Clustering vs. Load Balancing

Before you can talk about differences between clustering and load balancing, and there are more than a few, you've got to get the definitions straight. Clustering is often understood to mean the capability of some software to provide load balancing services, and load balancing is often used as a synonym for a hardware- or third-party-software-based solution.

In practice, clustering is usually used with application servers like IBM WebSphere, BEA WebLogic and Oracle AS (10g). Also being used in that environment are load balancing features found in Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) like BIG-IP. (For simplicity, we will talk about "clustering" versus "ADC" approaches.)

Scalability, horizontally speaking

There are hardware load balancers, of course, but there we talk about "pools" or "farms," the server groupings where application requests get distributed. It is in the software world that the term "cluster" is applied to that same group.

Clustering will typically convert one instance of an application server to a master controller, then process/distribute requests to multiple instances using such industry standard algorithms as round robin, weighted round robin or least connections. Clustering is similar to load balancing in that it has horizontal scalability, a nearly transparent way to add additional instances of application servers for increased capacity or response time performance. To ensure that an instance is actually available, clustering approaches typically use an ICMP ping check or, sometimes, HTTP or TCP connection checks.

Health and transparency

For load balancing, ADCs support the same industry algorithms, but have additional, complex number-crunching processes, and check such parameters as per-server CPU and memory utilization, fastest response times, etc. ADCs also support more robust health monitoring than the simple app server clustering solutions. This means they can verify content and do passive monitoring, dispensing with even the low impact of health checks on app server instances.

For applications that require the user to interact with the same server during a session, clustering uses server affinity to get the user there. This is most common during the execution of a process like order entry, where the session is used between pages (requests) to store data needed to close a transaction, like a shopping cart.

For the same situation, ADCs use persistence. Clustering solutions are usually somewhat limited as to the variables they can use, while ADCs can not only use traditional application variables but also get other information from the application or network-based data.

More than a few clustering solutions need node-agents deployed on each instance of an application server that is "clustered" by a controller. It may not be a burden as far as deploying and managing it, since it is often in place, but it is still means more processes running on the servers and consuming memory and CPU resources. Of course, it also adds another possible failure point to the data path. Since ADCs need no server-side components, they remain completely transparent.

Making the choice

Some would ask, Why do the extra work of building a distributed software system and cluster server setup when you can have multiple servers fulfilling specific roles-such as separate database servers, web servers, mail servers, etc.-whenever necessary?

So, how do you choose? That depends on the reasons you are considering this kind of solution in the first place, and (perhaps) whether or not you have to make an additional purchase to achieve clustering capabilities for the particular application server you have. There is also the broader question of whether or not you need (or want) to provide support for multiple application server brands. Clustering, of course, is proprietary to the application server, but ADCs can provide services for any and all applications or web servers.

Clustering checklist

Pros:

- Typically available with application server's enterprise package
- Doesn't require the highest level of networking know-how
- Usually less costly than redundant ADC deployments

Cons:

- High availability not assured with clustering solutions
- Best practices deploy the cluster controller on separate hardware
- Node agents required on managed app server instances
- Clustering is "proprietary" (you can cluster only homogeneous servers)

ADC checklist

Pros:
- Provides high availability and load balancing in heterogeneous environments
- Added value of application optimization, security and acceleration
- No changes required to applications or servers where they're deployed

Cons:

- An additional piece of infrastructure in the architecture
- Generally more costly than clustering solutions
- Could require new skill set to deploy/manage

Recommendation

Get more insight into performance, configurations and case studies by reading some testing-based articles on ADCs, and testing-based reviews of server clustering. Look for case studies that mirror your own situation, as closely as possible, and talk to people who are doing what you are planning (or thinking about). Unlike government going into the car business or taking over health care, do not do something quickly just to be seen doing something. Take care with this decision.

The Qualities of the Best Web Hosting Service Providers

When browsing the internet for the best host to run your website you may have noticed there are hundreds of hosting options with many different hosting plans. So how would you pick the best one for you?

Obviously since you are reading this you have accomplished step 1 which is do all the research you can on different hosts, personal experiences with services, what the plans offer, can you find similar deals with regular up time anywhere else?

