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Seamless Music with Online Cloud Storage

Posted on by Manoj Yadav

Did you know that music streaming platforms deliberately place ads before your favorite tracks?

Honestly speaking, they’re only stream advertisements these days, and even more so if you aren’t paying the monthly subscription.

Their advertisements are pretty boring too, and unusual, and given their placement, also pretty annoying.

Online streaming is teeming with issues

Intermittent ads and promotions and low latency of the platform are among key issues that music fanatics face, and despite their much-touted convenience, the experience isn’t anywhere near as convenient.

Further, the quality of songs allowed to be streamed is limited based on your subscription, so a free user is bound to play low-quality 64kbps or 128kbps streams, which is ridiculous given that most songs are licensed as ‘free to distribute’. I mean, it just doesn’t cut it that you are asked to pay for something which has been distributed for free.

Subscriptions for a month could be as high as $20, which in my opinion is a fee you pay to only avoid ads. Sure though that a premium user can listen to songs at a higher bit rate but the number of streams allowed is limited in most case.

The sound cloud service just doesn’t cut it. There’s bound to be a better solution online.

Cloud storage – the alternative

Did you know that for the amount you’d shell out in a sound cloud, you can buy up to 1 TB of cloud storage?

To give you an idea of how colossal that much space is, an mp3 song typically occupies 6MB in your memory. Aggregating that much space over the whole lot of 1 TB, you can listen to more than 150,000 songs non-stop and that is around 300 days of uninterrupted stream, assuming that a track lasts 3 minutes on an average.

How to move songs to a cloud?

Streaming songs directly from the raw cloud under normal circumstances is not achievable. What you would need is an API and a front-end interface that will fetch bytes from the cloud and send it over the Bluetooth, directly to the earpiece. It isn’t as intimidating nonetheless as the API needed is available in Git for free, and so is the app that plays music non-stop through the wireless.

Perquisites of moving to the cloud

With clouds, you are in absolute control of your tracks, that you can listen to without interruptions of any sort.

External applications and databases can be hosted in the same environment without disrupting the performance of your streams.

Photos, videos and items from your gallery can be moved online and stored in the repository for ages without loss.

All your gadgets can be synchronized from one cloud DB. This means you can scratch your playlist on any device, by allowing it access to your cloud account.

Upshot

While moving to the cloud may sound intriguing, there are hurdles along the path and cloud migration is not without challenges. First, as a newbie, there are over 2 dozen technical terms to deal with before you make your first cloud purchase. For a music enthusiast who only wants to dabble with soundtracks, that could be frightening. Second, even if you’ve gone through the technical jargons, there’s no way for you to estimate how much RAM, cores and bandwidth you should purchase and how much of these each you will actually consume.

We at Go4hosting understand that more than 20% of consumers are first-time customers. So to ease things up, we let you buy cloud hosting plans not just based on technical specifications but also end-use. Fascinating much? Give us a call now and get your very first ever sound streaming from the cloud.

Benefits Of Windows Cloud Hosting For Your Business

Posted on by Manoj Yadav

Once you’ve decided that you want to move your website – or its data – to the cloud, your provider is likely to ask you whether you want to do so on Windows or Linux platform. Though these choices are really personal and depend more or less on your preference, some clients do look for an opinion nonetheless, just to take an informed decision now rather than regretting later. Linux, to be precise, is just too good for open-source but does not settle well with Microsoft’s ecosystem. Windows, on the other hand, is not only compatible with open-source but also embeds easily with Microsoft’s apps. In other words, you may want to consider.

Windows cloud hosting brings several perks to the business and its significance cannot be overlooked by companies. Windows cloud server leverages a private virtual server, which helps to streamline business operations in a better-sophisticated manner. More and more companies today want to launch their Windows onto a cloud server, as they know a cloud-based model is capable of bringing transformation to the business. By deploying a cloud server, particularly Windows, companies can not only save IT spends but also augment business productivity. Animoto, CEO and Co-founder of several online businesses, a business tycoon who has since long relied on clouds for successfully launching business ventures online say –

“Cloud computing is a no-brainer for any start-up because it allows you to test your business plan very quickly for little money. Every start-up, or even a division within a company that has an idea for something new, should be figuring out how to use cloud computing in its plan.”

Knowing so many rewards that businesses enjoy with a cloud-based service, we team up the perks it brings to the business:

Enhanced Scalability

Cloud servers ensure scalable operations for the business. When an organization used traditional windows service, there was an essential requirement of investing in large servers and then re-investing in better ones for effective performance. The result was increased expenses. Startups had a hard time launching products and this is perhaps one of the biggest reason why only 1 out of 10 startups actually tasted success then, as opposed to 3 out of 10 startups now.

However, with a cloud-based service, business solutions turned scalable and there were more opportunities for expanding the business needs without huge capital investment.

Windows cloud hosting helps the business to keep its service fast and secure with access to the best resources.

Heightened Performance

The best part about having a Windows cloud solution is that it ensures faster performance than when the same task is performed on an on-site server. Business performance is supreme for all businesses whether it is small, medium or large and every company looks forward to boosting it more!

The performance of a server is proportional to the productivity of the workforce. High performance helps business manage the essential data and even deploys the required resources for business support. Moreover, performance enhances with windows cloud server as it guarantees uptime unlike earlier traditional services, which did not have any such feasibility.

Having a cloud server, the business is free of concerns regarding network ups and downs, which ultimately helps to work with peace of mind and secured plans.

Accessibility

One of the most notified perks of windows cloud hosting is that the business gets a computing platform as it launches a cloud server. Moreover, this cloud server assures security and performance for the windows platform assuring an enriching experience to the business.

With the help of a cloud server, the employees don’t need to be present in the office physically. Since the cloud allows the business to access all information with the help of data connection and login passwords, there is no need for physical presence to access the business information. Cloud brings the perk of accessing business data centre anytime, anywhere making the services more mobile.

Not only is this more convenient but also technologically advanced, and hence an ideal option for businesses planning to upgrade their hardware.

A Secure Platform

Security is paramount for businesses and to be on the top, it is essential to work on a security policy. Windows cloud server is the most secure platform, as it is protected with encryption.

The only thing to keep in mind is to cross-check before finalizing the cloud host partner. Before trusting based on experiences, check whether the security promises that the partner makes is relevant to your business or not. Different hosts have different SLAs and, despite how promising they look, do a little research on your part to corroborate that the service agreements are indeed going to be helpful.

Once the business starts working with Windows cloud hosting, there are several perks that it avails like 24X7 support, access of data without physical availability, etc. so the partner has to be reliable for productive results in future.

Pay as Per Requirement

Having a cloud-based server on-premises, the business pays only as per requirement. This helps to save expenses by paying only for the resources utilized. Earlier hiring in-house demanded regular monthly payments where the business had to bear the expenses irrelevantly. These businesses not only had to bear extra real estate rent but also shelled out more money to keep the hardware running, in the form of maintenance and up keeping charges.

Online File Hosting

Lastly, when we talk about Windows cloud hosting, the significance of an online file hosting service can’t be neglected.

A file hosting service is an internet hosting service that aims to host static content on sites, which could be as complex as HTML and scrips or as simple as pdfs or docs.

•    Online file hosting service that blocks large files that try to share through emails.

•    Some file-hosting sites have an auto-resume option that helps videos resume their download after they are cut off for any reason.

•    Online hosting helps to make personal pictures, videos, etc. available over the internet.

