Majority of Webmasters think that its wise decision to go for managed web hosting services. And the reasons may be different behind ‘why they think so?’ Many webmasters are also businessmen and they can not spend much time in managing their servers and websites. Almost all the web hosting service providers provide 27 X 4 support to their clients at an affordable rate. Going for unmanaged hosting involves lots of risks and also requires that much experience of server handling. Webmasters who are newbies and has never performed any activities regarding server modification and changes are supposed to go for managed web hosting and they also don’t have any other option because of lack of knowledge and experience.

Here I would like to raise some questions which can help each webmasters to make the decision between managed web hosting and unmanaged web hosting.

• Do you have enough access to web server in the hosting package you want to buy?
• Do you have enough experience and knowledge for fixing the Server issues?
• Do you have knowledge to patch a server remotely and with new security issues?
• Do your website has any special requirements which can not fulfilled by support staff of a web hosting services provider?
• How much you are going to save by selecting an unmanaged web hosting service?
• Can the time spent in server managing be utilized for more beneficial business activities?

After considering the above question one can judge easily either to go for managed hosting or unmanaged hosting.

Managed and unmanaged hosting can be divided on the basis of scale of support they are consuming from web hosting providing companies. The number of customer for unmanaged hosting are less than the managed server hosting following are few reasons for it.

In case of managed managed web hosting solutions, web hosting companies provide support and service almost for total hosting package. There are some exemptions for softwares and applications which a client want to install in his own behalf. Such softwares mostly contains applications like wordpress or drupal and so on. But the major parts like operating system, cPanel, or setting up a server are performed by support staff of a web hosting company, this type of support also includes a few applications which need to be installed before hand over to client. There are few host who provides some special services to their clients such as automated back up facility and few tools which monitors server for providing alerts for any possible downtime.

When things come to unmanged hosting services, generally the clients are tech savvy and are capable of managing servers at their own risk, so they only need for hardware. Many tasks such as replacing any physical component, maintaining network to keep server on all the time and rebooting whenever demanded by client comes under hardware support. The risk factor shift more towards webmaster in unmanaged hosting services as maintaining all software and other applications is sole responsibility of webmasters and not of the support staff of web hosting services provider.

Managed Web hosting is one of the fastest growing and one of the most preferred web hosting solution. Companies and enterprises looking to outsource the IT hosting requirements or businesses that already have a dedicated web server can consider co-location web hosting services.

Whereas, if you have a business and now you wish to make an online presence and have mission critical business data,managed Dedicated Server Hosting is the most suitable solution for you.
Managing the server is a complex and 24×7 task and requires experienced,dedicated technical staff who monitor the servers round the clock.

There exists a huge difference between standard dedicated hosting also known as Self Managed Hosting and managed Dedicated Server hosting.Managed hosting is the involvement of the host to provide the end-customer or business with the support for website/s. Most managed hosting solutions encompass the entire hardware situation which includes connectivity,maintenance of the   equipment and continuous server monitoring. Web hosting companies offer some softwares and applications along with the server as default,but if you wish to have additional softwares,an additional charge needs to be paid.An alternative can be to purchase the software on your own and install it on the server by your own or seek help from the host.Mind that most of the web hosts do not offer support for any third party softwares installed on the server.You must check the terms of service of the hosting company before signing up for the plans.

Companies providing managed dedicated server hosting solutions, offer various hosting-related products such as server security products, private networking, and database administration. In other words, managed hosting takes a more holistic view towards server needs and attempts to provide everything that a company would need to be successful over the World Wide Web.

