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This glossary lists definitions of terms you will come across when evaluating hosting plans. For basic terms related to website in general, see our general website terms glossary.

Apache An open source web server developed by the Apache Software Foundation. Apache is the most popular web server on the internet.

Collocation Collocation is when an individual or business installs a server that they own at an ISP or hosting facility. Collocation is often a low cost alternative to running high speed lines to your facility.

Dedicated Server A server that is owned and hosted by an ISP or hosting facility, but dedicated to one customer's site(s). ISP's typically grant the customer greater access privileges on these servers as they are unable to access data belonging to other customers like in a shared environment.

Email Accounts The number of physical email accounts you are allowed to create.

Email forwards do not typically count against the number of physical accounts you are allowed to create.

Email Auto responders A feature of the ISP's email server that allows you to provide automatic replies to messages sent to a specific account. Email Forwards An email address that automatically forwards messages to another physical email address. The forwarding address can be any valid email address on the internet. These types of addresses provide forwarding capabilities only; there is not way to send or receive mail using these accounts.

IIS Internet Information Services (IIS) is a popular web server from Microsoft Corporation. IIS comes bundled with Microsoft server operating systems such as Windows NT Server and Windows 2000 Server.

Linux Hosting Linux hosting is when the ISP hosts your site(s) on servers running a variety of the open source linux operating system. Linux hosting is typically significantly less expensive than Windows hosting because the ISP is not required to pay licensing fees for each server.

Log Files Web servers record the date, time and other important information for each request into text files called logs. These logs can be used by log analyzing software to provide detailed traffic statistics for your site.

Offsite Backup Offsite backup is when an ISP or hosting facility stores their backup media at a remote location. Offsite backup will help to protect your data in the event of a disaster, such as a fire, that destroys the hosting facility.

Shared Hosting Shared hosting is when an ISP places multiple websites, belonging to multiple customers on the same physical server hardware. In many cases, there may be hundreds of sites hosted on the same server. The number of sites hosted, and the amount of traffic those sites receive could dramatically impact the performance of your site.

Static IP Address A physical IP address that references your site. When your site is assigned a static IP address you will be able to access it using either the IP address or domain name. Many ISPs now create virtual address where many domain names are mapped to a single static IP addresses. Virtual domains are fine in most cases, but may not work properly in very old browsers.

Root Access Root is the term for a very highly privileged administrative user in unix environments. When an ISP grants you root access, it means you will have full control of the server. With full control, you will be able to install any software and access any file on that server.

Tape Backup This means that the server will be backed up to a tape drive. Tape drives provide large capacity and are often used for server backup.

Telnet With a telnet account, you will be able to log in and control the server with a command line interface. The command line interface will require you to type in textual commands like in MS-DOS. This provides a powerful option for managing your servers, but can have a steep learning curve for users accustomed to a graphical environment such as Windows. Telnet has some security issues, primarily because the username and password, as well as all communication is sent in plain text over the internet.

Unix Hosting Unix hosting is when an ISP or hosting facility runs your site on some variety of a unix operating system. Unix hosting is typically more expensive than linux hosting because of licensing fees associated with the unix operating systems.

Site Statistics Aggregate statistics of your site's traffic which is created by analyzing log files. Site statistics are usually generated by log analysis software such as WebTrends or Webalizer.

SSH Secure Shell (SSH) is a secure telnet connection. When SSH is used, the username and password, as all data sent between the client computer and the server is encrypted.

Windows Hosting Windows hosting is when an ISP or hosting facility runs your site on a Microsoft Windows server. Windows hosting is typically more expensive than linux hosting because of licensing fees associated with Microsoft operating systems.

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