•    File hosting also helps to have a backup service in the cloud, especially for the most sensitive data.

Takeaway

So, if you’re planning on launching a website on Windows servers and rely heavily on MS apps, Windows, without doubt, would be the right choice. You may have to shell out some extra money, but given the convenience of its GUI, support and ever-ending updates, it seems worth the extra bucks. Or, if you seem just unable to afford it, try Go4hosting’s Windows server. It’s affordable, comes with free support and assured uptime of more than 99.95%. Sign up now, you may be eligible for additional discount.

Which are the 10 Best Linux Distributions for VPS?

Posted on by Nishant Nath

Businesses that wish to switch to VPS hosting but find Windows VPS plans too expensive can sign up for Linux VPS hosting solutions.

The Linux platform has been widely accepted and has proved to be the best OS for VPS, time and again. Firstly, Linux is a more cost-effective alternative to Windows OS as it does not involve any licensing fees. Secondly, it is the best VPS OS as Linux, an open-source application, works seamlessly with other open-source programs like Apache or PHP-based applications. The Linux control panel is popular for editing content.

But did you know that Linux has many distributions, and each is distinctly known in its domain? If you wish to choose the Linux VPS plans, you can choose from many Linux server ‘distros’ or distributions. Now you must be wondering to know which is the best Linux distro for VPS? If so, go through this post to get to know about the types of Linux Server Distros. 

We have compiled a list of some of the best operating systems for VPS that businesses worldwide use. You just need to select the best Linux distro for VPS that is best for your business needs.

Best Linux Distro for VPS – Check Out the Top 10 Choices Available 

  1. Ubuntu:

When it comes to the best Linux VPS, Ubuntu stands out as the most renowned Linux distro. Its intuitive GUI has made it a top choice over the years. Among Linux-supported VPS Hosting plans, Ubuntu is the first name that comes to mind. Based on Debian, it surpasses competitors with its easy installation and excellent hardware performance.

Ubuntu, one of the best Linux distros for VPS, offers top-notch commercial support. It’s also listed in the Linux news as Focal Fossa, released in April 2020. It ensures long-term support and LTS versions get released after every two years. Ubuntu distribution is a preferred distribution for non-tech people in the Linux VPS hosting user base.

  1. SUSE:

The SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES), owned by Micro Focus, operates independently and is known for its ease of maintenance and high stability. It offers 24/7 technical support, making it an excellent choice for those with limited time and patience for troubleshooting. Owned by Novell, it boasts a team of skilled consultants who adhere to SLAs. The latest release, SLES 15, introduced new features like complete system rollback, software modules for enhanced data center uptimes, and live kernel patching, making it one of the best Linux VPS options available.

  1. Red Hat Linux:

Many MNCs prefer the Red Hat Linux Enterprise or RHEL servers because of their innovations and constant technical support. Undoubtedly, it’s among the cheap Linux VPS Hosting choices as it offers features that work best for enterprise-level organizations. 

It is a database backup-oriented Linux version that runs flawlessly on any server. It is a better fit for organizational needs than the Linux home server, although the support might also come in handy for a home user. Red Hat once ran only a free version and only worked as an add-on service. However, it later ditched the idea and has bifurcated its Operating System into separate paid and free versions. All updates in the best Linux VPS hosting server OS are first tested and optimized in the free version.

  1. Mandriva:

It’s among the best VPS operating systems available today. This Linux distribution may not be widespread in the US as it hails from France, and it’s also famous as the best OS for VPS servers in South American nations and European countries. Lx 4.2 is an open-source platform hailing from openMandriva Linux, which was launched in 2011. Lx 4.2 features an improved design and allows for better app integration. Mandriva gets community support; the updates get released every 9 months, and every release is supported for 2 cycles or 18 months.

  1. Xandros:

When you are looking for a Linux distribution having a Microsoft connection, you should turn to Xandros. Microsoft collaborates with this distribution cooperatively, and most apps from Microsoft are readily compatible with Xandros. There are several types of Linux server distros, but none syncs with Microsoft products the way Xandros does.

  1. Slackware:

This Linux distribution has a relationship with many businesses that give fee-based support, and it does not associate with commercial Linux distributions. This was one of the first distributions to be launched and maintained a loyal customer base. It comes out with newer versions regularly. Slackware’s most recent release was Slackware 14.2, which debuted in July 2016.

  1. Debian:

Debian is probably the best Linux distro for server hosting because it is comparatively easier and has better community support than any other distro. It is more versatile than many other distributions, as experienced and witnessed by thousands of volunteers, individuals and businesses, who have found it more than sufficient for their operations.

It has no support to resolve user queries, although it has a consultant page, from where you can hire professionals to fix bugs that go unresolved in the forum. Debian is also credited with creating many ‘small’ distributions, more than other parent Linux distros, such as Linux Mint, Ubuntu, and Vyatta. Debian is highly stable and actively created by enthusiasts, with 29,000 packages available for download. Even without support, Debian provides the same experience as RHEL.

Debian vs Red Hat

1) Redhat is the most widely used distro for servers, while Debian stands next to Redhat.

2) RedHat is a commercial distro, while Debian is a non-commercial package.

3) RedHat has not more than 3000 packages while Wheezy (Latest Debian) has packages well over 38000

4) RedHat support is provided by its employees. Depending on how long the queue for pending support queries is, RedHat support can sometimes take considerable time to resolve issues.

5) Support in Debian is provided through its community forum, which features users from around the globe. It is less likely that queries would go unnoticed, especially when several Debian dev-ops are active on the platform.

  1. Vyatta:

This Linux distribution appears to work very well for secure communication requirements. It is more apt for routers and firewalls rather than desktop-based applications.

  1. CentOS:

This may not be for strictly commercial uses, but is based on RHEL. You can get technical support for it. It owns storage locations and has community support. When a web host runs a site, they often use servers powered by CentOS. It offers cost-effective functionality similar to RHEL, allowing users to access support for this Linux distribution. It uses the RHEL code and has removed all the Red Hat trademarks. So, it has made the Linux server free for use. CentOS offers a community-oriented OS backed by a community of users that develop and use open source technologies on Linux server distributions.

  1. ClearOS:

This open-source Linux Server OS is a mix of CentOS and Red Hat Enterprise Linux. So, you can get a platform that is basically a combination of a network, gateway, and a server together. It is a rather viable alternative for smaller businesses and offers superior documentation, and it is useful for less-experienced web administrators. It is a minimal distro designed to keep cloud use-cases in mind, and it upgrades as a whole OS rather than an individual package.

Which is the Best Linux VPS Distro in the Market?

All the ten distributions mentioned above are very much in demand but 4 of them, i.e.,  Debian, Fedora, Ubuntu, and Linux Mint have ensured Linux remains a solid alternative to Windows ever since they were launched. They are the reason why Linux VPS hosting is the preferred hosting service for hackers all around the world. Let’s get to know why they make such a great choice when selecting the best Linux VPS.

1. Debian-

This oldest VPS Linux distribution comes by default with most of the hosting architecture.

2. Fedora-

The supportive community of Fedora makes it the preferred choice for VPS Linux hosting, earning it a reputation as the best OS distribution for this purpose. Businesses often find it to be an excellent fit for their organizational structure.

3. Ubuntu-

Due to its Windows-like interface, Windows Vps Hosting users find it easy to migrate to Ubuntu vps server – the best Linux distro for VPS. 