When approaching different hosts not always is the “top ranked host” always actually the best host out there. Usually the “top ranked hosts” are more likely to be hosts which have been around for much more time than the other hosts and have worked their way up the scale by either good service, or plenty of money advertising. But just good service and lots of money, doesn’t specifically make the best host.

Firsts we would like to address the Top 10 ranked host providers on the internet thus far. These host providers being; Fat Cow, Just Host, I power, immotion, ix web hosting, super green hosting, hostgator, pow web, start logic, and green geeks hosting.

Fat Cow – Fat Cow has been in the leading top 10 for a long time due to their low prices and constantly changing discount deals. Typically this would be criticism worthy being their discount deals are always stated as a new deal but hardly ever differs from the previous deal. But if you want a host which will offer you a discount price which is equal to a regular price with another “less known” host. This will probably be the host for you. Fat Cow does offer you benefit even some of the other top 10 picks wont, such as a free site builder, advertising credits, add-ons, free lifetime domain names, all with the purchase of a premium plan.

Just Host – Now here is a host which gives you lots of “eye catching” plan deals right on the front page to snag your business. At the equivalent to Fat Cows hosting price, ironically also a discounted price, you get pretty much unlimited everything, along with an anytime money back guarantee. Which if you think about it either they are opening themselves up for loss of profit which really shows they know you will not be disappointed in their service, or they have put a lot of “catches” into this policy so they protect their own investments. Just host offers unlimited space, transfer, domain hosting, and email accounts, mySQL databases, along with free site builders, instant setup, and much more.

Now if you know anything about hosts, you will know all of these qualities in which are offered will usually carry throughout all the top hosts, a competition of sorts to try to direct all of the customers to their service, because of this desperate demand to be number 1. Every once and a while you will run into one of these top hosts offering you a deal unlike anyone else which you just can’t refuse, my advice to you, don’t refuse it. You may never get that opportunity again.

Now onto some of the hosts which are not in the top 10. First thing you are probably thinking is, “if it’s not in the top 10 it’s not going to be good enough.” But really that’s not the case at all; just because you haven’t paid off a bunch of companies to top list you don’t make the service terrible. Some examples are meek host and hostrator.

Meek Host - This is a post to host service, yes that means free. Post to host services requires a specific amount of posts on a specific forum or website so many times a month, or over the amount of a year, to qualify to keep hosting. Hosts such as meek host will give you a full premium account in return for this posting favor. Meek host offers automatic add on installations, site builders, and even a lot of features which you cannot find in the “top 10 list” so whets the catch with meek host? Sometimes meek host can have a little bit of down time, not often but if you are running a fully fledged constant traffic site, where people are dependent on using it every day. Meek host won’t be the host for you.

Hostrator – This is your run of the mill free clone host, why am I calling it a free clone host? Because if you browse around other free hosts you will find some of these hosts are exactly the same. From layouts to applications to service providers and plans. It is all the same. Now this free service does in fact give you a premium service package for nothing, and offers great service and benefits, but, these clone sites are so glitchy is it even worth it?

What is a Web Hosting Control Panel?

There is an increasing number of people who are hosting the web today, from individuals to huge multinational companies. Web hosting is an industry which is very competitive and allows the web hosts to provide the clients with great features at an affo9rdable price. A webmaster requires a web host more than any other thing in order to make his online presence felt.

Most of the web host providers offer rich features to their clients to make them quit thinking of competitors even for a while. A good technical support is what the webmasters look for, and thats what the providers are providing. The prices are based on features, and they differ from company to company. Ditto for the add-on features like free domain names, etc. However, control panel is the most important aspect and only the best can provide a good Control Panel. A new webmaster may find it difficult to finance the huge expenses required for starting up a website, since he is restricted by his budget. CPanel allows them to go ahead with web hosting easily. It makes addition of extra features like blog, message boards, etc. to the site easy as well.

Having a web hosting facility online is a major benefit of CPanel. You just need to establish your computer to the net to access the web hosting services of the control panel. Then the computer can have access to the files that are stored in the web hosting control panel. It also gives the users an option to modify or delete files easily, as CPanel is very user friendly. The CGI scripts can also be modified and statistical information can be located on your website, like the frequency of hits to your site. It can also permit the users to create anonymous FTP user profiles, and even manage FTP data and information.

