Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Efil]

Understanding Free Web Host Stability
A Case Study

In free web hosting, there are basically two things that even money can't buy. A lost account without a backup and lost hair when got pissed-off during downtimes or when the host suddenly disappeared overnight. If you think such cases are inevitable because you are only hitchhiking in someone else's garage server running along the bumpy bargain roads with blinking advertisements all around every corner, I suggest you think again. But if the very act of thinking only gives you the feeling that you are loosing even more hair, then I suggest you stop thinking and simply read on.            
            
Generally speaking, most troubles that arise in free web hosting may account for the failure of the user to select a reliable and stable web host. There are thousands of free web hosts newbies that sprout up all over the internet each day while there are also thousands of them who vanish, leaving traces of sad feelings to millions of disappointed users. Moreover, a rather annoying fact is, this is also happenning with some cases of stupaid ( stupid paid ) web hosting.            
            
One important question that naturally emerges is the question on how are we able to determine the stability of a free web host. Here are some of the basic points you might consider.            
            
The Concept of Stability            
Stable free web hosts have two things in common, robust facilities and reliable organization.            
            
Robust Facilities            
A stable host owns ( through purchase or rent ) one or more robust facilities that serves as the framework of their business operations. Facilities includes the computer server ( where your www account will be created ), the data center facilities ( where computer server resides ), and the web host office facilities ( the web host's gadgets used to access the server ).         

Hardware Specifications         
It is important to know the hardware specifications of web host's facilities. This way you get some idea whether the host is overselling its resources or not. Overselling itself is not really bad, although most people do really feel bad about this topic ( "Is overselling good or bad?" ) to the point that heated long threads of debates about it can be found everywhere. Our purpose here is to know if the host do oversell, and calculate the probability that an overload will likely to happen because of poor facilities and/or poor overselling techniques.      
            
Software Capability         
Every server ( even a personal computer ) that is connected to the internet is susceptable to malicious attacks and abuse conducted by some sort of hackers or spammers. It is a wise move to know if the web host adopts DDoS attack prevention and spam assassin software. Knowing that the host installed and supports the software you need to run to is not enough, you should also know if the host implements above minimum requirements to ensure you will be able to use what you need most of the time, if not all the time.      
            
Reliable Organization            
One-man web hosting is likely to fail. Most stable free web hosts are reputable companies or organized communities. A teenage technician may rent a dedicated server and start a free web host business in his basement. But sooner or later he will realize that he will need some staff/s besides himself to help him in his business affairs especially during hours when he is not in front of the computer. The way he selects his staffs and how he lead them to become organized is vital to the stability of his web hosting business.
         
Financial Stability   
Here's where it all begun. However noble, it's not an obligation of the free web hosts to disclose to their clients their financial strength. But the big truth is, it is the most important information that a user ought to know in order to grasp the idea of whether the free web host is more likely to survive the perils of loneliness and the menace of deterioting vigor as they ( the web host ) watch their bank accounts being subtracted in tens and hundreds of dollars every month ( for server rent & other web hosting expenses ) with only a dime or two, or nothing at all that returns. ("Nothing at all," is actually an exaggeration. Most of the time, ungrateful costumers will never forget to return their complaints, unpleasant rudeness and unreasonable yells.)
      
Good Upper Tier
More often than not, the free web host provider is not the direct owner of the server, much less the owner of the data center where the server resides. If the web host happened to select OEMs of the upper tier ( server owners, data center owners, ISP providers ) who have mediocre performances, chances are, that web host themselves will suffer the painful consequenses, however great their own services are.

Management Ability   
Offering web hosting services for free can be such fun. But when abusive users started to play the chafing games and begin to fool around with the server and the web host management, the ability of the web host to handle such situations will have a significant implications to their future operations. There will be times when the web host has to make prompt and prudent decisions whether to put up with a mediocre upper tier provider or to search and swiftly shift to others.
      
Operation History   
How long free web host have operated is not much of  importance than how much they have learned how to ride the business cycle. Don't count the years, rather, count the experience and the changes since they have started.

[Efil]

Case Study: Water Seven

This section relates the foundation of Water Seven stability as a free web host. Water Seven has its root from Fine Spot Network, hence "a Fine Spot Network free web server." The main purpose of Water Seven is to become a backup server of Fine Spot Network main data center that is scheduled to be established in Japan. Being a backup server, whose purpose is only served during unexpected circumstances (e.g. power failure of Fine Spot Network Data Center), Water Seven has been given more freedom from the wide scope of Fine Spot Network's rigid rules. In contrast to Fine Spot Network, where the principles and goals of Fine Traders Group are strictly implemented, Water Seven hears the voices of its members and reflects them to the rules and values of the community.
            