4. Linux Mint-

For someone looking for a distribution that supports desktop customization, hosting on Linux Mint is the right fit. It has gained the confidence of its users because of its customizable feature which allows bundling of numerous applications. Its user base is mostly people working from home and want a powerful, fun-loving OS.

Takeaway

There is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to choosing an operating system for your VPS, and you cannot technically say that a particular distro is universally the best OS for VPS.

When you opt for the best Linux VPS hosting solutions, you can benefit from features like lower resource consumption and availability of cPanel. None of the options mentioned above is inherently superior to the others. This discussion simply highlights that Linux VPS plans can be a cost-effective choice for direct server access. You can choose any of them, as long as it meets your business requirements, making it the best Linux Distro for VPS hosting. 

If you wish to know more about the best Linux OS for VPS that you can trust, check out the wide range of best Linux VPS plans available with us.

Handholding on the journey to CDN implementation

Posted on by Nishant Nath

Posted by Admin

Since the advent of internet-based technologies more and more businesses are getting IT enabled. With mobile phones getting smarter day-by-day the reliance on internet for doing business has reached a level where its unimaginable to conduct business without it. End users are habituated to the convenience of applications and information available at their finger tip, at the time they want, at the place they want. A classic example being media business. Especially during the pandemic outburst and work-from-home model, user base of applications like Netflix and similar media channels has increased significantly. If internet is the vehicle which brings all the conveniences to end users, it won’t be an exaggeration to say that Content Delivery Network (CDN) is the booster in that vehicle. Let’s highlight on factors which should be planned before getting on the CDN bandwagon. In choosing a CDN, the best decisions result from understanding the properties that are required in addressing challenges and the key metrics that describe those properties. In this article, we will try to address the finer aspects of commonly asked content delivery questions and what to look for while finalizing a CDN service provider.

What are the geographical considerations?

Geography certainly plays a major role in content delivery. Where is the audience located – Global, Regional or Local. It’s important to choose a CDN that has Points of Presence (PoPs) in the areas where audience is located. Each PoP should have adequate outlet capacity to ensure that audience receives the fastest possible experience. The CDN should also have back-to-back agreements with the local Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and last-mile networks that serves the audience, in order to eliminate “last-mile” bottlenecks between the CDN and the user’s internet connection.

Where is the content stored?

Single on-premise location, single location in the cloud or multiple locations in the cloud. When users request content that is not already cached, the CDN must retrieve content from origin storage servers, wherever they are located. To ensure the fastest content delivery, choose a CDN that offers multi-region storage replication and is able to bypass internet congestion that can hamper content retrieval.

What capabilities should be considered?

CDNs offer a wide range of capabilities. Business requirements should drive the capabilities needed. What type of content will be delivered? Web content, file distribution, live video or Video on Demand (VoD). Choose a CDN that is designed to support specific workflow.

What are your content security requirements?

There are various security measures offered by a CDN service provider, viz. TLS/SSL encryption, Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) protection, Web Application Firewall (WAF) protection and Video Digital Rights Management (DRM). To protect content from being intercepted in transit, choose a CDN that fully supports TLS/SSL encryption across its entire network. A CDN with DDoS protection integrated into the same network that is used to deliver traffic will provide the fastest performance when under attack. If video content is being delivered, consider a CDN with integrated DRM and content protection.

What are your video content delivery needs?

Online Video Platform is required to manage video content, live video streaming or VoD transcoding and packaging. If video content management capabilities of an Online Video Platform (OVP) is a requirement, consider choosing a CDN with integrated OVP capabilities to eliminate the complexity of using separate systems to manage and deliver the video content. To reach the maximum number of viewers and simplify the creation of content in multiple streaming formats, look for a CDN with integrated transcoding and transmuxing that can take a single input file and create multiple different output formats and bitrates on demand.

What kind of support mechanism does the CDN provider offer?

Finding a CDN partner who is able to provide the ongoing support and services after content delivery is started can be critical in ensuring maximum uptime and efficient traffic operations, and helping in responding to changing business needs. Avoiding downtime will sometimes require support from CDN provider. What to look for:

  • Does the CDN vendor offer 24/7 support?
  • Is live support available, or are only email and chat support offered?
  • How much does the vendor charge for support?
  • Is support available in multiple regions and in different languages?
  • Does the CDN have a 24/7 Network Operations Centre (NOC) that can ensure efficient traffic delivery?
  • Does the CDN offer an appropriate customer notification system for planned maintenance and service incidents?

How is Configuration and Self-Provisioning done?

To ensure efficient day-to-day operations, we need to routinely update CDN configuration to meet changing requirements. What to look for:

Does the CDN offer a robust set of APIs for self-provisioning and configuration?

Does the CDN offer a web-based GUI that can be used for configuration and management? What capabilities are exposed for self-provisioning?

Ask for a demo of CDN providers’ self-provisioning solutions.

Does the CDN provider offer professional and consulting services?

When implementing new capabilities that allow business to respond to changing requirements, experienced assistance can be vital. Some CDN providers have experts available that can act as an extension of in-house team. What to look for:

  • Does CDN vendor have an expert Professional Services team available to help optimize initial deployment?
  • Does CDN vendor offer specialized support offerings for major events?
  • Can CDN vendor offer workflow consulting and the implementation of best practices?
  • Ask for examples where the CDN has solved similar problems for other customers.

How is deployment done?

Decide the origin from which the CDN fetches the content, and whether we need to deploy the content in more than one storage system. Take into account the process for deploying static content and resources.

How is Versioning & Cache-Control done?

Consider how to update static content and deploy new versions. Understand how the CDN performs caching and time- to-live (TTL).

What kind of Testing should be considered?

It can be difficult to perform local testing of CDN settings when developing and testing an application locally or in a staging environment.

  • Content-specific testing – addressing the needs of whatever type of content the CDN delivers; for example, a network which delivers video content will require testing the quality of the videos, how connectivity affects the user experience, etc.
  • Geolocation testing – e.g. providing or blocking area-specific content, such as loading a global website in different languages depending on the end user’s location.
  • Network simulation – will allow to control bandwidth, latency, jitter, & inject errors when testing the CDN to see how it will handle all of these real-world network conditions.
  • Testing of CDN push vs. CDN pull content – testing various content will often depend on whether users “pull” the content (by make a request to load a specific pages with specific content) or whether the network pushes it at predetermined intervals (such as stock prices being pushed to a financial streamer every second).
  • Data Replication/Caching Scheme Testing – Most CDNs offer lots of configuration options for determining how content will be properly sent, stored, and refreshed, which is likely to be different for different parts of the content. Understanding how the data replication is done throughout the network along with if, when, and where it’s cached is important in designing tests strategies.
  • Content edge delivery/edge delivery testing – verifies how content is delivered to users on the physical edge of a CDN.
  • Content access and protections testing – making sure that content is only accessed by those who have permission to access it – especially important for paid access.
  • Device testing – pretty much any device that can access the internet can accept content from CDN, so part of the testing process is to determine which devices will be supported – besides the usual computers and phones, there are also faceless devices, such as gaming consoles, that will accept streaming content. 

Does the CDN provider ensure Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?

Content such as images and documents are served from a different domain when CDN is used. This can have an effect on SEO for this content.

How is Client Security planned?

Clients might connect from an environment that does not allow access to resources on the CDN. This could be a security-constrained environment that limits access to only a set of known sources, or one that prevents loading of resources from anything other than the page origin. A fallback implementation is required to handle these cases.

