Running a web server (Toolbox activity 2)

Written by: Jonathan Briggs

October 4, 2009 [4635 views]

Deadline: midnight, Monday 12th October 2009

This second activity will take you a couple of hours spread over a couple of days and you will need to start it well before the deadline if you are to get your own hosted web server up and running in time.

Questions to think about

As usual in these activities I want you to have a set of questions in the back of your mind to think about while you are doing the task.

What can you learn from running a server?
What would you look for if you were asked to recommend hosting to a friend?
Why is choosing a good domain name so important?
What is the difference between the different hosting options?
What happens if you make the wrong decision?
What does hosting really mean and how does it work? (part 2)

I understand that some of you may be reluctant to spend money but the amounts are small (< £5 per month) and the rewards huge. Indeed if you get together with a group of other people you could even buy shared hosting for less than £10 per year per person in the group.

Just look at what you will be able to do (during and beyond this module)

Explore sysadmin issues
Access to your own stats
Explore Google advertising
Investigate search engines and search engine reputation
Experiment with security and privacy issues
Run your own mail server with your own personal email address
Experiment with FTP
Explore mashups and AJAX
Control your own domain name
Looks good on the CV
Run your own forums and discussion boards
Explore web design and ecommerce
Run a blog
Display a portfolio of work
Experiment with PHP and MySQL
Create and show prototypes

What will you be doing during this activity?

Researching and choosing a domain name
Researching and choosing a web hosting company
Buying your domain name and hosting
Exploring what you have bought
Reporting back (part 1)
Reflecting on what you have actually bought (part 2)

Part 1: Choosing a domain name and hosting

Make notes as you go through this process.

1.Choose a domain name for your new site

The domain name is the name that follows www in a web address and it must be unique. It can also be used as part of an email address: me@domainname.com Think carefully about what you want the name to say about you and what you are interested in. Make sure that you could send a link to a prospective employer. You need to find a name that is not being used and this can be very hard. Try putting together 2-3 words.

You could try and buy your own name and go for a domain such as www.jonathanbriggs.com

Read/watch the following to help you make up your mind
http://www.thesitewizard.com/archive/domainname.shtml http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8u02gkIpdI

Try one of these domain suggestion tools to explore what is available BUT don’t buy just yet.

http://domain-suggestions.domaintools.com/
http://www.domainsbot.com/
http://www.1and1.co.uk
http://www.gi.net/domain.php?action=domain_suggest

Notice that names come with different extensions such as .com,.net, .tv and .biz and notice too that these cost different amounts. Choose a name with an extension that fits your purposes.

Avoid names that include punctuation or are difficult to spell

2.Buy a hosting package

If choosing a domain name was hard then choosing hosting looks harder but it’s not. You want a list of features at a reasonable price (and you want them to register your domain name!)
Set your budget at around £40 per year (including the domain name) Here are some of the features you MUST look for:

Fantastico (sometimes called Fantastico Deluxe) to allow you to install all sorts of software (including WordPress) really easily.
Shared (or Virtual) Linux hosting (Do NOT choose Windows)
Control panel (cPanel) to allow you to manipulate your space
FTP access
Allows you to run your own mail server
Allows you to run multiple domains/sub domains (vital if sharing)
MySQL databases (may be useful later)

Here are some suggested hosting companies for you to look at (in no particular order). We strongly recommend that you choose one of these and buy your domain name from the same company! But the choice is finally up to you.

A few things to consider before you make your decision Are there any other features that you think you will need? Read all the details.

Should you do this with a friend? You can certainly save money but make sure that you can each control your own part of the virtual machine (multiple domain names/multiple ftp etc)

If you have no credit card the you will need to ask a friend or buy a pre-pay payment card from a PayPoint.

Although this seems like a big deal, domain names can be moved from one hosting service to another if things go wrong.

What do you actually have to do?

Choose a domain name
Choose a web hosting company
Follow their instructions and buy a hosting package (may take 24-48 hours)
Follow any further instructions and get your web hosting set up so that you can type
www.yourchosendomainname.com and you can see that your hosting is active

Follow the link below to feedback on your activity with the answers to the following questions:

Your domain name/web address?
Why did you choose this name? (at least 2 reasons)
Your hosting company?
Why did you choose this company? (at least 3 reasons)
The price you are paying annually?
What problems did you have with this activity and how did you solve them?

