Symlinks are used a lot in Linux- and Unix-based systems so you may be wondering as to what exactly a “symlink” is.  If you have Linux VPS Hosting and you use SSH, you’ll often find many files in the file structure are symlinks.

What are symlinks used for?

Symlinks are a specific type of file that has a reference to a physical location on the Linux server hard drive – such as another file or directory that exists on the machine’s hard drive. The most common symlink you’ll likely come across when using an FTP client is the www and public_html directories. The www directory is a symlink to the public_html physical directory. So this means any files or directories uploaded to the www folder is the same as doing so directly in the public_html folder. The two that seemingly look like two separate folders are merely just one.

Why are they useful?

Symlinks are very useful. For example, if you use a Linux-based operating system on your desktop, you could easily create a symbolic link to the Applications folder on your desktop. So in this way, a symlink would act as a shortcut to that specific folder, that resides in a specific location on the hard drive. However, in the case of a Linux web server, you may have an important shell script in one folder but there are two folders on the server that do similar functions, so for human convenience you may want to create a symlink to the shell script on the other similar folder. No extra storage space is really being used; you could simply have multiple copies of the shell script on the hard drive, but that wastes unnecessary space, which is another reason why symlinks are useful.

In fact, symlinks can save a lot of space, because a symlink simply contains a text string that determines where the operating system needs to go to find the physical file or directory on the server.

Here at Bodhost we are often asked questions about our dedicated hosting services such as what the benefits of a dedicated server are and the comparisons that can be drawn with other hosting products offered by Bod. Here we have compiled a selection of questions that we hope will aid customer old and new with the decision making process and whether or not a dedicated server is going to be the most appropriate hosting plan for their needs.

How does the term “fully managed” apply to a dedicated server?

When viewing our range of dedicated hosting plans, you will discover all of our dedicated servers are classed as fully managed. Fully managed basically means that you can contact Bodhost’s 24×7 support team if you have any enquiry surrounding your dedicated server. Examples of when you may need to contact our support team include

• If there is a particular application that you would like installed on your dedicated server but feel that you lack the skills to perform a professional installation, our support team can step in and carry out this task on your behalf
• When facing an issue with your dedicated server – no matter how small – you should contact the Bod support team the moment that you discover an issue so that it can be rectified promptly to reduce any potential impact on your business operations or the performance of your dedicated server.

What is server mirroring and how can it benefit me?

Server mirroring is the process of using another server that is identical to your primary dedicated server alongside this server so that if your primary server crashes, there is another server available to pick up the slack and deal with requests until service is restored to the primary server. This is a high performance solution that can offer 100% guaranteed uptime when implemented properly.

The server mirroring scheme deployed by Bodhost ensures that you are able to carry on working with the secondary server because the contents of the primary server will be kept in constant synchronization at all times; any files modified on the secondary server whilst the primary server is down will be used to overwrite the original files on the primary server once service is restored.

A server mirroring solution from Bodhost can be seen as a great way of avoiding hardware failure, as it is highly unlikely that both servers are going to fail.

What is server load balancing?

A load balanced cluster requires several different servers of a similar specification, one of which will need to act as a central database server. The job of spreading the load is one that is taken care of by a core master server. The web servers in the load balanced cluster work together so that demand can be spread across each server to introduce a new level of scalability and performance that isn’t possible with other dedicated server configurations. Load balancing can be taken further with the option to introduce other levels of redundancy if necessary, such as with the use of a secondary database server for backup as well as additional web servers to improve performance.

A load balanced dedicated server configuration from Bodhost can offer you the following:

• A cluster of servers ensures that there are the resources available to deal with all requests, even in a high-demand situation
• Redundancy has been considered at every level with the option to have a secondary backup database server to deal with requests if your primary database server fails as even if your web application is available, it won’t be usable if it is unable to access the content and information that it requires.

 What operating systems are available with Bodhost dedicated servers?

Bodhost offers customer a choice between Windows and Linux so that you can purchase dedicated servers to meet the needs of the different operational areas within your business. For business requiring Windows for their dedicated server, we offer the latest version of Windows Server 2008 so that you are able to make the most of what Microsoft has to offer in the area of servers. Our Linux server hosting customers will be able to choose from a selection of the most popular Linux distributions; if the distribution that you wish to use isn’t listed on our website, please contact our 24×7 support team as we should be able to sort something out for you.

 If I purchase a dedicated server from Bodhost, where will my server be hosted?