CDN implementation goals

Whether to integrate a CDN for the first time, transitioning to a new CDN, or implementing a multi-CDN strategy, a successful implementation requires planning. Delivering content via a CDN has many dimensions, and the learning curve can be steep. Finding a CDN partner who can help craft the right solution and phased deployment strategy is critical for success.

Steps for success:

  • Define an achievable first phase. Start simple and focus on the fundamentals with a short list of content and geography requirements.
  • Identify a set of longer-term phases to help guide decision making.
  • Evaluate CDN candidates based on expertise, service and support offerings, and technical capabilities. The right CDN will be a partner that can help execute one’s vision and transition smoothly from current methods.
  • Weigh the relative merits of working with a CDN partner that offers a turnkey solution with expert assistance vs. utilizing internal resources to design, build, and maintain a custom solution.
  • Multi-CDN or transition to a new CDN
  • Using multiple CDNs and balancing the load among them can provide a range of business benefits. When transitioning from one CDN to another, ensuring uninterrupted service requires an orderly ramp-up of the new CDN and ramp-down of the old one.

Steps to consider:

  • Define the goals. Is performance improvement primary concern, add redundancy, or foster competition? Choose a CDN provider who will help achieve this goal.
  • For multi-CDN deployments, load balancing strategy should be considered. When assigning traffic to multiple CDNs decision must be taken on implementing fixed weightings between CDNs, performance-based balancing, or balance based on factors like region.
  • When implementing a new CDN, impact on existing services should be in mind, like origin storage, DNS, and other key components. Determine which existing components will remain in place and how to successfully migrate to the new components without impacting existing operations.

Deciding factors for CDN Service

Not every website needs a CDN provider. There are ways to determine if a website or platform needs to take advantage of CDN services. A CDN can be a great solution for a business, especially if customers or clients all around the world are served. Here are some examples of businesses that could benefit from a CDN

  • E-commerce sites: if smooth and seamless user experience for customers is required, even during times with heavy traffic, a CDN can be a great option. Not only does the CDN ensure faster loading time, but it also helps provide security and robustness for the site by helping avoid DDoS kinds of attacks helping avoid huge loads on main servers. Thereby, it helps to protect main server from getting overloaded.
  • Financial institutions: banks, credit unions and other finance companies can use a CDN to create a secure, reliable and fast way to transmit sensitive financial information. By helping insure against DDoS attacks, and server overload; it helps financial services companies provide reliable uptime and performance to its users. Security is the critical life blood of financial companies and a reliable CDN service will go a long way in ensuring that.
  • Media or news sites: media and news sites are often content-heavy, and they include a lot of interactive elements to maximize user dwell time, and they tend to be dynamically updated with the latest news. CDNs can help to ensure that the content delivery remains fast and highly responsive, to bring news to end users in real-time.
  • Government: government websites also tend to be very content heavy as they cater to a variety of citizen needs. CDNs can help government agencies provide much faster services to citizens.
  • Mobile apps: a CDN accelerates the load time for mobile applications and increases page responsiveness.
  • SaaS: CDN will help SaaS-based businesses scale easily and serve millions of web users, without causing a dip in the performance from the added user base.

CDN exercise is under taken to enhance service delivery on multiple parameters, however, this has to be a well- planned activity. Above mentioned points will help you take a well-informed decision.

If you are considering to purchase a CDN solution and are not sure where to start, use this document as a checklist. To know how go4hosting can help you with your CDN requirements, check our CDN solutions. For queries and consultation, email us on [email protected]. Our team of subject matter experts will assist you achieve your targets in a customised and optimal manner.

Fundamentals of Enterprise Email Security

Posted on by Manoj Yadav

Every business needs to access internet for some or other reason including email, website, online transactions, web applications, and web hosting to name just a few. Presence of online threats and growing activities of hackers, spammers, and information thieves has underlined need to adopt stringent security measures for protection of vital information and business continuity.

Significance of email security

Process or policy of securing enterprise email includes a large assortment of technologies and software in addition to stringent adherence to good security practices as far as the employees are concerned.

Network security systems guarantee protection of the entire business from cyber threats. These can consist of identity thieves and hackers. 

Corporate Email hosting is also the most vulnerable resource as far as the sensitivity of business communications is concerned. Since email is the most sought after resource for communication, one must design email security policies on priority to keep viruses, hackers, spammers, and malware at bay. 

Important security policies for emails

Your staff is the most sensitive resource for assuring the initial security of emails. You should provide a thorough training and guidance to your employees in terms of following the basic security steps. This can also include precautions required while opening mail attachments from unknown senders or avoiding inadvertent clicking of suspected links. 

Employees should always use the option of BCC while sending out a particular mail to a long list of recipients to help prevent spammers from getting hold of email addresses of your recipients. 

Undecipherable passwords or login credentials are valuable tools to enhance security of your systems. Moreover, employees should be encouraged to make changes to these on regular basis. 

Implementing DKIM 

DomainKeys Identified Mail or DKIM is one of the simplest steps to be taken by domain owners for securing enterprise email from the acts of impersonation. It is also the very first activity, which has attained the status of a standard security practice. Since DKIM enablement has proved its worth beyond doubt, it is extensively implemented by email industry. DKIM is therefore a significant step to secure email associated with your domain. 

DKIM authentication is founded on the condition that creation of the valid key can only be executed by senders that are authorized to do so. Providers of email can use the information shared on pubic DNS of the domain for validation of signature.

This facilitates integrity of the message in terms of its contents and other information with regards to recipient and sender. DKIM is increasingly being incorporated in email security packages offered by hosting service providers. This is n addition to DMARC and SPF (Domain Message Identification Reporting and Conformance, Sender Policy Framework).

DKIM secures each and every email that is being sent out with a secure signature. This is done by provisioning of a secure signature that leverages private/ public key mechanism that enables mail recipients associated with the sender’s domain verify the authenticity of the email message whether it is a bulk messaging service or individual email from your account. 

Implementing security settings for emails

If the research is to be believed, ninety percent of virus and malware find their way into your system via email attachments. This calls for use of scans and filters to restrict entry of infected attachments. There are different types of security measures including spyware protection pr messaging protection that are offered along with a variety of security and  operating system suites. 

There are different email encryption software applications being used by professionals such as chartered accountants as well as legal firms for securing their mails along with attachments. Email encryption is one of the most trusted practices for securing emails since it leverages a system of public key encoding.

By encrypting your outgoing mails, you can ensure guaranteed protection of critical mails. Email server hosting encryption is the standard feature of reputed email providers including Microsoft Outlook. 

Built-in security features of MS Exchange

Microsoft Exchange Server happens to be the most sought after platforms for executing business emails since it is designed for advanced protection. It offers a wide spectrum of email security features by default including capability of scanning multiple engines and integrated filtering to name a few.

Compliance control is also an important feature of MS Exchange to improve adherence to regulatory as well as compliance requirements. What’s more, MS Exchange helps improve confidentiality of messaging by encryption of messages during the transit period. 

Other resources for security of emails

You can ensure blocking of threats pertaining to incoming as well as outgoing emails at the network gateway with help of Websense Email Security. This also helps implementation of internal security policies provided by a number of MS Exchange versions. 

MS Exchange itself can be leveraged for a hosted encryption service, which is based on internet. This obviates the need to provide basic email security training to employees as well as installation of additional software.