You will pass this activity if you give sensible answers to the above questions. We’ll check that your domain name is up and running at your hosting company.

Feedback your results for PART 1 using this survey http://www.surveygizmo.com/s/176075/toolbox-2-1

Part 2: Where is your server?

Part 2 activities will generally be more open ended and require you to do some research on your own. In this activity I want you to find out as much as you can about your hosting. You must have completed part 1 first.

Here are the questions you need to research

What hardware/service have you actually bought?
What make?
How would you find out?
What do the following mean: virtual hosting, DNS, domain name
Where is your server located?
How would you find out?

Here are some tools and information to help:

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/dns.htm
http://whatismyipaddress.com/staticpages/index.php/tools-hostname-to-ip-address-lookup http://www.hostip.info/index.html

Completing Part 2 of the activity

Take this short quiz selecting the best answer for each question:

Virtual hosting

a. I have a dedicated server computer for my own use
b. I share a server with other customers
c. I share a server and all my files with other customers

Domain Name Server

a. a sort of A-Z of the web
b. a sort of dictionary of the web
c. a sort of phone book of the web

IP Address

a. a reference number to identify a particular hosting location
b. a reference number to identify a particular web site
c. a reference number to identify a particular company

Domain name

a. a unique name that is easier to remember than an IP address
b. a shared name that is easier to remember than an IP address
c. a random sequence of words known only to Google

Hosting

a. providing private file storage space
b. providing storage space visible from the Internet
c. providing Internet storage space and customer control software

Finally prepare the answers to the following questions

Where is your hosting server located?
How did you find out?
What sort of computer is being used to host your site?
How did you find out?

Feedback your results for PART 2 using this survey http://www.surveygizmo.com/s/176076/toolbox-2-2

You will pass this activity if you give sensible (not necessarily correct answers) to the above questions.

Recent comments:

On October 6, 2009 at 5:06 PM, Sam Williams wrote:

Hi, Jonathan. I already own a web server, which I purchased very recently. It has all of your requirements apart from Fantastico, will this be a problem?

Jonathan replies: In later exercises I am going to want you to install and manage WordPress. If you can do this then your existing hosting will be fine.

On October 6, 2009 at 9:53 PM, sam wrote:

Can you please upload today's lecture?
Thanks!

Jonathan replies: Please be aware that editing, compressing and uploading 500M of video takes at least 6 hours - it is on its way.

On October 6, 2009 at 10:00 PM, Jo wrote:

Hi Jonathan,

My friend is looking to set up a website for her newly completed holiday apartment. She has been looking at paying someone to design and set this website up on her behalf. Rather than me setting up my own website for this activity would this be a good opportunity for me to help her with this project?

Thanks

Jonathan replies: I am very happy if you link your activities with work for outside clients but you need to be a bit careful in managing her expectations. I would also suggest that you try to make sure that your hosting company allows multiple domains to be added to your account. In that way you can run a personal site and a site for your friend using the same account.

On October 7, 2009 at 10:28 AM, Nayaab wrote:

Hi,
It has not given any information about what the website will be about, is this choice upt us? For example a music website?

Jonathan replies: Part of the next activity will be choosing what your first site will be about. Many people will have a personal blog site and then perhaps add a site with a specific purpose.

On October 7, 2009 at 1:59 PM, az wrote:

hi Jonathan

We are working in a group of three and we are not sure if 4GB is enough for web hosting.

Jonathan replies: 4GB is HUGE unless you are going to host video (and there are lots of ways of solving that using 3rd party sites such as YouTube and Vimeo). Make sure you can each have a domain name - look that your provider supports multiple domains for the same price (or just a little bit more).

On October 7, 2009 at 2:08 PM, Ben wrote:

I tried to get my full name at .com but its not available as its not excatly unique, is it ok to get a .info or .org.uk or is only .com acceptable?

Jonathan replies: You can choose anything you are happy with - it really is a very personal decision.

