Basic
Web Terminology
What is a virtual server?
When you rent space on our servers, you are provided with your own
"virtual" server (as opposed to an "actual" server). That
means that you have your own IP address and your own domain name, so that it
appears as if you have your own servers and lines connecting you to the
Internet. Your mail would be received from "someone@yourcompany.com",
and your URL would be http://www.yourcompany.com.
Once you register your domain name, it belongs to you. So, if you switch your
host servers, your domain name will stay the same, and visitors to your site
will be unaware of any change.
What is a Second Level Domain Name?
An example of a second level domain name is "yourcompany.com".
These are different from Fully Qualified Domain
Names because they do not include a host name (such as www.) .
Typical extensions are .com, .org, .edu, .net, & gov., more extensions
will be added in the future. Second level domain names are registered with the
organization InterNIC and can be 26 characters long (including the 4 letter
extension -- the .com counts so really you only have 22 characters), including
letters, numbers and dashes (-). Dashes cannot be in the first or last
position of the name.
What is a Fully Qualified Domain Name?
A fully qualified domain name is the second level domain name plus the
host. An example is "www.yourcompany.com",
where "www" is the host. The fully qualify domain is reduced to an
IP address that computers use to locate your domain.
What is a URL?
URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator. This is the http protocol plus the
fully qualified domain name. An example is "http://www.yourcompany.com".
What is an IP address?
The Internet Protocol address is the standard way of identifying a computer
that is connected to the Internet. The IP address consists of four numbers
separated by periods - each number is less than 256. We assigns a unique IP
address to each virtual domain. When your fully qualified domain name (e.g.-www.yourcompany.com)
is used in a browser, it is eventually converted to the IP address (eg.-
123.45.67.89) for that domain.
What is a DNS server?
DNS stands for Domain Name Server. These are the servers that match up a
fully qualified domain with the proper IP address. This is necessary because
computers only understand the IP address for your domain (e.g.-
123.45.678.90).
Here is a simplified view of what happens when someone types
www.yourcompany.com into their browser:
Your computer checks it's TCP/IP configuration for it's Domain Name Server
address list. It queries that computer's database for the IP address of the
fully qualified domain you typed in. If it is not found, you get routed to the
root servers in the path of that DNS server. If they don't have the address,
you get routed to InterNIC's root servers which match up the second level
domain name to the Primary and Secondary DNS servers that hold the Start of
Authority record for the domain. That Name Server has the IP address of the
Fully Qualified Domain Name. Now the DNS servers send the information
backwards to all of the requesting servers so they now know the path, and you
don't bounce around so much next time.
A full understanding requires at least one book. A good starting reference
is DNS and BIND published by O'Reilly & Associates, Inc.
What is a POP3 account?
A POP3 account is a full email account that you use to send or receive
email. All of our hosting packages include 5 POP3 email accounts. Mail to any
POP3 account can be forwarded to another email address at no extra charge.
Email autoresponders are also available at no extra charge (small setup charge
applies).
What is an alias?
An alias is simply a substitute for your email log-in name. Aliases allow
you to list multiple email addresses on your site with a single mailbox to
check mail for all of them. For example if you@yourcompany.com
has an alias called webmaster, then when anybody sends mail to webmaster@yourcompany.com,
it will actually be going to you@yourcompany.com.
All of our hosting packages allow for unlimited aliases at no extra charge
(small setup charge applies).
What are "MBs of data transfer"?
Also referred to as bandwidth, this is a measurement of file size over
time. The files are your pages served up by the web server for your site
visitors. A good size for a quick page is about 30kb; many of the pages you
have seen are around this size. That means that a 30kb page can be loaded
33,333 time per month before you get to 1000Mb. Keep in mind that 90% of web sites never exceed 600Mb/month of data
transfer.
Services
and Policies
Do you restrict the content of web sites that you host?
We neither monitor nor restrict the content of the web sites we host. It is
the sole responsibility of the subscriber to adhere to all laws, statutes,
rules and regulations pertaining to the use of their web site. See our Policies
section for more information.