A Lowdown on Google Cloud, AWS & Microsoft Azure Cloud

Posted on by Nishant Nath

In this article, we are measuring 3 famous cloud interfaces Amazon Web Service, Azure, as well as Google Cloud, and all these three have their specific strengths along with weaknesses which build them suitable for various use cases.

Under the age of cloud, currently 3 vendors are prevailing the IT marketplace. These happen to be Amazon, Microsoft, and also Google. For service models such as IaaS (Infrastructure-as-a-service) or PaaS (Platform-as-a-service), these 3 are the highest ranking models in comparison to the remaining fields. Amazon is positively the ruling leader and it’s assumed to prevail the cloud business for several upcoming years.

How precisely do Amazon Web Service, Azure, and even Google Cloud distinguish from one another? It is often described in terms of varied options and complete advantages and disadvantages of all 3 interfaces. So, let’s take this significant discussion further.

AWS vs. Azure vs. Google – What are the merits and demerits?

According to specialists, we can’t conclude clearly that solely one is the best and remaining are simply some helpful alternatives however success of any interface basically relies on how perfectly it fits their organization necessities. It matches various projects supported by its strengths as well as weaknesses.

AWS (Amazon Web Services) – Advantages and Disadvantages

This is the dominating cloud interface within the IT sphere however it shouldn’t be appropriate for all the projects. Although, for various IaaS services, Amazon can consistently dominate the market for several years. One of the largest reasons for the recognition of Amazon Web Service is the large scope of functions.

Amazon Web Service encompasses a large array of services accessible till now and it’s taken in the form of greatest network of data centers as well. According to industry reports, AWS has the widest features of monitoring a huge range of customers and various resources along.

The major drawback with Amazon Web Service is the cost issue. Although, the corporation is minimizing its prices consistently yet it’s troublesome for organization scrutinizing its price framework and handling prices once executing a huge amount of services. Such demerits are rapidly compensated by an ideal series of advantages and firms of many sizes are utilizing Amazon Web Service for a range of workloads.

Microsoft Azure – Advantages and Disadvantages

Microsoft began with the cloud market a bit late however it achieved great success with its efficient series of services along with cloud. The chief reason for the reputation of the Azure interface is such that several organizations deploy Windows software these days.

It will be rapidly incorporated with several other applications and basically stands up for huge enterprises. It is considered as reliable connection for various Microsoft customers. Furthermore to this, if customers are an existing Microsoft customer then they might attain catchy discounts over Azure cloud services.

According to experts, Azure isn’t as ideal as it has to be. The users are confronting several problems with documentation, technical assistance, training materials and many more. In addition to this, it does not offer ideal assistance to DevOps approaches due to the chosen automation options and much of handling work is finished by the staff itself.

Google Cloud Platform – Advantages and Disadvantages

Google is also a powerful candidate under the cloud race as it began the Kubernetes while comparing to the Amazon Web Service as well as the Azure. Various supreme services of Google Cloud Platform consists of machine learning along with big data analytics and many more like ideal load balancing, or even considerable scaling.

GCP has a remarkable response time and data centers are well-known. Google is the third-ranking IT marketplace since it never offers services as compared to Amazon Web Service or Azure. Thus, it is going to extend as required.

According to professionals, GCP does not happen to be a strategic partner however it is considered as the second partner solely. If their business race with Amazon then they might freely select GCP in such situation. This is technically an open source interface which is basically DevOps centric and precisely arrayed to Microsoft Azure.

AWS vs Azure vs Google – Compute & Storage

Compute is nothing although a basic role which describes several things regarding to the system workloads. For an efficient cloud service provider, it is mostly simple for connecting numerous nodes altogether. Let’s examine various computing features of these 3 frameworks one by one –

  • Primary is Amazon EC2 which provides remarkable computing services to set up various virtual machines with the assistance of customized already defined AMIs.
  • Secondary is Microsoft Azure which provides a virtual hard disk that functions similar to AMI in Amazon and assists in setting up virtual machines.
  • Last one is Google Cloud Platform or GCP which uses a compute engine to set up the virtual machines.

Storage is one more prime facet in the field of cloud computing and the services delivered by the storage domain are mostly regarding the data storage. Amazon Web Service provides storage execution which are beneficial within the long duration whereas the Azure, as well as Google, might also be considered as reliable and flexible storage features. According to experts, Microsoft along with Amazon Web Service happen to be the prevailing leaders within the cloud market at present. Simultaneously, IBM and Google might be the upcoming cloud leaders very soon.

AWS vs. Azure vs. Google – Databases

A Database is required to keep or maintain the data in a pretty much arranged manner. Customers must remember that Azure facilitates the big data, relational databases, No SQL and so on so forth. Amazon Web Service assists Dynamo DB as well as Google braces the Cloud data store based services. All these are ideal for various projects and customers have the liberty to opt any of them according to their suitability and the outline of the project. Amazon never provides any kind of backup service however it carries the Glacier for long time archival storage at pretty much reasonable costs.

On the contrary, Azure databases are even comprehensive with the option of Cosmo DB and a data warehouse service as well. There exist one more Redis Cache which is specifically required for the hybrid storage and especially created for organizations utilizing Microsoft SQL server within their own data centers. In contrast with Amazon Web Service, Azure provides the backup services along with the archive storage.

Last is our Google Cloud interface which is specifically famous for integrated storage and a consistent disk too. As far as databases are concerned, GCP carries a relational database and the cloud spanner to handle crucial workloads.

AWS vs. Azure vs. Google – Pricing framework

While doing comparison of these three, costing might get complicated to analyze however this is usually possible to popularize the price framework if required. Let’s verify the costing framework for all these 3 interfaces step by step.

  1. Amazon Web Service pricing is one complex strategy where an individual calculator is provided by the organization to measure the eventual prices however because of the lack of some variables incorporated, this isn’t possible to discover the correct prices every time. Thus, customer must utilize a third-party price management based tools.
  2. Next is Microsoft Azure which is again complex due to its difficult software licensing features. Once again, customers must utilize a third-party pricing management based tools.
  3. Google pricing is very simple to analyze in comparison to those two frameworks. The user– friendly pricing of the organization wins against other service providers here. According to experts, the discounts provided by the industry are very catchy and reasonable too. With durable contracts, this becomes simple for the enterprise to influence customers in comparison to various cloud vendors.

AWS vs. Azure vs. Google – What fits customers the most?

As we have already discussed, the choice of most suitable cloud vendor generally relies on various project requirements as well as the workloads. For an instance, if a single vendor appeals an individual project then it isn’t sure that it is going to function best for their project as well. Thus, verify the cloud methodology and fit various workloads to lock the most suitable vendor for their upcoming cloud project.

  • Why Amazon Web Service?

Customers can’t go wrong with Amazon Web Service as it possess a series of several tools along with services. One and only reason for not utilizing amazon web service is once they desire more than an informal relationship. Due to the huge size of an organization, this isn’t possible for Amazon to configure various customized relationships. However there exist various technicians who will assist customers in most desirable manner.

  • Why Azure?

For numerous Microsoft customers, nothing is much better as compared to the Azure cloud platform. Their existing dotnet code can execute over the Azure interface and they might attain extra discounts being a pre-existing Microsoft customer. If they require the Linux platform or work pertaining to DevOps, Azure might not be an ideal option.

  • Why Google Cloud?

