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.

The great question which many resellers face when setting up, or when the time comes to upgrade is which type of platform they should be upgrading to; for some resellers it might just be convenient to upgrade their current reseller package, but for larger resellers it may be high time that they upgraded to a VPS Server or Dedicated Server since they have outgrown Reseller Hosting packages. Reseller Hosting packages are hosted in more or less the same environment that normal shared hosting packages are, which is not always the best thing for resellers as they are restricted to what they can control; with VPS servers and dedicated servers the reseller has full access to the root of the system and control any aspect of their hosting they want - the difference between the two being that a VPS is virtual and hosted on a node with several other VPS, whereas a dedicated server is a completely single physical server.

Reseller Hosting Packages

Reseller accounts are accounts which allow resellers to create accounts meaning that they have the ability to host multiple domains and clients. As mentioned previously, they are normally hosted within a shared environment meaning that they are open to the elements that can cause downtime within a normal shared environment - this puts reseller accounts at a disadvantage when compared to a VPS server or a dedicated server. However, unlike VPS and dedicated servers, reseller accounts are relatively cheap meaning that anyone can become a web hosting these days - this fact is also what is fueling something which is known as the ‘kiddie host market’.

Reseller Hosting is perfect for you if you are new to the concept of web hosting and don’t require custom server modifications or if you only want to start out small and grow from there. With most hosts you have the option to upgrade your reseller package to a VPS or dedicated server at any time without any downtime which ensures if you grow out of your reseller account then you can upgrade to a dedicated environment without causing yourself or your customers any trouble.

VPS Servers

VPS Hosting stands for ‘Virtual Private Server’ hosting and is seen as a separate server by you and any other computer on the internet, but in reality it is actually a virtual environment hosted on a node (main) server with several other VPS. They are seen by many as the step in between a cheap reseller account and a costly dedicated server - however, costs for VPS can vary greatly. By having a VPS you have your own server, more or less, meaning that you can add programs and features as you like within your own environment without being at the mercy of other users; this can prove to be an advantage for some resellers since they might require special security settings which they’d never be able to get set on a reseller account - but which they will be able to set in a VPS environment.

A VPS is perfect for you if you require a dedicated environment but are not able to afford a dedicated server or if you have outgrown your standard reseller account and have no choice but to upgrade to a dedicated environment. If you are using a control panel such as cPanel then you should be able to get all your data and websites moved over without causing any downtime or hassle to your customers.

Dedicated Server

A Dedicated Server is the last step within the reseller ladder, as it is at the top of the chain. A dedicated server is actually a physical server and the resources of the machine are not shared with anyone else - the opposite being the case for both reseller accounts and VPS servers. Bring a physical server allows dedicated servers to have their hardware upgraded at anytime without any limits, whereas with VPS servers you can only upgrade the system resources by a certain amount since you are limited by the resources of the node. By having a dedicated server you have greater flexibility in all areas since you are able to do things such as overselling - something which you’d not really be able to achieve within a VPS environment or on a reseller package; the bandwidth allocation is also much greater than anything you’d receive on a lower-level package.

You should only really buy a Dedicated Server if needs be since they can be either very expensive or very cheap. If you need the assurance that your system resources are not going to be shared with anyone then by all means go with a dedicated server, but if you are only a small company or are not hosting sites in a serious way then you should consider either a reseller hosting package or a VPS server.

Creating a Database in Plesk Control Panel

Plesk gives you the ability to create MySQL databases in both its Linux and Windows forms; if you purchase the necessary add-ons then it can also connect to PostgreSQL and MSSQL servers to create both types of database; PostgreSQL is only normally found on Linux, and MSSQL is for Windows hosting only. Third party web based database control panels are built into Plesk and Plesk automatically logs you in to the relevant one when you want to administrate a database over the internet from a location that might happen to not be your own computer; in the case of MySQL databases, PHPMyAdmin is supplied to allow you to manage any MySQL databases that you might have hosted within your shared Plesk website hosting account - if you are hosted on the Windows platform and are utilizing Microsoft SQL databases then ASP.NET Enterprise Manager is supplied to allow you to view and manage any MSSQL databases that you have hosted under your account.