All dedicated server hosting solutions from Bodhost are hosted in our state of the art US data center. Our data center infrastructure includes the following components:

• There are multiple power lines into the data center to ensure that if the primary source of power fails, there are backups available; furthermore, we also run a high-end Mitsubishi UPS system to provide an additional source of backup power
• With staff available 24×7 and the data floor protected with biometric access, only authorized individuals will have access to our hardware
• As a Tier 3 data center, we are able to offer a network uptime guarantee of 99.98%.

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You may not think that ARM processors stand a chance in bodHOST Dedicated Server Hosting environment, but there are stringent benefits with ARM processors in the web hosting industry, and for a start because they’re power-efficient compared to Intel and AMD processors. This means ARM-based devices have the following benefits:

Higher Battery Life and Reduced Cooling Requirements :

Devices with ARM processors have greater battery life and reduced cooling requirements because of the way ARM processors work. Which also means it doesn’t require the level of cooling an Intel or AMD processor would require. So for many devices with ARM processors, like smartphones and most of the popular tablet computers out there, such as the iPad and Android tablets, do not require cooling unlike an equivalent tablet with an Intel or AMD processor. In fact, the new Microsoft Surface tablet that also has a Pro model that comes with an Intel processor will have cooling and essentially air vents with it – but Microsoft has been able to do this in a way in which is unobtrusive to the end user.

Having said that, the stringent benefits of ARM processors are primarily higher battery life (for devices that have a battery) and reduced cooling requirements. In a server environment, this can equate to reduced power consumption and not requiring the level of cooling and ventilation as would be necessary for servers that are also low power, but instead have Intel or AMD processors inside.

ARM Processors can result in thinner, slimmer and more portable servers

In a usage environment where an ARM-based servers are perfect, the benefits also come along when it concerns the size of servers, considering data centres only have infinite space and room – and for powerful servers, they can only be so compact before it becomes impossible because of the amount of heat the components will generate, especially the processor.

Coupled in a system-on-a-chip package, servers can be thinner, lighter and use less power

A system-on-a-chip refers to all the electronic components being in one chip – including for digital, audio, external I/O (USB, Ethernet, etc.), RAM and so forth.

Where can ARM processors by useful in ?

Well, as reported by TechWorld, a company called Calxeda that makes chips using the ARM processor design, believes that ARM processors will, in the future, coincide with Intel or AMD processors, to make a server that has a similar concept to hybrid graphics – where intensive processing will be executed and handled by the x86 processors, whereas tasks that can make use of more power-efficient processors and that doesn’t require a lot of processing power could be handled by the power-efficient ARM processors.

If you consider for a moment, Hybrid Graphics

Many computer systems today have hybrid graphics systems – in fact, even Apple notebooks have hybrid graphics. To save battery life and for general non-gaming use, Apple’s operating system will make use of the more power-efficient Intel HD graphics processor, but if you’re running more graphically-intensive applications (a prime example being games, obviously) – the operating system will automatically switch to the more performance-efficient graphics processor – in the case of Apple laptops, currently an NVIDIA GeForce graphics processor.

As a dedicated server hosting provider ourselves, we do believe ARM processors have a future in the server environment

The bottom line is it’s safe to say that at some point in the future, it sounds absolutely plausible for ARM processors to be useful in the server market – especially as a hybrid solution.

As a provider of managed dedicated servers at bodHOST, there are inherent benefits of a hybrid server, such as:

Lower Electricity Costs and Other Positive Factors :

By the concept of having the ARM chips do the less-intensive work for power-efficiency, it inevitably results in a ratio where electricity costs are reduced for the same period of time than simply having a server as most are today, with an x86 processor doing both processor-intensive tasks and tasks that do not require a lot of processing power.

For the data centre to have smaller electricity bills as a result, these savings can likely be handed down to web hosting providers which means web hosting providers can pass their own savings down to their customers. So the core benefits are essentially power efficiency, which equates to:

• Lower electricity bills;
• Environmentally-friendly (ARM processors being incredibly power-efficient);
• Savings will eventually be passed down consumers.

And from a corporate social responsibility perspective, companies that want to go further with their concerns over their carbon footprint and the environmental aspects of their corporate responsibility policies, having power-efficient server hardware is a critical component of being an environmentally-responsible business, especially as a dedicated web hosting provider, because it is safe to suffice that as a web hosting provider, their dedicated servers are the most taxing to the environment.

