OccHosting Support Glossary of Terms

Some hosting companies block access to web sites that contain adult content. Some hosting companies will not host web sites that contain such adult content. If you plan to launch a web site that contains adult content make sure your host allows adult content - OccHosting does allow legal Adult Content

A name that points to another name. Aliases are used to make the original name easier to remember or to protect the site's identity.

An applet is an embedded program on a web site. Applets are usually written in the coding language called Java. They are normally used for creating a virtual object that may move or interact with the web site. An applet is like a small piece of executable code that needs a full application to run it.

Active Server Pages allow web developers to make their sites dynamic with database driven content. The code is mainly written in VB Script, and it is produced on the server web site instead of the browser of your visitors. The server reads the ASP code and then translates it to HTML.

The process of providing audio content on a web site. This takes up a large amount of bandwidth, especially if you get a lot of visitors at your site. Some hosts do not allow audio or video streaming because of this.

An automated program that acknowledges receipt of an e-mail message, and then sends back a previously prepared email to the sender, letting them know the email was received. Once you configure your autoresponder, it auto-sends e-mails with no further action required on your part, making your web site interactive around the clock. Most hosting companies let you set this up through their control panel. Here at OCChosting - each hosting package has unlimited responders.

Refers to the amount of time within a 24 hour period a server is active or available for servicing requests. ie. if a hosting company says it's available 99.9% of the time, they're claiming your web site will up all the time except for about 12 seconds each day. Over the a period of a year, the hosting company is claiming that your site will only be unavailable for approx 48 hours.
The uptime for OccHosting is commited to at least 99% uptime on our servers - OCC's uptime is updated every 3 minues for your review.

A measurement of usage of a server, similar to getting your electric bill. Server usage is typically measured in Gigs,and is usually added on to your hosting bill if you exceed your alloted monthly transfer amount.

Traffic generated by means of misleading information . i.e.. A link on the wed page says "Free info", when the surfer clicks on the link they are sent to a different web site sign up page or top list or some other revenue generator.

This is the client software that displays (interprets) the HTML code it receives from the server. All browsers work slightly different and may not display the pages correctly if the code was developed exclusively for another browser. Today the main browsers are Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) and Netscape.

C+ and C++ are programming languages. Some hosting companies provide access to C+ and C++ class libraries - if your web site requires C++ program modules. Make sure its availalble to you - OccHosting provides access.

A CGI is a program that translates data from a web server and then displays the data on a web page or in an email. CGI involves the transfer of data between a server and a CGI program (called a script). This allows HTML pages to interact with other programming applications. These scripts make web pages interactive. Page counters, forms, guest books, random text/images and other features can be driven by CGI scripts. Some Hosting companies have pre-installed/pre-defined CGI scripts, meaning that the scripts are already installed on the server for you to use. Other hosting companies permit user-defined or custom CGI scripts, which means the site owner can create his/her own private CGI script and runs the custom made script on their web site. Not all Hosting companies allow user-defined (custom) scripts for security reasons. Almost all hosting companies do offer CGI today. If you think you will need forms on your web site, CGI could be a key requirement. - OccHosting provides our customers with 100% access to their own private cgi-bin and provides cgi scripts for your convenience.

Some hosting companies allow you to develop a chat room or use most chat service for your visitors. Be sure to check with the web host company about the details your chat services offered. Some servers permit you to configure the service, and others pre-configure everything for you while others do not allow chat rooms at all - OCC Hosting Supports most Chat Software.

This is a method used to trick search engines into reading certain HTML pages for search engine placement. There is usually a piece of code on the first page of the site that checks to see if the request for the page is coming from a search engine spider. It then directs the spider to a page that is appropriately written for high placement with that particular search engine.

An application which simplifies database queries by allowing for a simpler programming language to handle functions between the user's browser, the server, and the database - OccHosting supports Cold Fusion 7 MX

Co-location means housing a web server that you own in the facilities of a hosting provider. This option is perfect if you want to own your own server, but do not want the hassle or security risk of maintaining that server.

