As the internet as grown and evolved over the years, so too have the options available for website owners when it comes to web hosting. Whether you’re launching a new website or looking to switch hosting providers, it’s important to understand the different types of web hosting available and their pros and cons. In this article, I will provide a comprehensive overview of web hosting, the different types of hosting available, and the pros and cons of each.

Introduction to Web Hosting

At its most basic level, web hosting is the service that allows you to make your website accessible via the internet. Think of it as renting space on a server where your website files are stored and served to visitors. When someone types your website URL into their browser, the server sends your website files to their device, allowing them to view your website.

Web hosting providers offer a range of services to make this possible, from shared hosting to dedicated server hosting. Each type of hosting has its own unique features and benefits, as well as drawbacks. Understanding the differences between the various types of hosting is critical to choosing the right solution for your needs.

Types of Web Hosting

There are three main types of web hosting: shared hosting, VPS hosting, and dedicated server hosting. Let’s take a closer look at each of these options and what they offer.

Shared Hosting

Shared hosting is the most common type of web hosting and is best suited for small to medium-sized websites that don’t require a lot of resources. With shared hosting, your website is stored on a server along with many other websites. This means that your website shares server resources, such as CPU, RAM, and disk space, with other sites on the same server.

Pros of shared hosting include its affordability and ease of use, making it a great choice for beginners. Shared hosting plans typically come with a user-friendly control panel that allows you to manage your website and server settings. Additionally, most web hosting providers offer 24/7 support to help you with any issues that may arise.

However, shared hosting also has its drawbacks. Since you’re sharing server resources with other websites, your website’s performance may be affected by other sites on the same server. Additionally, shared hosting plans typically have limited resources, which can lead to slow loading times and downtime during periods of high traffic.

VPS Hosting

VPS hosting, or virtual private server hosting, is a step up from shared hosting. With VPS hosting, your website is still stored on a shared server, but you’re given a guaranteed amount of resources, such as CPU, RAM, and disk space. This means that your website is less likely to be affected by other sites on the same server.

Pros of VPS hosting include its increased performance and scalability. Since you have dedicated resources, your website is able to handle higher levels of traffic without slowing down. Additionally, VPS hosting plans typically come with more advanced features and customization options than shared hosting plans.

However, VPS hosting is also more expensive than shared hosting and may require more technical expertise to set up and manage. Additionally, since you’re still sharing a server with other websites, your website’s performance may still be affected by other sites on the same server.

Dedicated Server Hosting

Dedicated server hosting is the most powerful and customizable type of web hosting. With dedicated server hosting, you’re renting an entire physical server for your website. This means that you have complete control over the server’s resources and can customize it to meet your exact needs.

Pros of dedicated server hosting include its unmatched performance and flexibility. Since you have dedicated resources, your website can handle even the highest levels of traffic without slowing down. Additionally, you have complete control over the server’s software and hardware, allowing you to customize it to meet your exact needs.

However, dedicated server hosting is also the most expensive type of web hosting and requires a high level of technical expertise to set up and manage. Additionally, since you’re responsible for the entire server, any issues or downtime must be addressed by you or your team.

Choosing the Right Type of Hosting for Your Website

When it comes to choosing the right type of hosting for your website, there are a few key factors to consider. These include:

• Your website’s size and traffic levels
• Your budget
• Your technical expertise
• Your need for customization and control

If you’re launching a small website with low traffic levels, shared hosting may be the most affordable and user-friendly option. However, if you’re expecting high traffic levels or need more advanced features, VPS hosting or dedicated server hosting may be a better choice.

Ultimately, the right type of hosting for your website will depend on your unique needs and goals. It’s important to do your research and choose a reputable hosting provider that can meet your needs and provide the support you need to succeed.

Conclusion

Web hosting is a critical component of launching and running a website. By understanding the different types of hosting available and their pros and cons, you can choose the right solution for your needs and ensure that your website is accessible and performing at its best.

Whether you choose shared hosting, VPS hosting, or dedicated server hosting, it’s important to choose a reputable hosting provider that can provide the support and resources you need to succeed. With the right hosting solution in place, you can focus on growing your website and achieving your goals.

Apache Log4j 2, a Java-based logging library developed by the Apache Foundation, is used by numerous enterprise-class applications and cloud services to provide advanced logging capabilities. Depending on if you currently utilize a Managed, or UnManaged service, you may be vulnerable to this newly found Zero day Exploit. For customers who enjoy the benefits of a Managed service, such as our Managed VPS, Managed Dedicated Hosting, or Shared hosting users, you have nothing to worry about, as our services where patched the moment it was available. For anyone Self-managing their services, now is the time to update if you have not already.

On November 24, 2021, Alibaba Cloud’s security team reported a Log4j 2 remote code execution vulnerability to Apache. The exploit takes advantage of some Log4j functions that perform recursive analysis. Which, with specially constructed malicious requests, attackers can trigger remote code execution.