In the event of a computer crash or freeze, a backup of the files is always created by CPanel, so data loss can be done away with. Such files can be restored to the website as well as the FTP, and important information like mailing lists and other information relating to the customers can be retrieved easily. Statistical data can be monitored as well, and CPanel also permits you to receive error logs where there is a connection dropout.

Security should always be a primary concern for a website owner, and CPanel has several security features. Protection of password and hot link blocking are important web hosting programs and they ensure that hackers and outsiders cannot intrude into the website server. In the case of errors, the users are redirected to a different part of the website and until the problem is solved, their access to the FTP server will be controlled.

The users are allowed to run the CGI scripts very smoothly by the CPanel, by virtue of access to the editing program. It means that its a cakewalk for the webmaster to install additional features on the website like blogs, chats, discussion boards, etc. Besides, they can also have an online shopping mall where the customers would immensely benefit as they would be able to make purchases without having to move out of their house.

Overall, the control panel is essentially a software which the web hosting company gives to the clients for them to be able to manage hosting of their website in the best possible way. The control panel can manage the website activities such as opening FTP accounts, creating mails, etc. The control panel can never be taken as a gauge of how good or bad the web hosting company is, but as it is a very important aspect, it needs to be looked into also.

Control panel for Windows platform

A Windows-only control panel is Helm, which has a lot of beneficial features for the customers and the billing information is the most attractive feature offered by it. Barring the H-sphere, almost all of the frequently used control panels fail to give billing information inside the panel. Helm has a user-friendly interface, and it is very easy to use.

Another web hosting control panel set only for Windows is the Hosting Accelerator. It shows more information to create a positive impression, but the fact remains that quality is always given precedence over looks. Just a glance at it and you would feel that not much planning has gone into the interface and it doesnt have many features which it can boast about.

Control Panel for Linux platforms

The CPanel holds the most important spot among all the control panels, especially because of its attractive features, affordable pricing and ease of operation. It is a Linux-based web hosting control panel and can serve more than ten Linux flavors. The price is just $20 every month per server, so most of the web hosting companies prefer it over other.

Interworx is another web hosting control panel, and undoubtedly, one of the best. Interworx has dedicated Linux platform, and it boasts of a very neat interface, which is also very easy to operate.

DirectAdmin is another Linux-based web hosting control panel. The DirectAdmin feature which is most attractive is its cost, which is only $10 a month, and is undoubtedly, the most easy to use control panel. The downside is that it does have the great features which other Linux-based control panels can boast of.

There is a major disadvantage of web hosting control panels which are based only on Windows and Linux. They lose the other platforms hosting customers.

Control panels for both Windows and Linux

A web hosting control panel which can serve on both Linux and Windows is Plesk. There are many webmasters who want to serve both the platforms of Windows and Linux and they always use Plesk for this reason. The Plesk interface is similar to that of Windows XP and as it serves both platforms, it is quite expensive. However, the website builder tool can integrate with Plesk very well.

H-Sphere is another control panel which works on both the platforms. Though many webmasters use it, Plesk and CPanel have much more features than it. Still, it offers some functions enabling full automation.

There is another web hosting control panel, Ensim, but it has a long way to go to match the standards of Plesk and CPanel.

If one has to go by the ratings, the findings are conclusive that CPanel is the best control panel for Linux, and Helm for Windows.

Apart from the benefits already talked about, CPanel is very popular with the script Fantastico. This script has been designed for making installation of some commonly used scripts automatic. Fantastico can handle more than fifty scripts. Besides, other aspects about this script are involved as well, which gives the webmasters a huge benefit. Also, CPanel comes with many icons which reveal information on the accessible sections as well.

Forum Hosting tips

If you are planning to own a new website for your products then there are plenty of options to think about. Obviously, no one wants to invest much in the beginning and that is why you must understand different types of hosting before you opt for any of them. It should be cheap, affordable, secured and easy to use so that you can get the benefits at ease. Forum hosting has become quite a popular web hosting solution to many business owners. Though, the beginners may sometimes feel forum hosting a bit tough but once you get used to it things will be better. You just need to find a good and reliable web host who can provide you free phpBB and also the support to the database to operate the website or forum properly and without any hazards. For all these, you need to host your forum first and then get the phpBB too. Do not get confused because it may sound tough but you need not do that much.