In most cases you will be using a database along with a dynamic web page language within your website so that your website is able to communicate with the database so it can pull data to be displayed, as well as store it within the database so that it can be easily accessed again. Plesk also gives you the ability to create users so that the databases you create can be accessed by the scripts that you have created within your web space; without these database users, scripts and other programs that you want to use to access your database or databases won’t be usable since they won’t be able to access the database.

Since Plesk gives you the ability to create multiple databases under many different database platforms, it gives you the ability to host many different web applications in a number of dynamic server side scripting languages so that the applications that you do create can easily interact with the databases that you have created within your shared Plesk website hosting account.

Creating a MySQL Database

In order to create a MySQL database from within Plesk, you will first need to navigate to the hosting control panel for the domain that you want to create the new MySQL database for. If you don’t know how to find your way to the hosting control panel for the domain that you want to create a new MySQL database for them you should take a look at this article; in the article noted you will also find other Plesk related tutorials which will help you get your new website off the ground in your new Plesk website hosting account. Once you have reached the hosting control panel for the domain which the MySQL database is going to be created for, you will need to select the ‘databases’ icon:

You should then be presented with the following screen, which also provides you with options to manage the databases that you might have already created using the Plesk control panel:

You will then need to select the ‘add new database’ icon, which will then redirect you into the database creation wizard. Once redirected, you will be asked to enter the following details:

• database name (circled red) - this is the name that you want to give the actual database, Plesk suggests that you begin the database name with your Plesk login followed by an underscore, it is after the underscore that you should enter the desired database alias
• database type (circled green) - this is where you select what database program you want the new database to be created in, if there is no more than one option then this field will not be shown - in the cases of Windows based Plesk website hosting, you are able to choose between MySQL and MSSQL databases, although the options are dependent on what database engines your web host has installed on your hosting server and what options they have enabled within their Plesk license. In our case we want to be creating a MySQL database.

One you have clicked the ‘ok’ button after entering the relevant details to aid in the creation of your database, you will be redirected to the management screen for the database that you have just created. In order to make your database usable from within your web pages and server side scripts that you have hosted within your hosting account, you will need to select the ‘add new user’ option:

You will then be prompted to enter the following details to aid in the creation of your database user:

• database username (circled red) - this is the username that you will use to gain access to your newly created database externally, for example from a script or web page that you are hosting within your Plesk hosting account or from your desktop database management browser if you have chosen not to use the supplied third party web based database management system
• password (circled green) - it is highly important that you password protect your newly created database user, since hackers might be able to gain access to your database and steal the data contained if the user account concerned doesn’t have a password on it.

Once you have done that, you should then be able to use the provided details to gain access to your new MySQL database from your PHP and ASP based scripts and web pages that you are hosting within your web space, you will also be able to use a desktop database management program to manage the contents of your new MySQL database.

One thing to note is that the ability to create MSSQL or PostgreSQL databases in the Windows and Linux versions of Plesk, respectively, is dictated by the Plesk license that your web host has installed on your web hosting server. For example, it costs extra for a web host to purchase a Plesk license that enables them and their clients to have access to MSSQL database creation and management facilities, and the same can be applied to PostgreSQL even though it isn’t a database engine that is widely used these days. Also, the third party management programs for databases that have been created in Plesk are dependent on what your web host has installed on your hosting server, which means that if you don’t want to use a certain program then you might have to resort to using a desktop based database management system, and these tend to have more features than web based systems meaning that you will have more control over your databases.

Getting Started with Web Hosting Business

Platform and Control Panel Choice

The platform on which you are going to base your first reseller hosting package or server is an important choice, since it can affect the final choice of prospective customers because of their needs; the control panel which you choose to provide your customers with can also affect your ability to gain customers - this is because some might be more familiar with one control panel which they have used in the past rather than the one that you have chosen to provide them with. In terms of the platform which you choose to base your web hosting packages on, you are limited to two options which are used by most of the main players within the website hosting industry - these are Windows and Linux; Windows is a commercial operating system which you can only use upon the purchase of a license from its manufacturer, Microsoft - Linux on the other hand is an open source operating system which requires no paid for license to allow you to run it, which means you are able to install it on as many computer as you want without the need to pay for any licenses what-so-ever. Platforms and operating systems you should check out include:

