Web Hosting Glossary of Terms

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Do you ever wonder what all those Web hosting terms mean? We've got you covered! Below is a comprehensive list of terms and their definitions. Use the index above to find the term you're looking for.

24/7 Network Monitoring

Our network technicians work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week monitoring the web severs contains your web site ensuring that your site is always running and never offline.

99.9% Uptime Guarantee

Because of our 24/7 Network Monitoring, we can guarantee that your web site will be up and running 99.99% of the time. This means your views can always view your site day or night.

Access to Log Files

Log Files are stats that keep track of what pages and areas of your site that users are visiting. Using Web Stats and the Log Manager you can download, view, manage, and delete your log files.

Access to your Web Account

Using the WebsiteOS and a connection to the Internet, you can access your web account anytime day our night. Once your account as been setup we will e-mail your information (passwords, usernames, etc.) to you. At that point you will be in full control of you web site and web account.

Active Server Pages (ASP)

Microsoft Active Server Page (ASP) is a server-side scripting technology that can be used to create dynamic and interactive web applications. An ASP page is an HTML page that contains server-side scripts that are processed by a web server before being sent to the user’s browser. You can combine ASP with Extensible Markup Language (XML) and Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) to create powerful interactive web sites.

ASP is a feature of the Microsoft Internet Information Server. Since the server-side script is building a regular HTML page, it can be served to almost any browser. An ASP file can be created by including a script written in VBScript or JScript in an HTML file.

Ad Server

An ad server allows you to place rotating banner advertisements on your web site, manage your advertising clients, and to collect statistics on banner views and "click through's."

Administration Tools

This function allows you to view a list of issued mail administration commands. To view the EasyMail command history, click the "History" tab and the "EasyMail History" will be displayed. To close the EasyMail, click the "OK" button. This feature is useful for tracking your work if a command is issued by mistake or if there is more than one person administering your mail.

Announcer

Announcer is an easy way for you to keep your customers or friends up-to-date with what's new and exciting on your web site

Appointment Scheduler

The Appointment Scheduler allows you or your customers to schedule appointments online. The Appointment Scheduler screen is divided by labeled tabs as follows:

Appointments - Contains a list of your scheduled appointments.
Company - Contains your company information.
Booking Hours - Allows you to choose your booking hours.
Messages - Allows you to input introduction, booking, and CONFIRMATION messages.
Preferences - Enables you to design the image of your Appointment Scheduler.

ASP.NET

ASP.NET is a programming framework built on the common language runtime that can be used on a server to build powerful web applications. By using ASP.NET you can easily write dynamic, high-performance web applications in record time. ASP.NET is a more powerful version of ASP, providing Microsoft-based web developers with fast web implementations using this development environment.

ASP/CF Enabler

The ASP/CFM Enabler allows you to use ASP and ColdFusion files on your domain. Our servers will serve your ASP and ColdFusion files correctly only after you enable the appropriate service on your domain. If you have an SSL certificate installed on your domain, you can also enable secure ASP and secure ColdFusion using the ASP/CFM Enabler.

Autoresponder's

Autoresponder's allow you to setup an automatic, pre-written, reply to incoming mail. Common uses for an autoresponder are vacation or out-of-office notices.

Business Card Creation Tool

This application can create a simple, but professional looking single-page web site that can be created with a wizard. Several templates are available to provide professional-quality background images and site designs.

CGI-BIN

A protocol that allows a web page to run a program on a web server, CGI (Common Gateway Interface) scripts define how the web server and programs send information back and forth. Forms, counters, and guest books are common examples of CGI programs. CGI programs are special applications that allow a web site to have specific functions programmed. For a Small or Medium Size Business an online enquiry form that emails a visitor's request to them is a valuable automated tool (i.e. form mail CGI program).

There are thousands of free and commercially available CGI scripts on the internet that a web developer can make use of for a business requirement. The availability of a CGI-BIN allows them to implement these on the shared hosting system.