An web based package of tools permitting easy site management and editing. Almost all hosting companies provide this option today. It is a very important feature to have. By having your own control panel, you can maintain basic information about your site, mail boxes, web statistics, etc. without having to send emails to the hosting company or call them on the phone for support.

The number of times a visitor signed up for something, like a pay-site or AVS membership, compared to the total number of times the ad was clicked. Sponsors with pay-per-click programs may require a certain conversion ratio, or they will switch the webmaster to pay-per-sale, in order to prevent webmasters from cheating.

A message given to a Web browser by a Web server. The browser stores the message in a text file called cookie.txt. The message is then sent back to the server each time the browser requests a page from the server. The main purpose of cookies is to identify users and possibly prepare customized Web pages for them. When you enter a Web site using cookies, you may be asked to fill out a form providing such information as your name and interests. This information is packaged into a cookie and sent to your Web browser which stored for later use. The next time you go to the same Web site, your browser will send the cookie to the Web server. The server can use this information to present you with custom Web pages. For example, instead of seeing a generic welcome page you might see a welcome page with your name on it.

What is a merchant account? Why do I need one? A merchant account gives a business the ability to accept credit cards as payment for the company's goods and services. It provides your customers with an extremely popular payment option, beyond cash and checks. This is usually done via a 3rd party provider ie iBill, ccBill or VeroTel

Used to add more functionality to simple HTML pages. Internet Explorer 3.0 and up support a good portion of CSS, while Netscape 4.0 and up supports a small amount of CSS - a fully compliant browser does not exist yet.

If your web site will needs a database to store information, database support by the hosting company will be required.The most commonly used database programs are SQL Server, MySQL, Access and Oracle. Databases can be difficult to configure. Before you sign up with a web host, make sure if the host can support all your database needs.

This is the amount of data that is transferred from an account as visitors view the pages of the web site. If you have a web site with lots of video, audio, and images that gets many visitors per day, you would have to make sure that you choose a host that will allow large amounts of data to be transferred. If you choose a host that only allows 200 MB of data transfer per month, and your site transferred 500 MB per month, then the host may stop half of your visitors from viewing your site and you could lose potential customers. Your best bet is to try to find a host that offers unlimited data transfer or at least a Gig of transfer. A gig is more than enough for most web sites. As a general rule, 500 MB of data transfer is equivalent to 20,000 page views.

A dedicated IP (Internet Protocol) is a unique Internet address dedicated exclusively to a single hosting account. Normally, several hosting accounts reside on a single server and share that server's IP address. Dedicated IP addresses are usually used for large SSL-encrypted secure Web sites and particularly large and/or traffic-heavy sites. Most shared hosting users have no particular need for a dedicated IP address. However, a dedicated IP address for your hosting account enables you to:

• View your Web site via its IP address.
• Access your accounts by FTP or the Web when the domain name is otherwise inaccessible, such as during domain name propagation periods.
• Ensure fast(er) response during periods of high traffic load.
• Set up SSL protection on your Web site. .

A more expensive type of account in which the web hosting company provides you with an entire hosting setup including your own server hardware that only you can use. This usually means a much faster loading time for your site because the entire computer is "dedicated" to running the server software. This is different from most other hosting accounts in which your web site will share space on a server with many other web sites, called a virtual server. A dedicated server makes sense for web sites that require higher availability and higher data transfer rates.

This indicates the amount of disk space that will be available to you on the hosts server to hold your web site files. Normally because HTML files are small, a web site (unless it has extensive graphics or database functionality) will be small, as low as 30 or 50MB in most cases.

1. My web site has already been created - Use windows explorer to check the total diskspace of your site while it is still on your PC. Then double the current size so you have room to grow. When you check the total MB of your site don't forget to include all of your folders.

2. My web site hasn't been created yet but I have a idea of how many pages I have- A good rule of thumb is to assume approx. 50 KB per page (1 MB = 1000 KB, 1 GB = 1000 MB). 50 KB per page is on the high side so it's a conservative estimate for the average size of a web page.

