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Archive for UK Web Hosting

Getting Started With VPS Hosting

VPS Hosting stands for Virtual Private Server hosting and is similar to a Dedicated Server but in a virtual environment; virtual servers are created on a physical hardware node which is shared with several other virtual servers. VPS are generally seen as the next step up from Reseller Hosting; they are also seen as the fill in between Reseller Hosting and Dedicated Server Hosting, VPS generally cost a lot less than any cheap dedicated server and just a little more than a standard reseller package. They allow for a reseller to have a lot more freedom than is possible on a standard reseller package because they are given their own dedicated environment in which they can install any software of their liking; they also have the ability to implement any custom server configurations which they feel will suit their needs. For many the step up from standard reseller hosting to VPS Hosting is a big one; the factor of server administration is seen to be the cause of this, because reseller hosts are used to the host taking care of the shared server, but now that they have their own dedicated environment the server administration is up to them.

Where to Start

The first thing most people do when they receive their VPS is make it secure against hackers and virus writers alike; an insecure VPS is a hackers playground since they could be able to install a rootkit on your VPS meaning that they would be able to gather data from it and run malicious applications in the background without you knowing. Once you have secured your VPS you are then able to go on to customizing it. Customizing your VPS to suit your requirements can be a tricky task since there are so many different tasks which you could use your VPS for, simply because it is a dedicated environment which you have full access to.

Customizing Your VPS

Since you have full root access to your VPS, and also because it’s in its own dedicated environment, you are able to install any software that you want; this could be to your advantage since it allows you to create your website or application around your VPS for maximum flexibility. Since you are able to install what you want, you are open to a new world of possibilities of what you could do with your VPS which you would be unable to achieve on standard shared hosting; for example, you could install a component such as FFMpeg and run a YouTube clone on your VPS - that is something which would be impossible on shared hosting unless FFMpeg was installed and it is a rare to find a host which does have it installed within a shared environment. You could simply just use your VPS as a backup server where you can keep copies of important documents and other files; this is a move which is becoming increasingly popular because of the increasing importance of having backups in several different physical locations.

Control Panels and Selling Hosting
If your VPS has a web hosting control panel then you can use it to sell hosting off to customers; this move as well is becoming increasingly popular because of the falling price of both VPS and control panels. Most VPS come with either Plesk, cPanel or DirectAdmin control panels, all of which allow reselling and allow for customers to be able to manage their own sites and accounts. For more information on getting started with control panels and reselling hosting, take a look at this post.

Conclusion

With a VPS, you are open to a whole world of new possibilities and ideas that you could achieve since they would most likely not be possible on standard shared hosting because of restrictions. For example, you could use your VPS to resell web hosting which could give you a nice profit on top of what you are likely earning already.

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Advantages and Disadvantages of Reseller Hosting

Advantages and Disadvantages of Reseller Hosting

If you are a small web host utilizing the services of another web host, or are a website designer who is also hosting their clients websites, then you will most likely have a reseller hosting package to enable you to do this; the basic concept of reseller website hosting is to allow you to setup your own web hosting packages which you can then apply to new domains, allowing you to host multiple websites each with their own client accounts under one, easily manageable website hosting account. Reseller website hosting is a form of shared website hosting, since the server on which you and your client websites are being hosted is most likely shared with other reseller hosting accounts, and in some situations might also be shared with standard shared website hosting accounts; this means that the reliability of standard reseller hosting in some cases is similar or the same to that of standard shared website hosting, meaning that if you are upgrading from shared website hosting to reseller hosting, you might not notice an increase in performance or reliability, especially if you are staying with the same web host.

However, reseller hosting accounts are normally quite feature rich since they are hosted on shared hosting servers, allowing you to provide your hosting clients with choice as to what they want to do with their domain and hosting account, and to also allow them to administrate their website and domain in ways which might not have been possible previously; this means that you can advertise your hosting accounts with more features, making them more attractive to people who are new to the world of website hosting, and are looking for the best value for money package that they can find. Feature rich web hosting packages are what people look for, so by supplying your clients with web hosting packages that have more features than any other web hosts provide, people looking for hosting in general will be more tempted towards your hosting products, since they will be able to see that you are providing more features than other web hosting companies; as mentioned previously, it is value for money at the end of the day which people look for, and you are fulfilling this criteria by providing feature packed website hosting packages.

Reseller hosting is idea for those who want to get started within the web hosting market, since the cost and flexibility of it allows you to seamlessly expand your business without the extra need or cost of VPS or dedicated servers to fulfill the requests of your clients; this is because most reseller hosting accounts are hosted on high specification web hosting servers, meaning that your clients will experience the utmost reliability, and at the same time you can expand your business via the means of upgrading your reseller account to a higher level one - this means that the costs will be far less than if you were to purchase a VPS or dedicated server to help your business expand.

By starting off on a reseller hosting package, you are able to ensure that you are only paying for what you need, since you won’t need anything near the resources provided by VPS and dedicated servers if you are starting out in the web hosting business - this also means that you are able to receive support for your account which might not be possible on higher end accounts, since it might be taken for granted that you have the necessary knowledge; you can also gradually expand your business on standard reseller web hosting by upgrading your package, and when the time comes for it you can easily upgrade to a VPS or dedicated server.

With a reseller package, you have complete control over the packages that you create for your clients including what features are included with each package, you also have the ability to effectively manage all the accounts that you are hosting underneath your reseller account; all these put together means that you can easily manage your reseller hosting account, much in the way that you would be able to with a VPS or dedicated server - albeit at a fraction of the cost of both, meaning that you are getting value for money with your reseller website hosting account.