On October 7, 2009 at 6:13 PM, RT wrote:

Hi Jonathan,

Are the hosting companies you suggested reliable?

Thank you.

Jonathan replies: It is up to you to decide but we have used all of them for a few years.

On October 7, 2009 at 10:59 PM, Muazzam Zaman wrote:

Hi Johnathan

The links that you have given, for the web hosting sites, have they all got the program of Fantastico?

Thank you

Jonathan replies: Yes - they all meet the requirements I have set.

On October 8, 2009 at 11:09 AM, Has wrote:

Hi Jonathan,
I visited one of the links that you have given for the hosting sites "site ground". on the left hand side there is an option for php, ftp,cpanel,email,mysql. clicking on any of those open a widows specific to that package. which one do you recommend I go for, and do all package on this site offers more or less the same specs.
Thank You

Jonathan replies: You have to make your own choice - it is part of the exercise :-) I would use functionality and price as my guide.

On October 8, 2009 at 9:06 PM, Rahim wrote:

1) When we buy a domain name does that mean we are making a website, if so do we use a different name for the website's name?

2) Is it possible to create my own domain name?

Jonathan replies: A domain name is just a pointer to a place where you can create a website. No website is created simply by buying a domain.

You can make up any list or characters as your domain name but it should normally be something that can be told to other people and not already owned by someone else.

On October 8, 2009 at 9:29 PM, Faisal wrote:

Hi Jonathan,

We are a group of two. Can we choose 1 domain name and do it all together, or is it a MUST to have seperate domain name. Because we have the same idea and interest.

Jonathan replies: It is up to you but I suggest you buy your own domain name. If you want to do a joint first project then fine but at some stage you will want your own space.

On October 8, 2009 at 9:53 PM, Rahim wrote:

Hi Jonathan
I visited this domain site (http://orders.names.co.uk/step2.php) and I enter a domain name ([name removed so that someone else does not buy it first]) and it was available is it okay if I get that one

Jonathan replies: You can buy from anywhere but I recommend buying from your hosting company as they will then do the "pointing" of the domain at your webspace. If you looked it up on one company you should still be able to buy it from another.

Good name by the way!

On October 9, 2009 at 6:44 PM, Shamila wrote:

Is a web hosting package with 200MB web space good enough for what we will be doing?

Jonathan replies: yes - that is fine!

On October 9, 2009 at 7:04 PM, Gulam wrote:

Hi Jonathan,

I just bought a web server from siteground so do I need to install all the software that is available or should I wait until tuesday and then decide after you upload the lecture.
(I know there are no lecture on tuesday)

Jonathan replies: I am happy for you to experiment with anything you want but I will post something on Tuesday to steer most people in the right direction.

On October 9, 2009 at 7:25 PM, .. wrote:

Hi,
Me and my friends want to by the server together which means it will have one domain name... but does that mean we will all get our own passwords to log in? and then create our own websites separatly? or will it mean we will have to make the website together too?

Jonathan replies: Check that out with the hosting company - you should be able to each have a login and do your own things in your own space but make sure that the package supports multiple databases.

On October 9, 2009 at 8:00 PM, Mayuri wrote:

i researched free hosting & meets the needs: www.freevirtualservers.com, is that ok? or i can't use free and have to buy it?

Jonathan replies: You can use free hosting such as this but I would be concerned that some of the things you may need in the future are not supported - try it and we'll see. You can always switch later.

On October 9, 2009 at 8:32 PM, Has wrote:

Hi Jonathan,
you made it very clear that you want us to go for Linux hosting, I have already chosen a domain name. I am in the process of setting my access web disk. during the set up, I am asked to select an operating system from the drop list. Mac,windows, linux. My desktop operating system is windows vista, does that mean that I need to select windows option. if not selecting Linux will be the right option you want us to go for.
again you were very clear for us not to choose windows, but linux.and would linux work with windows operating system.
Many Thanks

Jonathan replies: I am not sure what the access web disk is - you will need to do some research. It is possible that as one way to communicate with your hosting you can create a linked disk inside your desktop machine - that indeed might be windows while your hosting remains linux.

On October 10, 2009 at 4:14 PM, Anthony Cheung wrote:

Hi Jonathan

i want to ask if you can work in groups?
if so, how many people max in a group?