Often hosting companies will charge an extra fee if disk space exceeds the plan limits. If you think this could happen then either go with a higher MB limit from the start or check with the hosting provider to understand their policies on Disk Space. Remember, the addition of a database can significantly increase your requirements for disk space.

Many hosting companies give you the option to 'park' your domain name without actually having your web site up and running. This is a nice option if you want to acquire a domain name for your web site well ahead of having the web site itself designed and constructed.

The unique name that identifies an Internet site. Domain Names always have 2 or more parts, separated by dots. The part on the left is the most specific, and the part on the right is the most general (Occhosting.com). Technically, the domain name is a name that identifies an IP address. To most of us, it simply means www.yourname.com. Because the Internet is based on IP addresses, not domain names, web servers depend on a Domain Name System (DNS) to translate domain names into IP addresses. Simply stated, domain names allow people to find your web site by name rather than by its numerical (IP) address.

Often a hosting company will offer to register your domain name at the time you sign up for a hosting plan. This normally incurs an additional charge but may be cheaper and more convenient than using a separate domain name registration service. We recommend that you go ahead and register your domain name as soon as possible, especially if you think it will take some time to develop the site itself. Click here to register your domain.

Domain Name System is a network of hosts that translate domain names into IP addresses. Translates domain names (for example, www.occhosting.com into a numerical IP address such as 192.168.10.245). When a computer is referred to by name, a domain name server puts that name into the numeric IP address assigned to that computer. So when you buy a domain, say www.yourname.com, it does not become accessible until it gets assigned an IP address from a hosting company. Once the IP address is assigned, a cross-reference record (DNS record) is created that points your domain name to the numeric IP address.

POP3 (Post Office Protocol) is an actual e-mail account on your web host's e-mail server. Think of each POP account as a unique email address (somename@yourdomain.com, contact@yourdomain.com, etc.) Before you choose a specific hosting plan, you should know exactly how many email accounts are required to meet your specific needs.

Front Page is an HTML editor made by Microsoft. It is commonly used to create web sites

Frontpage extensions can be thought of as "mini programs" that allow features of a web site created with MS Front Page to operate smoothly. It is possible to use MS Front Page to create a web site and host that site on a server that doesn't offer FP extensions, however some of the powerful features of the program cannot be used in these web sites. See Microsoft's Front Page site for more information. After you design your web site, you will know whether Frontpage extensions will be a requirement. OCC support all FrontPage extensions.

A way of transferring files (uploading and downloading) across the Internet. Most web sites are uploaded to the Internet by means of an FTP program. This is how the web site you create on your computer at home is transferred (uploaded) to the Internet. Some software, such as Microsoft Front Page, does not require use of an FTP program but the use of most any other HTML editor requites the use of and FTP Program. There is a free FTP program called WS_FTP and you can download it at download.com. There are many Internet sites that have established publicly accessible repositories of material that can be obtained using FTP, by logging in using the account name anonymous, thus these sites are called anonymous FTP servers.

When you hear the term "host" in the Internet world, it is referring to an Internet company that has the required servers and software to connect domain names to (IP) Internet Protocol numbers so that your site can be viewed by the public when they type your domain in their browser window. Basically this is where you house your site, and you usually have to pay a monthly or annual fee for this service. OCCHosting is a good place to host your site today.

Hotlinking is simply stealing bandwidth from other web site, this is where another website links your pics from your server and passes them off as their own on their site. What they do is copy your full image path for example: http://www.yourwebsite.com/images/image1.gif then they copy the above and serve it on their sites. This allows them to add images to their site and not have to pay the bandwidth to serve them, however you get stuck footing the bill.

This is the platform of the hosting providers servers. Hosting companies will typically having a hosting platform based upon Windows 2000 (Win2K), Windows NT or Linux. If you have a basic web site that does not make use of server side applications such as a database then you do not need to worry which platform is used.

This is the platform of the hosting providers servers. Hosting companies will typically having a hosting platform based upon Windows 2000 (Win2K), Windows NT or Linux. If you have a basic web site that does not make use of server side applications such as a database then you do not need to worry which platform is used.

