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Things To Know Before Selecting a Hosting Company
Know the difference
It is crucial to understand the difference between the types of hosting offered in the marketplace to ensure you choose the right one for your business and applications. As the hosting industry has matured, hosting service options have been divided into distinct categories, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. The categories range from Shared, Collocated, Unmanaged Dedicated and Managed Dedicated Hosting.
Shared hosting (often referred to as virtual hosting), means that you are sharing one server with a number of other customers, sometimes thousands. The hosting company manages the server, and you maintain your site and account. Obviously the key reason for this type of arrangement is to lower the cost and price of service.
However, the resources of that server are being used by companies other than yours. This means heavy traffic to one of the other sites on the server can really impact the performance of your site. Also, you typically are not able to install special software programs on these types of machines because the host will need to keep a stable environment for all of the clients using the server.
Please Note: NationalNet does not offer shared hosting services.
Collocated hosting – colocation service means that you purchase a server from a hardware vendor or from NationalNet (if hosting with NationalNet), and you supply the server(s) and switches. The host will provide the rackspace and connect your server(s) to its network and redundant power systems. The host is responsible for making sure internet network service is always available, and you are responsible for nearly all support and maintenance of your server.
Unmanaged dedicated hosting – This type of service is very similar to colocation, except that you lease a server from the hosting company. Limited support is provided typically via a Web-based control panel. The level of support varies greatly among hosting companies for this category of service. Ask the host to provide details on what support they will and will not provide before signing up. This category of service may work for non-ecommerce or non-mission critical applications but not for serious businesses that need responsive, expert-level technical support.
Managed dedicated hosting – This category of service means leasing a server from a host which provides a robust level of support and maintenance backed by performance guarantees. This level of support typically includes services such as 24/7/365 support availability, exceptional MTTR, server performance monitoring and reporting, security patch updates and more. The level of support also varies greatly among hosting companies for this category of service. Ask the host to provide details on exactly what managed services they will and will not provide before signing up.
Don't Confuse Size With Stability
Just because a web hosting company is big, it does not mean it is stable and secure. In fact, over the past four years many of the largest hosting companies have filed for bankruptcy protection or were saved by being sold to another company. In most cases, these situations create difficult and costly transitions for their customers.
How do you protect yourself? Ask some key questions:
- How long has the host been in business?
- How long has the current ownership and management been in place?
- Are they profitable and cash flow positive from operation-generated revenue?
Don't Make Price Your Only Priority
The old saying "you get what you pay for" applies to most things in life, and hosting is certainly one of those things. When you over-prioritize price, you run the risk of ending up with a host that will provide you with a connection to the Internet and little else in terms of support (and even that connection may be running at maximum capacity or have uptime issues with a non-Tier-1 network service provider).
Make Sure Your Host Has Fully Redundant Data Centers
Most hosting companies do not operate their own data and network operations centers. Ask for details on their data center and network connection partners. For example, if they do not operate a redundant data center and offer Tier-1 network connections, you are placing the availability and reliability of your internet presence at great risk. Here are a few questions to ask:
- How many network connection partners do they have, and are any of them Tier-1 suppliers? One network supplier is NOT enough.
- What is the average utilization of their connections?
(No matter how fast the connection, if it is running at maximum capacity it will be slow.) - Do they have redundant power to the servers?
- Do they have power generators and batteries on-site?
- How often do they test their generator?
- What security measures do they have in their data center?
- Do they have fire suppression systems in place?
How Many Experienced Systems Administrators Do They Have On Staff?
When you call in for technical support, it can be a frustrating experience to be stuck talking with a non-technical "customer service" representative when you really need to talk to a Systems Administrator who can resolve your issues. Find out their hours of operations? Are SysAdmins in the Network Operations Center 24x7? What is their typical problem resolution turnaround time? How do you contact Technical Support? Do they offer an automated Trouble Ticket System?
What Do Their Customers Say About Them?
Can your prospective host provide you with success stories for clients with similar configurations to yours? Are they able to provide references from clients who can tell you about their experience using that company?
How Far Will Their Support Go Without Extra Charges?
Ensure any host you consider provides you with a comprehensive list of what is supported at no charge, what is supported at an additional fee, and what is not supported at all. Many hosts will try to hide a sub-standard level of free support behind non-specific statements of high quality support.
NationalNet bundles ALL technical support into the monthly service charge (MSC). There are no hidden or unexpected charges.