Companies that choose Managed Dedicated Server Hosting solutions gain several advantages. First,you are not required to invest in costly server hardware.Each time your website falls short of resources available with the current server,you are not required to keep paying extra for upgrading the server. Secondly, you need not worry about monitoring the server functionality,since the company will monitor your server and provide extensive technical support access to ensure maximum server uptime. Thirdly,with a dedicated server you gain additional flexibility.Fourth, as many managed plans include server administration and extensive technical support, businesses and enterprises can save on in-house technical support staff. Web Hosting companies offer flexible  upgrade options,which means,if the allocated web server resources reach their limit at the mid  of the month, you may contact the host and upgrade to a higher package within least waste of time.Usually,every professional web hosting company would alert you when you reach 80% of the allocated server resources,this proves to be a helpful and you can either cut down the resource hungry applications or upgrade the server and avoid the additional charges or account suspension.

Most of the users are unaware of the actual of a Web Host.It is a common understanding that a Web Hosting service provider is the one who offers their servers or space of the server to host your websites.But,as a matter of fact,there are many more responsibilities that they need to play.

Basically it is the responsibility of the web host to keep your website up and running smoothly over the World Wide Web.There are various factors that a hosting provider is responsible of to keep the site function smoothly.

To name a few, below are few basic responsibilities that a Web Hosting provider should keep in mind when offering services to customers.

A) Server Monitoring service: Usually, server monitoring service is offered by web hosts with Managed Web Hosting packages.It is the responsibility of the host to monitor the servers on which your website is hosted.With managed web hosting packages you are freed from the time consuming server monitoring tasks, hence you can concentrate on the other aspects of your business.The staff of the web hosting provider takes care of various tasks such as scanning event logs, tracing the problems and rectifying them if any.Server monitoring is a service that needs to be done round the clock,hence it is suggested to host your website/s with a web host that is operational 24×7.

B) Installation of Software/s: It is the responsibility of the web host to provide the software platform or applications that are required by your website.Inaddition to that, they are responsible for the messy task of its installation,its testing and deployment of the software for you.

C) Software Upgradations: A Managed Web Hosting service provider takes care of upgrading the softwares with latest patches and updates. A professional web hosting provider would not wait for their clients to ask for upgrading the softwares used on the servers.

D) Hardware Upgrades: The Web Host should be capable of providing flexible upgrades or downgrades to your existing web hosting packages.It may happen that you start getting loads of sudden traffic to your website/s and your server starts falling short of resources,then it is necessary to  upgrade to a higher server. Upgrading the plan should be fairly simple, you can contact your web host and ask them to upgrade to a higher package.

F) Hardware Maintenance: Unless you have signed up for unmanaged colocation services with the hosting provider, you are not required to bother about the maintenance of the server hardware.The managed web hosting provider is solely responsible of fixing or replacing the faulty server hardware.

G) Data Back-ups: The provider should automatically take back ups of the website data stored on their server or alternatively should offer Back up plans.You can choose any of the suitable back up plans for your back ups.When choosing a web hosting service provider, make sure that the backup servers are located at a different DC than the one where your website is hosted.

H) Hardware Security: It is the sole responsibility of the web hosting provider to make sure that the hardware equipments have adequate protection.

We at Host.co.in strive hard to serve our customers, keeping our responsibilities in mind.We are well aware of the responsibilities as Web Hosting service providers, hence we have a good reason for our customers to choose our services.

There are various misunderstandings about Managed Web Hosting Services. Today, most of the small and mid sized businesses use managed web servers to carry out their mission critical businesses.Depending on the requirements, Shared hosting and VPS hosting services have gained popularity, but alongwith it, there are various misunderstandings and misconceptions that have rooted in the minds of users. Following is an in depth explanation of about the misunderstandings.

A) Managed Services are entirely Outsourced.

This is one of the biggest misunderstanding among individuals.It isn’t always true. Sometimes, web hosts outsource their post sales technical support tasks to other companies for the purpose of offering better services to their customers. There are a lot of automated services you get with a managed dedicated hosting service provider.The volume of privileges differ with the web hosting package.Most of the reputed web hosting providers have dedicated and professional technical and support staff available 24×7 at the DC’s. Though, the website design, promotion and the website administration needs to be taken care by yourself.