Advantages of Reseller Hosting

Reseller hosting provides both beginners who want to start their own website hosting business as well as professionals who have experience with web hosting many different advantages, meaning that it is a type of web hosting which is made for use by almost anyone. The fact that reseller hosting is cheaper than both VPS and dedicated servers, but provides resellers with the same types of features means that it is a cheaper alternative to those who want to host multiple websites under one website hosting account, so that they can easily manage them.

Cost

As mentioned previously, reseller hosting packages are the perfect solution for those who wish to host multiple websites under one account so that they can be managed easily, since they are cheaper than both VPS and dedicated servers that provides web hosting resellers with more or less the same features, meaning that there isn’t much difference between the two.

Although reseller hosting accounts are normally hosted on shared website hosting servers with shared website hosting accounts as well as other reseller hosting accounts, the servers themselves are normally of high specification meaning that your websites should still be reliable even though they are hosted within a shared website hosting environment; this means that if you are wanting reliability but are unable to afford a VPS or dedicated server which you can mange yourself, you can still take out a standard reseller hosting account since the reliability that you will experience will be similar if not better to that which is provided by VPS and dedicated servers.

If you have a budget that allows you to purchase a small and reasonably specified VPS server, then you will most likely be able to purchase a high specification reseller hosting plan that should allow you to host many if not unlimited websites; although some web hosts may advertise the ability to host an unlimited number of websites, you are still limited by the amount of disk space and bandwidth that you have assigned to your reseller hosting account for you to then assign to your own hosting clients.

The cost of a standard reseller hosting plan also covers support, which means that if you face any type of problem whether it be linked to the server on which you are hosted, or with one of your websites, you should be able to receive support when you need to ensure that your websites are always up and accessible as to ensure that your clients are happy with the service that you are providing them yourself - e.g. if you have a problem with a script on your website, then your web host might be able to help you to sort that problem so that you are able to run the script or web page concerned without any problems.

With the ability to control and create your own web hosting packages, you are able to create your own marketable packages based around the features and specifications that you would like to offer to customers, as well as how many clients that you are able to host under your standard reseller hosting account; the number of clients that you are able to host under your accounts is in relation to your packages since you are limited by the amount of disk space and bandwidth that you have assigned to your reseller hosting account. So, if you have a budget which will allow you to purchase a small VPS then you should also be able to purchase a reasonably specified reseller hosting account which should fulfill your needs both practically and reliability wise for the long term when compared to a small or unreasonably specified VPS or dedicated server.

Support

Support with a standard reseller hosting account is better and much more openly available you might find than with a VPS or dedicated server, meaning that if you are new to the concept of web hosting or reseller hosting then it would be wise to purchase a reseller hosting package before upgrading to something more professional such as a VPS or dedicated server.

With VPS and dedicated servers, hosting companies take it for granted that you have the appropriate knowledge to enable you to effectively manage and administrate a VPS or dedicated server effectively, since you have knowingly taken out a plan which requires you to have a certain amount of knowledge to allow you to manage your server without any help from your web host; in the case of standard reseller hosting, your account is hosted on a shared hosting server with other reseller hosting account and shared hosting accounts alongside yours meaning that the level of support that you receive should be better, since your web host will want to make sure that the server on which you are hosted is running normally and that no accounts are affecting the server’s performance.

Unlike a VPS or dedicated server, the administration of the server on which your reseller account will be hosted should be taken care of by the support team of your web host, meaning that it should be much more secure and up to date in terms of the software being used than a VPS or dedicated server would be; on the other hand, the administration of a VPS or dedicated server is left down to you, since your web host will take it for granted that you have the necessary knowledge needed in order to ensure that your server is up to date and secure that all times from any type of external threat such as a malicious attacker, i.e. a hacker. If you don’t have the necessary knowledge to aid you in the administration of a VPS or dedicated server, you should consider taking out a reseller hosting account since you will then be able to ensure that you have a guaranteed ‘cushion’ of support to aid you in times when you might need some sort of help with your reseller hosting account; with a VPS or dedicated server, you will in some cases have that ‘cushion’ of support that you are able to use in the situation that you need to desperately do something to your server, but might not be able to because you don’t have the necessary knowledge or your server is restricting you from carry out the required actions on your behalf.

In some cases, you might purchase a reseller account with a web host that doesn’t provide resellers with any support beyond the actual server itself, meaning that if you have some sort of problem with your account and not the server you are on, you won’t be able to receive any support from the web host that you have purchased your reseller account from; this also means that if you have any other queries regarding your reseller account, you might not be able to get them answered - this means that this type of reseller account isn’t right for those who don’t have much knowledge about web hosting in general.

Disadvantages of Reseller Hosting

Although reseller website hosting accounts might seem like the perfect website hosting solution for some, for others they might not be and might prove to provide disadvantages for those people who aren’t suited towards a standard reseller website hosting account. For example, those who wish to host many sites that are resource intensive might not find that reseller website hosting is for them, since many web hosts don’t take kindly to users who are hosting resource hogging websites since it slows down the server in general, which can leave other customers unhappy since they aren’t able to load their own websites at a respectable speed - in this case a web host would most likely suspend your reseller hosting account.

Sharing the Server With Others

One of the main disadvantages of reseller website hosting is that you have to share the hosting server with others, including standard shared website hosting accounts and other reseller website hosting accounts; this means that the websites which you host under your standard reseller website hosting account have the ability to be affected by these other websites, which could result in slow loading times and websites not loading at all, meaning that if the websites which you are hosting are commercial ones, they could lose trade if they are not available or accessible.

If resource intensive websites are being hosted on the same server as your reseller hosting account, you might notice that the server itself is being slow which might occur to you as a slow loading website, or you might not be able to carry out certain tasks through the control panel that you have been provided to manage your reseller account, since there just aren’t enough server resources for the requested task to be carried out; in this case you should contact the support team at your web host, so that they are able to suspend the resource intensive accounts and so that the issue can be sorted out quickly and easily, so that you are affected as little as possible.