• Microsoft Windows Server 2003 and 2008 - http://www.microsoft.com/servers/default.mspx
• CentOS Linux - http://www.centos.org/
• Ubuntu Linux - http://www.ubuntu.org/

There are many different web hosting control panels out there on the market for you to choose from, although your final choice normally boils down to what your web host is able to provide you with since their prices are normally a lot cheaper than if you were to buy a license for a piece of control panel software direct from the supplier; this means that although there may be many different control panels for you to choose from, you are in a sense limited by your web host since they will most likely be unable to provide you with every control panel. When choosing a control panel on which you are going to base your web hosting packages, you should check out all features of the control panels which you are testing - this means that you should always check out the client and reseller panels as well as the administration panel to ensure that you get a good idea of how easy the control panel will be for your customers to use, as well as for the customers of customers to use in terms of resellers; you should also get other people who aren’t so computer ’savvy’ to test out the same control panels as you, since this ensures that the control panel which you choose to base your web hosting packages on is usable for all people. In most cases, the control panel which you choose to base your web hosting packages upon is chosen in relation to the operating system on which you want to base your web hosting packages, since some control panels are only able to work with one operating system whereas others come in multiple versions so that they can be run on most well known operating systems; for example cPanel has been designed for use on Linux distributions only, although a version for Microsoft Windows 2008 is currently in development, and Plesk is a control panel that has been designed for use on both Microsoft Windows and Linux website hosting platforms - this means that you can use the control panel for either operating system. There are many different web hosting control panels on the market, although the main ones which you should take a look at include:

• cPanel - http://www.cpanel.net/
• Parallels (Formally SWSoft) Plesk - http://www.parallels.com/en/products/plesk/
• LXAdmin - http://lxlabs.com/software/lxadmin-sse/

The actual choice of operating system on which you are going to base your web hosting packages can be affected by the skills which you have to administrate a server, in the case that you have opted to go for either a virtual private server or a dedicated server; this is because administering a server can be a complicated task at the best of times, which means that if you don’t have the necessary skills to administrate the server which you have purchased, you might not be able to provide your customers with good service, since it means that if a problem does occur with the server, you won’t be able to fix it. Although your web host might provide support for their virtual private server and dedicated server hosting packages, the support provided might not cover all issues - this might be because it is limited to upgrading third party software that is provided, and that the support staff are not obliged to fix any internal problems with the server; this means that you should try and get your server administration skills up to scratch before embarking on purchasing a hosting package which would provide you with a dedicated environment.

Billing Systems

One of the main components of a successful web hosting business is a web based billing and account management system, so that your customers are able to pay their web hosting bills online and so that you are able to manage and view your customers details as well as packages that they have purchased through a web interface with ease; this means that if you have a numerous amount of customers, you can easily manage them online and contact them quickly and easily as appropriate, if needs be.

Most web host billing systems are not just billing systems, for example some have help desk systems built into them, and as mentioned before, you can also use them to easily manage your customers - even if you happen to have millions of them; this means that you can have an all in one system where you can meet your customers needs in both the areas of support and management. A support help desk system within a billing system allows your customers to open ‘support tickets‘ which are then assigned a unique id so that you are able to manage them easily, and are able to refer to tickets quickly if a customer was to quote you the ticket’s unique id via some other method of communication, such as over the telephone. Most support ticket systems allow correspondence for any ticket via 2 methods - email and a web interface; most systems employ a technology known as ‘email piping‘ which collects the emails from a specified email inbox and them processes them to be displayed within the web interface which should be provided - ticket replies from staff members are emailed back to the email address of the person who opened the ticket and replies from the customer are piped through to the web interface, the web interface itself shows the correspondence between the two parties in order so that you can quickly read through the correspondence if you have the need to.

All good web host billing systems incorporate a large range of payment gateways, so that you can are able to use the payment gateway of your choice to receive payments from your customers for the web hosting services that they have purchased from you - this process is a lot quicker than having to process old fashioned types of payment such as personal cheque; when looking for billing systems, you might also discover API systems for third part fraud detection systems - these are in place to safe guard the security of both your business, and the potential victims - these systems normally mark certain orders as fraud if they are believed to be fraud.

