Web Hosting 101. with Patrick McNeil

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Kelly Copeland
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1 Web Hosting 101 with Patrick McNeil

2 Alphabet soup

3 Why learn the technical side? To help your clients solve problems To help you work better with your tech team To better understand how the web works To help you deal with hosting

I have worked in the web community for around 12 years now I started in the IT

4 Who am i? Find me on pmcneil.com or on I am a writer, designer, teacher and developer I have worked in the web community for around 12 years now I started in the IT field and my foundation in the web started with the hardware I love to write books, talk about design and teach designers about the web

5 3 parts to hosting a web site A domain name DNS A web host

6 Part 1 Domain Names

7 Registering a domain name There are many ways to get a domain name: Through registrars such as Name.com Through all-in-one hosting services such as GoDaddy Through hosted CMS systems such as Squarespace

8 WHOIS A query to the registrar database Domains are registered in a database WHOIS lets you search the database It's easy; knowing where to start is 90% of the battle. Go here:

9 WHOIS sample Contact information: Registrant Administrative Technical Billing

10 WHOIS privacy

11 Transferring domains You can move domains between registrars A little work A little money Why?

12 Part 2 DNS

13 DNS Stands for Domain Name Services Points a hostname to an IP address

14 DNS is the glue that connects a domain name to a web server

15 URLs Stands for: Uniform Resource Locator It is a very specific location on the internet A sample URL Protocol Sub domain Domain name File path

16 What is a hostname Some examples of hostnames: pmcneil.com mail.pmcneil.com www2.pmcneil.com intranet.pmcneil.com anything-i-want.pmcneil.com many.sub.domains.pmcneil.com

17 Where do you setup DNS DNS servers are setup via the registrar

18 Actual DNS records

19 3 key types of records There are many types of DNS records These are the best ones to start with Hostname CNAME MX Record

20 Hostname record Points a hostname to an IP Address, Also known as an A record

21 CNAME record Points a hostname to another hostname an alias intranet.pmcneil.com test.pmcneil.com mail.pmcneil.com

22 MX records Used to route

23 TTL Trick Manipulate TTL when changing hosts or launching a new site

24 Part 3 the web host

25 Web Hosting A web host stores the documents that make up your website. Web servers are computers connected to the internet at all times. Each web server (an actual computer) can host dozens, hundreds or thousands of sites. A web host stores your site s documents and sends them to people's computers as they are requested. You pay a host to store and deliver your site's files.

26 Types of hosts Three key types of web hosts: Shared Dedicated Cloud

27 Shared hosting

28 Shared hosting

29 Shared hosting This is your typical $2.99 unlimited hosting plan: Least amount of control Hundreds and even thousands of sites on a single server Cheapest option Slowest option Often they offer unlimited sites Backups are not trustworthy Speed can be impacted by the other sites Often the servers are extremely cheap computers

30 Dedicated hosting

31 Dedicated hosting This is the most expensive option: Your own private server A physical computer just for you Total control you can install anything and host tons of sites Backups are typically an add-on Price is based on the server you configure (memory, disk etc) The ultimate in power and control!

32 Cloud hosting

33 Cloud hosting A mix of benefits Almost always priced per site Powerful, reliable and very affordable Extremely reliable Backups are typically an add-on Price is based on the plan you configure (memory, disk etc)

34 You get what you pay for All hosts are not equal: Carefully consider the price point What about backups? Consider the business needs What about security?

35 What about has to be hosted as well: Often bundled with web hosting (you'll see it in a plan "with X accounts") Typically not included with dedicated servers and sometimes with cloud hosting It can be separated from your web host MX records route and can point anywhere you want

36 All in one hosts These hosts combine all of these services: Domain registration DNS Web hosting hosting

37 Have a Strategy

38 My strategy Separate the components into three groups: Domain registration & DNS hosting Web hosting

39 Why? Benefits to separating the components: It lets you shop around. You select components based on your needs. You select providers based on their key strengths. Managing many sites and domains becomes easier. Above all, changes are easier.

40 Recommended services Services I use and love: Domain registration Name.com DNS Via name.com Google Apps - Rackspace - Web hosting

41 Questions? Get in touch:

42 View this presentation View this entire presentation online:

43 Thank you

OpenSRS Email Service DNS Configuration Guide

OpenSRS Email Service DNS Configuration Guide September 18, 2008 Table of Contents DNS Configuration...3 Types of DNS records...3 Email Exchange (MX) records...3 Canonical Name (CNAME) records...4 Example