Shared and reseller website hosting servers are open to abuse, since most hosts setup both types of web hosting account on the same servers, meaning that if a rogue shared website hosting account destined for spamming, the performance of all the websites that are hosted on the server concerned will be compromised, and the spammer will most likely go over his bandwidth limit as well which could have an adverse affect on the server and the websites that it hosts; also, if a hosting account on a server happens to host a compromised server side script, then the security of the entire server and all the websites that it hosts could be compromised - if you are hosting multiple websites, this is not something that you want since your reputation within the hosting business is also something that could be damaged.

In the case that you are affected by other users that are hosted on the same web hosting server as you, you should consider asking your web host to move you to another server which isn’t affected and is still reliable with the service that it provides, since you don’t want your websites to be down for too long since this could also have an adverse affect on you and your business if your clients are unhappy with the service that they are receiving; if this fails then you should consider moving to a VPS or dedicated server, or even another web host just as long as you aren’t being affected by the actions of others, and that your websites are all online and running smoothly. If you want your websites to have the utmost reliability, then you should consider moving to a VPS or dedicated server, since in a dedicated environment it is more or less impossible for your server and websites to be affected by the actions of others, since you aren’t sharing the server with others as you are with standard reseller web hosting.

Server Flexibility

Unlike VPS and dedicated server hosting, you don’t have flexibility with reseller hosting since as mentioned previously, you are sharing the hosting server with others which can in turn affect the performance of your websites overall. With reseller hosting, you don’t have the greatest flexibility since you don’t have access to the main hosting server which means that you aren’t able to customize the server to work in the way that you want it to, it also means that you are unable to install any programs of your choice which might aid any websites which you want to host; for example, a website that you are creating might need the use of a certain server side component, with a standard reseller hosting account you wouldn’t be able to install that component if it isn’t part of the server configuration, meaning that you would have to upgrade to a VPS or dedicated server in order to be able to install the component that you need to make the website that you are creating function correctly.

Also, with no access to the main server, if any problems come up with the main server that aren’t fixed then you aren’t able to login to the main server in order to fix them yourself, which in most cases can cause distress to some, especially with those web hosts who take their time to fix things since this can have an adverse business affect for those who are hosted on the server concerned; in this case you should request to be moved to another server so that you aren’t being affected, or upgrade to a VPS or dedicated server that you can manage yourself.

Conclusion

In conclusion, if you want to host many websites and want reliability then reseller website hosting is the right type of web hosting for you, just as long as you take out a reseller hosting package with a host that had a good reputation for uptime and reliability, amongst other factors that you should always consider when looking for a reseller host; this is because reseller website hosting can be more reliable than higher end solutions such as VPS and dedicated servers, although this is mainly dependent on the specification of the server that your account is hosted on as well as the specification of the VPS or dedicated server to which it is being compared.

If you run your own small web hosting business, then reseller hosting might also be the right type of hosting for you as it might also be for people who do web design but also host their creations for their clients in some situations, since the support provided for standard reseller hosting should be more than suitable for people in these kind of situations; this means that if you experience any kind of problem with your reseller hosting account, you should be able to receive an acceptable level of support and service from your web host to ensure that the problem concerned can be solved quickly and efficiently to ensure that yourself and other people hosted on the same server as you are not directly affect for too long an amount of time. So, if you want to host multiple websites but don’t have the biggest of budgets and also think that a VPS or dedicated server might be a bit too advance for your current needs, then you might find that reseller website hosting is the right type of website hosting for you!

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Using ASP.NET Enterprise Manager

Using ASP.NET Enterprise Manager

ASP.NET Enterpise Manager is a web based database management system designed specifically for the management of Microsoft SQL databases through a web browser, without the need for any desktop database management systems such as Microsoft’s SQL Server Management Studio. ASP.NET Enterprise Manager is included as default with an installation of Plesk for Windows, meaning that if you are a customer who uses Plesk based Windows hosting, you will most likely have used ASP.NET Enterprise Manager at least once to manage a Microsoft SQL database that you have hosted under your web hosting account. The ASP.NET Enterprise Manager application itself is an open source one meaning that if you run your own stand alone Microsoft SQL database server, you have the ability to install this program on your server so that you can remotely manage your databases from any internet connected location in the world, just so long as you have access to a web browser.

The application is based on the Microsoft ASP.NET programming framework, which along with Microsoft SQL Server itself makes a very good combination of tools for developers who wish to build their websites and applications to run in a Windows based hosting environment. The main functions of ASP.NET Enterprise Manager are similar to those of PHPMyAdmin, which is a similar application designed for the administration of MySQL databases from a web browser; this means that if you are a multilingual developer who likes to develop using both MySQL and PHP along with ASP.NET and MSSQL then you will have no problems with managing the databases that you have created for your websites and applications through your web browser, although you might also be using a desktop database management system - although that is dependent on your requirements. In a Plesk environment, using ASP.NET Enterprise Manager is fairly easy since it will already have been setup for you by your web host, and Plesk makes it a breeze to launch since all you have to do is select the necessary web admin icon which should be located next to the database name on the database management screen, although this will be discussed at a later stage.