Cold Fusion MX

ColdFusion MX provides the user with the ability to build and deploy powerful web applications and web services with far less training time and fewer lines of code than ASP or PHP.

Cold Fusion Support

ColdFusion is a complete Web application server for developing and delivering scalable e-business applications. ColdFusion files are indicated by the file extension “CFM”. Note that the following tags are disabled for security reasons: CFADMINSECURITY, CFCONTENT, CFDIRECTORY, CFEXECUTE, CFFILE, CFOBJECT, CFREGISTRY. Cold Fusion supports databases such as Microsoft Access, Fox Pro, dBase, and Paradox.

Custom CGI

InternetHosting.com has pre-built custom CGI (Common Gateway Interface) scripts for you to use for your site. This is an interface standard which provides a method of executing a server-side program (script) from a web site to generate a web page with dynamic content. Scripts conforming to this standard may be written in any programming language that produces an executable file, but are most often written in Perl, Python, C, C++, or TCL.

Data Transfer

Data Transfer is the amount of data that can be transmitted to visitors of your site. An average web page is 15k to 20k in file size. The bigger your web site is and the amount of visitors you plan to have to your site will determine how much data is transferred.

Database Manager

Database Manager is a web based MySQL client that allows you to create and manipulate a maximum of two MySQL databases. Designed for advanced users, knowledge of relational databases and SQL is required in order to use this Database Manager efficiently. It is best used for creating databases and tables so for populating a database, you should consider using a script (PHP, ColdFusion) or CGI.

Database Manager builds SQL statements from the various options that you select. This is the reason for the "Build SQL Query" button. Viewing the Query gives you an opportunity to review the query before running it. Clicking the "Run SQL Query" button submits the query to the SQL server.

Disk Usage Meter

The "Disk Usage" function reports the disk space usage of your web site It provides a listing of each directory and the amount of space used. The report is in plain text and can be cut and pasted for printing.

Domain Manager

The Domain Manager is a help web-based application that stores user information for registered domain names. Using the Domain Manager you can edit billing information, manage name servers, change domain passwords, and more.

Domain Pointing

Domain Forwarding allows you to point your domain at another URL. For example: www.mydomain.net can be redirected to www.mydomain.com. The usefulness of this package type is apparent when you have purchased multiple domain names, but only require one central web site Rather then paying for several hosting accounts, you can have multiple domain pointing accounts and one hosted account.

EasyBlogBuilder

A blog (also referred to as a Web Log), can be used in a variety of ways; however, it is largely used as a medium for posting stories or journal entries online. People who read blog entries can also make comments on the posts you (or other users you set up) have made.

EasyMail Accounts

The "EasyMail" feature enables the user to manage your domain's email accounts. EasyMail setup is a full featured accessory that allows a novice user to easily configure various email account features. These accounts can be accessed by traditional mail-reading clients as well as over the web with Web mail.

EasyStoreMaker

Having a storefront on the web allows you to offer your products to anyone, anywhere, anytime. EasyStoreMaker allows the ability to create a secure on-line store in just minutes. **NOTE: EasyStoreMaker does not support real-time credit card processing. The EasyStoreMaker PRO edition does support real-time credit card processing.

EasyStoreMaker Pro

EasyStoreMaker Pro enables the user to create a secure on-line store, which processes credit card transactions in real time. EasyStoreMaker PRO is an easy step-by-step e-store building process using a wizard style interface. Payment can be made by credit card, COD or check. Features include: ability to organize products by catalog, online credit card authentication, and billing, which will support the E-xact payment gateway.

ecBuilder

ecBuilder is an advanced tool is useful for customers interested in building and maintaining an e-commerce site – It comes in two versions:

The ecBuilder SOHO version can be downloaded FREE from our ecBuilder page. It is a basic version of ecBuilder with limited features.
The ecBuilder Pro 5.0 can be downloaded from our ecBuilder page. It requires a license key, which can be purchased through us or directly from ecBuilder.

