iWeb Communities: Blog

This is 2009’s first day, and as such, I wish a great successful 2009 year for all readers and all customers of iWeb, on behalf of the iWeb team. As written previously, the previous year has been exceptional for the web, with its share of crisis, but most importantly with key innovations, revolutions & growth. For iWeb, this year is simple: provide you with the best web hosting services in the industry, with trusted, solid and better products and services.

This is also an ideal day to sit back and think what you and your company would like to achieve this year, a due exercise to start afresh with new objectives and new motivation.

Here are a few ideas to tinker with, if you are a web developer or programmer:

• look at traffic figures, and plan appropriate capacity for servers
• see if it would be easy to improve performance of the website, by working on the most immediate & easily fixable issues,
• install monitoring services,
• take the opportunity to update software you are using, or uninstall unused software. You might have missed a critical update, and starting fresh could boost performance of your server, with the same existing resources.
• do a security check-up of your server
• learn one or two new technologies from this list: javascript (see capuccino), objective-C, java (android), ruby (Rails 3), python (Google App Engine) etc.
• technology changes fast. So be sure to subscribe to the iWeb blog to get updates on new web technologies or any other new software relevant to the web hosting industry.

If you are a business owner or a consultant, here are other ideas:

• see how using web applications like the Zoho suit can save you money, instead of using desktop applications.  You can also use new online services for recruting, accounting, sales, marketing to capitalize on untapped resources
• see how web services like ning.com, Facebook group, pages and applications, twitter, or by having a company blog can provide you with guerilla marketing and promotion
• get metrics about your web presence. use web analytics (such as percute) to nail your most valuable customers, and focus on them to drive sales and revenue. You can also think about PPC advertising to reach more of those valuable customers.
• be up-to-date with latest web marketing news by subscribing to the iWeb blog

If you are into web entrepreneurship, if you are launching new web destinations and new web startups, here are a few ideas for 2009:

• Get real now and find paying customers. Focus on providing services to customers that will save them money, make them more productive, or get them immediate returns. Do not hesitate to differentiate and nail a niche where you will excel, instead of wasting resources into trying to capture entire markets.
• Track metrics, such as monthly revenues per member, cost of acquisition, viral loop coefficient, etc
• be lean, capitalize on rapid development and user-centric development
• keep an eye on growing markets: mobile (iPhone & Android), social platforms (facebook , twitter & associates), Asia (china and south-east asia), etc.
• Be up-to-date with latest tech news by subscribing to the iWeb blog (of course)

If you have any other ideas or resolutions for 2009, don’t hesitate to share with other readers in the comments area.

(Image Credits: Melbourne New Year’s Eve Fireworks)

We were pleased and happy to learn that we were rated among the top hosting companies in December!  

Findmyhost confirmed that iWeb came out on top for its Co-Location Editor’s Choice Award, this is the seventh time in 2008 that we have had the pleasure of being ranked first.

Two days earlier, Dedicated Server Directory announced that iWeb had been selected as a UNIX Server award winning provider, coming in second.

We would like to think that this might have something to do with the recent network expansions. In fact, in 2008 we have quadrupled the total network capacity to 43 Gbps and added 4 additional telecom  carriers (for a total of 9), which earned us a spot in the November Netcraft ranking.

All the credit goes to our System administrators, Network administrators and our customer service team -congratulations guys!

December is an ideal moment to sum up what has been going for the past year, and see if there has been major changes on the web.

For iWeb customers and partners, apart from new web sites such as Facebook, or new technologies like Ruby On Rails, 2008 can also be remembered as an year of massive growth of Internet usage in Asian Countries. Here is an outline of the growth of major Internet service providers:

The graph comes from the Renesys blog where you can find more detailed figures, published just today. There are many things to get from the graphs, but one recurring pattern is that growth is mainly due to Asian Internet Providers, or international ISPs which received extra traffic from Asia: this is the case of Level 3, Global Crossing, NTT, Tata Communications, China Telecom, Asia Telecom, Korea Telecom, Japan’s SoftBank Telecom, Asia NetCom etc.