Jonathan replies: I would suggest a maximum of 3 and you will need to each be able to run your own blogs etc. Look for a host that provides multiple domains and ideally offers at least one database per person.

Once you have signed up, you will then need to create an individual user account for each member of the group.

On October 10, 2009 at 6:23 PM, Rob Carey wrote:

Hi Jonathan

I purchased a domain name and hosting package from 600Host, one of the hosts you recomended. The transaction went through on tuesday and I recieved a number of emails. When I log into the site my hosting package is still listed as pending. Should I be worried that it is taking a long time?
Thanks

Jonathan replies: No - don't worry. I warned everyone that registering hosting can take some time. I will accept your work even if things are a bit late as long as you have tried your best to meet the deadline

On October 10, 2009 at 7:54 PM, RT wrote:

Hi Jonathan,

When I try to answer Q6, the entered ammout changes into $0.00.
Is that normal?

Thank you.

Jonathan replies: Not sure why! Don't worry about it.

On October 10, 2009 at 7:57 PM, kahlown haad wrote:

i tried to write pound for the price on he activity 2 part one but only usa dollar sowed up should i worry about or not

Jonathan replies: I have tested and £ seems to work for me. Don't worry about it.

On October 11, 2009 at 11:01 AM, Salam Ablahad wrote:

Dear Jonathan
I am trying to buy my domain name and web hosting, I found the domain name that i'm looking for but i am worried that if i buy the hosting it may not have all the things that we need etc...

which one of these you recommend is the best?

* http://www.twentyhost.co.uk/shared/basic
* http://www.webhosting.uk.com/linux-hosting.php
* http://www.600host.net/index.html
* http://www.siteground.com/fantastico-hosting.htm

Thanks

Jonathan replies: If you are buying just for yourself then all of these have the right mix of features.

On October 11, 2009 at 12:45 PM, Salam Ablahad wrote:

Dear Jonathan

what do you think of this?
(hover for details)
1GB Web Space
50GB Bandwidth
Unlimited Domains
Cpanel
Fantastico
Unlimited E-mail
Unlimited Databases
24/7/365 Support
30 Day Money Back!
Only £24.99 a year!

its from
www.600host.net

Jonathan replies: Sounds great! but so do some of the others. Really not trying to push you all to go for the same deal. It's up to you.

On October 11, 2009 at 6:25 PM, Rajee wrote:

Dear jonathan,
I bought the hosting from 600host.net and did the transaction yesterday but as i checked right now its still saying unpaid yesterday it was saying it was pending should i be worried...

can i still answer part 1 and 2 ?

Jonathan replies: People should not worry - I predict that many people will not get quite finished for the deadline - that is OK - I will accept the work as long as people are sensible and get it handed in as soon as they get confirmation of their hosting.

On October 11, 2009 at 6:48 PM, Alex Cheung wrote:

I am having some issues trying to complete the work, for some reason my paypal account and google check out accounts are not letting me purchase the domains and hosting sites.

Is there any other way to purchase the domain and hosting services?

Jonathan replies: Find a friend with a credit card and give them the cash or explore free hosting (see above).

On October 11, 2009 at 8:37 PM, lewis clark wrote:

Hi Jonathan i have made an error on my submission for part one, i added .co.uk to my domain instead of .com. I have already sent it and cannot edit it, hope this gets to you albeit so late.

Jonathan replies: Thats fine - I'll cope.

On October 11, 2009 at 10:38 PM, PJ Magee wrote:

Hi Jonathan, Though Already completed activity 1 and 2 - I still would like to know why you specified a Linux server.( I did select Linux anyway)

Both windows and linux have their advantages. Both able to use Wordpress and various other applications and same use of a mySQL database. Will this be something later on or was this just a preference you gave us?

Jonathan replies: It is mainly to do with having everyone use the same kind of tools in these first few weeks. In the last couple of years a few people bought very cheap Windows hosting and then found they could do very little with it.

I also think there is some advantage in getting people to see that the OS on their computer and the OS on their hosting don't need to be the same - helps the mental picture of having a second separate machine.