ASP.NET Enterprise Manager has only been designed for the web based management of Microsoft SQL databases, which is indicated by its name; it is because of this reason that it can only be run in Windows based web hosting environments since other operating systems such as Linux aren’t able to run ASP.NET based web pages or scripts for the main reason that ASP.NET is a Microsoft application, thus meaning that it can only be run on Microsoft operating systems. If you do want to setup your own installation of ASP.NET Enterprise Manager in order to manage your stand alone Microsoft SQL database server, then it is easy to setup since all you have to do is upload the necessary files and configure the necessary permissions; once thats done all you need to do is configure the application to work with your databases, and you can then start administrating and managing them from the comfort of your web browser from any internet connected location in the world, giving you freedom as to where you can manage them. The actual layout and structure of the ASP.NET Enterprise Manager application is based around and is similar to that of Microsoft’s desktop MSSQL database management application, which means that if you are used to using the desktop version then you will have no problems adjusting to the new web based interface that you will be provided with once you have it up and running.

Since the application is an open source one, there is no official line of support available for it; this means that if you are looking to install it yourself but don’t feel that you have the appropriate amount of knowledge, you should try and avoid doing so since you could end up damaging the server in which you want to set the application up - in this case you should just stick with using Microsoft’s desktop application to manage your Microsoft SQL databases that you have created and are using within your web hosting environment. If you feel that you need certain help with one specific feature of the ASP.NET Enterprise Manager, then your web host should be more than willing to help you out; if they are unable to, then you should consider looking at the manual for Plesk in the case that you are hosted on a Plesk based Windows hosting server.

Launching ASP.NET Enterprise Manager From Plesk Control Panel

Plesk provides ASP.NET Enterprise Manager as standard with the Windows version of its control panel to allow people who are using the control panel to manage and host their websites which need to be hosted within a Windows based hosting environment to manage their Microsoft SQL databases on the fly that they might need to power the backends of their websites or applications that are based on either the classic ASP or ASP.NET programming frameworks, both of which were produced by Microsoft. Launching ASP.NET Enterprise Manager from Plesk is a relatively easy task; to begin with, you will need to select the ‘databases’ icon from the hosting control panel for the domain that contains the database that you want to administrate:

You will then be presented with the following screen:

You will need to scroll down to the database management section, where several different details of the databases that you have created for the domain concerned are displayed; these different details are:

  • type (circled red) - this is the system that the database concerned is based on, for example if you have created a MySQL database then you will see a dolphin symbol listed in this column and a smaller icon labeled ‘SQL’ if you have created a database that is based on the Microsoft SQL server database system
  • name (circled green) - this is the name that you have chosen to give the database concerned, you will need to specify the database name for example in a dynamic web page or script that has been written in a scripting language such as PHP to enable the script or web page to interact with the database
  • database server (circled blue) - this is the server on which your database is hosted, in most cases this will be the local server on which your entire web hosting account is located, meaning that interactivity between your scripts and databases should be easily achieved
  • web admin (circled purple) - if you select the icon in this column then it will take you to the web based management panel for the type of database that you have select - PHPMyAdmin will be launched if its a MySQL database and ASP.NET Enterprise Manager will be launched if the chosen database is a Microsoft SQL based one.

In order to launch ASP.NET Enterprise Manager so that you are able to administrate a Microsoft SQL based database, you will need to find a database that has the Microsoft SQL symbol by it (see above); you will need to then select the web admin icon for the database concerned. This should then load ASP.NET Enterprise Manager for you, where you can then start to administrate the database that you have decided to load ASP.NET Enterprise Manager for.

As you have just seen, launching the ASP.NET Enterprise Manager from Plesk is a very simple task, which means that you can easily manage your databases from anywhere in the world as long as you have the internet; you will also need to make sure that you are able load Plesk from the location that you’re at first, since Plesk runs on an unfamiliar port for most routers which means that it might be blocked and won’t allow you to access it.

The ASP.NET Enterprise Manager Homepage

Once you have launched ASP.NET Enterprise Manager for the Microsoft SQL Server database the you want to administrate, you will need to select the appropriate database from the left hand pane so that you can start managing the different aspects of it:

You will then be taken to a page where you can choose to manage one of four different aspects related to the running of your MSSQL database:

  • tables (circled red) - tables are the things that hold the fields for your database, and what will eventually contain the individual records for each different database entry, although in some situations you might only need to have one record dependent on what you want to use the actual database or table for
  • views (circled green) - these are different factors that are related to the running of your database, unless you are an advanced user you will not need to touch these since they could effectively corrupt your database is not dealt with correctly
  • users (circled blue) - you will need to setup user accounts for your database so that it can be accessed by your scripts and web pages that have been built using either the classic ASP or ASP.NET programming frameworks, both of which have been designed and produced by Microsoft
  • stored procedures (circled purple) - these are designed to make dynamic web pages built using either the classic ASP or ASP.NET programming frameworks load faster, since they work in a way that allows the actual needed SQL query to be stored and then loaded when requested by either a dynamic web page or script.

It is evident that ASP.NET Enterprise Manager provides you with many tools that you can use to manage your MSSQL databases through your web browser. The functions that are provided are almost as powerful as those that are provided by Microsoft’s desktop database management system, although if you are a more professional user you will probably be using the desktop management program because of the extended features that it provides.

With the different factors that ASP.NET Enterprise Manager is able to provide you with, you are able to make sure that you can effectively manage and configure your database to work in the way that you want it to on the fly through your web browser using the web based control panel that you have been provided with by ASP.NET Enterprise Manager.

Creating a New Table

Whilst managing your MSSQL database, you will probably be wanting to create new table so that you can easily expand the functions of your ASP.NET or classic ASP based website or application, which can be easily done if you know what sort of functions you want to add to your website and that you know how to use a database in conjunction with it. In order to create a new table, you will first need to select the icon labeled ‘tables’ from the ASP.NET Enterprise Manager homepage for the database that you want to create the table for:

You will then need to select the ‘new table’ option which is located under the ‘tables’ option within the left hand panel of ASP.NET Enterprise Manager:

You will then be prompted to enter the following details:

  • table name (circled red) - you will need to give your new table an identifiable name, this is because you will most likely want to be able to access it from your classic ASP or ASP.NET based web pages or scripts, and in order to do this you need to ensure that your table’s name is easily identifiable
  • columns/fields (circled green) - you might want to take this chance to create the necessary fields which you might want to ensure that you are able to store the necessary details within your table and database - although creating a proper field will be discussed later on.