Meanwhile, american Internet service providers such as Sprint, Verizon or AT&T are losing ranks compared to last year.

Even more interesting is to see the current “Internet population” for each country:

The figures used for the graph were for June 2008; out of the top 20 countries, 8 of them are now from Asia. In the case of China, the country became first in terms of total Internet users at the beginning of this year, going past the United States.

If Internet usage is a clue for the economic activity of a given country, we can conclude that we have a preview here of the dominance of the Asian continent. Countries like China or Indonesia are experience both high economic and population growth, and will get past other countries in future years. Still, we won’t see in the near future North American users using Baidu (the chineese search engine) or visiting korean-language websites for work or for leisure.

What does that mean for webmasters? Here are possible outcomes that you should consider in your long-term plans:

• It might mean the end of the dominance of English in the next years on the Internet
• Internets within the Internet: we will see more web services targeting a specific cultural and geographic zone, which would be unknown by other “zones”. This is already the case of the Internet in Japan, South Korea or China
• Massive potential growth for webmasters who can provide localized versions of their website, in specific Asian regions.

Of course, translating Facebook or any other popular web service isn’t enough, and if you wish to develop websites for Asia, you’d also need to take into account local customs and local culture.

Reputed firm Netcraft has officially published its ranking of the most reliable hosting companies for November 2008.

The iWeb network is in the top 8, specifically ranking third among the top hosting companies. 

So far in 2008, several upgrades, updates and new carriers have been added to increase network performance and reliability - Congratulations to the network administration team for maintaining such a high quality of service for the IP network!!

The new version of Plesk, v9, is now available to customers, and is now the default plesk control panel for customers.

For webmasters and sysadmins considering plesk, there are demos on the Parallels website, with different login credentials, depending on your desired profile (reseller, admin, customer, user etc.)

The new Plesk9.0 brings a new facelift, with a familiar Vista theme, and should be easier to pick up for website owners new to web hosting. Here are the other new features:

• streamlined user interface
• postfix support for mail
• install web applications such as forums, blogs, ecommerce carts directly from plesk
• new backup functionality
• possible integration with billing

If you go through popular technology sites like digg or techmeme.com, it’s all about web applications, mobile gadgets, google, startups, plus the occasional stab at Microsoft. I think it’s time to change, and talk about what matters: web hosting. Here are the top 9 reasons why web hosting is awesome and why you and everyone should care:

1. Because web hosters power the internet
   
   All the talk you hear about the iTunes Application Store, Android, Xbox Live, Google Maps, well, they’re very cool, and the one common thing behind them is data centers and web hosting companies. Web servers are the alpha and the omega, that’s where everything begins.
2. Because it’s one hell of an explosive industry
   
   Innovation happen every day, both in hardware, software and services. Teams around the world think about new systems, and release every day new innovations such as green hosting, virtualization, new automated managed hosting services, new server architectures, plus new software that is going to harness all this power.
3. Because it has a business model
   
   Compared to your cool typical web2.0 startup, (I’m looking at you, facebook or youtube), a web host has a rock-solid business model, with revenues and *real* money coming in. Whatever you read on blogs like TechCrunch, money is the oxygen of any company — web hosting companies have it, which means they are sustainable, and they are going to be there tomorrow, and the next year, regardless of economic conditions. If there’s trouble, web hosts will be the last to close shops.
4. Because it covers all technology fields, more than any other tech company
   
   Whatever background you have, there’s a place for you in web hosting. A web hosting company needs to have work on multiple kinds of software, design & engineer data centers and their architecture, work with telecommunications providers, implement operations, etc. Which means if you want to broaden your horizons, it’s the place to be. Web startups, IT companies, web development agencies in comparison have it easy.
5. Because it’s damn challenging
   
   Making software is hard. Making software and managing hardware at the same time is twice as hard. And then you get to deal with customer support. And then with external vendors and partners. And then be hyper-creative in marketing. But, in a way, that’s the beauty of it. You get to tackle challenges. And when you think you’ve solved a problem, something else comes up, such as people wanting to serve massive traffic similar to youtube’s. Or someone who wants to do real-time multimedia broadcasting. Everyday is a new day and an opportunity for invention.
6. Because it’s rewarding
   
