| PCSHOST
FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions |
| General Questions:
Billing Questions:
Ordering and a few Technical Questions:
-
What is
a Web Hosting?
- Web
Hosting or Virtual Hosting is a means by which an
individual, family, or any business can create an effective presence on the Internet
without a major investment in hardware, software or telecommunications.
Many companies can share the storage space on
one UNIX or WindowsNT Internet server for a fraction of what it cost in maintenance and
upgrades. The more people that use the server the lower the cost. Of course performance
degradation occurs with too many users on one server but that's why PCSHost offers the
choice of purchasing your own Virtual Server.
Keep in mind we do limit the
number of clients we put on our Virtual Server. Monitoring the servers for speed and
performance is important part of our service.
You can create the Internet prescence three
ways: As a Virtual Domain (www.yourname.com) or as a non-domain with a canonical domain
name off of our server (www.yourname.pcshost.com) or as a hosted non-domain.
(www.pcshost.com/yourname) Whatever looks most appealing to you. We can submit any name to
a search engine. There is currently over 400 search engines on the Internet.
You should check InterNIC's "WHOIS" service to make
sure that your desired domain name is available.
How many
hits can a server support?
- The bandwidth provided to your
Web hosted (virtual) domain is unlimited in that we do not charge you any type of fee
based on the amount of network traffic generated by your site. You can rest assured that
there are no hidden charges of any kind based on the amount of traffic to or from your
server. However, like all hardware, the server system does have its limitations. If a
particular virtual server or domain causes a physical machine to experience poor
performance, slowness, or other problems because of an unusually high amount of traffic or
activity, we may at our discretion contact the owner of the site and discuss other
alternatives or take other necessary steps to ensure stability and reliability to all of
our customers. Our virtual servers are designed to handle a small to medium hit load
(under 30,000 hits a day). If a site begins to receive over 30,000 hits a day web page
response will begin to be effected. For web sites expecting large number of hits, you
should consider purchasing a dedicated server. Dedicated servers can accommodate well over
1 million hits a day.
How will my
server be connected to the Internet?
- Our servers now have multiple OC48 Fiber
Optic Internet connections. The speed of this connection is 655 Mbits/sec. Our servers
host is commited to providing excellent speed and bandwidth, and will add additional
hardware as needed to provide the fastest possible connection to the Internet.
How long
does it take before my domain name is active?
- Once the InterNIC announces
that your domain name has been registered (or transferred, if applicable), it usually
takes about 48-hours before it is active. All Internet providers must update their records
(DNS tables)to reflect the new site's location.
Who is
the InterNIC
- The InterNIC is
an independent organization responsible for holding the registration and routing of
Internet domain names. Registration fee is $70 for the first two years and $35/year
thereafter for your virtual domain name.
Do
your servers support International domain names?
- Yes, it is possible to register
international domain names and use them with our servers. However, we cannot register
these names for you. We are only allowed to register .com, .org, and .net domain names. If
you would like to use a foreign extension, you must register the domain name in your
country and do the following:
1) Have
the organization that registers your domain name use our name servers so that our DNS
servers will handle all the DNS work for your virtual server. Here is the Name Server
information you will need to do this.
Domain servers in listed order:
Primary Name Server
Primary Server Hostname....: ns1.nameserve.net
Primary Server Netaddress..: 207.159.128.3
Secondary Name Server
Secondary Server Hostname..: ns2.nameserve.net
Secondary Server Netaddress: 207.159.128.11
Who do I
contact at PCSHOST with a particular question or problem?
- Most of the general questions on information
about PCSHOST products or services can be handled by an email to service@pcshost.com.
Support or technical questions can be handled by an email to support@pcshost.com .
Can I
access my domain address with or without the "www"?
- Yes, you will be able to access
the domain address with or without the "www" in front of the
domain name. Example:(http://www.yourname.com) or (http://yourname.com) is acceptable,
whichever you prefer.
Do you
offer dial-up Internet access?
- No, you will need local Internet
access in order to maintain your web site and retrieve email addressed to your site. If
you have questions concerning your current Internet access, and whether or not it will
comply with PCSHOST servers, please contact us via e-mail.
Does
PCSHost handle the domain registration process?
- Yes. We will contact the InterNIC once your account is activated to request
either a new domain name registration or a domain name modification (transferring an
existing domain to our servers). Please DO NOT submit a registration or
modification template to the InterNIC as this will only delay the
process. There is no additional charge over the setup fee to create your new domain name
and register it with the InterNIC.
Can I
transfer an existing domain name to PCSHost's servers?
- Yes, just be sure to specify
that you are requesting a transfer and NOT a new
domain.You should keep the service with your current provider while waiting for the
InterNIC to complete the transfer process. Once you open your account we will provide you
with an IP address a user account and a password so you can mirror the site on our server
using an FTP client. All email and web pages will still be accessed from your current
site. When the InterNIC announces the completion of the transfer there is
a 24 to 48 hour propagation period where visitors could go to either
site. Through our experience the SMTP & POP information (email)
changes over to the new host within a 24hours period. At the end of the 48 hours you
should contact your previous host to have them delete the old domain from their records
and update their DNS record. If you use this same provider for your Internet access you
will not be able to access your domain site at PCSHOST until they update
their DNS.
How do I
transfer files to my web site?
- The only software you will need is FTP
software and your browser. FTP software allows you to upload (send files)
to our web servers to then be viewed on the web. There under Internet Client Tools are
some links to some shareware FTP clients that work easily and quite well. Once you
establish your account you will be assigned a username and password to access your site.