What happens if I exceed my data transfer
limit for the month?
If you exceed your allotted bandwidth, you will be automatically billed to
your pre-arranged credit account at the end of the month for the amount
exceeding the pre-paid amount. If you expect the bandwidth usage to be
sustained, we will offer you an upgrade to your current hosting package that
better suits your increasing needs. Keep in mind that 90% of web sites never
exceed 600Mb of data transfer per month.
Servers
and Connections
Do you provide dial-up internet access?
There are two issues to prioritize a) your access to surf the web b)
millions of potential customers that need access to your site. Clearly the
success of your business is dependent on your customers --therefore that is
our priority. Elliott's Computer Corner is not an ISP (internet service
provider) because being both an ISP and a hosting service congests a company's
servers, bandwidth, and spreads support staff pretty thin. This results in
less attention to the hosting clients. We recommend you use North
Carolina Online (or a local provider if North Carolina Online is not in
your area) as your local dial-up internet access.
What type of servers will host our domain?
Because reliability of performance is top priority, Elliott's Computer
Corner's service offerings are built around durable Cobalt, Compaq, and
Hewlett Packard server platforms utilizing Windows NT, Windows 2000 and Linux
operating systems to provide diversity and flexible options to our customers.
How are you connected to the Internet?
Elliott's Computer Corner provides it's customers with state-of-the-art
Network Operations Centers that maintain high data transmission capacity
through close proximity connections to the world's leading Internet backbone
providers, including Cable and Wireless, Digex, Inc., Qwest Communications
International, Inc., Sprint Communications Company and UUNET Technologies.
All of this is important but is really secondary to our policy of 60%
utilization. Whenever any servers or lines are at 60% utilization over a
month, we expand. Quite frankly it would be dishonest to say that a 100Mbit
connection is faster than a T3 or that a T3 is faster than a T1. Using IP
packets there is a limit imposed on packet size, and the net itself imposes
speed limitations. To elaborate, a busy T3 could be slower than a T1 due to
the congestion. The packets travel at roughly the same speed but the traffic
is higher. As an analogy, consider how fast you drive down an empty back road
as compared to a traffic jam on the freeway.
What does this mean for you? Our facilities coupled with our 60%
utilization policy gives you the fastest possible web hosting available!
What is your upgrade policy?
We have a 60% utilization policy. This means that any time any one of our
servers is used at 60% capacity averaged over a month, we add another server
or upgrade it. If our lines are at 60% of their capacity averaged over a month
we add bandwidth.
Domain
Name Registration and Transfer
How do I check if a domain name is available?
You can call us at (252) 535-0937, and we will be happy to look up the
domain names for you.
Or, you can go to
http://www.networksolutions.com
to see if the domain name you would like is already taken. Only letters,
numbers, and dashes (-) are allowed. Dashes cannot be in the first or last
position of the name. Domain names with spaces or underscores are not valid -
they will show as being available, but you won't actually be able to register
them. Be sure to include the extension (.com, .org, .net...) in the name.
Who is Network Solutions, and what do they
do?
Network Solutions is the organization that registers domain names in the
United States, soon there will be more organizations that do this.
Why do I have to register my domain name?
Computers on the internet communicate via TCP/IP (Transmission Control
Protocol/Internet Protocol). When a computer tries to communicate with another
machine it looks up the IP address assigned to the name you type in the URL.
The actual letters you use are meaningless to the computer until they are
translated into an IP address.
Here is a simplified view of what happens when someone types
www.yourcompany.com into their browser:
Your computer checks its TCP/IP configuration for its Domain Name Server
address list. It queries that computer's database for the IP address of the
fully qualified domain you typed in. If it is not found, you get routed to the
root servers in the path of that DNS server. If they don't have the address,
you get routed to InterNIC's root servers which match up the second level
domain name to the Primary and Secondary DNS servers that hold the Start of
Authority record for the domain. That Name Server has the IP address of the
Fully Qualified Domain Name. Now the DNS servers send the information
backwards to all of the requesting servers so they now know the path, and you
don't bounce around so much next time.