The Concept of Stability            
The existence of Water Seven itself is the utmost manifestation of Fine Spot Network's dedication, or rather strong desire for a stable and reliable server. To be able to accomplish Fine Traders Group's projects and missions through Fine Spot Network, a stable and reliable server is vital.
            
Robust Facilities            
Water Seven is now utilizing the services of The Planet who have their six state-of-the art data centers located in Dallas and Houston, and provides an On Demand IT Infrastructure backed by complete redundancy in power, HVAC, fire suppression, network connectivity and security. Learn more by going directly to our providers website:
http://www.theplanet.com/why-the-planet/data-center/

Hardware Specifications         
Water Seven specifications are as follows:
CPU
Dual Xeon 2.8 - IDE
2x Intel Xeon 2.8 GHz Processors
Second Intel Xeon 2.8 GHz Processor

Operating System
Red Hat Enterprise Linux - 5.x - 32 bit

IP Address
70.85.138.34 - 70.85.138.46
10 IPs

Transfer Bandwidth
100 Mbps Uplink
2500 GB Bandwidth

Memory
2 GB RAM

Hard Disk
80 GB IDE/SATA HDD
80 GB IDE/SATA HDD

Account Management
cPanel/WHM with Fantastico

Name Servers
ns1.waterseven.com
ns2.waterseven.com
   
Software Capability         
Advanced Policy Firewall is installed in Water Seven server. For details of APF firewall, please visit http://rfxnetworks.com/apf.php   
            
Reliable Organization            
Water Seven server is being managed and maintained by the Water Seven Community, an organized and family oriented community who puts its trust and respect to each members.
         
Financial Stability   
Water Seven server is being financed by the Community Chairman, Efil Leiv. The chaiman himself does not profit neither from maintaining the server nor from leading the community. As with all the Water Seven Community staffs, Efil Leiv's involvement in the community and the financial support for the server is a part of a generous volunteer activity.
      
Good Upper Tier
Water Seven server is a dedicated server rented from The Planet which is the worldwide leader in IT Hosting. You can read more about The Planet by going directly to their website:
http://www.theplanet.com/about/

Management Ability   
Water Seven has a well organized community staffs composed of trustworthy core members currently residing in different places of the world. For a more detailed profile of our community staffs, please proceed here http://waterseven.com/forums2008/index.php?topic=39.0 .

Strategic Plan
Water Seven has been built and operates with a strategic plan in mind. Important decisions and business activities inside the Water Seven Community are based and shall always be based on this strategic plan.

■ Mission Statement
"We cultivate the human values of generousity, honesty, self-discipline and humor in our community by offering a superb web hosting service for free, out of generousity and for the sake of generousity."

■ Vision Statement
"To achieve a sustainable and healthy free webhosting service of a virtuous community, for a fine community and by a generous community."

■ Values
Honesty, Humor, Humility, Kindness, Discipline. ("Tripple H KiD")
      
Operation History ( Nice Stuff's Network => Fine Spot Network => Water Seven )

Sometime between December 2005 to January 2006, Dayu, a Filipino engineer based in Japan started to use a free web hosting server to run his first PHP program. He was offered by Arroways a free account in their server and in return became very active in their community discussions. Unfortunately, he ended up in misery as he experienced severe downtimes in Arroways, and tried to apply for other free accounts in other communities that just made his life even more miserable than a broken programmer who is debugging a program in a full white, blank display screen.

Later in March 2006, Dayu, Efil and Twilight, founded the Fine Traders Group. A group of individual private investors who contributed part of their investment profits in purchasing reseller accounts, and later on dedicated servers, that were used in developing the group's projects. The group also offered the remaining unused resources ( space and bandwidth ) to everyone for free.

By the end of March 2006, Fine Traders Group launched the "Nice Stuff's Network," a project whose aim is to collect free educational resources on the world wide web and make it available even to a financially poor individual. The project offered free web hosting service and free top level domain names to those who helped achieve this goal. Dayu and Efil piloted Nice Stuff's Network. Later they were joined by Aria, a very cute, genius and lovely Chinese lady who has a magnificent talent in music and lives in Canada. Aria also became a member of the Fine Traders Group.

Then sometime between May 2006 to December 2007, Nice Stuff's Network project was absorbed by Fine Spot Network. The Fine Spot Network project offered the best free web hosting and free top level domains in English, Japanese and Chinese. Aria, who was about to graduate in High School decided to take a long leave of absence as she was preparing for University entrance exams and had to finished her last High School marks in the top level.

Water Seven is a spin-off from Fine Spot Network. Efil and the admins of Fine Spot Network, namely, Geimas5, Yogybear, and Proteus built the community from scratch. The original purpose of Water Seven Server is to become the back up server of Fine Spot Network. This purpose shall never be void.