Choosing the right Web hosting plan

When choosing a Web hosting plan, one needs to consider a few essential factors. Disk space, access to multiple programming languages, databases, SSL services, FTP access, regular backups, guaranteed uptime, access to server configuration files, raw logs/statistics, and the number of email boxes are among the first few elements.

The next thing to look at is whether you need a Windows or Unix-based host. This depends on what features you need. For example, if you are already using IIS, ASP, VBScript, Microsoft SQL Server, or Access, and you don't have the time to learn Unix-based solutions, you should choose a Windows 2003-based host. Linux- and FreeBSD-based operating systems and Apache Web servers are most common among web hosting companies because of their good track record of stability and performance. There is usually no need for the operating system of your computer to match that of your hosting provider’s.

Next, you should calculate how much disk space your site will need. Typically, 50 MB of disk space will suffice for a vast majority of sites that don't have a lot of graphics, sound and video clips or downloadable files. However, it is a good idea to leave yourself some room for growth.

Data transfer is the next calculation. You can estimate your data transfer requirements by looking at your site’s average page size (including graphics!) and multiplying it by the number of page views you expect to have in a month. For example, you need 3 GB per month for an average page size of 50 KB, and around 2000 page views per day. In this particular case, we recommend getting a plan with 4 to 5 GB of data transfer limit per month – eliminating any worries about overstepping your account's limit (which may cause extra transfer charges). For anything over 50 GB in transfer per month, you should look into getting a dedicated server.

For dynamic sites, you need to figure out the server-side languages. You don’t know how to program in these languages, but you should know which ones you'll need to use on your site. Some of these languages include Perl, PHP,VBScript, JScript, or PerlScript, ColdFusion, JSP, Tcl, Python, server JavaScript, Miva Empressa, and even compiled C/C++.

Finally, if your site stores dynamically-accessible data (like user accounts, stock prices, maps), you'll need to set up an account with a database. NT-based plans offer Microsoft Access or Microsoft SQL Server while Unix-based plans support mSQL, MySQL, or PostgreSQL. MS SQL Server is much more powerful than Access for NT, while MySql and PostgreSQL are more powerful than mSQL in Unix environment.

Lastly, make sure the hosting company offers 24/7/365 technical support by phone and email. Try their phone lines and make sure you talk with a human being and not to a machine before signing up.

We offer fully managed multi-dedicated hardware and/or software load-balanced solutions to individual shared hosting accounts with email access. Our solutions are geared towards reliability and customized for EACH and EVERY application that our clients intend on utilizing.

We can offer just about anything and everything from Linux to Windows 2003 with .Net support to ColdFusion hosting support - all reliable and secured in our N+1 redundant network located in the second most secure building in the country, 60 Hudson Street in Manhattan. This building was the ONLY building that stayed fully-functional during both the 9/11 attacks and the NY grid problems.

All of our hosting plans are set up, configured, managed, and monitored in the following environment:

Server Specifications:
Blue Robin's Shared server environment is hosted on a Compaq Proliant DL360 (or compatible) with multiple points of redundancy built in. A Dual 1 Ghz processor and 512MBs of error correcting SDRAM, two 36 Ultra3 SCSI hot-swappable Smart Array Controlled hard drives all on a Windows Server 2003 OS system. This server will be located in our robust datacenters with 24/ 7/ 365 monitoring of not only the server hardware and CPU usage, but disk write times and anything else that will potentially cause issues.

Blue Robin's staff is trained to sense a problem before it happens and hot-swap the hardware before it even develops into a visible problem. Blue Robin ONLY uses commercial server hardware from Compaq/HP. We have a Microsoft Service Provider Licensing Agreement (SPLA) handling all OS licensing requirements for our Windows 2003 servers.

Server Facilities:
In our facilities we have fault-tolerant data center facilities employing true N+1 redundant configuration for all power and network components. The data center's power design is based on multiple and fully divergent power substations, multiple Uninterruptible Power Supplies, and multiple diesel backup generators. Our network is a Cisco powered network and is highly scalable and fully redundant. Our connections to the Internet take divergent routes via two multi-homed SONET rings that ensure N+1 redundancy. This self-healing network is highly reliable and has virtually limitless scalability. Our network is served by multiple Tier 1 Internet Service Providers.

Security:
Physical security is multi-layered with guard service, surveillance cameras, and biometric identifiers. Only our engineering staff has physical access to your dedicated server. Network edge security and intrusion detection is provided by our privately owned and managed Cisco PIX firewalls. Dedicated servers sit on a protected DMZ network segment used only by our dedicated hosting clients, protecting your system from the Internet and from any shared hosting systems. Firewall access-lists are created specifically to your requirements, only allowing traffic on the ports you authorize. All other traffic is blocked.

Monitoring:
Blue Robin's systems are monitored 24 hours a day 365 days a year. Our engineers not only monitor our servers for failures, but pre-failure events as well. By using our advanced systems management and reporting capabilities many problems are diagnosed and repaired before a hardware failure occurs.

We take it one step farther then a typical hosting company and monitor and maintain our clients Domains in our Domain and DNS Protection Programs. In these days it's commonplace for domains to be thieved, tampered with or even turned down because of lack of payment. We monitor and maintain that every domain stays functional and current for ever.

Our eMail server farm is second to NONE - we offer Spam protection and Virus Rejection as basic services to everyone of our email accounts. We also offer management to each of our clients so the typical add/remove/update an email address request doesn't have to wait for a technician to take care of it.

Feel free to contact us with any questions, and we will be happy to help.