Once you click ’save table’ you should then be redirected to a page which should hopefully tell you that your table has been successfully created. Once you have created your table, you can then go on to the creation of fields so that you are able to organise the data that you have stored in your new table effectively, thus allowing you to edit or delete an existing database record if you feel the need to if it happens to be fraudulent - i.e. entered in by a spammer or some sort of malicious program that has managed to gain access to your database.

Conclusion

In conclusion, ASP.NET Enterprise Manager provides you with many features that you can use to effectively manage your MSSQL databases whilst on the fly, since you can easily view and manage your database and its contents through your web browser from any internet connected location, allowing you to manage your databases from anywhere in the world - whether it be on the top of Mount Everest using a mobile phone or on a boat in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean! ASP.NET Enterprise Manager’s integration with the Plesk control panel allows you to create your databases from within the Plesk control panel, and then edit and manage them through the ASP.NET Enterprise Manager meaning that you can easily create your databases on the fly as well, meaning that you can easily expand your website whilst you are on the move from any internet connected location in the world.

As mentioned previously, ASP.NET and Microsoft SQL databases make a good combination for developers who wish to build websites and applications that they want to host within a Microsoft Windows based hosting environment. Although both programs will only run on the Windows operating system, they are both freely available for use meaning that resources to help you to learn the different features of both are widely available for viewing and download. You will however require a Windows Server or Windows XP Pro license in order to have the IIS web server if you want use Microsoft SQL server and ASP.NET on your own dedicated server; these aren’t needed in a shared hosting environment since your web host will have purchased the Windows server license for the server on which you are hosted, thus meaning that you don’t have to worry about any sort of licensing costs unless you want to purchase a commercial application for use within your website.

You can download the free Microsoft Visual Web Developer from http://asp.net/ if you wish to learn and use ASP.NET and Microsoft SQL server but don’t have the funds to spend on a more professional program such as Microsoft Visual Studio. If you feel that you have the necessary knowledge and don’t require any sort of WYSIWYG editor or an editor which gives you hints and tips with your coding, then you can stick with the Notepad program that is included with Windows as standard - if you feel that this is too basic then you can always give jEdit a try. If you wish to view material related to teaching you ASP.NET and Microsoft SQL server then you can take a look at http://asp.net/ in general, since this site contains many different video tutorials with the main aim of teaching novices these two powerful programs in order to breed a new generation of knowledgeable programmers.

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Advantages of Dedicated Hosting.

Dedicated Hosting reduces your need to share hardware or software with other websites on a server. Users get the option to install which software they want and also provides secure environment for their site. If you compare shared hosting with a dedicated environment, Dedicated Hosting offers more reliability on a server in a much secured manner.

One of the drawbacks in dedicated hosting is the cost of the server but it’s declining day by day. There is a continuous growth in the Dedicated hosting industry as a result the rates of the servers declining. This is mainly due to the increase in the online presence of small and mid-sized businesses which has increased the level of service and same way decreased the costs of server

*Control and Reliability - Major Assets of Dedicated Server

-Since the user has more control over a Dedicated server it is more secured as compared to shared web server. The user is able to make changes and updates on software installed on a server as he has full root access to the dedicated web server. This helps to run a server smoothly in its most optimal configuration.

-Reliability is the another most important asset of Dedicated Server Hosting. The user is able to optimize page loads by means of page load speed and allocation of resources on server.This leads to customer satisfaction which also increases the goals of website’s presence.

Dedicated Server Hosting by eUKhost

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Dedicated Servers

Whenever you go for Web Hosting there are always two things you should have in mind; going for a shared server or a dedicated box. The best thing in Dedicated Hosting is that you get a entire server and network connection to yourself. Dedicated Servers are a bit more expensive than a shared server and require a lot of technical skills to operate. However in the case of a shared server, if the server is down for a day or two then there is a loss for the business. Then in this case there is a serious need for a dedicated server.
Dedicated Servers is the best option for managing and planning for traffic level. It also helps in management of other events that may affect server response times. A Dedicated Server enables you to install advanced, customized ecommerce and database applications on a server. Considering the traffic of a site, with a shared server you will not have to upgrade the hard drive, RAM processors, platform or software applications yourself. This is all possible only with a dedicated server.

The information on a shared server is less secure than a dedicated server. A Dedicated Server can be provided with its own firewall. If the website has highly sensitive information which needs to be protected then for the purpose of internet security a Dedicated server is highly recommended.eUKhost offers the Best Dedicated Servers in one of the best datacenters in the world. Have a look at it-

Linux Dedicated Servers

Windows Dedicated Servers

The best Dedicated Servers provider in UK.

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Using PHPMyAdmin

Using PHPMyAdmin MySQL Database Manager

PHPMyAdmin is the third party web based MySQL database management panel that is provided and installed as standard with both the cPanel and Plesk control panels, and in the case with Plesk it is provided with both versions (Linux and Windows); if you run your own server without a control panel, then it is also available for download and manual installation since it is open source software meaning that anyone is able to download it for use as many times and on as many machines as they want. With the use of PHPMyAdmin, you are able to manage any databases that you have created from either your cPanel or Plesk web hosting account on the fly, since it is an application that is accessible from your control panel’s homepage and can be used through your web browser, which means that you are able to manage your databases from any internet connected location where you are able to use a computer that has a web browser installed on it.