Google has become a strong player within the cloud market and is enhancing gradually. In easy words, GCP is not having any legacy background in managing cloud services yet it is entirely dedicated. Google is concentrating more in the sphere of Artificial Intelligence and machine learning features for leveraging it with the Google Cloud Platform. Certainly, GCP would be a preferred option in the upcoming future.

  • Conclusion

Several corporations would be concentrated on various cloud frameworks. Yet, if their Corporation depends more over Windows as well as Microsoft software program then customers might need to enquire the Microsoft Azure here. For some average business, who needs to measure rapidly may have hopes with Google Cloud Platform. On the contrary, if customers are seeking a cloud seller with a broader inventory of services along with international reach then Amazon Web Service is just the suitable match for customers.

Go4hosting AWS Security Strategies: Trusted name in periled technological World!

Posted on by Manoj Yadav

Technological transmission, a crucial factor for enterprises to maneuver business workloads on to AWS services– Amazon net Services, is one of most sought after features across businesses. Go4hosting offers enhanced performance and security at such reasonable price, for end user. Amazon Cloud Services not solely satiate the business challenges across the public as well as private cloud platforms, but additionally promotes alternative IaaS technologies that depends on the Shared business functional model, making the customers highly secured with business operation, platform handling, and data management at its best.

AWS function renowned for managing skilled Services for business simplification, Go4hosting in the Asian nation customizes well the AWS cloud solutions, to offer simplest yet economical system solutions for optimum growth. From design to system implementation across your infrastructure, Go4hosting is committed to giving higher user engagement opportunities on day to day basis. Not only we offer modest hosting expertise for handling practical problems but also with our business strategies users can obtain advantages of AWS functions on optimum options. Meanwhile, if AWS cloud consulting services cannot be blamed for any security related issues of cloud as well as infrastructure on hardware as well as Software business functions.

With AWS strategies in place, we offer shared functional responsibility that exemplifies well Amazon Cloud Services as well as secured, system management, for handling application and data accessibility for configuration of all the business users.

AWS Security: Can be threatened sometimes!

Inspite of having advanced level security protocols across the cloud settings of Go4hosting, users are invariably hesitant of system vulnerabilities as well as failures. The principal security feature concerning the cloud-based design is that privileged credentials can lead to data breaches on a mass level. When compared to system survey, approximately more than half of organizations rely upon the manual ways to manage privileged accounts which creates a danger of countersign vaults at customers end.

Additionally, AWS offers its users the pliability of inserting the SAP instances on the system and secure storage information at one place. With AWS web services user’s get seamlessly connected with the IT infrastructure for safer VPN functions. The AWS system entirely manages, utilizes system options for secured advantages to enhance business management. With AWS users can simply succeed for most business profit and scaling any business risks by adopting the cloud technology at even the minimalistic level. Hence, its security is the prime apprehension

Go4hosting Strategies for AWS safety:

  • Protected AWS console accounts: With the tendency of handling, powerful AWS root user accounts, it’s highly advisable to secure the AWS root functions for usage is an imperative function. Else, the centralized identities such as Active Directory should be used in place rather than native AWS system accounts. Also, with critical login systems of AWS, all the ordinary methods of mistreatment with access keys are handled.
  • Implemented Security Model: With the IaaS adoption feature for implementation across the organizations, users can set better data center with our Go4hosting AWS model. With the common perception that users, can handle the IaaS needs on regular basis all the normal network parameter are well taken care of. Whereas, it can compromise on security standard and compliance with the cloud functions. With us all the roles and responsibilities are identical for each user, thus investment on the standard security infrastructure with consolidated identities relatively contributes to the highest security model.
  • Confirmed Accountability: Go4hosting AWS web services, guarantees the extreme reliableness for the shared and privileged accounts by elevating the safety features at advanced level. We facilitate managed entitlements centrally from Active Directory to AWS roles, for best business output.
  • Detailed Audit Sessions: With Go4hosting AWS web services, the users should audit and monitor each licensed and unauthorized user session across the AWS instances with utmost care. Keeping a better observation across the operating activities all the private as well as public network results are managed in vigorous follow security functions.
  • Multi-Factor Authentication application: With Go4hosting AWS, we save you from critical potential attacks providing a better level of user assurance and functions. By implementing multi-factor authentication on each level of AWS service management, all the system threats are reduced upto large extent.

Our AWS security Mantra: Trust, But Verify!

With Go4hosting AWS safety strategies, we precisely computerize the operating actions on consistent basis. If you are apprehensive about on the top critical functions, we handle all the change requests, by observing system activities, patch management, security, and backup services on highly consistent basis. With AWS services accurately operating on the identical management, we offer worthy business results across the business markets. Go4hosting AWS, conjointly offers providing the automation features for increasing operation strength on detailed basis. With all these operational risk, being taken care by security strategies, user can focus on their business aptly. Go4hosting offers instant drawback resolutions to assist your businesses from any security breach and reach new heights!

Load Balancing- Keeper of Cloud Hosting

Posted on by Manoj Yadav

With distinct and multiple businesses are finding applications in cloud hosting and may be poles apart but are getting mutually benefitted. The data over cloud hosting is increasing day by day and so is the need for computing and storage resources. Cloud has been helping organizations to take advantage of computing resources since so long and already cloud-based services are used in one or the other form. The elevated number of players on the field of the cloud has just made it a complete pandemonium. In the times of such a commotion, load balancing arrived as a blessing. 

Load balancers – apprehensive insight

A website or for that matter any web application is accessed through multiple IP addresses simultaneously, then traffic on that particular page skyrockets. This exponential increase in traffic on the webpage sometimes leads to the crashing of that page. A single crash for a few minutes also hampers the business to an unimaginable level. Let me make the situation clearer, imagine an e-commerce website has recently announced the end season sale. Millions of people also access the same website during these times and lakhs of sale are accomplished in minutes. Hence site going down for even minutes would be catastrophic.  

The cloud hosting environment is said to be assigned a definite amount of load and depending on that it is decided whether the cloud system is underloaded, overloaded or it is balanced. System failures are evident when the system is either under or overloaded. These system failures show their effects on power consumption, execution time, machine failure, etc. Therefore, the load balancing of tasks over the cloud becomes an important altitude to overcome all the problems.

These load balancers detect the extent of loading i.e. under or overloaded nodes and then accordingly balance the load. On this note, let’s get acquainted with the types of load. These are such as memory load, computation load, network load, etc. All ways are of load balancing work unidirectional to optimize different performance parameters. A company might be using a cloud-based CRM for storing customer information, a cloud-based ERP system to track data and a web-hosting vendor like Google to host its website and a cloud system to run a handful of custom applications. Hence, if all the components are hosted in the cloud, the load balancers should also be hosted inside the cloud only. 

The functioning of a load balancer

Imagine load balancer as a traffic policeman, who sits in the middle of the bedlam full of your servers and routing client requests with all the servers individually capable of fulfilling those requests and simultaneously maximizes speed and capacity utilization. The load balancers make sure that none of the servers should be overworking because that would degrade the performance ultimately. The distribution is being done for workloads and computing resources across one or more servers. The aim is to ensure maximum throughput in minimum response time. This all is achieved by segregating workload among two or more servers, hard drives, network interfaces or other computing resources. The website demanding high traffic makes the most effective use of cloud load balancing for ensuring business continuity. Its functions can be jot down into three points-

  • Distributing client requests or network load efficiently across multiple servers. 
  • Sending requests only to servers those are online and thus ensuring high availability. 
  • Adding or subtracting servers depending on the demand and hence improving flexibility. 