The vulnerability impacts default configurations of several Apache frameworks, including:

• Apache Druid
• Apache Flink
• Apache Solr
• Apache Struts2

In Apache Log4j2 versions up to and including 2.14.1 (excluding security releases 2.3.1, 2.12.2 and 2.12.3), the JNDI features used in configurations, log messages, and parameters do not protect against attacker-controlled LDAP and other JNDI related endpoints. An attacker who can control log messages or log message parameters can execute arbitrary code loaded from LDAP servers when message lookup substitution is enabled. ^Source

On December 10, 2021, this vulnerability was officially designated in the NIST national vulnerability database as CVE-2021-44228 (also known as the “Log4Shell” vulnerability). This then expanded to several other found, and later patched, vulnerabilities listed as CVE-2021-45046 and CVE-2021-45105.

It was found that the fix to address CVE-2021-44228 in Apache Log4j 2.15.0 was incomplete in certain non-default configurations. When the logging configuration uses a non-default Pattern Layout with a Context Lookup (for example, $${ctx:loginId}), attackers with control over Thread Context Map (MDC) input data can craft malicious input data using a JNDI Lookup pattern, resulting in an information leak and remote code execution in some environments and local code execution in all environments; remote code execution has been demonstrated on macOS but no other tested environments.

CVE-2021-45046

Apache Log4j2 versions 2.0-alpha1 through 2.16.0, excluding 2.12.3, did not protect from uncontrolled recursion from self-referential lookups. When the logging configuration uses a non-default Pattern Layout with a Context Lookup (for example, $${ctx:loginId}), attackers with control over Thread Context Map (MDC) input data can craft malicious input data that contains a recursive lookup, resulting in a StackOverflowError that will terminate the process. This is also known as a DOS (Denial of Service) attack.

CVE-2021-45105

How the Vulnerability Impacts You

Depending on the type of hosting account you have with The Core Hosting , you may or may not need to take action:

Shared, Reseller, and Managed WordPress Accounts

If you have a shared, reseller, or Managed WordPress hosting account, you do not need to do anything. These servers automatically receive frequent updates that include patches for the Log4j 2 vulnerability.

cPanel published an update to mitigate CVE-2021-44228 the same day the vulnerability was announced. For more information, see cPanel’s blog entry.

Managed VPS and Dedicated Servers

If you have a Managed VPS or Managed Dedicated server, you most likely do not need to take any action – your server is updated automatically with patches for the Log4j 2 vulnerability. The only exception is if you have installed any software utilizing log4j outside of cPanel/WHM you should ensure those installations are updated. All software installed and managed by The Core Hosting has already been updated.

cPanel published an update to mitigate CVE-2021-44228(And the subsequent follow-up patches) the same day the vulnerability was announced. For more information, see cPanel’s blog entry.

Unmanaged VPS and Dedicated Servers

If you have an unmanaged VPS or unmanaged Dedicated server, make sure you keep it up-to-date with the latest security patches. If you need assistance with this, our amazing team of support staff is ready to help! We know that this kind of exploit can be dangerous and sometimes hard to correct. So let us assist.

If you use Log4j 2 it is very important to ensure you have updated to the most recent version. The first patch included another vulnerability which required a second patch.

Java 8 (or later) users should upgrade to release 2.17.0 or higher.

Java 7 users should upgrade to release 2.12.3 or higher.

Java 6 users should upgrade to release 2.3.1 or higher

More information can be found at Apache.

For information about how to install updates on unmanaged servers, please see this Knowledge Base article.

The Bottom Line

Heartbleed, Shellshock; The Log4j vulnerability is only the latest in a long line of security bugs. It isn’t the first, and it surely won’t be the last.

If you have a managed hosting account, you can rest assured that we take care of server configuration and updates for you. If you have an unmanaged server however, we highly recommend that your team upgrade as soon as possible, or reach out to our support for help regarding this Zero day exploit.

The appropriate response lies in the purposes behind needing to update in any case. For instance, you might be seeing a large increase in traffic or foreseeing large development soon. Committed servers are perfect for this, alongside their solid improved security highlights and potential positive effect on page stacking times.

In this guide, we’ll explain what dedicated servers are, then compare this type of hosting to other common types. Then we’ll offer some advice on how to decide whether or not dedicated hosting is right for you. Let’s get started!

What is dedicated hosting (and how does it compare to other types)?

Dedicated hosting essentially means that your website has its own server all to itself. It offers immense power and flexibility but usually comes at a premium. As such, it’s important to do your research before looking at going this route of hosting.

For example, most websites start out with a shared hosting plan but soon grow to exceed that shared plan’s limits. Your options here could include an upgrade to a virtual private server (VPS) or a dedicated server. It’s up to you to weigh up the different options.