This is a file created for most unix servers, this is where you can command many server functions such as password protection, prevent hotlinking images, set SSI permissions and 404 missing page redirection and much more.

The protocol for transferring hypertext files across the Internet. Requires a HTTP client program on one end, and an HTTP server program on the other end. HTTP is the most important protocol used in the World Wide Web (WWW). You see it every time you type a web site in your browser http://...

The Internet Content Rating Association is an international, independent organization that empowers the public, especially parents, to make informed decisions about electronic media by means of the open and objective labelling of content.

Internet Protocol is the basis for communication on the Internet. Defined by RFC 791, IP specifies addressing and format of packets, also called datagrams. Most networks and the Internet combine IP with Transmission Control Protocol (TCP). TCP establishes a virtual connection between two hosts.

A company or institution that provides access to the Internet in some form, usually for money. They will usually allow users to dial up through a modem, DSL, or cable connection to view the information on the Internet Access is via SLIP, PPP, or TCP/IP. Picking your ISP is an important decision but has more to do with how you access the Internet rather than which host you choose.

A scripting language which enables web designers to add dynamic, interactive elements to a web site.

A servlet is an application or a script that is written in Java and executed on a server, as opposed to on a client. It is analogous to CGI, although servlets are more than simply CGI scripts written in Java.

A Link List is a site which lists other sites of similar content. Thumbnail gallery sites will add their site to the Link List in hopes of getting traffic. A Link List will usually require a reciprocal link places on the the thumbnail gallery site, and will send traffic based on an algorithm that compares incoming hits to outgoing hits. The more traffic you send to the Link List the higher up on the list you will be placed. It is beneficial to get a higher placement on the list so more people will find your thumbnail gallery.

A mailing list is a discussion group based on the e-mail system. You may want to set one up - they're very useful promotional tools. Even if you don't want to host a discussion group, you can use a mailing-list program to distribute a newsletter. Many companies have mailing-list software available for their clients to use -- if so, ask whether there's an additional cost, how many mailing lists you are allowed to have, and how many members per list

Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) is a generic way for applications to speak to a database. ODBC acts as an interpreter between an application (say a Cold Fusion or ASP application) and a database (like Microsoft Access). By using ODBC, a connector can be created that will allow a web application that you create to read data from and insert data into an Access database that you've created. An ODBC source is a directory entry that specifies database information. This ODBC source (or DSN Source) allows your site to point to the correct database located on the web server.

It is possible to connect to a db without ODBC, but it is a safe bet to assume you need one (1) ODBC connection per individual database you will have.

(also called a third-party relay or insecure relay) is an SMTP host that relays messages addressed to unknown recipients to other SMTP hosts.

A Pay site is an adult website that offers access to its
content for paying members. Memberships are usually based
on a monthly "site access" fee or subscription.

Perl is an interpreted language optimized for scanning arbitrary text files, extracting information from those text files, and printing reports based on that information. It's also a good language for many system management tasks.

is the practice of malicious spammers of sending e-mail to a recipient, falsely claiming to be a legitimate enterprise in an attempt to trick the user into providing private information that will be used for identity theft or larceny

PHP is another scripting language. Like ASP, it's commands are embedded within the HTML of a web page. The commands are executed on the web server, making it browser independent. The web browser only sees the resulting HTML output of the PHP code.

This is a method of retrieving e-mail from an e-mail server. Most e-mail applications (sometimes called an e-mail client) use the POP protocol, although some can use the newer IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol). There are two versions of POP. The first, called POP2, became a standard in the mid-80's and requires SMTP to send messages. The newer version, POP3, can be used with or without SMTP. The newest and most widely used version of POP email is POP3 email. You will see the term POP3 in most of the web hosting plans available today.

Real-time Block Lists are lists of IP addresses of SMTP hosts that originate or relay spam. RBL providers offer a service that allows subscribers to query the RBL to verify the message is not coming from an SMTP host on the list.

Many hosting providers allow you to be a reseller of hosting space earning a commission off of each sale. If you intend to be a provider of hosting services, you should investigate this option as you decide where to host your web site. Many hosting companies offer discounts (in addition to revenue opportunities) to companies that wish to remarket their web hosting services.