In the absence of a load balancer, any client has to wait while his request is getting processed. This leads to frustrated clients and thus hampering the business for long. 

Flavors of load balancers

Load balancers come in two flavors i.e. hardware and software load balancing. The hardware load balancer uses specialized processors and has to be bought from third-party vendors. Whereas the software load balancers generally run on commodity hardware and can be installed on the hardware of your choice. Thus software load balancing technique is less expensive and more flexible at the same time. 

But irrespective of the flavor of load balancer the advantages with which it comes are common and such as –

  • Increased scalability
  • Sudden traffic is handled smoothly
  • Applications performing at their optimum efficiency 
  • Unmatchable flexibility
  • Zero % hampering of business

Thus 21st century, cloud load balancing is the key to uninterrupted and smooth business.  

7 Key Benefits of Google Cloud Hosting for your Business

Posted on by Nishant Nath

The cloud platform stands as a cornerstone in fortifying your digital presence. Embraced by businesses of all scales, it unlocks a spectrum of advantages, offering computing prowess, storage solutions, and streamlined operations—a testament to the benefits of cloud hosting.

Technology behemoth Google offers public cloud computing services to organizations far and wide through its suite Google Cloud Platform or GCP. GCP also offers cloud hosting services. These hosting services utilize the same infrastructure as Google uses for its end-user Products-Google Search, Gmail and YouTube.

Google offers free cloud server hosting services for the first 12 months through a trial plan. Once this trial expires, you can choose any of the plans available on its platform. If you are not looking for a paid plan, you can opt for the free version of Google Cloud Platform: GCP free tier.

The free tier allows you to get hands-on experience with many of its popular products with certain monthly limits. These free services do not expire.

Introduced in 2011, Google Cloud hosting has attained popularity over the last few years on account of the cloud hosting benefits it offers over other hosting services.

Advantages of Cloud Hosting, Top 7 Benefits of cloud hosting

1) Better Pricing Plans

Google cloud hosting plans are cheaper in comparison to the ones offered by its competitors. They also offer per second billing to consumers. A key benefit of Google Cloud is that you are not restricted to its subscription if you have purchased any of its plans. You can cancel the subscription at any point in time. Besides, if you find better plans, you can switch your subscription also.

On the other hand, in Microsoft Azure, you get only 5% discount in the first 12 months. Besides, you have to pay in advance. On the contrary, in Google Cloud hosting, there are no upfront costs. Then you also get the trial version that’s available for free. Furthermore, Google offers handsome discounts on all its services which is incentivizing users to adopt its cloud hosting services. AWS and Azure are almost six times more expensive than GCP.

2)  Superior Performance

Google has improved the performance of its cloud hosting service at the enterprise level. Any user can remotely access the data from any location on the planet. Google boasts of gigantic computing infrastructure; as a result, it allows execution of complex operations through its network.

Google Cloud machines can manage any number of visitors at a time. So, if you are using GCP, you will experience a decrease in website loading time.

3) Live Migration

Live migration is one of the best features of Google Cloud hosting. Neither Azure nor AWS offer this benefit. Live migration involves the migration of virtual machines. Google can accomplish this as they have a very large network, you can easily move your machines without incurring downtime.

4) Private Network

Google provides you with a private network as a result of which you enjoy maximum uptime and efficiency. A private network means Google offers its own network to all its clients. Private network is a salient feature of Google cloud hosting service. Google uses fiber-optic cables in its network. These are more efficient than any other kind of cables and can handle a lot of traffic.

5) Consistent Growth

Google offers its cloud server hosting services through its large infrastructure which is being developed rapidly. They are trying to establish data centers in every part of the globe. With data centers in over 17 locations, they are planning to expand to other areas to further augment their network.

6) Control and Security

Google is currently using its security model to secure its own products including Gmail, YouTube, and Google Search. The technology giant boasts of a large team of security professionals who help Google safeguard data and applications hosted on their servers. All this data is protected through robust encryption measures. Google also has a large network of internet service providers that help them create a rock-solid network.

7) Backup

Google works on its redundant back-up technology. If some part of a component does not work properly, Google will create a backup. So, your data will be stored in multiple locations (minimum two locations). By maintaining multiple copies of your data, Google ensures you don’t lose critical information. This allows for seamless functioning of your business operations. Also, you don’t need to back up your data or applications manually.

The Final Word

So, these are the major benefits of Google Cloud hosting that make it a suitable choice for flourishing businesses. In addition to hosting, GCP also offers services for computing, storage as well as application development. In case you seek any of these services, get in touch with our cloud experts and get a super-customized cloud solution today!

Analyzing Factors that are Driving Cloud Adoption

Posted on by Manoj Yadav

It would not be an exaggeration to state that most business enterprises are either planning or have already moved to cloud. This is applicable to businesses of all sizes and from all categories across the globe. But what are driving factors of cloud computing towards this widespread cloud adoption?

Let’s check out.

Growth of cloud adoption

The projected growth of 18% percent CAGR between 2019 and 2026 for expenditure involved in adoption of cloud platforms as well as infrastructure by globenewswire is a sound testimony to the extent of cloud adoption by organizations.

Accelerated growth of cloud can be measured by the number of workloads that are increasingly being shifted to cloud as well as enhancement of total  IT budget that  is earmarked for cloud computing.

Cloud adoption – Present Scenario

We need to look at some of the interesting results of a study conducted by Cloud Security Alliance in order to understand the overall attitude of enterprises towards cloud computing. The study revealed that one third of all organizations that were surveyed are serious about adopting cloud services lock stock and barrel.

As many as 71 percent of enterprises, are already spending some part of IT budget towards IT services. There are another 61 percent of organizations that have migrated their workloads to the cloud in 2020.

Major benefits of cloud adoption

Cloud services have been helping organizations improve productivity; improve market response time, and lower cost that also account for the key business drivers for cloud adoption.  This was the opinion of 460 decision makers in senior positions of finance functions across diverse enterprises.

The study conducted by reputed market research company Vanson Bourne and titled as ‘The Business Impact of Cloud’ listed 11 factors that can be termed as drivers of cloud adoption in addition to specific improvements that are mentioned above. Platform as a service (PaaS) will grow by 21% in 2021. And in the study conducted by Vanson Bourne, the 460 finance executives that participated, despite their non-IT backgrounds, have been actively engaged in discussing cloud adoption strategies in their respective organizations.

The following figures of growth percentage speak volumes about role of cloud services in overall improvement in various business aspects of companies. The average improvement in terms of time to market was 20.66 percent and process efficiency improved by 18.80 percent. The important impact of cloud services was reduction of IT expenditure by 15.07 percent leading to overall organizational growth of 19.63 percent. Quantifiable improvements in organizational efficiency have been reported to be linked with cloud adoption.

Cloud computing is primarily available as SaaS (Software as a Service) IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) and PaaS (Platform as a Service). Following are some driving factors towards cloud computing in either of the ways:

1) Latest Software –

Thanks to cloud based SaaS, customers can lay their hands on the fresh software no sooner than it is ready for release. One can instantly transfer new functionalities existing software and features by way of updates.

2) Minimize IT infrastructure –

The most visible change of cloud is reduction of existing IT infrastructure without any impact on capabilities. Many organizations have been able to entirely eliminate the need for onsite infrastructure by reducing staff expenditure and maintenance costs of physical infrastructure.

