secure
online
application

Your website is a reflection of your company. If your site is down or too slow then you lose credibility and sales. It's imperative that you carefully select a hosting service. Here are some tips for you to consider when evaluating hosting services.

What access speed do the servers have?
Having high speed access is key to having a responsive website. The provider should offer a minimum of two OC-3 (311Mbps) connectivity with sufficient bandwidth available for each client being hosted. This bandwidth should also preferably be connected to a high speed Internet backbone.

DGL's HostMaster service uses eight super-fast Linux (UNIX) servers connected via multiple, redundant OC-3 and DS-3 lines directly to the U.S. intercontinental backbone midway across the country in Chicago, Illinois. Additional bandwidth is available, up to OC-12 (622Mbps), if required to meet your needs. HostMaster services are managed by multiple s, not a single machine; our clients websites stay online.

Does the have redundant Internet connections?
This is essential for providing uninterrupted service. With only one connection point, if the Internet line goes down, then all web service is interrupted.

One line does no good when it's down. That's why we have multiple access lines directly to the main intercontinental backbone.

How much control do I have over the website?
Can you make changes anytime you want? Do these changes need to be audited? Can you name the site with your own domain name? Can you place custom CGI scripts on the ? Your website is a direct reflection of your company. As such, you want to have sufficient control of the site to portray your company's image.

HostMaster lets you have full control of your site. You have password-protected ftp access to your site 24/7. No ifs, ands, or buts.

Private CGI directories let you build custom applications and keep them secure.

How is security maintained?
Maintaining the integrity of your site is nearly as important as maintaining the availability of it. Having your "hacked" into is not a trivial occurence. As such, you need to make sure that your provider has taken the necessary steps to secure your website. Physical security of the , partioning of users on shared s, ability to encrypt user access and the software security of the must all be carefully set up to prevent unauthorized access.

DGL supports privacy initiatives to maintain corporate security. As such we use the PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) encryption program on our s. In addition, your website and ftpsite are protected by passwords that you control. You select the password rotation program, and you don't have to tell us your passwords.

How scalable is the service?
The best thing that can happen is that your website is tremendously popular. But if this happens, can the web hosting provider meet the demand? Any web hosting provider needs to be able to easily add bandwidth and processing power to meet any level of demand. They also should monitor both the servers and the Internet connections so that any traffic or congestion problems are fixed well before the client knows about it.

We design our webs to meet your needs. Some of our customer sites receive only a few thousands visitors a month, others receive closer to a million visits a month. If your site requires special performance support, it will be there for you.

Is the information backed up to tape regularly?
Since the information on the web is changing all the time, the hosting service needs to do daily backups of the information you are hosting. The backups should be kept offsite to preclude loss from natural or manmade catastrophies.

All websites are backed up to tape at least once a day. If you make changes to your site and you'd like us to back it up immediately, drop us an email and we'll do an immediate backup. All backups are moved offsite at the end of the business day.

Are support, monitoring and availability covered by a 24x7 service policy?
The World Wide Web has no downtime. As such, you need your to be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And in the event of problems, you need to have a real person available to take your phone call. It is also preferable that the hosting service provide for automatic monitoring of your website. This way, if there is a problem with the site they will know about it immediately.

DGL ensures that a staff member is available onsite 24/7 to maintain your . We have had no significant downtime - ever. But, should this happen, we're ready.

Are high performance web servers used?
Although it is not recommended, a website can be hosted on a standard desktop machine configuration. However, this machine will not be able to support very robust access. The web servers you are being hosted on should have fast CPUs, a lot of memory (the more the better) and high speed disk drives.

Absolutely. Your website requires a fast PC that's designed for site hosting. That's why we use Pentium Pro machines with extra RAM and UNIX-based hosting software. The servers are engineered from the ground up specifically to be website hosting s. They're designed well, and they work well.

Is there a secure transaction hosting option?
Even if you are not engaging in transactions over the Internet today, you might be tomorrow. Your provider should offer SSL encryption for your website. These encryption protocols allow you to securely get information from your website visitors (such as credit card information). Your provider should also make provisions for getting the sensitive information from the web to your office location in a secure manner.

SSL security is available at no extra charge to all HostMaster customers. With your VeriSign (or other recognized) certificate, your transactions are safe using up to 128bit encryption. That means there are 3.4 x 10³⁸ possible encryption keys.

How much Internet experience does the provider have?
Although this seems like an obvious question, you would be amazed at how many companies have less than 6 months of experience in Internet services.

Damar Group, Ltd. was one of the first businesses in the world to conduct Internet commerce. In 1994 we were the first computer training book publisher to offer online sales and product delivery. We pioneered Internet marketing and sales, and have been teaching and helping others to do it for years.

How knowledgeable are the sales and support staff?
Again, what may seem like an obvious question, but in reality an important point to consider. When you are talking to a potential provider ask them some Internet questions and make sure that you are happy with the answers. Also, be sure to call the techical support line. Since these are the people you will need to deal with, it is important to be comfortable with them. Finally, check out the web support pages. The FAQs and other documents will be most likely be your main resource for answering questions about using this hosting service.

Our online user's guide offers answers to just about every question imaginable about the HostMaster service. If you prefer to talk to a sales or technical professional, we're available by phone during normal business hours (Eastern Time) and by email at most other times.

Does the provider supply monthly traffic reports?
The whole reason you are putting up a website is to attract visitors. Monthly traffic reports supply you with the feedback you need to make sure that the site is doing everything it should be.

Forget monthly traffic reports. You need current data now. The HostMaster service lets you create your own custom reports that are current up to the minute. Need to know how many visitor you had in the last 24 hours? With HostMaster, it's no sweat. You run the report, the way you want it, when you want it. Graphs, charts, text -- data that's useable.

Does the provider have a good client base?
Look at the customer list of your provider. Are they good customers? Are their websites easy to get to?

A sample of our client list is posted on the Main Hosting Page. Visit our clients' websites, call them, and ask them what they think. Their opinion is more important than ours.

Damar Group, Ltd.
PMB 616
6030-M Marshalee Dr
Elkridge, MD 21075-5987 USA
voice 1.888.290.6200
voice 410.567.5366
fax 801.650.0423
Contact Us

secure online application

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updated January 16, 2008
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