B) Its the newbies who must opt for Managed Web Hosting services.

Many users have a thinking that Managed services are suitable for newbies due to their lack of webmaster skills and web server management skills. This probably may be a thought arose due to the fact that, dedicated server management needs some amount of web master skills. Some outsource this task to other professional companies for better server management.But, this is very untrue that managed web hosting service is suitable only for newbies and not webmasters. There are many factors involved in web server management and require dedicated people to handle the crucial task of server management. Therefore,managed hosting is preferred by most of the consumers in the Web Hosting Industry.

C)Managed Hosting Service isn’t as Reliable as Unmanaged Services.

Its actually the other way round.Reliability basically depends on the web hosting provider you have chosen.Most of the reputed web hosts offer reliability and scalability of their servers.

Instead,if you choose an unmanaged service from a hosting provider, you need to take care of the server management which includes installing new security patches, installation of software upgrades etc.Whereas with a managed web hosting provider, these tasks are taken care by the host themselves and you can concentrate your focus on other aspects of your business.

D) Managed Web Hosting is Insecure

This is another biggest misunderstanding that managed web hosting service is insecure.In todays highly competitive world, it is important to provide the utmost services to the customers.Hence, maximum web hosting providers take utmost care to provide best of the best security and reliability of their servers and services.They take enough precautions to avoid intrusions, attacks, malicious activity etc so as to keep their customers safe and secure. Managed Web hosting provider are well aware of the various online threats, hence take ample care to avoid those.

E) Managed Web Hosting is Very Costly.

Yes, thats true to some extent. But, understand that if it would have been that expensive, would anyone have had chosen these packages? The answer is NO. There are web hosting providers who offer these services at affordable prices. One must differentiate between the fact that you do not have to invest in purchasing costly server hardware and softwares etc. Inaddition to that you do not need to employ teams for the purpose of your server management, therefore if you jot all the expenses, you would realize that choosing a managed web hosting service is far more cheaper than purchasing your own hardware etc. In the long run you would realize that managed hosting services are much more cost effective than the unmanaged hosting solutions.

Knowing the actual Bandwidth and Diskspace required for your web site to be hosted on a hosting server is essential. Most of the people are unaware of this basic requirement. One has to know this before you sign-up with a web hosting provider.

First of all you need to determine the content of your website, it means you should be aware if it contains plain text, audio, video or images. Plain text needs the least amount of diskspace, whereas images, audio and video files need more space.

Due to the lack of knowledge, you may land up paying extra to the web hosting provider.

You can find wide range of web hosting packages being offered, with different bandwidth and storage options at different prices. Choosing a web hosting service provider who offers good quality pre and post sales service is equally important. In the web hosting industry you must know the rule of thumb, 2 mega byte of storage space is sufficient for hosting 10 web pages with plain text or 4 to 5 images. This rule can help you in determining the server space that you would require to host your website. With this you can even calculate the required bandwidth. Most people misunderstand data transfer to be similar to bandwidth. If you expect a lot of data to be transferred, you should choose a web hosting plan that offers additional bandwidth. Incase you opt for a plan that has high data transfer rate and low bandwidth, it is most likely that your site would face some issues such as slow performance and delay in the webpages to display.

It is better to keep the website as simple as possible, avoid using large images and heavy flash content in the web pages. This can help you in managing the disk space and bandwidth. If you are still unable to determine the appropriate web hosting plan, you should approach a web hosting provider, let them know the size of your website and the traffic that you expect. They would help you choose a most suitable web hosting plan.

It is important to know few basic but important things when choosing a web hosting service provider for you business. You should be aware of the requirements of your website/s such as the language used for scripting for example MySQL, PHP, Perl, ASP, ASP.Net etc., you also need to adjust things according to the budget. Once, these things are clear, you can hunt for a suitable web hosting service provider. If you are targeting customers in a particular Geographical location, it is suggested to have your website hosted on servers that are placed in or near those areas.

