On Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:07:43 Cliff Black wrote: > Moving to a VPS may be the other option. > If the client requires the ability to upload larger files via HTTP, and it > cant be done with their current hosting arrangement, then they've possibly > outgrown their current hosting environment.
And we cover this ground yet again... :-) Any serious designer intending to develop serious sites, the *only* way they will get into the higher echelons is with their own server. They need to own and control all aspects of their hosting environment from server hardware - operating system - back end applications (http, database) - front end applications (php....) The reason is because all these layers are inter dependant on their lower layers for full functionality and performance. Additionally it is no secret that major SE's like Google check for and favor sites that are hosted on dedicated platforms. Having said that running one's own servers is a specialised field and without the necessary expertise a web developer is at risk of becoming unstuck. Further it's an ongoing commitment - the security requirement never sleeps! The days of backyard number-8 style operations are fast coming to an end and this is in no small part being driven by international organisations - the sort that tell banks what to do - and increasingly sophisticated client requirements. This is especially true for e-commerce and this is an area that all web developers should be aware of the movement happening. The days of taking credit cards online through a web form and emailing the details to yourself for manual entry are long gone. It's not allowed and any company caught doing this is at risk of loosing their ability to accept card not present transactions or even their whole merchant facility! Yet many cowboy examples of this and other such abberations are still common in the .nz netspace. The technical requirements to continue to operate accepting C/C online run over 40 pages of technically detailed bullet points. In terms of using VPS - the only difference between VPS and a dedicated server is who owns the hardware - the responsibilities are otherwise the same. Every so often I get enquiries from web developers wanting to operate their own servers. My price starts from $2,000 for a *professionally* setup system. Then there is ongoing maintenance - this is around $200 per month for a basic server. It isn't a 'cheap' option for many, and in many cases developers are better off staying with reseller hosting (and it's limitations) until they reach a certain size to support this. This is the bottom line of what it costs and what the ongoing responsibilities are. If there is a cheaper option it's because it's less featured and/or it involves cutting corners. I strongly advise not to cut corners as I have seen the end result of this enough times and cleaning up after a compromised (ie: hacked) or crashed system is top of scale charge out work, due to it's least 'enjoyable' category. All the best, Michael --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ NZ PHP Users Group: http://groups.google.com/group/nzphpug To post, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe, send email to [email protected] -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