If you are starting out in the web hosting market, then you should always consider buying a license for a piece of billing software that you are able to pay for on a monthly lease, since this means that you are not loosing any money on your billing system if your web hosting business was to fail for some reason or another - if funds do not allow for a monthly lease then you can easily consider a free alternative, although the features of these can be relatively limited when compared to those of their commercial counterparts. As is the case with control panels, you and others should always test both the client and administration side of any web host billing system before you purchase anything; this is because it will allow you to gain the feedback of others apart from yourself which you can then use to help you make your final decision about which web hosting billing system you are going to use for your new web hosting company. You should also consider the installation service for your chosen application which is most probably provided by the company from which you purchased the application; this is because you can ensure that a full and secure installation of the application concerned has been done, to give you peace of mind - it also means that you can have the application installed for you in the situation that you don’t have the necessary knowledge to carry out the task. Although there are many different web hosting billing systems, the main ones which one should have a look at include:

• WHMCS - http://www.whmcs.com/
• ModernBill - http://www.modernbill.com/
• PHPCoin - http://www.phpcoin.com/

Marketing Your Web Hosting Business

Once you have the basics of your new web hosting business laid out and operational, you need to start promoting it where possible so that you can start receiving new customer sign ups, which in turn will help boost your business’s income and customer base. There are many different ways in which you can market and promote your new business in the beginning - some of these options being ones which you have to pay for, and others which are free but require your hard work and will power to ensure that they produce the results that you want; an example of a paid for method which you could use to help promote and market your new web hosting business would be you buying an SEO package from either your web host or from another specialist to ensure that your business’s website gets listed and indexed by all the major search engines on the internet, an example of a free method would be you optimizing your own website so that search engines will give it a higher page rank, and in turn send more visitors to your website through the use of key word searches.

If you have the necessary funds to do so, then you can consider using certain PPC (pay per click) programs to help get adverts for your new business placed on participating publisher websites; most PPC programs deploy adverts on publisher websites based on keywords which you enter when creating the advert, as well as the category which the webmaster of the publishing site has decided to place their website in - this means that your advert will be targeted at people who are on websites most likely looking for web hosting, which ensures that the right people will be sent to your website and will hopefully in turn purchase a web hosting package off you. SEO can play a big roll in the amount of visitors which you receive to your website, this is because the more SEO friendly your website is, the higher the page rank search engines will give you. A higher page rank means in the terms of most search engines that your website will appear higher in the results for certain key word searches. Main different companies run PPC programs, although the main ones which are used by many include:

• Google Adwords - http://www.google.com/adwords/
• Yahoo Overture - http://www.overture.com/
• AdBrite - http://www.adbrite.com/

Basic SEO involves the editing of content on your website to ensure that it is as keyword rich as possible - the more common key words which you decide to use within your content, the more subjects and searches that search engines will link your website to; other basic SEO techniques including the building up of back links to your website from other websites of a similar subject - this will help since it will mean that people who are looking at web hosting related websites might actually be looking for web hosting - and when they see a link to your website, they will most likely click and if they like the look of your packages and prices, will buy their web hosting off you. In some cases you can also do link exchanging with websites of a similar subject to yours; this process involves the placing of a link to your website on that of another website, and then you will link back to the other website involved. Although you might be tempted to purchase a program or plan from another web host which claims to increase the amount of traffic to your website, you should always be cautious when looking at these plans and should never spend too much money on things such as this; this is because all these plans do in most cases is submit your website to other search engines which it might not already be in - although this may sound good at first, it might not give the increased amount in visitors which it claims to provide. If you don’t have the necessary knowledge for SEO, nor the funds to splash out on a special package then you could always hire a professional who might be able to do it for you at a cut rate.

Conclusion

In conclusion, with the use of the correct domain name you can help make your business’s name memorable for your customers; this in itself can help you out since it means that if your name is memorable, then it will be easier for your customers to refer their friends and colleagues who need web hosting to your business. You should also now know to consider the client side of a control panel when you are testing it and deciding whether to use as part of your web hosting business or not; by putting yourself in the customer’s shoes and getting the opinions of others on certain things can help produce the best results for your business, and can make your customers happier with the service which they are receiving.

