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Dedicated Server FAQ ]
This FAQ was created to
answer the majority of the questions you might have about our Web Site
Manager? and virtual servers. This FAQ is continually being updated.
As always, feel free to contact your EZwebhoter Account Executive for
any additional questions that you might have.
Frequently Asked Questions
Some other Web Hosting companies offer multiple T3s and OC3. Does that
mean EZwebhoster is slower?
Absolutely not! First, when
a company advertises so much bandwidth they are most likely either
co-located with an larger ISP (send their servers out to a large web
farm where they do not have physical access), referring to the
connection of their backbone - not the servers (this is very
misleading) or hosting adult sites (porno) which requires and uses up
this amount of bandwidth. Even if none of the above apply, a
connection is only as fast as the weakest link, which in most cases is
a 28.8 modem or even a cable connection at 1.5mbs. Our T3 network
with redundant T1 backbone connections is one of the fastest
connections you will find on the Internet today.
How
come I have not seen EZwebhoster advertised in all the trade
magazines?
Back in the "old days"
(before the Web was popular - circa 1994) print advertising was
necessary for a business to expand and build a customer base. The
Internet (more specifically the Web) is the most efficient form of
advertising in history. You can reach millions of prospect for just
dollars a month. Instead of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars
per year on print media, corporate earnings are spent on multi-media
presentations, software development and hardware upgrades.
Is
there any charge for upgrading to a higher option or downgrading to a
lower option if we later so decide?
You are only responsible for
the difference in the setup charge, for example moving from an option
4 to a dedicated server you would pay the dedicated server setup
less the setup paid for your option 4. We want to be sure your
virtual/dedicated server fits your needs and budget at all times. Our
options are designed to grow with your business.
Is
it hard to install the Web Site Manager? software?
It sure is... But we do it
for you! The Web Site Manager? software is actually a series of
programs that run on OUR server. To run the software, you just need to
go to a Web page with your Web browser and logon using your username
and password. You do NOT need to install anything on your local
computer. It doesn't get much easier than that!
What if we
decide to get our own server down the road or switch to another Web
site provider? What happens with our Domain name?
When we register your domain
name (yourcompany.com) with the Internic, we list YOU as the
owner of the domain, the administrative and billing contact and us as
the technical contact. This means you can switch your domain over at
any time with no trouble. You do not need to get EZwebhoster's
approval to switch a domain name with the Internic.
When we get our own domain name, why does the Internic bill us?
We provide domain
registration as a free service to all of our customers. Most companies
will charge anywhere up to $300 for this service and keep $200 for
themselves. We just list you as the billing contact and have the
Internic mail you out an Invoice for $70. This covers your domain
registration for 2 years. After the two years, you will be billed $35
per year by the Internic for as long as you own your domain name.
Do
I still need my local ISP if we have a virtual server with you?
Yes, but we do offer dial-up
accounts. Please contact out parent company
EZlinx.net if you wish to setup a
dial-up
internet account at only $9.99
per month with no contracts.
How
often do you backup the data on the servers?
The data on the servers are
backed up once per day on a separate hard drive. Users have instant
access to their daily backups and do not need to go through a System
Administrator to get an old file. Tape backups are made once per week
and stored in a different location in case of any disaster. Despite
these backups, EZwebhoster strongly recommends that each user
backup his/her own files on a regular basis to their local computer.
Does the setup fee (dedicated options) include the domain registration
with the Internic?
The setup fee does include
our registering the new domain name with the Internic.
If the customer already owns
the domain name, and it is a modify, our setup charge includes
switching the domain over to our server and filling out the
modification request with the Internic. The Internic will not bill the
customer for a modified domain unless the company/person who owns the
domain is changing as well.
Do
we do business with companies outside the United States?
Of course! We have customers
from all over the world in over 90 countries. Many other countries can
greatly benefit from using a American service provider because of the
direct Internet connection and the currency exchange rate.
We accept all major credit
cards as payment. If the customer chooses to be billed via e-mail, we
do require all currency to be in U.S. dollars.
With
your virtual servers can I have multiple domains?
Yes. This is called
virtual hosting. Charges are as follows:
Setup charges -
None, however the Internic charges of $20 per new domain still
apply. This policy only refers to EZwebhoster's setup charges only.
Monthly Charges - For
options 1-3, monthly charges are based on volume. The more domains a
customer has with EZwebhoster, the less they are charged per domain
per month. Once a customers reaches a new price level, they will be
charged the new price for all their domains starting the following
billing cycle. * Prices per domain, per month are as follows:
|
Number of Additional Domains
|
Price per Domain per Month
|
| 1-24 |
$10 |
| 25-49 |
$7.50 |
| 50-99 |
$5 |
| 100-249 |
$3 |
| 249+ |
$2 |
* All dedicated server
customers (option 5) and option 4 customers are charged $2 per domain
per month regardless of quantity.
I
currently have my site and domain name with someone else. How do I
switch it over to your server?
We make moving to our server
very easy. We take care of the domain change and all the "paperwork"
with the Internic. We just need to know what your domain name is.