   Whenever we see a customer having a business, getting new customers, or a blogger getting world-wide fame, we do get also a sense of satisfaction. It’s also one of the rare tech industries where companies can go public (IWB, or RAX) and where founders are rewarded for their entrepreneurship & risks taken.
7. Because anyone can do it
   
   It’s not rare to see 16 year old kids getting a server, and try to resell shared hosting. There are simple things that can be setup easily, and then you can work up in the value chain, as time goes. Web hosting has the same beauty as running, in athletics. Any kid can do it, and you have then the opportunity to become a champion through learning & practice. 
8. Because you get to speak multiple languages after a while
   
   Hablas espanol? Well, if not, you’ll learn quickly the words. iWeb has customers in more than 140 different countries, in every continent of this globe. I can’t think of another kind of company where you get to deal with customers coming from all over the globe, and learning about countries you never knew they existed.
9. Because we have fun too
   
   Most web hosting companies blogs (such as iweb’s (of course), or bluefur’s or any other you are following) have at least one thing one common: it’s taking things lightly and in a fun way. If one wants to be successful in the industry, all it requires is innovation, entrepreneurship, flexibility and results. As a result, work environments are young, energetic and fun. I mean, just look at these pictures.

:-)

Securing your web server is a crucial step. It’s the first thing a webmaster or a sys-admin should do, and at the same time, it’s an ongoing process that must be regularly done. Tales like mafiaboy’s are entertaining, until you are actually the victim of an attack. You can even be the victim of attacks, without even be aware that a spammer or a hacker ring has installed a malicious rootkit or a botnet on your server and using it to propagate spam or viruses.

The following article is a reminder with the essentials fundamentals on how to secure your server. Regardless of the OS you’re using, here are the common steps:

1. Use a clean minimal install of the OS. Decline installing software from third-party software vendors, or uninstall them if you’re given a server which is already functionning,
2. Disable all services except those you intend to offer. If you don’t use ftp or email services, don’t hesitate on disabling or uninstalling them. Disable protocols you are not planning to use, such as IPSec or NetBios on Windows. On a Linux machine, this should boil down to just having a ssh daemon, a firewall, and a web server. 
3. Remove all user accounts, except those that you are planning to use. Change the credentials (username and password) for the admin or the root account. Also, write a detailed how-to document for users who have access to the server, with strong authentication methods, regular auditing for those users, etc. 
4. Check the filesystem, and change it, if appropriate. On Linux systems, you need to change the /tmp and /var directories to different partitions, with restricted permissions, to prevent a Denial of Service where an attacker would try to fill up the logs at /  . On Windows, a NTFS filesystem is more secure. 
5. Run regularly scripts (cron jobs on Linux) which will scan for form mails, cgi files, rootkits, with an email warning whenever there’s a breach. The scripts should also check the integrity of key configuration files (such as Apache’s, configuration of IIS, ssh etc.)
6. Setup monitoring software on your server, with logs of user access, logs of software access
7. Audit your server regularly, with tools like nmap, which will check the network and “open” services.
8. Monitor security patches and updates released for your system. Critical security updates are posted regularly for Microsoft Windows, and as such should be installed as soon as possible. 

Of course, all of these are void and useless if you or another user begins to install random software from untrusted sources on the server. Popular software like Joomla have regularly security issues, with hackers being able to take control of the database server, and your web hosting account. Do install only software which is stable, tested, audited, and secured.

Continue with detailed guides, depending on your OS:

• FreeSoftwareMagazine: Hardening Linux
• Microsoft TechNet: Security Guidance for IIS
• Apple Support: Mac OSX Security Configuration Guides. 

After finding a good web hosting provider, one of your immediate next steps should be writing detailed procedures on how to handle server issues, cope with growth in traffic, website software development, or even cases like attacks from hackers. 