If you want to get more traffic then you can also think about video web hosting. This is really useful for both the host and the visitors. This is the edge of technology and nobody will stay in your page to read long descriptions about your company and products. Video hosting makes everything fast so that the visitor can listen and see whatever points you are going to tell them. But you must check a few things before going for video web hosting. Two crucial things for video hosting are disk space and bandwidth. To host the videos smoothly both of these need to be higher. Video web hosting is a bit costly and that is why in the beginning you can opt for shared hosting. This is cheaper than dedicated hosting and you can get many benefits too. In case of dedicated web hosting you need to pay a higher amount. But shared hosting is pretty much beneficial for the beginners and small business owners.

In today’s age, you can hardly find somebody who has no idea about forums, message boards or even the video uploading sites. People from various backgrounds take part in various forums for different types of discussions. That is why you can actually get biggest benefits from forum hosting solutions today. Make sure that the database management is proper and also there is no error in the coding. Another thing is, your forum needs to be fast so that the visitors need not wait much to see the contents. That is why you need to check the bandwidth in case of video web hosting. Videos web hosting needs higher bandwidth otherwise, you will fail to reach the customers base easily. There are plenty of web sites available and if you site lacks the speed or anything people will shift to other websites. Obviously, that is not what you want. Be very careful before choosing any of the web-hosting solution. Be creative and patient and soon your ite will be full with traffic.

Overview of web hosting solutions

There are many people who seek a good and reliable web hosting solutions provider but end up into confusion. You must not include your name to that list and that is why this article can provide you some information about different types of web hosting solutions. Some of the most popular web hosting solutions is shared hosting, dedicated hosting, video hosting and blog hosting. Initially, most of the people start with shared hosting then eventually they shift to dedicated web hosting solutions. There are limited hosting and unlimited hosting too. Though, the price will differ but still unlimited hosting has more benefits than the others. If you are planning to host a website then the very first thing you need to do is to search a reliable service provider. Sometimes, in case of unlimited hosting people face a problem with the upload or download speed and the disk space issue. But if you find a good and reliable web hosting service provider then these issues will never arise.

Initially everyone wants cheaper service and that is why they start with shared hosting. Later, many of them shift to dedicated web hosting solutions. There are some solutions where you can utilize the dedicated hosting in quite a cheaper rate. Here comes the cpanel hosting solution. For the everyday user, cpanel is undoubtedly the best option. You need not know every small technical details or coding at all. This is a very simple and easy to use interface that anyone can use at ease. If you want to make some quick changes then you can get it to the best possible way for sure. If you wish then you can also add a word press blog with this for promotional work or other things. As a whole you will get a complete package in cPanel hosting solution which none other can offer you.

In case of cPanel hosting you can various eye catching while registering with the service. Never ever sign up for any of those offers. These offers are notorious and can cause many harm to your work. Later, you can find many better solutions that can provide help to your website and increase the traffic too. Unlimited hosting too is popular among the people today. But there are more hypes than the actual truth. So, if you are planning to opt for this, learn a few things first. Absolute unlimited hosting is not at all possible. There are many catches in the whole thing and if you are not aware then you may end up paying even more. It may sound bitter but this is the truth that no company can provide you unlimited space and bandwidth. So be very aware of the traps. You may get some offer for unlimited service; you can try it for shorter time period. Do not ever sign up for long term services. You will understand the loopholes once you start your website. Be very clear about your requirement and proceed accordingly. No one will be able to stop you then.

What Type Of Website Hosting Do You Want?

There are primarily several types of web hosting available for web sites on the Internet and depending on the sort of online business or site you have, will, in actual fact define the kind of web site hosting that you will require. Indeed there are many many different sites that provide free web pages or websites for people and they normally only offer a page or two with the power to upload pictures. They are also very user friendly so you won't have to become a computer champion to use one of these servers.

