

A VPS hosting server is a cheaper solution than a dedicated server, and provides you with guaranteed resources and a dedicated environment for your use only. However, you are still sharing the main physical hosting servers with other users which means that you can be affected by their actions, and vice versa.

A dedicated server is normally the most expensive type of web hosting that is available to the general consumer. However, unlike any other type of domain name web hosting, it provides you with the best reliability since you are not sharing the server resources with anybody else unless you wish to. Dedicated servers are also physical servers unlike any other forms of web hosting, which on the whole are virtual.

Domain name web hosting is something that can be very basic, up to something that can get very complicated in the terms of a dedicated hosting server. Domain name web hosting is open to everyone, from those who just have the budget to purchase one domain name and want to host off the basic free hosting that may be free with the domain to those who have massive budgets and whole server farms to serve their domains.

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