Round Tale

HMS Panel is an all-in-one control panel designed for Linux server platforms.  A multi-server solution, it offers a number of advantages to both the web hosting provider or the customer who needs a more efficient way to manage their dedicated or virtual private server.  HMS Panel is secure, easy to use and loaded with an arsenal of features that will surely come in handy for administrators at all levels.  Here is the rundown:

Complete Domain Management

HMS Panel provides a complete system for managing domains.  Users can add domains and sub-domains to the IP address of their choosing whether it is located on or off the server.  Wildcards can be added so that all sub-domains for a particular domain point to a specific IP address.  You can also modify domain zone files along with CNAME records, A records and MX records.

Email Management System

Web hosting customers on the client side benefit greatly from features such as HMS Panel’s robust email management system.  Users can easily create email accounts and customize their communications with forwarders, catch-all addresses and auto-responders.  While customers have access to their messages via the control panel interface with SquirrelMail, they can also integrate Microsoft Outlook Express or their preferred mail client.

.htaccess Management

HMS Panel offers a robust .htaccess management tools that can be used to apply various settings to directories within a particular domain.  This includes error handling with custom 401, 403, 404, and 505 redirects, IP and domain blocking, file and directory redirects, hotlink protection, directory browsing and much more.  The .htaccess management console utilizes AJAX technology, making it a dynamic and very flexible system.  While this system is very convenient, experienced administrators also have the ability to modify .htaccess via the standard control panel interface.

Web Application Management

Similar to most control panels on the market today, HMS Panel is integrated with a facility that enables customers to perform one-click installations of various pre-installed software applications.  The software management console makes it easy to incorporate programs such as WordPress, phpBB, phpAdsNew, Gallery, Drupal and osCommerce among several others.  These applications are mainly available due to user request, but the HMS Panel control panel offers the ability to install many more third-party scripts.

Advanced Security

HMS Panel was developed with advanced web technologies and security mechanisms.  The software utilizes sophisticated API authorization to ensure that server communications remain protected.  By leveraging an enterprise-grade authentication system, HMS Panel is able to better assure that web applications and network security features are properly configured.  The software also uses process isolation, a technology that allows administrators to isolate web applications from one another, making it so that potential issues with one application do not affect others running on the server.

A Complete Control Panel Solution

Now on version 3.5.1, HMS Panel is quickly evolving to be one of the most remarkable control panels on the market.  It has all the basic capabilities offered by other panels with a few qualities that make it stand out from rest.  If you are in search of a new control panel for your server, give HMS Panel a shot with the free 30-day trial license.

Agreed, it’s a pain in more places than one when you have to migrate from one web host to the other, but when your needs grow and your current host fails to keep up, it’s best to do the dumping as soon as possible. But before you sever all ties, you must protect what’s yours and make sure your site is up and running without a hitch at your new host. Here’s a list of 13 things you must do before you dump your web host:

   1. It’s obvious, but has to be said. Find a new web host and make sure that it meets all your needs.

   2. Check if you have enough storage space, enough bandwidth to prevent crashes and down times, support for the operating system and applications that run on your server, support for scripts and an adequate number of email accounts and auto responders.

   3. The next thing to do is back up everything on your server to a secure location. You don’t want to be left holding an empty tub looking like a fool when you realize you’ve thrown out both the baby and the bathwater. Make sure you get all your email, databases and website files.

   4. Upload all your files and databases to the new server and make sure you retain all the file permissions as they were on your old one so that you don’t end up with scripting errors.

   5. Get your new web host to test the scripts, contact pages, and databases your website before you make the necessary DNS change.

   6. Before you update your DNS to point browsers to the new location of your site, you need to plan for the downtime that results from this procedure. DNS updates take up to 48 hours to spread to all DNS servers on the Internet.

   7. Let your customers and website visitors know of this planned upgrade. Make the move when your servers are expected to be the least busy.

   8. To reduce down time as much as possible, make DNS changes before you move the domain. Before you do this though, check to see if your mail server is running on the new host so that you don’t lose any email messages.

   9. If your domain name was registered using a third party domain name registration company, you need to check if your domain name is a part of your old hosting plan. If it is, you must separate the two, since moving your site to a new web host means that your domain name company remains the same while your web host changes.

   10. If your site is dynamic, DNS update delays can cause havoc if you’re not careful. Some customers may see your old site while others have access to the new one. To minimize such occurrences, close down your old site with an alert so that it becomes static while the move to the new one is being made. You could also use a synchronization tool to get changes made on the old site mirrored on the new one.

   11. Check for incompatibility issues between applications on your old server and your new one.

   12. If you have more than one domain to migrate, make sure you start the process with enough time to spare for the DNS update delays.

   13. Make sure all the visitors to your old site are being redirected to your new site before cancelling your current web host. It’s best to keep both sites up and running in parallel for at least two weeks before saying goodbye to your old hosts.

This web hosting blog post is contributed by Sarah Scrafford, who regularly writes on the topic of web design schools. She invites your questions, comments and freelancing job inquiries at her email address: sarah.scrafford25@gmail.com.

