G053 - Lecture 08 Hosting Websites Mr C Johnston ICT Teacher

Session Objectives Understand the role of a web server in order for the internet to provide content, Know different hosting options available to people wishing to present content on the internet, Can select an appropriate hosting option for your own website and justify its choice.

The Web Server A website needs a home so other people can access it – this is known as a host, Most common hosts are Web Servers – computers running special software which can handle requests and deliver content to others, Servers are normally powerful computers with multiple processors, lots of memory and huge storage capacity, A Web Server in addition requires a permanent internet connection and a static IP address for each site its running.

Hosting Choice Factors Server specification, Connection speed (upload speed) Backups Cost – equipment / electricity / management vs rental Reliability of service - Service level agreement? Tech Support Mailboxes / database support / other technology support Storage space Adverts Bandwidth allowance Shared or dedicated service – what about IP is this shared Type is most suitable for….

Hosting Option 1 Discuss Server specification, Connection speed (upload speed) Backups Cost – equipment / electricity / management vs rental Reliability of service - Service level agreement? Tech Support Mailboxes / database support / other technology support Storage space Adverts Bandwidth allowance Shared or dedicated service – what about IP is this shared Type is most suitable for…. Host From Own Premises

Hosting Option 2 Discuss Server specification, Connection speed (upload speed) Backups Cost – equipment / electricity / management vs rental Reliability of service - Service level agreement? Tech Support Mailboxes / database support / other technology support Storage space Adverts Bandwidth allowance Shared or dedicated service – what about IP is this shared Type is most suitable for…. Host From School

Hosting Option 3 Discuss Server specification, Connection speed (upload speed) Backups Cost – equipment / electricity / management vs rental Reliability of service - Service level agreement? Tech Support Mailboxes / database support / other technology support Storage space Adverts Bandwidth allowance Shared or dedicated service – what about IP is this shared Type is most suitable for…. Host From A Free Service Website #1 £ Website #2 Website #3 Website #4

Hosting Option 4 Discuss Server specification, Connection speed (upload speed) Backups Cost – equipment / electricity / management vs rental Reliability of service - Service level agreement? Tech Support Mailboxes / database support / other technology support Storage space Adverts Bandwidth allowance Shared or dedicated service – what about IP is this shared Type is most suitable for…. Host From A Paid Shared Service Website #1 £ Website #2 Website #3 Website #4

Hosting Option 5 Discuss Server specification, Connection speed (upload speed) Backups Cost – equipment / electricity / management vs rental Reliability of service - Service level agreement? Tech Support Mailboxes / database support / other technology support Storage space Adverts Bandwidth allowance Shared or dedicated service – what about IP is this shared Type is most suitable for…. Host From A Paid Dedicated Service website £

Publishing Content Your content needs to be transferred to the web server in order for others to be able to view it on the internet This process is simple if you are hosting your own as files and folders will be just copied to the wwwroot folder, Other hosting options require files to be moved to a remote location using FTP – file transfer protocol, This service is accessed using a form provided, typing in the ftp servers address, or using an ftp client. In order to use FTP you normally require a username and password which takes you to your files You will need evidence of using FTP to publish your site within you folder

Topic Exercise Visit the links for the further reading and read them. They will help you complete this topics exercise. Write a short report explaining: What web hosting is and the possible options you could adopt for publishing your own site – include any prices, Describe the relative advantages and disadvantages for each of the hosting options. Justify why you will host your site on my server rather than use any of the other hosting options. These may be useful: I will host my website on xxxxxx rather yyyyyy because I will host my website on xxxxxx rather zzzzzzz because

Further Reading