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Features of Cloud bodHosting

With many large corporations predicting that they will exhaust their data center capacity and IT infrastructures in the near future, the cloud is seen as being the answer to this by providing one centralized infrastructure from which corporate applications can be served globally. It is believed that the need for corporate data centers will begin to diminish over the next several years as many larger enterprises look to specialist infrastructure companies to aid them with their cloud designs so that the highest levels of performance and stability can be achieved.

Bodhost is able to offer enterprise public cloud solutions and private cloud solutions for corporations that wish to have their own cloud that isn’t shared with other users. There is often a lot of controversy as to whether a business should be choosing a shared cloud solution or a private cloud solution.

With Bodhost’s enterprise cloud solution being a shared cloud option, you can expect the following benefits from using this as your hosting choice:

• The shared cloud will be used by other users, but each user will have their own virtual machines each of which will represent an individual dedicated environment meaning that performance issues with one virtual machine will not affect the performance of another
• The shared cloud design enables Bodhost to offer cloud hosting at a competitive rate without the need to compromise on the service that is offered; if you find yourself in a position where you require additional resources, these can be quite easily allocated to your virtual machines in a shared cloud once you have placed the order
• The Bodhost enterprise cloud has redundancy built into its core to guarantee that there will always be additional capacity available to customers when it is needed; redundancy in the cloud is a necessity if the uptime guarantee of 100% is to be met without issue.

A private cloud is a choice that will require a large budget and so is only aimed at larger corporations where the migration of dedicated servers to the cloud may be necessary. A business may wish to use a private cloud for the following reasons:

• Larger corporations often have their own dedicated servers and on-site servers which they may wish to consolidate into their own cloud solution as a way of saving money
• Although you will have your own virtual machines in a shared cloud, quite often it is important for multi-national enterprises to have control of their entire web hosting experience which is where the need for access to the entire cloud and internal network will be of use
• A private cloud is a much more scalable solution for business applications where demand is going to be ever-growing and there is going to be a distinct need for additional storage and resources at short notice because even though a shared cloud can be scalable, this is often only suiting for single virtual machines where the demand placed on a single website may increase.

Features of Dedicated Hosting

Bodhost offers a range of managed dedicated servers, which are designed to provide a solution for situations where specific hardware configurations are necessary in order for businesses to have their hosting needs fulfilled entirely. A 99.95 uptime SLA (Service Level Agreement) is provided as standards so that our customers are assured of the service that we will offer, along with full support so that enquiries and issues can be dealt with as they are raised.

Dedicated servers are physical servers that you can access remotely so that you are able to manage your server as you would do if you were sat directly next to it; with dedicated hosting the main emphasis is always put on allowing you to customize your web hosting environment with the services that your website requires in order to function correctly. As a Linux dedicated server user, remote access will be provided through SSH; Windows dedicated server customers can access their servers through the Remote Desktop application that is available for Mac and Windows desktop computers.

You should opt for a fully managed dedicated server from Bodhost for the following benefits:

• No setup fees mean that you only have to pay for the server itself and the service that you receive; we believe that we should help our customers where possible to better their web hosting experience, which is why we setup all dedicated servers for free
• Our support team is available 24×7 through telephone, email or the Live Chat option on our website so that we can guarantee the uptime level of 99.95% will be met every month because the availability of a professional support team around the clock means that your issues can be fixed as they arise
• Custom hardware configurations are available so that you are able to put together a hosting package that is just what you are looking for so that your website will have the resources it requires to serve content to visitors without facing any performance issues.

Cloud Hosting vs. Dedicated Hosting Comparison

There are several comparisons that can be drawn between dedicated hosting and cloud hosting, specifically with the environments that are offered and the price that you are going to pay for each option. Although a cloud hosting plan can offer you a dedicated hosting environment, this is often in the form of a virtual machine which will obviously have its limitations hardware-wise when compared to a dedicated server; however, a virtual machine in the cloud is going to be far cheaper than a dedicated server of a similar specification.

A dedicated server and a cloud hosting plan also have similar uptime guarantees, with a cloud VM being offered with a 100% uptime SLA and a dedicated server with a 99.95% uptime SLA. The cloud will have a far greater level of redundancy built into it than a dedicated server, therefore meaning that the uptime SLA of a cloud VM will be far easier to attain than that of a dedicated server since a single server will have no backup options if it crashes, unless it is mirrored.

Bodhost appreciates that larger businesses will have a distinct need for custom configurations in order for their web applications to function effectively, with this being the main driving force behind managed dedicated servers. Unless you require a custom hardware configuration, a Bodhost enterprise cloud plan will be more suiting to your needs than a dedicated server.

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