A full understanding requires at least one book. A good starting reference
is DNS and BIND published by O'Reilly & Associates, Inc.
How long before I can use my domain name?
Usually, only a couple of days. After the correctly filled-out template is
submitted to InterNIC, they acknowledge its receipt by email, usually that
same day. A second notification comes when the domain is completed, usually
that same day or the next. Then it may take another day for the root servers
to actually be updated.
How much does it cost to register a domain name?
InterNIC's annual fee is $35.00. InterNIC requires that you initially
register for two years, so your first bill from them is $70.00. After two
years InterNIC will charge you $35.00 to renew the domain name for another
year.
Does it cost anything to transfer my
domain?
No. If you already have a domain name registered with InterNIC, they will
not charge you to transfer your domain.
Site
Statistics Reporting
What information will be displayed?
Statistical information can be e-mailed to you each month. See how many people
visit your site, when they visit, which pages they view, how long they stay,
and more! You can analyze your site's statistics over the last 7 or days, last
month, or the last 30 days.
What's the difference between
"hits" and "user sessions"?
A "hit" is generated every time the server serves up one of your
files. So if you have one page with 5 images on it a user browsing the page
would generate 6 hits (one for the page and one for each image). Then they
generate more hits for the next page... We do report Hits, but we also track
User Sessions which is one particular IP address browsing your pages until
they are inactive for 30 minutes (this ends tracking their session).
When I upload files, does this increase the
measured data transfer per month?
No. When you upload your files, it will not have an effect on the data
transfer per month for your domain.
POP3 Email
Accounts
What is an alias?
An alias is simply a substitute for your email log-in name. Aliases allow
you to list multiple email addresses on your site with a single mailbox to
check mail for all of them. For example if you@yourcompany.com
has an alias called webmaster, then when anybody sends mail to webmaster@yourcompany.com,
it will actually be going to you@yourcompany.com.
All of our hosting packages allow for unlimited aliases at no extra charge.
What characters can my username consist of?
You can use numbers, letters, periods, and hyphens for your usernames and
aliases. Spaces are not valid, and periods and hyphens cannot be in the first
or last position of the username. Usernames can be 20 characters long. Aliases
can be up to 30 characters.
Examples of valid usernames: kevin-jackson@yourcompany.com, mary.smith@yourcompany.com.
Can I have my mail forwarded to another
email account?
Yes, forwarding is available for all POP3 accounts at no extra charge.
Are E-mail autoresponders available?
Yes. Simply indicate the content of your automated reply and which POP3
username it applies to in the 'Notes' section of our on-line registration
form. If you are an existing client, simply email info@elliottscomputers.com
, and tell us the content of your automatic reply and which POP3 username this
will apply to.
Where can I get email software?
Both Microsoft Windows/Windows95 and Netscape Navigator come with email
software. Or, you can get a freeware version of Eudora Light at http://www.eudora.com/eudoralight.
How much are extra POP accounts?
$1.50 per month per account. If you need more than 25 ask for a package.
Can I send out bulk mailings from this account?
SPAM is not tolerated here, and can result in termination of your account.
We have to deal with the flames that result from SPAM you send out and attacks
from these irate recipients.
Search
Engines
What are search engines?
Search engines build their databases by utilizing "spiders" or
"robots" which pull descriptions and keywords from sites
automatically. It is a good idea to submit your site to these search engines
to speed up the process by pointing them to your site.
Does Elliott's Computer Corner offer search engine
registration services?
Interested? Call for our order form!
What are directories?
Directories are similar to search engines, but they build their databases
only from information that has been submitted to them.
How do I subscribe for free?
Here are a couple of URL's for submitting your web site to multiple search
engines and directories for free:
http://www.submit-it.com
http://www.signpost.ca
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