Email Aliases

Alias accounts are email accounts that do not have a physical mailbox but can be forwarded to an existing regular account. For example johndoe@mycompanyname.com can be forwarded to john@mycompanyname.com.

File Manager

The File Manager function allows you to take full control of your web site files. It is a safe alternative to full shell access for sophisticated users. You can copy, move, delete, rename and edit files, create and remove directories, change file permissions and upload files from your local computer to the server.

File Manager is best used to manipulate files that have been previously uploaded to your web site To upload more than one file at a time, an FTP client is generally more efficient.

File Transfer Protocol (FTP)

FTP is an Internet standard for transferring files over the Internet. FTP programs and utilities are used to upload and download web pages, graphics, and other files from your hard drive to a remote server which allows FTP access.

Form Mail

The Form Mail script is a universal form to an email gateway. This enables a user to setup a web feedback form on their web site

Free Technical Support

24hourwebhostingsupport.com is here to help all InternetHosting.com customers. Chat in real time with a support technician or the phone or online 24/7!

FrontPage 2002 Extensions

A set of server-side applications that enable the incorporation of advanced features without having to write the complex server-side programs typically required. Microsoft FrontPage is a desktop computer application that is purchased by non-programmers to develop their web sites. Since this application is intended to be easy to use and does not require programming knowledge, it has many functions built into that the non-programmer is not aware of (this functionality is controlled by FrontPage extensions).

In order to maintain ease of use for the licensee, the shared hosting system must support the FP extensions (the shared hosting system supports FP extensions). Small and medium-sized businesses that use FP to design their web site (instead of hiring a web developer) look for a hosting system that supports this application.

Guestbook

A "guest book" is a script on a web page with a form which allows web site visitors to "sign in" and leave comments or questions, which optionally may or may not be viewed by other visitors.

Hit Counter

Counts and records "hits" made to your site. Any request made to the server which is logged is considered a "hit". The requests can be for any resource: HTML pages, graphic images, audio files, CGI scripts, etc. Each valid line in the server log is counted as a hit. This number represents the total number of requests that were made to the server during the specified report period.

HTML

The coding language used to create Hypertext documents for use on the World Wide Web. HTML looks a lot like old-fashioned typesetting code, where you surround a block of text with codes that indicate how it should appear, additionally; in HTML you can specify that a block of text, or a word, is linked to another file on the Internet. HTML files are meant to be viewed using a WWW client program.

IMAP

A mail protocol for retrieving email messages. This feature allows you to store email on a mail server even after retrieval (once you had read or responded to email messages). IMAP is beneficial to busy professionals who need web browser access to their mail while away from the office, yet still need to download copies of their mail messages to their office desktop computers mail client application.

JSP

Java Server Pages (JSP) technology provides a simplified, fast way to create dynamic web content. JSP technology enables rapid development of web-based applications that are server and platform independent. Java is a universal programming method (it will allow a web site to be applicable to all computer operating systems). Often web developers’ program web sites. that cannot be viewed by Linux/Unix, Macintosh, and other systems, however, with Java implementations, a web site is applicable to everyone. Java Web Developers look to a hosting system to support JSP technology.

Log File Management Tool

The Log Manager allows you to obtain raw server logs about your site activity and traffic. You can view and/or delete, print, download, and date your log files. You may disable logging altogether to conserve your disk space. Your server logs can also be downloaded for use with other statistics packages.

You can use the Web Stats function to analyze and view your log files in an easy-to-read, graphical display. While Log Manager allows you to manage your log files and view them in their raw state, Web Stats makes them human readable.

Microsoft® Access Database (MS Access)

A Microsoft desktop database program. Compatible with ASP scripting Microsoft. Microsoft Access does not multiple connections (multiple visitors querying it at the same time). Microsoft Access is suitable for basic Web applications that receive a relatively small amount of traffic like a small directory or a recipe book.

