Useful Information

Overview

web sites are generally hosted in three commercial forms today.

1. The client rents space on a shared server with other companies. Mostly these servers do not allow for interactive applications and there is no real performance or service guarantee.
2. The client rents space on a shared server with a handful of other companies, with more flexibility on the content that can be published. Sometimes there is a performance guarantee but little or minimal Service Level Agreement (SLA).
3. The client provides their own hardware and software via lease hire, purchase hire or outright purchase. This offers the maximum flexibility and tailored SLA.

Typically there is a factor of ten increase in the cost between options 1 to 2 to 3. Option #1 costing hundreds, Option #2 costing thousands Option #3 costing tens of thousands. In order to understand the costs of hosting it is necessary to understand certain 'Price vs. Performance' issues regarding hardware and software.

The software used

Option #1 software developments are often created using free or low cost components as the level of performance required is low to medium.

Options #2 and #3 are written using ever increasing value components at Option #3 level these are called "enterprise" solutions generally reserved for thousands of accesses at high performance.

An Option #1 database might for example use Microsoft Access. An Option #2 database might be something like Microsoft SQL Server and Option #3 might be something like Oracle.

Databases fall into two broad categories:

1. Desktop and scalable applications such as Microsoft Access
2. True RDBMS (Relational Database Management Systems) such as Oracle, Informix, and SQL Server.

The cost of implementing projects on the web depends on two factors:

1. The software development costs of programming skills.
2. The Licensing costs of purchasing the software and hosting it on the Internet, Oracle and Informix being more expensive per transaction than SQL Server for example.

For example:

Microsoft Access	Microsoft SQL Server
Advantages
No Extra Server Costs. Ease of implementation. Lower development cost. Compatibility with existing desktop systems	Fast Processing. Large amount of data. Many connections allowed. Better upgrade path. Data can be rolled back to within 1mSec of a crash
Disadvantages
Limited amount of data storage. Only a few concurrent connections allowed (typically 5). Not a long term option for a large site. Hardware failure may cause data loss.	Software purchase required. User Licence required. Better computer required to get improved performance.

Our advice would be the SQL server option for longer term. This way the code would not need to be re-written if you ever wanted to increase performance.

The hardware used

The hardware i.e. the server or computer has a direct relationship on performance in the following areas:

• Reliability and Recovery
• Service Support
• Speed of Information Delivery

The reliability of the machine will be enhanced by purchasing the best components. The speed to a recovery of a failed component can be enhanced by choosing hardware that has been designed for "hot swapping" of components or where replacements are on hand or freely available. Back-up devices ensure recovery of data from hardware failures is as painless as possible.

Service Support can be provided for hardware more readily if branded products such as Compaq or Dell are bought with service contracts. Hand built PC's and desktops offer nowhere near this level support.

Information can be retrieved faster if the processors are faster, RAM is bigger and hard disk drive access is faster.

Line rental

Once the server is configured the cost of connecting the machine to the Internet comes into play. Typically this is priced in two ways: an amount of data downloaded per unit of time e.g. 5GB per month, or a guaranteed bandwidth (data delivery speed) of 64 KBps, 128 KBps etc.

Server hosting

The actual floor space or rack space the machine takes up in the "server farm" is subject to a fee. This is normally collected with the line rental above.

If you found this useful or would like to find out more about server options contact us directly on 01273 384250 or contact us through our contact form.