There are two platforms namely Windows and Linux to choose for hosting your website/s Windows and Linux. If your website is designed using PHP and MySQL, Linux Web Hosting is the most recommended web hosting solution. But, incase you are planning to develop your website in ASP.Net, then you do not have any option other that going for Windows Web Hosting as ASP is supported by Windows only.

Both Linux Web Hosting and Windows Web Hosting have their individual benefits. Web Hosting providers offer various web hosting plans such as managed and unmanaged Dedicated server hosting, Semi-dedicated Web Hosting, Virtual Private Server (VPS) Hosting, Reseller Hosting and Shared Web Hosting for Linux and Windows platforms. Some web hosting providers also offer customization of Dedicated Web Hosting solutions.

Below are some benefits of Windows Web Hosting and Linux Web Hosting.

Benefits of Windows Web Hosting

A) On Windows server you can host websites the use Microsoft’s .Net technologies such as ASP.Net and VB.Net.

B) If you need a database, it is mandatory for you to choose a Windows Server Hosting plan for having a MSSQL database.

C) Access databases are available only with Windows Web Hosting solutions as Access is a Microsoft product and can be run on Windows Servers only.

D) Microsoft’s Sharepoint service too needs to be run on a Windows Server, hence Windows Web Hosting would be the perfect plan for you.

E) Windows Web Hosting solutions are particularly more costly than Linux Hosting as a licensing cost of Microsoft needs to be paid.

Benefits of Linux Web Hosting

A) Linux is an open source software and is registered under the GNU General Public License, hence you are not required to pay a licensing fees for the operating system. It can be downloaded for free from the internet.

B) Linux web hosting is considered as an affordable web hosting solution. The cost of distribution is borne by the web hosting service provider or the owner of the web site.

C) If you have used PHP, MySQL, PostgreSQL or Perl for developing your website, Linux Web Hosting solution would be the most appropriate for you.

D) Linux Web Hosting is comparatively more secure than Windows Web Hosting, hence it is a preferred platform of designers and programmers.

For small business websites, Linux hosting can be more appropriate and affordable hosting solution.

Web Hosting is a basic and probably the most important aspect of any online business. Web servers are an essential component when one needs to get a website live on the Internet. Any E-commerce website needs to be taken care by multiple infrastructure factors, which includes buying and hosting servers, managing them, seamless network connectivity and constantly monitoring the performance of the servers.

Managing the servers can be tedious and ofcourse an expensive task. It may divert away the focus from the core business issues. Here, managed web hosting services can be the best alternative. In the web hosting business, one can find cheap web hosting plans that would best suite once requirements. There is a big misconception that a managed web hosting service comes with a huge price to pay for. Many web hosts are reputed for offering reliable, scalable, high performance, and cost effective in house web hosting solutions.

Managed web hosting service is little different than other hosting solutions such as Standard Dedicated server hosting, Shared web hosting, Reseller Web Hosting and VPS Hosting. Customers have the privilege to choose between Standard and Managed Web Hosting. Though now-a-days hosting providers offer managed services such as managed messaging, managed security, managed server updates etc.

In addition to this, depending on the web hosting provider, these services maybe categorized as cheap web hosting solutions.

Shared web hosting is another type of web hosting, which can be offered under managed hosting category. In this type, multiple accounts are created on a single physical server. Shared hosting is best suited for running open source applications.

There are multiple issues such as security issues, server downtime, network downtime, hardware failure etc. that needs to be addressed on a priority basis. Here, the Managed web hosting can prove to be helpful. Managed web hosting is bit complex, but inspite of that it is flexible and includes system monitoring, network and security management, data back-up services, application management, infrastructure provisioning, database administration and disaster recovery. All there services are now a days included with a web hosting plan at reasonably cheaper rates.

Other good thing about hosting a web site on a leased server is that, one does not need to own any hardware and space. Most of the managed hosting providers offer 24×7 infrastructure monitoring.