Servers for the Information Age

Handling the ‘Data on Demand’ needs of a New Generation!

-
Many times those that are relatively new to web hosting terminology stumble into some confusion in their quest for a good web hosting plan. One of the major sources of this confusion may simply come down to what is what where web hosting plans are concerned.

In this article I will talk about three different types of web hosting and their differences. These types are shared web hosting, dedicated server hosting and virtual private server. They mostly vary wildly in price and altogether fill different needs as far as hosting plans are concerned.

Shared web hosting is a term used to refer to when a hosting company puts websites from many different users on one server. Every user is usually given some limit to the amount of resources their site is able to consume. When several sites on the same server get busy or a script on one site consumes extra resources the server can bog down, slowing your site.

Most shared hosting plans are very cost effective and if you get a good hosting company you may be able to avoid having your site bogged down by having too many users on one server. Many shared plans can be had for under $10 a month and come packed with features and possibly even free domain registrations.

Dedicated server hosting is the most expensive web hosting of the three. Instead of sharing a server with other users you are in effect renting an entire server for yourself. Usually, all of the resources of the server are at your disposal. Many times hosting companies give you several options for the type of server you can rent and the operating system it runs.

Dedicated servers are for either bigger sites or for the webmaster who has 200 web sites and is tired of paying for 200 shared hosting accounts. Shared or virtual private server hosting accounts usually can handle personal or small business sites.

A virtual private server in essence is a hybrid of a shared web hosting account and a dedicated server. Software on the server is able to break it down into multiple “virtual” servers. The effect is basically like having several servers on the same machine. You would be paying for one of these virtual servers.

Virtual servers allow you the flexibility of customizing your server settings as if you were renting a dedicated server but since you are actually sharing a server with other users you pay much less. Virtual private server plans are usually priced just a bit higher than shared web hosting.

When you search for hosting do whatever research you need to do to pick the plan that’s right for you. There are thousands of sites offering quality information about web hosting that will help you to fill in any gaps in your knowledge and enable you to make the best possible decision.

Many hosting plans seem to offer the world on a string for a quarter. That’s fine and all but what happens when they cram several hundred busy accounts on one server and your site loads 30kb of HTML in 10 minutes on a DSL connection?

There may actually be many different hosts that can be right for you. Whichever you pick will come down to your requirements for resources like bandwidth and storage space, your requirements for features like PHP and/or ASP, and your requirements for price and level of support. Have fun.

About the author:

Hosting Fanatic Web Hosting Directory
Shared Hosting-Dedicated Server-Virtual Server

Handling the ‘Data on Demand’ needs of a New Generation!

-
Required Beverage Feature

The History

Since the creation of food service waiters and servers have been pouring coffees, teas and sodas for their customers. A tradition of service that dates back as far as history records serving food.

Nothing new for today’s restaurant diner except maybe a bit more variety in the choices of drink. And with servers and waiters vying for more and more tip income it only stands to reason that they are pouring more and more free refills.

So where is the problem? Your customers are getting better service and your wait staff is getting better compensated. All looks good on the surface.

But the question arises, are you getting paid for all those drinks, sodas and coffees? You certainly are paying for all the ingredients. Do your sales reflect the prices that should be charged?

The Need

But what happens when the server forgets to ring up the soft beverage? Your servers and waiters are already pouring the same amounts of soft beverages so your food cost takes a hit. If they don’t ring the drink to begin with (even if by mistake) then you are out the income that is supposed to offset the heavy pouring that is already taking place.

What you need is a way to enforce the ringing of at least 1 beverage/drink per person ordering food. Sounds simple, but not all point of sale systems can do this.

The Solution

Some restaurant point of sale system have a feature that will allow you to establish items on your menu that will require a beverage, beer or drink be rung to match. For instance, you can set entree’ items to require a beverage, beer or drink be rung to match. Of course, your software company should make a provision that a “No Drink” button be on the screen for those rare instances when a person doesn’t even have a water to drink.

Prior to sending the order to the kitchen the software will scan the ticket to verify that items requiring a beverage do have a corresponding item. If not the software should display a warning message prompting the server to ring the appropriate item before allowing them to proceed.

If the guest does not want a soft beverage or simply wants a water then the appropriate key should be depressed, this will then allow the order to proceed. Management should inspect the nightly sales reports to observe how many “No Drinks” or waters are being served by each server. If one server seems to be out of line with the others then a problem may have been discovered.

The Benefit To You

The benefit to you is simple. You get paid for what is served.

The cost to you is nothing extra. You are already paying for the beverages being served. You are just not getting paid for them.

Mistakes happen. Items are left off the ticket and after the customer is gone it is too late to recover. Your restaurant point of sale system should help reduce your loss by reminding your servers and waiters to properly ring all soft beverages, beers and drinks.

About the Author: Jerry D. Wilson is Director of Internet Sales for DirecTouch Restaurant Point of Sale. With over 25 years of hospitality point of sale experience, he has written several articles explaining different aspects of hospitality point of sale software. Please visit http://www.directouchpos.com for more information.

Source: www.isnare.com

Handling the ‘Data on Demand’ needs of a New Generation!

-
Getting your own dedicated server for your business is a great idea if you are interested in security, being the only business on the server, eliminating potential server problems, and have a budget that includes a substantial monthly fee. If you have a busy commerce website and a lot of visitors, then a dedicated server is probably your best bet, not to mention completely secure. However if you have a smaller site, with less traffic, and a low budget, you should wait until your budget grows as well as your website to use a dedicated server. Consider the following points to help you learn more about the ups and downs of dedicated server hosting.

Ups

Dedicated server hosting is beneficial because you know you are the only one using the server and it is 100% dedicated to your website and information. Shared web hosting is less expensive, but also less secure. If you have your own server your information will be safe and secure and you will not have to worry about security breaches.

Avoid server problems due to others sharing the server, submitting bad information that affects the server, and ultimately you in a negative way. With your own dedicated server you will only deal with your own information. The actions of others on the server will not affect you because you are the only one on the server.

On your dedicated server, you install and use the information and software you need. Space is not taken up for software and programs for other users that you do not need.

With a dedicated server you have less reliance on your Web host and as a result you will save any delays that might occur as well as money that you would possibly lose from being offline.

With your own dedicated server you will be able to offer support to your clients 24/7 if you so desired. This is not an option on a shared server and is a worthwhile benefit to many companies considering a dedicated server.

Frequently increased income is a result of using a dedicated server because you will be able to make changes, assist clients at any time of the day or night which means you make additional money. When you have control over your server you put the power in your hands instead of someone else’s.

A dedicated server is faster as well and your web pages will load significantly quicker, which means people will stick around to see what your site is about. With a shared server it might take longer for your site to load and people won’t wait for this.

Down

The one major drawback to dedicated server hosting is the price. It is more expensive than shared hosting and as a result not an option for many people.
About the Author

Michael Turner reveals his foolproof way to increase website traffic in his free 7 part mini-series. Grab it free right now at http://www.powertraffictactics.com/