The main features of PHPMyAdmin allow you to create new tables in your database, as well as to edit and delete others which you have created previously in your database; you can also view and modify the data that has been entered into each individual table, which means that you can easily delete a row for example if you think it might be a fraudulent sign up, in the case that you are running an online shop or some sort of membership system for your website or online community. If you have decided to go with your own install of PHPMyAdmin on your control panel-less server, then you are also given the ability to create new databases on the fly through the system if you are logged into it as the server administrator, or if you are running it on a Linux machine - ‘root’; this makes PHPMyAdmin an all in one solution for someone who wants to be able to manage their stand-alone MySQL databases server on the fly without having to use a desktop database management system.

With the use of PHPMyAdmin in conjunction with a hosting control panel, such as cPanel or Plesk, you are able to manage all the MySQL databases that you have created without the need to open a new window or new program session each time you want to administer a different database; this means that if you are wanting to mange multiple databases that you have created for different purposes throughout your website, you are able to do so without having to use a complicated desktop database management system that might not even let you administer multiple databases, forcing you to open a new session to the server that you are wanting to use each time you want to manage a different databases, even if all the databases that you want to manage are hosted on the same server.

If you are using a control panel in conjunction with PHPMyAdmin, then you will not be able to use it to create new databases for your hosting account, since it is a limit that most web hosts choose to put on the web based administration program since it easily allows customers to create more databases than they are allowed to limited by the amount that has been assigned to their web hosting account; in this case you will have to use your web hosting control panel to add, edit and delete MySQL databases for your web hosting account.

In most cases, you will be using PHPMyAdmin to manage MySQL databases that you have created to be used in conjunction with your PHP based website or application that you are hosting within your web hosting account, which in most cases should be either Plesk or cPanel based to give you the most functionality; this is because PHP and MySQL are known to be the best combination when it comes to databases and scripting languages, since both are open source and can run on either the Linux operating system or on Windows based systems, meaning that PHP and MySQL based websites and applications can be hosted in almost any environment - other combinations are only able to run in certain environments, for example MSSQL and ASP.NET based applications will only run on Windows based servers.

As previously mentioned, MySQL is a database technology that is commonly used in conjunction with the PHP server side scripting language to give developers maximum flexibility when it comes to building their websites and what functionality they are able to achieve with the use of MySQL as the database engine to drive the backends of their websites and projects.

Launching PHPMyAdmin From cPanel

PHPMyAdmin comes installed as default with any cPanel installation, meaning that once you have cPanel installed and configured correctly, you can quickly and easily setup a web hosting account and start adding the databases that you want or need; once you have done that, you can then start using PHPMyAdmin to administer your MySQL databases. Launching PHPMyAdmin from cPanel is a relatively easy task, and is one that can be carried out from any internet connected location, just so long that you can access cPanel from the web browser that you are using; in order to launch PHPMyAdmin from cPanel, you will need to select the icon labeled ‘PHPMyAdmin’ from the ‘databases’ section of cPanel:


One thing to note is that through PHPMyAdmin in cPanel, you are able to administer all the MySQL databases that you have created under your web hosting account, meaning that you don’t have to launch a new window of PHPMyAdmin each time you want to administer a different MySQL database that you have under your web hosting account. Once you have selected the appropriate icon, you should be directed to a page notifying you that PHPMyAdmin is loading, then after that to the PHPMyAdmin homepage:

Launching PHPMyAdmin From Plesk

PHPMyAdmin is also available with both the Linux and Windows versions of the Plesk control panel to allow you to manage any MySQL databases that you have created or want to create within your Plesk based website hosting account; this means that you are able to host your PHP based website or application in a Windows or Linux based environment just so long as the Plesk control panel is installed and that the web server has been appropriately configured to allow this. In order to launch PHPMyAdmin for a MySQL database that you have created through Plesk, you will first need to select the ‘databases’ icon from the hosting control panel for the domain that you want to manage the database for:


You will then be presented with a list of databases that you have previously created in your Plesk website hosting account, the following features are displayed along with the databases name:

  • database type (circled red) - this is shown as an image: if the database is a MySQL database then a dolphin will appear in the column concerned, and if it is a Microsoft SQL database then the Microsoft Windows logo will be displayed within this column
  • name (circled green) - this is the name of the actual database which you chosen when you were creating it, this is the name that you will need to use in your server side scripts if you are wanting to use them in conjunction with a database that you have created
  • server (circled blue) - this is the server that the database is hosted on, in most cases this is the local server on which your website is hosted, although the name of the external database hosting server will be displayed if different
  • web admin (circled purple) - if you click on the image in this column, it will load the necessary web administration panel for the database that you have selected it for.


In order to launch PHPMyAdmin for a MySQL database that you have hosted within your website hosting account, you will need to select the web administration icon for a MySQL database that you have hosted within your web hosting account; PHPMyAdmin should then load for the database that you have selected to administrate. One thing to note is that unlike the cPanel version of PHPMyAdmin, the Plesk version will only administer one database at a time meaning that you will have to go back to the Plesk control panel and launch a new session of PHPMyAdmin for each individual database that you want to administer.

The PHPMyAdmin Homepage

Once you have launched PHPMyAdmin from either Plesk or cPanel, you should be taken to the homepage where you can then start to administer the database or databases concerned, with ease. PHPMyAdmin is able to provide you with many different details about the server on which you are hosted, and specifically the MySQL installation that is hosted on the same server as your website, these details might be needed when you are developing your PHP based website or application; the main details that the PHPMyAdmin homepage is able to provide you with include:

  • MySQL server version (circled red) - this piece of information is important when developing PHP based websites and applications, since newer versions of PHP might not be compatible with older versions of MySQL and newer versions of MySQL might notbe compatible with older versions of PHP, which is normally the case in most situations
  • server and username (circled green) - these two pieces of information are important since you will need them when developing server side PHP based scripts and applications which are going to be utilizing the MySQL database that you are administrating - the server name is the server on which the database is hosted, and the username is what you will need to gain access to the database concerned along with the password that you have specified for the username
  • MySQL character set (circled blue) - this piece of information might be important to you when you are developing language related applications, which might be using a range of different languages and characters.