A Review of Site5 Web Hosting: Revolution, Domination, Empire

It is a pleasure to write this Site5 Web Hosting review, as Site5 web hosting provides their users with some excellent and interesting deals which you can take advantage of to have the web site that you have been dreaming of without having to go through a lot of technical hurdles or pay too much money. Here is a look at the plans and features that Site5 Web Hosting has to offer for you!

The web site hosting plans that Site5 Web Hosting provides give you a lot of great features – this features are things like:

• Search engine submission
• Over 200 free scripts and tools
• Unlimited email
• Unlimited FTP
• Award winning service
• Customer support which is accessible 24/7
• A great control panel for controlling your site

Ruby on Rails is included in the hosting plans, giving you one of the most stable and popular web hosting platforms to design a site that runs smoothly and uses the latest web technology. Site5 Web Hosting also offers you an “ultra-low number of sites per server” so that you will not have problems with slow down and you will always be able to access your site even during periods of high activity.

Site5 Web Hosting gives you free setup with their plans, with a value which is estimated to be close to several months worth of hosting costs. All you have to pay is the monthly price – there are no hidden fees or additional startup fees to contend with and worry about.

Site5 Web Hosting’s email comes with a lot of features such as unlimited email accounts, unlimited forwarders, unlimited auto-responders, unlimited mailing lists, SpamAssassin and so on. The Advanced Features that offer include things like domain parking, subdomains, SSL access to your web site for greater security, unlimited FTP accounts, a web based file manager and more.

The servers that are used for Site5’s sites are technologically advanced, with modern four core processors and more than enough RAM to handle high bandwidth and make your web site accessible to people during periods of high activity without slowing down or crashing. There is also a lot of server software included in Site5’s hosting plans, such as

• Perl
• MySQL databases
• PHP 4 & 5
• Python
• ImageMagick 5+
• CGI scripting.

Beyond the great hosting plans that they offer in their shared hosting configuration, Site5 Web Hosting also lets you take advantage of Reseller Hosting – web space that you can resell to make a profit. With “Revolution”, “Domination” and “Empire” plans to choose from, Site5 Web Hosting gives you a full range of disk space options and bandwidth options to purchase and resell at monthly prices which are competitive with the other reseller space providers on the world wide web.

Site5 Web Hosting makes it easy for you to set up a basic web site and load it with advanced features, whether you are new to the world wide web or an experienced web designer. It gives you the freedom to make great choices for your web site as well as the support for a smooth online experience.

Agreed, it’s a pain in more places than one when you have to migrate from one web host to the other, but when your needs grow and your current host fails to keep up, it’s best to do the dumping as soon as possible. But before you sever all ties, you must protect what’s yours and make sure your site is up and running without a hitch at your new host. Here’s a list of 13 things you must do before you dump your web host:

   1. It’s obvious, but has to be said. Find a new web host and make sure that it meets all your needs.

   2. Check if you have enough storage space, enough bandwidth to prevent crashes and down times, support for the operating system and applications that run on your server, support for scripts and an adequate number of email accounts and auto responders.

   3. The next thing to do is back up everything on your server to a secure location. You don’t want to be left holding an empty tub looking like a fool when you realize you’ve thrown out both the baby and the bathwater. Make sure you get all your email, databases and website files.

   4. Upload all your files and databases to the new server and make sure you retain all the file permissions as they were on your old one so that you don’t end up with scripting errors.

   5. Get your new web host to test the scripts, contact pages, and databases your website before you make the necessary DNS change.

   6. Before you update your DNS to point browsers to the new location of your site, you need to plan for the downtime that results from this procedure. DNS updates take up to 48 hours to spread to all DNS servers on the Internet.

   7. Let your customers and website visitors know of this planned upgrade. Make the move when your servers are expected to be the least busy.

   8. To reduce down time as much as possible, make DNS changes before you move the domain. Before you do this though, check to see if your mail server is running on the new host so that you don’t lose any email messages.

   9. If your domain name was registered using a third party domain name registration company, you need to check if your domain name is a part of your old hosting plan. If it is, you must separate the two, since moving your site to a new web host means that your domain name company remains the same while your web host changes.

   10. If your site is dynamic, DNS update delays can cause havoc if you’re not careful. Some customers may see your old site while others have access to the new one. To minimize such occurrences, close down your old site with an alert so that it becomes static while the move to the new one is being made. You could also use a synchronization tool to get changes made on the old site mirrored on the new one.

   11. Check for incompatibility issues between applications on your old server and your new one.

   12. If you have more than one domain to migrate, make sure you start the process with enough time to spare for the DNS update delays.

   13. Make sure all the visitors to your old site are being redirected to your new site before cancelling your current web host. It’s best to keep both sites up and running in parallel for at least two weeks before saying goodbye to your old hosts.

This web hosting blog post is contributed by Sarah Scrafford, who regularly writes on the topic of web design schools. She invites your questions, comments and freelancing job inquiries at her email address: sarah.scrafford25@gmail.com.