If you have MS Frontpage server extensions enabled on your site you can use Frontpage98 or
2000 to upload your webpage. You can use the web publishing wizard in Frontpage98 or 2000
to upload without server extensions but the functionality is limited. Still it'll work
fine for the budget and basic non-domain packages. The only hardware you will need is your
modem. The speed of your modem will dictate the speed in which you can make updates to
your web site. The faster the modem the quicker your updates.
Will I
have unlimited access to update my pages ?
- You have unlimited
access via FTP and Telnet 24-hours a day. As such, you can create and maintain your web
pages on your own computer and upload files to your web site at your leisure.
How
much technical knowledge is required to host a web site?
- Hosting a site is made easy by PCSHOST
We include simple administration as part of our monthly web hosting fee so you will not
need to worry about anything but sending up your web pages to your site. Our Virtual
Server's come with a Virtual Administrator that is java enabled and can be run
through your browser. This helps to make your hosting experience easier. Typically, the
only learning curve some people must experience is that of FTP if they
are not using Frontpage. FTP, or File Transfer Protocol, is how you transfer files from
your computer to our servers. We recommend any popular FTP
utility. Once you sign on you are provided with all the information you will
need including plenty of online help soon to come.
Do you
offer technical support to customers ?
- Yes. We encourage our
customers to send email to or call (860)666-9731 with questions or
concerns regarding their web service. Your questions will be answered promptly and
courteously.
Can my
server be used to host adult websites? Are there any restrictions?
- PCSHost doesn't allow adult material of any
kind on our servers. Please see our policies.
How do I switch over from
my current provider with the least amount of down time possible?
- Switching over from another provider is no
problem, and if done right can nearly eliminate downtime if you follow these easy steps:
 | Order a Virtual Server or a Web Hosting
Package |
| Transfer data from old site to the new
server. |
| Setup or (we will setup) email addresses,
cgi's, make
any configurations necessary on your new server. |
| Confirm that everything on your server is
fully operational. |
| Fill out a modify request form and send it
in to internic.
(Contact our DNS department atdns@pcshost.com
if you need assistance with this) |
| As soon as the domain name is pointed to
your new server,
(you will get confirmation from the Internic) cancel services
with your old provider. |
What is
the process for obtaining an account ?
| Determine which plan is best for you. |
| Fill out and submit anorder form |
| Allow 2 - 24 hours to process |
| You will receive a confirmation email
detailing how to access
your account and pointers to the online material. |
| We will take care of the initial setup. Then
when you're satisfied
your site is ready for web pages we will tell you how to FTP into.
Unless we are designing and coding your web site in which case
we will take care of all the administration, including the File transfer
to your web site. |
My Page
Doesn't load right.
- CapITaliZatioN- The key
here is DON'T use it. Our UNIX operating system is case sensitive so
Index.htm is not the same as index.htm. Use lowercase when naming your files and pictures.
Then be sure to reference them with the correct capitalization (lowercase). Save yourself
a lot of headache by standardizing on lowercase!
If I cancel,
can I take my customers with me?
- Yes. In most cases, we are only
the technical contact in the domain name registration record. The customer or
administrative contact maintains ownership of the domain name at all times.
What are the
costs involved and when do they start?
- Please visit our Prices and Policies
page for all of our pricing and billing information.
If I cancel
my account, do I get a refund?
- You may cancel at anytime. If you decide to
cancel during the middle of the month, you will be credited for any unused time. To
cancel, please send mail to cancel@pcshost.com your domain name, IP
Address(if you were given one) and customer number as well as the day you would like your
server to be canceled.
Do you offer
any discount if I pay for a year in advance?
- The PCSHOST billing system
will be setup to bill your credit card automatically each month, or billed monthly or
quarterly for personal checking. As such, we do not offer any discount for advanced
payment.
How do I
place an order?
- Detailed instructions on how to order a
Virtual Server system or a Web Hosting package can be found by following our Order link
How can I
order additional domain names or extra hard disk space.
- To order an Add-on, send an email with your
request to service@pcshost.com See our Add-on Prices
page or our prices and policies page for more
information.
How can I
pay for my virtual server or web hosted sight?
- PCSHost currently only accepts
payment though cashier checks, personal checks, money orders. Soon we will be accepting
the most popular major credit cards. Please visit our prices
and policies page for all of our pricing and billing information.
Can I use
SSL encryption on my server?
- Yes, you may use SSL encryption on our E-Store servers.
There is a one time $50 setup fee. Web Hosted clients can have their domain name added to
our SSL for a one time setup fee of $20. To receive more information on how to install SSL
on your virtual server, please send mail to support@pcshost.com for an
autoreply.
How do I get
my web page statistics?
- As administrator of your server, you will
have full access to the log files on your server. You are welcome to run whatever
statistic analysis software you wish. For the clients we administer and all Web Hosted
clients with a domain name who choose logging we use Webtrends. We recommend either Webtrends or Analog with our
Virtual Servers and Web Hosted Clients.
Can I use
CGI's with my server?
- Each Server and Web Host with a domain name
comes with its own private CGI-BIN directory that you control. You are welcome to use any
of the programs that are listed in our CGI Library, or your welcome to utilize any
of your own scripts. Please keep in mind that some cgi or perl scripts can be very
resource intensive if they are poorly written. If we find any scripts that are using up
too many server resources, we may contact you and ask you to discontinue use of that
script or modify it so that it isn't so resource-intensive.
Can I use
Perl?
- Yes, Perl 5 comes standard on our servers.
For Servers the path is
/usr/bin/perl5. Web hosted sites already have PERL 5.004.03 installed.
Can JAVA be
used?
- Compiled JAVA applets and ActiveX components
may be used on your virtual server. Only PCSHOST authorized Java applets will be
supported.
Should a problem ever arise
that cannot be addressed online, we encourage you to e-mail us at support@pcshost.com
or call us (860)667-4974.
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