 3) Flexibility of costs –

Flexibility stands as one of the pivotal driving factors of cloud computing adoption. Unlike traditional systems, cloud solutions offer remarkable flexibility in payment methods. Users pay solely for the utilized infrastructure and server capabilities. Additional capacity can be readily provisioned or decommissioned, aligning with demand fluctuations—eliminating instances of idle, unutilized capacity.

4) Remarkable availability –

The cloud ensures incessant availability of both data and applications, regardless of users’ geographical location.

5) Enhanced mobility –

Cloud based applications facilitate employees to work from anywhere with help of internet enabled smart devices. Employees can even work while on the go.

6) Enhanced collaboration –

Collaboration is hallmark of cloud applications since they enable dispersed workgroups to come together on cloud platforms via shared usage and share information as well as collectively work on the data in real time. This facilitates the acceleration of product development and minimization of time required for marketing by improving customer service.

7) Cost-effectiveness –

Cloud service providers considerably mitigate organizations’ expenditure on purchasing hardware components or equipment by taking care of these factors. The remotely positioned entire platform turns out to be more affordable than onsite datacenters.

8) Instantaneous reduction of expenditure –

Organizations are able to face economic slowdown or recession, thanks to flexibility of cost structure. Cloud computing leverages pay-as-you-use model with no contractual obligations, so clients are not bound to pay any fee except for the resources deployed.

9) Optimization of capacity –

Users of cloud services are empowered with the flexibility of capacity that can be easily tuned up or down to enhance optimization. The examples can be seen in cloud hosting, dedicated server hosting, and many other related services.

10) Facilitate M&A –

Cloud computing greatly accommodates organizations, enabling them to adapt to new business models required for mergers or acquisitions. Traditional models make migration highly costly and excruciatingly slow.

11) Eco-friendly –

Cloud computing is contributing to the global environment by reducing the number of data centers and improving work efficiency. As part of the global green initiative, cloud providers are mostly green hosts and make use of renewable energy sources as much as the energy-requirements allow.

Organizations need to address concerns related to data security and regulatory compliance in order to explore the fascinating advantages of cloud computing.

10 Ways to Keep Your VPS Server Host Completely Secured

Posted on by Nishant Nath

Posted by Swapnil Shukla

Apart from being an excellent platform for web hosting, cheap VPS server hosting has other additional capabilities and proficiencies about which most of them are unaware. Most of the users of VPS hosting are usually owners of big and medium based e-commerce websites or hosting websites of their own. The application of VPS hosting goes up to where your imagination ends.

But every application of VPS hosting needs to be secured from any kind of external threat. A ready to use VPS server is not the ultimate goal, it should also be relatively secured. The security of your VPS host relies a lot on the way you have set it up. There are very simple things that when kept in mind will help your VPS host to be less prone to getting attacked. Here are some of the simple hacks applied during setting up-

– Always access your VPS server host with the help of SSH or Secure Shell access. 

– Always keep on updating your VPS host.

– Try to keep on making new users so that you can keep on modifying your server to get all the privileges. 

– Try to enable public-key authentication 

– Do not start to go further with the application without setting up a firewall. 

Those were some basic security checks during the setup of your VPS host. But more security steps can be adopted to secure your VPS host even more. Let’s go through these steps one by one-

1) Always keep the security updating mode automatic–

This is one of the most helpful and proven security steps to keep your VPS server dually secured. We understand that you have timing constraints and that might not allow you to keep on updating the OS.

The process of rebooting is a time taking process and thus is a concern for many of the VPS host server owners. As you might be aware of the importance of updating and rebooting a VPS host. If a VPS server has not been updated or rebooted for a long time, then there is a hundred times more possibility of it getting hacked. This is because a system running on an older version is more vulnerable and can be easily exploited.

It does not take much of an effort to manage patching timings. One just needs to plan a little before and maintain the timings when your Windows need maintenance. All of this when controlled and maintained through an automatic updating system reduces the downtime.

2) Don’t allow logging in with the root user-

When someone logs in with the root user details then he or she gets more power to make changes to the server’s specifications. But these privileges bring in many responsibilities along with the powers. Now if a person not with the same level of authority will log in with the root user details then they might have negative intentions. Hence, it becomes very important to disable the login with the root user feature. It is one of the greatest security measures and will keep your VPS host secured from unnecessary hacking instances due to irresponsible login. 

3) Keep the admin account most secured-

 An administrator account should be named in a way that cannot be easily guessed. Like keeping the username of the admin account as “Administrator” can be so easily guessed and invites a hundred times more attacks on your VPS server host. Always try to choose the toughest name for the admin account username. 

But not only the username, but the password should also be chosen very carefully. Use the perfect blend of a mixed case, numbers, special characters, foreign words, etc. to keep the password highly strong. A strong password keeps your VPS server safe from brute-force attacks. 

4) Keep the latest version of the software- 

When you work with the old version of any software then the chances of attack increase exceptionally. This brings the need to keep the software updated and try to work on its latest version only. For this, you can keep the process to the automatic stage. A CMS helps you in keeping track of the latest software and its updates. You will then feel no need to keep track of yourself. 

5) Control the VPS server logs –

Keeping track of the operations of the VPS server is of no harm. It is highly suggested to keep track of all the ongoing server logs. When you keep track of the server logs then you are pre-informed about some upcoming issues and can be prepared to handle them much before they happen.

Once you will start tracking the server logs, you will get to know more about resource usage, traffic density, user interactions, technical errors, etc. This will bring you more close to your business and helps you in analyzing issues with a broader perspective. 

6) Set up your own firewall-

Although the Linux-based operating system has a world-class pre-installed firewall, still it’s safer to set up your own firewall. A firewall helps in managing the database in a better way and makes integration of control panels easier.

A firewall configuration provides solid security for your VPS and enhances your skills at managing firewall settings simultaneously. It can be easily added to the main firewall and then tracks your website, database, etc.

7) Keeping a backup is a must-

A VPS hosting provider will keep a backup for all your server belongings still keeping a backup would be best for other security purposes. Now there are hosting packages that provide online as well as offsite backups just like Go4hosting cheap VPS server hosting package.

8) Use SFTP to transfer files-

Using the FTP protocol for transferring files online sounds easy but is not very secured. SFTP way of sending files from servers to any online platform. Configuring the FTP protocol is very easy but is not the preferred protocol for transferring files online.

9) SSL certificates –

SSL certificates will help you in getting such notifications as shown above…

SSL certificate is the best way to maintain a relationship of trust between the server and the client. It does not interfere with your privacy and keeps your data safe. It also keeps your login details safe and your files less prone to be corrupted while any kind of transfer.

10) Maintain a User Account Policy-

Setting up a user account policy manual helps your VPS server in many ways. This becomes more important when your website is a type where there is frequent multiple user access. The policies can be such as you can restrict empty passwords, keeping a lockout policy, disallow reversible encryption, session timeout due to inactivity. 

Such steps will help you in maintaining your VPS host optimally. Don’t just settle with the default settings, keep on trying new things to make your VPS host more secured. 

Managing your own VPS host will provide more satisfaction and in-depth knowledge. So try to implement the above-mentioned security steps and let us know that what changes were felt.

Have questions?

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    Alibaba Cloud

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    Cyfuture Ltd.

    The Cricket Barn
    Tiverton
    Exeter
    EX16 8ND

    Ph:   1-888-795-2770
    E-mail:   [email protected]