A machine that has the software and data needed to locate name servers that contain authoritative data for the top-level domains.

Some hosting companies charge a one time setup fee to set up your hosting account or dedicated server.
A one time fee.

A computer, or software package, that provides a specific kind of service to client software running on other computers. The term can refer to a particular piece of software, such as a WWW or HTTP server, or to the machine on which the software is running. A single server machine could have several different server software packages running on it, thus providing many different servers to clients on the network. More specifically, a server is a computer that manages and shares network resources.

Something experienced computer users often request. Permits you to edit your files online in real-time, rather than making changes to your site offline and then uploading the changes. Unless you intend to manage the web server your site runs on, a shell account should not be needed.

Simple Mail Transfer Protocol is used to transfer messages between SMTP hosts or between an Internet client and an SMTP host. SMTP is defined in RFC 821. SMTP consists of a set of rules for how a program sending mail and a program receiving mail should interact. Many ISP's are disallowing "local" SMTP - its ISP's answer to spam prevention. Contact your ISP for more info.

Commands that can be included in web pages that are processed by the web server when a user requests a file. The command takes the form <!--#include virtual="/path/to/file"-->. A common use for SSI commands is to insert a universal menu into all of the pages of the web site so that the menu only has to be changed once and inserted with SSI instead of changing the menu on every page.

A protocol designed by Netscape Communications to enable encrypted, authenticated communications across the Internet. It is used mostly (but not exclusively) in communications between web browsers and web servers. URL's that begin with "https" indicate that an SSL connection will be used. SSL provides 3 important things: Privacy, Authentication, and Message Integrity. In an SSL connection each side of the connection must have a Security Certificate, which each side's software sends to the other. Each side then encrypts what it sends using information from both its own and the other side's Certificate, ensuring that only the intended recipient can decrypt it, and that the other side can be sure the data came from the place it claims to have come from, and that the message has not been tampered with.

A software program which acts as a "virtual store front". Such software typically allows a web site user to create and manage a virtual shopping cart to which items can be added or removed. Once a customer is ready to "check out", this same Shopping Cart Software typically includes interfaces to allow customers to pay with their credit card directly on the site. Shopping Cart Software is critical for those web sites that intend to sell products and services directly over the Internet without human intervention. OccHosting offer Miva Merchant and osCommerce, or Bring your own, most shopping carts are support on our servers - if your not sure, contact our support team.

Sender Policy Framework is an extension to SMTP that specifies which hosts can send SMTP messages for a given domain. This makes it difficult for spammers to send messages from one domain while claiming they are from another domain.

is the practice of spammers of sending messages from one domain while claiming to be from a legitimate domain, thereby spoofing the From address to mislead the recipient.

Many hosting companies run software on their web servers that collect usage information about your web site and compile it in a user-friendly, easy-to-read format for you to analyze trends about your web site. Having access to statistics is critical if you need to know how many visitors are coming to your site, which web pages receive the most attention, and how much time people actually spend browsing your site.

Telephone or e-mail technical support provided to a web hosting company's customers. When there's a problem with your site or your e-mail, you want to be able to get an answer promptly by e-mail or on the phone. Some hosting companies offer email only support, telephone support, or a combination of both. Some hosting companies provide 24hr 7 days a week support (24/7). This is important if your site is an e-commerce site with a lot of daily visitors. OCC Provides 24/7 Support.

This is a set of communications protocols to connect hosts on the Internet.

Unix

The standard way to give the address of any resource on the Internet that is part of the World Wide Web (WWW). www.Occhosting.com is an example URL.

In many hosting plans, you share an IP address and you will be able to view your site through your domain name only. Obtaining a unique IP address (see IP Address) provides a one-to-one relationship between your domain name (www.yourname.com) and an IP address.

The process of providing video data or content via a web page.

A web server which shares its resources with multiple users. It's another way of saying that multiple web sites share the resources of one server. If you do not need your own web server (i.e. your own server class computer), you will use a virtual server to host your web site.