The process is very quick
providing the person ordering the server is EITHER listed as the
Technical contact or the Administrative contact with the Internic. If
you are not sure, you can check this by going to http://rs.internic.net/cgi-bin/whois,
type in your domain name (xxxxxx.com), and see if you are listed. If
you are not you will need the permission of either contact to switch.
(Although this is not always fair, it is unfortunately the way the
Internic works. That is why we at EZwebhoster ALWAYS list our
customers as the Administrative Contact.)
You should have a local copy
of your Web Site on your computer. Then you could just use our Web
Site Manager to upload the pages to our server. If you are familiar
with FTP, you can upload your site via FTP as well.
We recommend you keep your
existing account active until the domain has switched to our server,
this way, there will be no down time for your site.
What is the difference between an "e-mail alias" and a POP account?
If you are currently getting
e-mail, you have a POP account. Most local ISP's provide you with your
own POP account. This POP account requires a username and password to
access your e-mail. Your e-mail software is configured to retrieve the
e-mail from your POP account.
The problem with your POP
account is the name. Most likely, it is some cryptic deviation of your
name with your local ISP's domain name attached to it. If you decide
to change to another ISP, your POP account will change with it and you
will be assigned a new e-mail address which very often results in lost
mail and lost business.
With an e-mail alias, you
get to use your own domain name. YOU choose what the prefix will be
(anything@yourdomain). This "alias" points to your current POP account
either with EZwebhoster or your local ISP. If your POP account ever
changes, you simply redirect the alias to your new POP account
address.
With EZwebhoster, you can
have UNLIMITED aliases that all forward to your existing POP account
so you do not need to reconfigure your e-mail software for each
address.
Can I
run my own CGI scripts in my own directory?
Yes. You have full access to
your own CGI directory. There are literally thousands of free scripts
available on the Internet that you can use on your server. Although we
cannot provide technical support for 3rd party scripts, our support
department will always be glad to help you troubleshoot any problems
you might have with these scripts.
Can we
wire money to EZwebhoster?
No, we are not accepting
wire transfers at this time.
How
does one enter an application for a domain from another country?
We have a Web page setup
specifically for this question. See
here for full instructions.
Is
EZwebhoster a reseller of a larger Web hosting company?
No. EZwebhoster,
Corp. owns all of the software and hardware associated with it's
Internet business. The EZwebhoster support staff has direct contact
with the server administrators at all times. When you get a virtual
server with EZwebhoster, you are dealing directly with EZwebhoster or
representatives of EZwebhoster Our World Headquarters in Wilkes-Barre
Pennsylvania is home of both our administration office and technical
facility, where we have full control of the OC12 and all the hardware.
Why
should I pay for 10 gigabytes of data transfer per month? That is more
than I will ever need.
Let's hope not! A 10
gigabytes per month is approximately 25,000 hits per day (or 25,000
Web page accesses with graphics). This is a tremendous amount of
traffic but as the Web gains more acceptance, Web sites get more hits.
Beware of hosting services that limit your data transfer to an
incredibly small amount like 500 megs per MONTH and charge you for
data over that amount (.10 per meg is about the current market value).
Assume your site gets just 5000 hits a day and the average Web page
accessed is 35k with graphics:
35,000 bytes X 5000 hits
= 175,000,000 bytes =~ 166.9 megs/day
166.9 megs X 30 days = 5007
megs/month
5007 megs - 500 megs
(allowed) = 4507 megs
4507 extra megs billed at
.10 per meg is
$450.70 extra per month!
With 10 gigabytes a month
you can be pretty confident that you will stay within the allowance.
If you do go over, we have several upgrade options to choose from.
Contact your Account Executive for more details.
What is your "spamming" policy?
Please see our page on
spamming for the answer to this question.
What if I am not happy with your service?
Our staff will do their best
to make sure you are happy, but if for any reason at any time you want
to cancel your service with us, just fill out our simple cancellation
form at our Web site or call our administration office before
the first of the month and you will not be charged anymore for your
server. Please note: due to security reasons, we do not accept
cancellations via e-mail. Also we offer a 30 day money back
guarantee. Please see our page on this for
policy details.
What are "virtual domains" why is good that we can have them?
Virtual domains allow you to
have a number of domains point to any sub directories in your Web
site. This is a fantastic feature for companies with many product
lines that want different domains or for Web designers wanting to
provide hosting services for organizations not quite ready for their
own virtual server.
How
does your support department work? Can I talk to a real person if I
wanted to?
We have one of the most
unique and effective customer support departments on the Net today. In
today's highly technical society, customers demand more personal
attention than ever. The Internet itself can be very confusing. This
is why we have chosen to create a support staff comprised of full-time
technicians who are also customers of EZwebhoster Our support staff
work from their homes and offices in different locations around the
world. When you call an on-duty technician, you are calling a direct
line. You know whom you will be speaking with and there is no waiting
on hold. Our support technicians are available either by phone or
e-mail 24 hours per day, everyday. It is our policy to respond
to all support requests within 1 hour (most of the time within
minutes). We will make sure you have all the support you need.
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