Microsoft® SQL Server (MS SQL)

MS SQL Extensive database programming capabilities built on Web standards. Rich XML and Internet standard support give you the ability to store and retrieve data in XML format easily with built-in stored procedures. You can also use XML to insert, update, and delete data easily.

Multiple T3 Connection

A Multiple T3 Connection is a leased line connection to the internet that can transfer data at 44.736 Mbps. It is used mainly by ISP's (Internet Service Providers) connecting to the Internet backbone. A T-3 line contains 672 individual channels, each of which can transfer data at 64 Kbps. T3 lines are also called DS3 lines.

MySQL Database

MySQL Is an open-source database program and a popular language for adding, accessing, and processing data in a database. MySQL is noted mainly for its speed, reliability, and flexibility. MySQL is a free "open source" database, equivalent in speed and functionality to Microsoft SQL (without the licensing costs). A database is a powerful solution for building a dynamic web solution (i.e. information can be stored in a database and referenced easily rather than programming the data line by line in HTML). A common database application would be an online catalogue.

NT and UNIX Support

Windows NT¨ is Microsoft's¨ 32-bit operating system developed from what was originally intended to be OS/2 3.0 before Microsoft ¨and IBM ceased joint development of OS/2. Used by web hosting companies in the network environment Windows NT offers customers support for Microsoft-based products such as MS Access¨, MS SQL¨ 7.0, and FrontPage¨ 2002.
UNIX, a computer operating system (the basic software running on a computer, underneath things like word processors and spreadsheets). UNIX is designed to be used by many people at the same time (it is multi-user) and has TCP/IP built-in. It is the most common operating system for servers on the Internet.

Other Shopping Carts

Kurant StoreSense is a complete suite of powerful e-business tools that are designed to help small businesses get started selling online quickly and easily. StoreSense's rich feature set ranges from simple wizard-driven Web site and e-store capabilities to sophisticated site design tools, advanced commerce functionality and high-end e-business management. In addition, for the first time, smaller merchants can now manage the entire process of posting and selling products on eBay using the intuitive interface they use to manage their online StoreSense stores.

Perl

Practical Extraction and Report Language, Perl is a programming language designed for processing text. It allows for the submission and retrieval of data to and from a database that can be used on both a UNIX and NT platform. PERL files commonly end with a ".pl" extension. Perl is a powerful scripting language used by web developers to control and implement functionality on a web site Web developers often look for this capability in a hosting service (most commonly for working with databases).

Personal Mail

Instead of requiring a site administrator to manage all email accounts associated with a domain name, this tool enables individual users to edit their email options. For example they can set up or change their autoresponder, change their password or select spam filter levels.

PHP

A server-side scripting language. The PHP commands, which are embedded in the web page's HTML, are executed on the web server to generate dynamic HTML pages. PHP is a powerful and popular scripting language used by developers to create web sites. that have increased functionality. PHP is commonly used with databases to deliver data to web pages and store data fro the web site

POP3

Short for Post Office Protocol version 3, a protocol used to retrieve email from a mail server. Many email applications use the POP protocol. POP is standard for any Mail Client Application, allowing the end user to download mail to their desktop computer. IMAP allows the end user to use POP and leave the mail on the server, so that when using Web mail. they have the ability to see a mail archive of previous messages.

RAID-5 Disk Space

RAID is a way of storing the same data in different places by placing data on multiple hard disks. By placing data on multiple disks operations can overlap in a balanced way, improving performance.

Real Audio and Video

A client-server software system and file format(s) by Real Networks that allows Internet users to play audio and/or video-based multimedia content in real-time as they are being downloaded (called "streaming media"), instead of the user having to download the complete file before being able to play it.

Robust Site Management Tool

WebsiteOS is a browser based application that allows you to manage many aspects of your web site from any computer connected to the Internet, anytime, anywhere!

