Web Hosting Glossary

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Data Center
These are facilities built and tooled specifically for the purpose of housing equipment that must maintain high-bandwidth connectivity to the internet, and experience a minimum of downtime for such reasons as power failure. Security measures are employed, and network and systems administrators are on hand to attend to any issues that might arise immediately.

Data Transfer
This is the sum total of data transferred through a particular account on a per-month basis. When a web page or a file, or any form of data, is accessed with a browser, that data must be transferred to the visitor’s machine before it can be used or viewed in a browser. The movement of this data constitutes bandwidth usage. Data transfer is currently measured in megabytes or gigabytes, and in some cases terabytes, per month.

Database
This is a structured collection of information, similar in form to a spreadsheet. In the web world, databases are used to drive online stores, search engines, bulletin boards, content management systems, and other dynamic web applications. Databases come in a variety of flavors, such as MySQL, MS SQL, Access, and PostgreSQL.

Dedicated Hosting
A form of hosting whereby a customer leases a server from a dedicated hosting provider, the use of which is exclusively that of the customer. This is the opposite of shared hosting, wherein multiple websites of multiple difference customers, many times numbering in the hundreds, are hosted on a single server. Multiple sites may be hosted on a dedicated server, but the server itself is completely under the control of a single customer, however they choose to use it.

Dedicated IP
An IP address which is assigned to one specific resource, such as a website or home computer, which does not change, and which is not shared amongst multiple resources, such as multiple websites. Dedicated IPs are necessary for certain features, such as SSL, to function properly. Due to the finite number of IP addresses currently available, dedicated IPs in a shared hosting environment is considered a premium feature.

Disk Space
The amount of hard drive space on a server that is allotted to a particular hosting account, and generally includes email storage and database storage as well as web storage.

DNS (Domain Name System)
Analogous to a phone book, which resolves names to phone numbers, DNS is a distributed directory system which allows for the resolution of hostnames/domain names to IP addresses. Correct DNS settings are necessary for services dependant on hostnames on the internet to function.

Domain Name
These are human-friendly alphanumeric addresses that are resolved to the IP address of the resource the domain name serves. Domain names consist of 2 distinct parts: the top level domain and the second level domain. Using domain.com as an example, the top level domain would be com, whereas the second level domain is would be domain. Together, these parts are known as a “domain name”

Domain Name Registration
In order for a domain to be functional, it must first be registered. Domain name registration occurs through what is called a registrar. Many hosting companies have the capacity to register domain names, often through a reseller account with a registrar, sometimes the host themselves are a registrar, although this is quite rare. Registration is paid for in 1 year increments, in advance. Registration must be kept current by renewing the domain names prior to their expiration in order that the domain remains functional.

Domain Parking
Registered domain names must have at least 2 name servers provided for it at the time of registration. Often times, the domain is registered prior to hosting being setup for it. In these instances an individual will “park” the domain on a par of temporary nameservers, which serve as placeholders until real nameserver information is available to replace them with.

DoS (Denial of Service) Attack
This is the act of preventing access to a service by congesting, through whatever means, the data connections involved, usually on the hosting company’s network. These actions are considered computer crime, and are illegal.

DreamWeaver
This is the web development product created by MacroMedia, and now owned by Adobe. DreamWeaver is considered one of the best html editors on the market, and has become a popular development environment amongst webmasters. Nothing special is needed to use DreamWeaver to build and publish websites.