When you consider a site like MySpace where you can get a site there that is completely non-paying. When you use on of these sites you can easily add photographs, blogs, messages, videos and even music with the only stipulation being that it can only be for social uses only, or is meant to be. This is an excellent example of a non-paying site, but meantime, MySpace utilizes your web pages to position their own advertizements. You are going to be limited on storage space, the sort of substance you can post, and naturally the web site does not belong to your, but MySpace. Should you wish to trade products online - you can use a affordable common server that provides you with an opportunity to create your own site for free and might even provide guides. Of course you will have to acquire a domain naturally, such as mybestwebsite.com, in addition you will need to register the domain and then have access to upload your web site on the shared server.

You are going to be restricted on space, what kind of subject matter you can upload, and naturally the website does not belong to your, but MySpace. Should you want to trade merchandise online - you can employ a inexpensive shared server that provides you with an chance to set up your own web site free of charge and could even provide guides. You will have to purchase a domain naturally, such as myfavouritethings.com, and you will have to register the domain name and then be able to upload your site on the common server.

Of course, in the case of a non-paying common server, you will be sharing your web site with other websites, plus you will be limited to space as well as bandwidth. You won't be allowed to have thousands of people visit your site in an hour as it will need too much bandwidth. This is often the best answer for small business that trades very few products online even though in the meantime, your site will probably have a quantity of adverts that are placed on there by the service provider to earn the income required to look after your site. A common server alternatively, is just like a non-paying server except you have to pay a little bit each month to maintain your website. You have a bit more freedom when it comes to advertizements and may even establish an revenue by subscribing to Google Adsense advertizements to be place on your site, even though you will still have to create a domain name.

A dedicated server holds only your web site and no-one elses so you will be able to have as much storage space as you want to create a website as massive as you desire. You will more than likely have enough bandwidth to accommodate all the traffic you might have, and have complete control over the adverts that you place on your website. The alternative is a dedicated server which is the ultimate in web site hosting because you are in reality hosting your own private site and you have sufficient space, bandwidth and freedom to do whatever you please. Although, while costing more, in actual fact end up being less costly in the long run, or even adding to your income, if used in the correct manner.

Finding the right hosting solution

Many people find it extremely difficult to search out a proper web hosting solution for their website and products. Though, it is not tough to find a legitimate one but we are going to discuss about various hosting solutions in this article. This will surely be able to provide you some of the helpful and useful information. In recent days you can hear a few types of web hosting everywhere. Drupal hosting, Joomla hosting and wordpress hosting has become immensely popular these days and you can find them to most of the places. You can find a few trusted CMS services available in the market and Drupal hosting is surely among one of the best services.

If you are going to try Drupal for the very first time, then you must not opt for any pricy option. The cheap Drupal hosting services are perfect for you. Be very sure about your choice from the very beginning so that you can proceed accordingly. There are some real good and cheap Drupal web hosting offers you can find. You just need to pay $5 to avail the facilities. You may find many people talking about disk space. But in such a low paying web hosting service also you are going to get enough disk space and bandwidth. This is really a treat for the beginners and small business owners. The feature of Drupal is you can install multiple website from single control. One thing you need to check is the connection speed of the web server and MS SQL database. If the connection works well then you will find it really easy to work with. The installation is pretty easy and you need not worry much about the whole thing. It is really user friendly and that is why Drupal is becoming one of the most popular hosting services worldwide.

Wordpress and Joomla hosting are two another names making their marks on people’s mind these days. You may find this type of searching little boring but all these things will surely help you to find the best web hosting solution for your website. Joomla hosting is cheap and reliable. You need not have any special hosting for Joomla and the price you need to pay is within $20. There are some software companies who can provide you some free tools and templates along with the package. All these templates will actually help you to save some money in future. Another important thing is market survey. Different companies offer different packages. If you ask everything in details then you will come to know various packages and can choose according to your convenience.

Those who know about blogging they know about wordpress for sure. Wordpress is really pretty famous among the Blogger users these days. Wordpress is one of the largest self hosting tools available in the market right now. Blogger has become really popular among various ages of people. Wordpress really have huge contribution in it. To host wordpress PHO and My SQL is needed and if these things are there you must not think anymore. From now on, check all these details before you opt for any types of web hosting and get the benefits.