Technical Stuff
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Index We take pride in our commitment
to providing the highest quality, most flexible, and most
competitive Web Hosting Services available. When you place your
website on our machines you can be assured that people around the
world will have consistent, reliable access to your website 24 hours
a day.
This is a test...
Our computers run Apache over Linux. You will be
able to access and manage your website on our machines using Telnet
and FTP or Fetch. With our Ensim Web Control you
can even perform some management functions using your web
browser. Our servers are connected to the Internet backbone
over Multiple T3 Connections, each of which has a capacity of 45
MBPS (million bits per second).
What’s Your
Level?
Okay…if you read the above paragraph and
understood every word of it then you qualify as an advanced
user. You will probably only need to use this manual as a
reference tool to look up specific information. If you cannot
find the information you are looking for here, please feel free to
contact us at support.
If you read the paragraph and understood
some of it but not all, then you will probably want to take a little
time to review a few things before diving in. You will
find the comprehensive Index a useful tool for tracking down
the information you need, when you need it.
Finally, if you read the paragraph and found it
to be total gibberish, then it is strongly recommended that you take
the time to read the explanations and instructions in this manual
before you begin a new task that you are unfamiliar with. If
you are completely unfamiliar with Telnet and FTP, and have no
desire to learn about them, you might want to go directly to the Web
Control section. The Web Control will let you control virtually
every aspect of your web presence from your web browser.
If you need to perform tasks that require you to
use FTP or Telnet, or if you would just like the general knowledge
of what they are, then you should read the section titled The Novice Web Master. It will
give you a basic, but clear idea of what you will be dealing with,
and take some of the mystery and confusion out of it all.
We have made every effort to cover all the bases
in this manual, and make it as complete and informative as possible.
However, please keep in mind that if you cannot find the answers you
are looking for here, you should feel free to contact us at support.
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The Novice Web Master
Ftp?
Telnet? Unix? Linux?!!! HUH!?
Chances are pretty good that you access the Internet
using a browser program. Chances are also pretty good that you use
some version of Netscape, Internet Explorer, or something very
similar to those two biggies. You may be wondering why I
mention this cause, gee, is there any other way to access the
Internet?? You gotta have a browser…right?? Well…no. You don’t.
In fact, the gigantic, feature laden browser programs most commonly
used today are just one type of program that you can use to surf the
net. Granted, they provide the most visually appealing view of the
Internet, and they are the most fun and entertaining to use with
their image and sound capabilities. They are, in fact, largely
responsible for turning the Internet into a place where people from
all walks of life around the world now go to play, work, shop and
learn.
Browsers are not the only programs you can use to
access the Internet, they are certainly not the first, and,
depending on what your needs and tasks may be, they are not always
the best program to use either. After all…your email program
is great for email. But it isn’t necessarily the best tool to use
if you want to write a book. Your browser is great for
viewing the Internet, but it is not always the best tool to use for
managing a website. For that, you will want something simple,
fast, and basic that will let you upload, download, and access files
on your site quickly, easily and with a minimum of fuss and
frills. Telnet and FTP are the two tools that fulfill these
needs best.
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Telnet
Telnet is a program that emulates a computer
terminal, allowing you to view information on site rather than
downloading it to your personal computer for viewing. This is
extremely useful if you need to view large amounts of information,
such as all the files and folders on a web site, or a library
catalog for example. Imagine how long it would take for you to
download a web page containing the entire catalog of book titles
from just a city library! With Telnet, you are able to actually view
the information on the library site, eliminating the download
time.
Telnet is not graphics capable, does not play
sound files and is not one tiny bit entertaining. But it is the best
tool to use for certain tasks. You will have a white screen
with black text, much like the old DOS screen only in reverse.
And, again like DOS, you will need to type in your commands.
If you use Windows you will have a Telnet program already on your
system. Go to Start, Programs, Run, and type the word
"telnet" (no quotes) into the window.
FTP
FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. Like the name
implies, its main purpose is to make transferring files from one
computer to another as fast and easy as possible. And it is very
good at its job! Unlike Telnet, FTP is not a program. It is
instead a "protocol" just like http is a
protocol. Your browser program uses the http (Hyper Text Transfer
Protocol) for viewing, reading, and translating HTML into the bright
and colorful interactive web pages you see on your computer
screen. In order to use FTP you will need a program such as
WS-FTP for Windows, or Fetch for Macintosh users.
Visually, you will not see either the imagery of
a browser, or the blank white screen and black text of Telnet.
Instead, if you are using WS_FTP, you will see two panels,
each with folders (also called directories) and files displayed. One
panel will contain the folders and files on your computer. The other
panel will contain the folders and files on the site you are logged
into. If you are using Fetch, you will see something a bit
different.
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Linux and Unix
An OS, or "operating system" is the
program you use to operate and run your computer. By far the three
most universally used and recognized by the average lay surfer are
Windows in any version from 3.x to Win 98, NT, and Macintosh. Linux,
and Unix are both operating systems as well. They don’t have, or
support, all of the bells and whistles of the more popular operating
systems, but that’s not what they are meant for. These two
operating systems are for serious stuff…for fast and dynamic data
transfer…for allowing one computer to talk to others quickly and
smoothly. Not for personal entertainment. This is why server
computers and many other types of businesses use Unix and/or Linux
operating systems. They aren’t pretty, but they are smart, they
are stable, and they are fast.
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