Search Engine

The Search Engine plug-in script allows you to add an indexing and searching system to your domain. Both HTML documents and plain text files can be searched by this search engine.

Secure Server SSL Manager

Abbreviation for "Secure Sockets Layer". SSL is a transaction security standard that provides data encryption, server authentication, and message integrity. SSL is usually used on sites that accept credit card numbers or other private information.

The SSL Manager application will help you set up SSL security for your web site URL that begins with "https" indicates that an SSL connection will be used. SSL enables secure communications between a server and a browser. Its main use is to provide privacy and authentication. Most commonly, SSL connections are found involving credit card transactions.

Self-Administered E-mail Accounts

Using the WebsiteOS you can add, delete, and configure multiple e-mail accounts without the help of a system administrator.

Shopping Carts

EasyStoreMaker and EasyStoreMaker Pro allow you to create a fully secure on-line store in just a few minutes!

Site Building Tool

The Site Building Tool contains valuable individual tools such as ASP/CFM Enabler, Business Card Builder, FrontPage Manager, Free Plug-in Scripts, Webmaster Tools and the Web site Wizard. Whether you’re new to the web or a seasoned pro, each of these tools can help develop your online identity quick and easily.

SiteCenter CMS

SiteCenter CMS is an online web site design and editing solution that allows you to build, edit and manage your web sites. using a Web browser—regardless of where its hosted. SiteCenter CMS is one of our bonus products included as a value added service for all Bronze plans and higher. It is also available as a stand-alone hosted service for businesses whose web sites. are hosted elsewhere.

Spam Filtering

This feature assists in the limiting of unsolicited email (spam) being sent to your mailbox. This feature is available in standard and aggressive formats.

Support for Real Time Credit Card Processing

Does your site require credit card transactions? InternetHosting.com web sites. support real time credit card processing, secure transactions and more!

The first is the ability to use the free secure certificate, under the name of "secure9.securewebexchange.com ".In this instance, when users access the secure portion of your web site, they would see the name: https://www.secure9.securewebexchange.com/your_company_name.com.
The second option is to purchase a private certificate, commonly referred to as a digital certificate. In this instance when users access the secure portion of your web site, they would see the name: https://www.securewebexchange.com/your_company_name.com.

Text Counter

Text Counter script allows you to include a text counter on any page of your web site

Web Space

Refers to the amount of space reserved for your web site on a server in Megabytes. Typical 10 to 20 page web sites. are about 2 to 3 Megs. Larger web sites. like e-commerce stores are much larger in size.

Web Stats

Provides you useful web site statistics generated in HTML format. Web stats are generated from log files available via Log Manager. They are a graphical representation of raw data. Marketing, Sales and Operations need to evaluate the success of their web initiatives. To do this they need statistics, the shared hosting system provides web logging in conjunction with Web Stats, allowing the analysis of the web site Web Stats provide numerical statistics and graphical charting of the activity on the web site, allowing a business to determine visitor activity, i.e. when visitors most commonly visit, what pages interest visitors the most, how many visitors, where the visitors are coming from. Through analysis companies can even determine where visitors are not utilizing web site information (an indication perhaps to revise those web pages.)

Web mail.

The ability to access your EasyMail accounts over the Internet using a web browser.

Web site Checker

The Web site Checker function allows you to view the structure of your web site, check your pages for broken links, list links pointing to external sites, view your web site images, get a run-down of problems sorted by author, locate pages that may be slow to download, show new and old pages, give pages that have no title and show links that are not checked.

Web site Creation Wizard

The Web site Wizard is a robust tool that allows you to quickly create a professional looking web site with no knowledge of HTML. Your web site can have up to nine pages and can be customized to meet your needs.

Web site Promotion Wizard

Promote your site by sending promotion material to the most popular search engines. This tool is available free of charge. Web site Promotion Wizard is an easy way to submit your web site to an internet search engine (several are supported in this application including Google.)

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