By all means, the following guide is not meant to be definitive, and should be only used as a template, and as such it must be adapted to your special needs and server configuration. 

Follow this step-by-step guide if you find problems while trying to access your servers. As you may discover, in most cases you’ll find solutions within the first steps, and probably won’t have to go up to the last step.

1. Find the kind of error returned by the website. If it’s a 404 error page, it means the website is unavailable. If it’s a 500 page, it’s a problem with your program failing to start and serve the page. Software like Wordpress or drupal will show you on the page if the mysql database is misconfigured. You can see a list of possible errors here, with cues on what might be the problem.
2. Check if the website is available elsewhere if the website is unavailable (404 error). Try for instance with just-ping or host-tracker. These services will ping and try to access your website from different locations in the world. For instance, just-ping will show the percentage of lost packets. A low % might mean that your web server is experiencing massive traffic from websites like digg, or might be the victim of DDOS attack (I hope not so).
3. Try to Disable Dynamic Sections or cache the heavy sections of your website, if the website is still available but is experiencing high load times, frequent time-outs, or uneven performance. If it goes better, it means you have outgrown your server and might need additional servers.
4. Check if the DNS is properly configured and if there’s any potential problems. If you have a server with a dedicated IP, try to access the server by using the IP address, by typing it in your browser bar. One frequent cause of problems is outdated domain names, in the case where webmasters forgot to renew it. Solution: keep a calendar with alerts 7 days before the domain expires.
5. Find if It’s really a problem with iWeb or with a third-party service you are using. If you’re using an external saas service which manage your emails, the problem might be with your provider and not with iWeb. In this case, you should contact them. If it’s a software problem, go to the user group; you can also enquire for help in the iWeb community forum.
6. Check the system status page in the iWeb blog. Any incident will be posted there, as well as scheduled maintenance. If you find a warning relevant to a product you are using, click for details to get the history and also to read comments both by other customers or by the iWeb team.
7. Assess if you can solve yourself the problem, before filing a ticket in the customer hub. If you have a dedicated server, a remote reboot is done in a few minutes. Whereas, with a ticket support, you’ll have to wait until customer support picks up the ticket, then wait for them to understand & find a fix, then go back to you, which might take a few hours to finish. In the same manner, if it’s a DNS issue, you can fix a problem yourself in the Panelbox panel quickly instead of filing a ticket.
8. File a ticket in the customer hub. Before you do so, gather these: passwords, your account ID, and any other relevant information such as the user and port number accessible for ssh. 
9. Be descriptive in your ticket. Writing “It’s urgent” or “I am losing business!!” or “It’s not working!” in bold or capital letters doesn’t actually help the customer support team finding a solution to your problem. Tell them about the problem and steps to reproduce the problem. Helpful description include error logs from web servers, list of unavailable services, and instructions on how to access your server.

I grew up watching James Bond movies. I have, in fact, seen all of them. For the most part, James Bond movies have always been built around the same model, though this has started to change recently. Casino Royale had a new (blonde) Bond, and did not use the “shaken, not stirred” line. In the new Quantum of Solace, we don’t even get a “Bond, James Bond“, and there aren’t really any gadgets. Basically, there are virtually none of the things we have come to expect from a Bond movie.

“But Bernard, how does this relate to the hosting business? “

Well, if nothing had been done to change or update the Bond movies, the producers would have been just fine. They would have survived comfortably, and easily continued to put out profitable movies that appealed to Bond fans worldwide. Not a bad outlook, really. Many web hosting companies are comfortably sitting back knowing that the market for web and server hosting will be auto-sufficient for the near future. And the fact is: you’ll probably be fine if you keep doing what’s worked for years…

(more…)

Here are quick updates for iWeb and the iWeb blog:

• Apache and cPanel are now mirrored at mirror.iweb.com
• You can now subscribe to system updates by RSS or email (see the form on the status page)
• The readers polls for the blog have been closed. Thanks for the feedback! See results
• We’ve seen unique visitors traffic for the iWeb blog double for the past month. Thanks everyone!

Also, if you have interesting links that might be interesting for other readers, please post them below.