On October 12, 2009 at 2:31 PM, Khosru Miah wrote:

Hello Jonathan.

I am not the best when it comes to websites and hosting and many other jargon. I have a domain and a website set up with http://www.123-reg.co.uk which i have had for couple of months now, I know this is not a webserver but i was wondering if i can buy a webserver from one of those links you gave us, and import the website in. Im a little bit confused right now. 1 more thing, Is there a lecture or group sessen on the 13th October? I think i over heard someone say. I did not attend last lecture, this is partly the reson why i am confused. I thought that the lecture would be up on your website but it still has not been up i have checked every day since tuesday.

Thank you

http://www.123-reg.co.uk

Jonathan replies: The last lecture is up on my website and the next one will be published tonight - there is no face 2 face lecture on Tuesday 13th but one will be here.

Have you tried buying some new space and transferring your old site? What is your confusion?

On October 12, 2009 at 7:11 PM, George T. Finapiri wrote:

I have a problem with submitting my work. I finished the first part of the survey on Saturday and on Sunday realised that i was not sent a receipt for the work. So i did it again on Sunday but yet to receive a receipt. What should i do?

Jonathan replies: SurveyGizmo says it has sent you a receipt - check your junk mail. This is only a backup for me so that fewer people ask me to check whether they have submitted. I have received it.

On October 12, 2009 at 7:55 PM, Rahim wrote:

Hi Jonathan

If the Domain name is not activate by Monday midnight do we still have to do Part 2 of the activity

Jonathan replies: Do part 2 as soon as you can. I know that registration can take up to a week (depending on how you pay) and will be lenient in accepting late submissions.

On October 14, 2009 at 2:04 PM, suj wrote:

Bascially we are a group of 4 people, and we bought Buisness hosting packge 1 from 600HostUK. We registered our first domain name as connecttojigsaw.com. When I added my own domain name, using c-panel as itpuzzles.com, it came up as itpuzzles.connecttojigsaw.com. So now everytime I try to access my own hosting space, I have to add connecttojigs.com inorder for my website to work. I assume we I can still control my own space, but are there any solutions for this issue or is this supposed to be like that.

Jonathan replies: You should be able to point additional domains at the same host and then redirect traffic to your own files. This will need a bit of research on your part. Search for "hosting multiple domains" as a start.

On October 15, 2009 at 7:12 PM, faiz wrote:

hi jonathan,

had a question about domain names, i am not sure what to use for my website name.

i wanted to know if i create a domain now will i be able to change this later on?

Jonathan replies: Yes you can change and add later - its your space!

On October 21, 2009 at 2:52 PM, Raj wrote:

current i have a domain name with 600 host uk and if i wish to cancel the hosting, can i use my existing domain name to a different hosting company

Jonathan replies: Yes but you will need to repoint your domain which means you will need to keep some relationship with 600host or get them to release the domain. Email them.

On October 30, 2009 at 2:10 PM, Dhusanthan Ravindran wrote:

Hi Jonathan,
I had problems with 600 Host so I'm going into a new hosting company which is ghost gator, but I have already done my activity 2.1. Their is another small change as well, earlier I chose www.dhusanthan.com but now it is changes to www.dushanthan.com. Their are no other changes and the answers for the activity would be same because I'm known by these two names so I just want to know that If I have got to do activity 2.1 again.

Jonathan replies: No - once is enough

On November 17, 2009 at 2:36 PM, djrobert wrote:

jonathan am really stuck i cant move onto the 3rd activity..i used twenty twenty and when i tried to pay they are saying that instead of the 5 pounds i hvae to pay 43.12 pounds each month..why is that?

Jonathan replies: Thats ridiculous. I would abandon them and move to doing the activities using free hosting or services such as wordpress.com

What do you think?

Add your comments

Running a web server (Toolbox activity 2)

October 4, 2009 [4635 views]

What will you be doing during this activity?

Part 1: Choosing a domain name and hosting

1.Choose a domain name for your new site

2.Buy a hosting package

What do you actually have to do?

Part 2: Where is your server?

Completing Part 2 of the activity

Virtual hosting

Domain Name Server

IP Address

Domain name

Hosting

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