If you have decided to go with a stand-alone MySQL server with a manual PHPMyAdmin installation, then you will also be given the ability to create new MySQL databases through the PHPMyAdmin control panel, although this isn’t possible if you are using a cPanel or Plesk installation meaning that you will have to use your hosting control panel if you want to create new databases for use with your dynamic websites or applications. Links are also provided on the homepage to take you to different parts of the control panel to allow you to manage and administer different features of your MySQL databases, these will be discussed further on.

Administrating a Database

To administrate a MySQL database that you have hosted within your web hosting account, you will need to select one that you have created from within PHPMyAdmin. You will see that all the MySQL databases you have created under your hosting account are listed down on the left hand side of PHPMyAdmin if you are using the cPanel version, and if you are using the Plesk version you should notice that the MySQL database that you have chosen to administrate is listed down on the left hand panel as well:


Once you have clicked on the name of the database that you want to administrate, you should be redirected to the following management page for the database that you want to administrate:


From the management page for the database that you have chosen to create, you are able to carry out the following actions to help administrate your MySQL database effectively:

  • create new tables - you will probably find that you will need to create new tables for your database every so often if you are looking to expand the functionality of your PHP based website or application, and new tables will be needed to hold the data so that the new parts of your website or application are able to function dynamically like the rest of the website or application
  • management of existing tables - if you already have tables created in the MySQL database that you are managing, then you are able to edit and delete them from the same screen where you can create them from - this means that you can manage your tables easily and effectively through your web browser with the help of PHPMyAdmin.

The above options are available under the ’structure’ tab of the database management panel, other available options include:

  • SQL (circled red) - you can use this part of the database management panel to execute SQL queries on your database, for example to create a mass of a new tables without doing it manually, or to do a lookup on your database so that you can search and pull up a specific record that you might have stored within your MySQL database
  • search (circled green) - you can use this feature of the database management panel to search through all the records which you have stored in your database, and pull up a specific one for modification or deletion if needed
  • query (circled blue) - this feature works in the same way as the SQL feature does, although it is much more manual an better for beginners since it allows you to specify the actual search parameters yourself, meaning that PHPMyAdmin will automatically create the necessary SQL query - basically it works in the same way but without the need for you to enter your own complete SQL query
  • export (circled purple) - the export feature of PHPMyAdmin creates a ‘dump’ of your database which is basically an SQL file which you can download and use as a backup of your database, meaning that if your database does happen to get deleted for any reason then all you have to do is run the SQL query contained within the dump file which will then automatically recreate your original database for you
  • import (circled yellow) - the import feature of PHPMyAdmin is the opposite to the export feature, meaning that it allows you to import any dumps that you have taken of your database.

Creating a New Table

As mentioned previously, you may want to be creating new tables for your database from time to time so that you are able expand the functionality of your PHP based website or application that is interacting with the MySQL database that you are currently managing through PHPMyAdmin. With expanded functionality, you might be able to bring in more visitors to your website if you are expanding it by increasing the number of services that you are able to provide your customers with, for example. In order to create a new table, you will first need to select the structures tab from the database management panel of the database that you are managing:


Once on the structure page, you will then need to scroll down to the section labeled ‘create a new table on database x’, and will need to enter the following details to aid in the creation of your new table:

  • name (circled red) - this is the name that you want to give your table, you should make the name relevant to what the table is going to be used for - i.e. you should call it ‘members’ if it is going to be holding information related to the members of your website
  • number of fields (circled green) - this is the number of different rows of data that you want your new table to have, a field is individual meaning that one field is dedicated to one piece of information i.e. a telephone number.


You will then be redirected to the management screen for the table that you have just created, where you will be able to create and manage the fields that you want your new table to contain and in order to help manage and organize the data that you want to store in your new MySQL database efficiently. You should create new tables for each different section of your website to help keep the stored data as segregated as possible to ensure maximum ease when administrating your MySQL database in the future. You should also use as many fields as possible to help keep the stored data segregated, just as you would with tables; if you keep your data organized then will be easier to view and find through the PHPMyAdmin MySQL database management system, and it will be much easier for your scripts and web pages to find the data that you want.

Creating a Field

Fields are the individual table rows in which MySQL stores your data, whether it be the data that you have entered into it through PHPMyAdmin or the data that has been added when visitors sign up to your website. Fields are needed to ensure that your database can be used properly, to store data; without fields in tables, data can’t be stored in your database since there isn’t any way that the data can be categorized and stored in the correct place as would be possible with the use of fields. In order to create a new field under the table that you have previously created, you will need to select a table from the ’structure’ tab of the management panel for the database that you are administrating; you will then be prompted to enter the following data in order to create a new field for the table concerned:

  • field (circled red) - this is the name that you want to give your new field, you should make the name relevant to the data that is going to be stored within it - you need to give a field a name since it needs to be identifiable so that it can be used in conjunction with your PHP based websites and applications
  • type (circled green) - this is the type of data that you are going to be storing in your new field - the two main types of data are varchar and int, a varchar being just regular words including numbers and int being short for ‘integer’ which in other words is a number which means that this would be the type if you are storing phone numbers under your new field
  • length/values (circled blue) - this is what you want to limit the length of the data in the field to - if you are going to be using your database in conjunction with a PHP based website or application then you needn’t worry about this option since you can use your own code in your scripts to limit the length of certain fields
  • null (circled purple) - if you choose to make the field null, then you are allowing for the field to be empty when used, meaning that you could end up having many blank fields - if you choose to make it not null then there will have to be data in the field for it to be entered into the MySQL database properly
  • extra/auto-increment (circled orange) - if you want to make this the primary field which will be the id field for each separate database record, then you might want to turn on auto increment to ensure that each individual record receives an individual id when it is created or entered into the MySQL database that you are managing
  • primary key (circled pink) - if you choose to make the field that you are creating the primary key field, then it will be the one which holds the individual key to identify each different record if needed, it is recommended that you make this field auto-increment as well to ensure that each record receives an individual id.