Even though you might be putting yourself in the customer’s shoes, you should still consider how usable the administration side of an application or control panel is for you; this is because you will be using the administration panels day in and day out if your business is to be successful, and it is because of this that you should ensure that you can easily familiarize yourself with the applications and control panels which you will be using. Marketing your web hosting business is one of the most important tasks that you will ever carry out; this is because the amount of customer which you receive to your business will depend on how well you market your website, and whether you carry out a good level of SEO - this will mean making sure that your content is keyword rich, and that you have a large amount of back links so that people can find your business from other websites, and so that search engines give you a higher page rank.

Everytime, you open a browser and type in http://www.eukhost.com, have you ever thought about the process which helped the browser display the website? Has it every crossed your mind that there is a complex system which supports this activity? Here is a brief explanation of the methodology behind this easy-to-use, but difficult-to make-it-work process.

More often than not, users access a website by typing in the domain name in their browser, or from a hyperlink that brings them to the website. Lets take eukhost.com as a case-study. You open a browser and type http://www.eukhost.com into the address bar. Your browser then initiates a connection to the webserver in which the eukhost.com files are stored. The browser does this using the internet connection you have. The request for http://eukhost.com is first converted into an IP address using the nameservers which have been assigned to eukhost.com and then locating the server which has eukhost’s files.

Once communicaton has been established between the browser and the webserver; a request for the files of eukhost.com to be displayed is made. This is done using the hyper text transfer protocol (http). All the files which the webserver sends back to the browser is then converted into human readable format by the web-browser itself. Using this very process, the server can send files to multiple client computers at the same time allowing viewers across the globe to access the website.

A webserver typically stores all the files necessary to display eukhost.com’s pages in your web browser. This includes all the text files, images, graphics, video files, audio files and any other script that enables the dynamic elements of a website to function. The number of such simultaneous requests which can be serviced depends entirely on the robustness and configuration of the webserver.

The most popular open-source webserver in use today is Apache, while windows servers generally use IIS (Internet Information Services) as their webserver application.

PHP and ASP.NET are the two main scripting languages used by web developers. PHP is a multi-platform open-source language whilst ASP.NET is a single platform language built and owned by Microsoft. Both of these languages are packed full of features and add-ons for both are available so that you are able to extend their framework to build feature rich applications. Although PHP is open source, it has a large active community which is there to support users of the language; ASP.NET is a product of Microsoft meaning that there is a large amount of online documentation and other community forums where you can get support.

PHP

PHP is a language which has been around since 1984 and powers many of the world’s websites. It is free and is known as ‘open source’ software meaning that its source code is available for download, at no cost. It widely used in conjunction with the MySQL database engine, but can be used with others such as Oracle and SQLite. PHP is generally easier to code in than ASP.NET, since it has more functions built in than its rival; however, ASP.NET has built-in AJAX functions which is something that PHP lacks. Since PHP is open source, there is a number of applications that are available for free based on it, most of these applications are commonly used and are very powerful; also, there is a greater number of community forums and blogs where you are able to find information regarding PHP since it is open source.

PHP is a dynamic language since there are several different types of database that you are able to connect to, including: MySQL, Oracle, PostgreSQL and in some cases, Microsoft SQL Server. You are also able to edit the source of the language if you wish to speed it up or install custom modifications so that it is able to run as per your requirements; again, this is because it is open source - although ASP.NET is a free language, it isn’t open source meaning that you are unable to edit its source.

ASP.NET 

ASP.NET is a language based on classic ASP - both languages are owned and were created by Microsoft. Although it is a free language, it isn’t open source meaning that you are unable to view or edit the source code of it. Also, it is very limited in what database types you can use with it - Microsoft only invented it to work with Microsoft Access and Microsoft SQL Server databases, although developers can use it with MySQL databases with the help of third party components. Classic ASP, ASP.NET’s forefather, was created back in the mid-1990s and is the base which ASP.NET has been built on. One thing which annoys many ASP.NET developers is the fact that Microsoft is forever releasing updates to the system, and in its course, changing things along the way meaning that in some cases, developers have to keep on learning the changes as well as the new components and functions which are being added.