Web server management in Palermo
In addition to being a webmaster I am a web server administrator. My experience begins two decades ago when I chose to use and work using a GNU / Linux operating system even though it is more correct to say "GNU / Linux distribution" because apart from the basic software, different software are installed, all with an open source that allows you to get the software directly from some servers such as the Debian repositories.
Among these software we find Apache2 (web server) MySQL (database server) PHP programming language used for the creation of dynamic websites, these 3 software mentioned above plus the Linux distribution form the acronym LAMP (Linux Apache MySQL PHP) which at present is the configuration most used for the creation of websites of various kinds.
Now it is time to make some clarity between a web server as a software and a web server as a host that is like a real desktop computer like those at home but more powerful in terms of hardware and operating 24 hours a day. The host is a computer that, connected to a private network or directly to the internet, allows you to install the software necessary to host the static or dynamic contents of a site that can be reached via a client / server system, for clients we mean browsers such as Firefox, Chrome , Safari, Opera etc.
By web server software we mean the software necessary to show the contents of a site when browsers require it. Among these software we can refer to IIS (Internet Information Services) of Microsoft (proprietary software, distributed under copyright) and Apache, currently the most used web server in the world with open source license "Apache License" therefore free and modifiable within the limits provided from the legal license of the program itself.
Managing a home web server and the softwares required to run the most popular CMS ( Content Management System ) such as Joomla, WordPress or Magento can be complicated for those who have no competence without talking about the security problems that a violated server can create.
There are many companies that offer hosting services with different types of servers all with pros and cons and with different costs, from a few dozen euros a year to much higher prices.
Below you will find descriptions of the various types of web servers available.
Shared hosting
Shared hosting means those types of hosting where multiple websites are installed on the same computer, sharing hardware resources such as ram, processor, hard disk and IP address.
With this configuration each website is subject to the consumption of hardware resources; if one or more websites have high data traffic, your site will also suffer. The shared hosting almost always also use the same IP address, solvable problem paying a little more you can get a dedicated IP address, advisable choice for search engines that will not penalize your site if another website post spam or content that violates copyright.
Among the cons of shared hosting there is the scarce possibility of configuration, even if a control panel is always present there is no way to manage some web server configurations like Apache.
Among the positive things there is that with great simplicity from the control panel it will be possible to manage the databases usable by hosting and almost always using phpmyadmin a software with a web interface that allows you to operate on some MySQL database configurations. Furthermore, the webmaster who manages it will not have to deal with certain duty of the website since the backups and all the software security updates will be managed by the provider; not to be confused with CMS like WordPress and Joomla where the updates will always be borne by the web designer or the systems analyst who takes care of the website.
This type of hosting can be useful for those small websites that do not have a high number of simultaneous connections and want to spend as little as possible to host their own web project.
Dedicated hosting
With a dedicated server you will have a computer only for you, taking advantage of all the hardware resources for your website with very high performance and data traffic, and one or more dedicated IP addresses.
The price is obviously higher than the VPS servers or shared hosting and obviously all the configurations and security configuration of the server fall on the owner of the dedicated server, which usually relies on a dedicated server administrator since the systemic knowledge is high, considering that it is It is possible to manage every duty of the software that hosts your website, such as the web server, the database, the support of the programming language used to create the site, the backup, the firewall, the mail server and security updates.
Among the positive things, it should be noted that many companies that sell paid hosting services, offer paying a little more, for the "managed service" directly to the hosting.
The solution of a dedicated web server is an excellent choice for sites that require a lot of hardware resources and a lot of traffic and obviously for those who are ready to invest a high amount to host their own website.
VPS (virtual private server)
VPS (virtual private server) shares with shared servers that multiple websites are hosted on the same physical server but unlike shared servers, each VPS has virtualized hardware space and resources that allows guaranteed performance beyond what happens to other websites.
VPS resources are almost always scalable. The hardware capacity can be increased by paying, this can be interesting for those web projects that over time need a more performing web server.
As for the dedicated servers also the VPS will be managed by the system administrator or by the person in charge, even if in many cases it is possible purchase a managed service.
Cloud Hosting
Cloud hosting is very different from the servers mentioned above, there is no single physical server but the website is distributed over a computer network.
This type of hosting is an optimal choice for those web projects that could have an increase in hardware resources and data traffic.
Cloud hosting allows you to always be scalable without service interruptions, resources are guaranteed and isolation from other websites is total.