Once you click ‘create’, you should then be redirected to a page hopefully telling you that your new field has been successfully created and that you can start adding data using it. In most cases you are able to create as many different fields in your database tables as you want, although it is recommended that you only create the ones which you need, since too many can start to affect the performance of your database as well as MySQL in general. One thing to note is that every table needs a primary key field which should auto increment to ensure that each individual record which is created within the table receives a unique id so that they can easily distinguished between and sorted easily.

With the use of MySQL databases, you can easily expand the possibilities and functionality of your PHP based website or application since you are able to make use of the dynamics of having a database and using server side components to make the most out of your web hosting account. For example, you could start a membership system for your website to allow visitors to sign up and view premium content, and in this case a MySQL database would come in handy since you would need somewhere to centrally store the details of all the people who have signed up to your website.

Creating a Dump/Backup

You should regularly backup the contents of your database to ensure that if it does happen to get deleted or corrupted for some reason or another, you can easily restore it without experiencing too much unneeded downtime allowing you to get your website up and running again quicker than others who don’t have any sort of database backup might be able to. In most cases, the database is the centre or heart of your website and without it your website wouldn’t be able to run since all the website’s content is stored within it, and if your website has no content or is broken then you ight find your visitors going elsewhere - it is because of this that you should always take regular backups of your database to ensure that you don’t loose any website critical data or information that can’t get deleted. In order to create your dump/backup, you will first need to navigate to the ‘export’ tab of the database that you want to backup:


You will then be asked to select which tables you want to backup in the case that you are backing up an entire database, by default all the tables that your database contains are selected. You are given a number of different formats that your dump or backup can be downloaded as, some of these different formats being:

  • CSV - comma separated values - this is a common file format that is usable on almost any operating system because of its age, dating back to the early days of business computing - is normally used with tabular data, such as that which you are trying to backup from your MySQL database
  • CSV for MS Excel 2000 - comma separated values for Microsoft Excel 2000 - see above, the only difference being that this one is designed for use with Excel 2000
  • Microsoft Word 2000
  • PDF - portable document format - created by Adobe to allow easy exchange of documents, in most cases it is a read-only format meaning that you will be unable to modify the data contained within the backup
  • SQL - structured query language - this will create an SQL file which will contain the code which you can easily run as an SQL query on another database or on a new one if the database that you happen to be administrating gets deleted or lost for some reason or another - will restore all original data in seconds, although the timescale does depend on the amount of data being backed up or restored
  • XML - extensible markup language - this is normally used by developers since it allows them to specify and create their own tags when they are coding websites or applications - with a backup it utilizes custom tags to arrange the data efficiently within the file that you will be able to download.

Conclusion

In conclusion, PHPMyAdmin is a powerful third party web based database administration tool that will allow you to effectively manage all of your MySQL databases with ease from any internet connected location in the world, thus allowing you to manage your MySQL databases whilst you are on the move. With its management features you are given the ability to create and manage both tables and fields within your MySQL databases so that you can effectively manage and organize the data which you want them to hold; this means that can easily access the information held by your database from your PHP based websites and applications, giving your website maximum flexibility when it comes to expanding the functionality of it. You are given many different expansion options for your PHP based website or application when it comes to MySQL since you can easily create different features that utilize a database to hold your data in either the short term or the long term.

PHPMyAdmin is also an industry leader when it comes to open source database management systems, since it is bundled with both the cPanel and Plesk web hosting control panels, meaning that you are given a large amount of freedom to configure your MySQL databases the way you want them to be when it comes down to being hosting on a shared hosting package utilizes either Plesk or cPanel to manage your website as well as the other on the server as well as the server itself on which you are hosted. If you choose to use PHPMyAdmin on a stand-alone MySQL server then you are given even more advanced functionalities, such as the ability to use it to create new databases if you are logged into it as the root or administrator user thus meaning that you don’t need a third party control panel if you just want to administrate the databases that you are hosting on your server.

PHPMyAdmin is the right solution for you if you are looking to administrate your databases whether you are on the fly, at home or in your office; it contains features that make it superior to may desktop database management systems which gives one advantage, but the best advantage has to be the fact that it is web based meaning that you can access it from any internet connected location, and use any of its features - meaning that for example you could be sitting on a beach in Hawaii with a wifi laptop and be creating new tables for your database so that at the same time you are able to expand the functionality of your PHP website or application - although thats the last thing almost anyone would be doing! PHPMyAdmin is an open source application, meaning that it is freely available for download and use by anyone and can be used as many times as one wants to, meaning that you aren’t restricted by any license terms as you would be with a commercial application of the same type.

As mentioned previously, PHP and MySQL make the best programming and database combination since they are both open source and come with a range of tools and add-ons that allow you to make the most out of both. If you are looking to learn a dynamic server side language which you can use in conjunction with a database system, then you should look no further than PHP and MySQL - there are also a wide range of tutorials available in this blog and on the internet that you can use to aid you in the learning process. You can also buy a wide range of commercial books based around teaching you PHP and MySQL.

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