As you may be aware, shared hosting stores your site on a server with potentially hundreds of others. For personal blogs or very small businesses, this option is sufficient. However, it’s not the best option for performance, and you also lose out on flexibility because you can’t configure things yourself (since you have to share with others).

On the other hand, a VPS gives your site its own space, separate from other sites, while still sharing a server. Since your site is blocked off from other users, its performance will likely be more consistent. You also get a little more flexibility when it comes to how your server is configured.

These types of plans can offer you the speed you need at a lower cost than dedicated hosting, and represent a good middle ground for those looking to upgrade.

However, dedicated hosting is the plan of choice if you need the most power for your money. However, as you’d expect, the downside is cost, and some run up to three-figures per month. Fortunately, by the time your website needs one to handle its traffic, it may very well be worth it.

Why would you need a dedicated server (4 key reasons)?

As we mentioned, dedicated hosting is one of the most powerful server plans available, along with cloud hosting. However, you may be asking whether you need it. Let’s review four reasons you should consider opening your wallet!

1. Your website is growing and needs to be able to handle an increase in traffic

If you anticipate that your website is going to grow quickly, it might be a good idea to opt for a dedicated server now. For example, if your site is still using shared hosting when your traffic spikes, its performance could drop significantly. This can be a slippery slope of higher bounce rates and loss of revenue. It’s important to give yourself time to migrate your site and ‘settle’ its performance before any potential problems arise.

According to FXBlog, your site should be prepared to handle spikes of up to 30 times your normal daily traffic, to account for promotions and special events. If you’re not prepared, your site could crash or otherwise lead to negative user experience (UX).

2. Security is a concern for your website

Security is important for every website, but especially for those handling sensitive information. This could include confidential emails, credit card numbers, or sensitive customer information. It’s crucial to protect this information and your website from viruses, hacks, and other risks.

With a dedicated server, you’re completely in charge of your site’s security. This means you can optimize the features you need for the specific requirements of your website and stored files. Of course, you’re also responsible for how these features are implemented, but this is one of the benefits of flexibility.

However, some hosts offer fully-managed and semi-managed maintenance plans. In a nutshell, you can often specify what both you and your host will be responsible for, which means you can trust an expert with mission-critical functionality while handling all other concerns directly.

3. You’d like your page loading times to be optimal

Your page loading times can have a significant impact on practically all aspects of your website. Slow pages can lead to low engagement metrics and high bounce rates. A dedicated server can help you to optimize this aspect of your website as much as possible.

On a shared server, you won’t have any insight into when the server’s resources are being used elsewhere, which could make your site run slowly. Opting for a dedicated server will guarantee you have the bandwidth you need to enhance your page loading times.

4. Having control over your server is important to you

The final reason you may want to choose a dedicated server over other options is a simple one: control. We’ve alluded to this in previous sections, but dedicated hosting gives you complete responsibility over how you choose to use your server.

For example, you’re even free to choose the server software you prefer. If you favor the resource control of NGINX over Apache, you have the power to do so. Plus, you can adjust hardware specifications and install your own operating system (OS). Because of this, dedicated hosting may be an enticing option for advanced web developers, and those with unique and specific requirements.

When should you opt for a dedicated server?

Now we’ve gone over some of the benefits of dedicated hosting, let’s talk briefly about how to know if it’s right for you. After all, a VPS provides many of the same features, but at a cheaper price.

First, consider whether your site is receiving more traffic. If the numbers are much higher than previously, it may be time to upgrade from your current plan. Your choice will either be VPS, cloud hosting, or dedicated hosting.

All three offer the potential for large bandwidths and fast page loading times. However, dedicated hosting has an edge over a VPS when it comes to security, if only because you have absolute control over how the server runs and operates.

Ultimately, as with many other WordPress considerations, your decision will depend on the specific needs of your website. Certainly, if budget is no concern, you can’t go wrong with a dedicated server. However, much like choosing your very first hosting plan, cost will become a primary concern when making your decision.

Conclusion on what is a dedicated server

If your website is struggling to keep up with an increase in traffic, it may be time to migrate your website to a dedicated server. This is essentially a server that only hosts your site, and not only can it improve your site’s performance, but also enhance your page loading times and help you optimize security.

To quickly recap, here are some reasons why you may need a dedicated server:

1. Your website is growing and needs to be able to handle an increase in traffic.
2. Security is a concern for your website.
3. You’d like your page loading times to be as optimal as possible.
4. You want to have control over every aspect of your server.

Shared Hosting Plans

These are our most affordable and economical web hosting plans. Shared web hosting means multiple users share one physical server and it’s resources. It is recommended for customers that don’t have a large amount of incoming traffic. Almost every tool and modules required for common web applications are pre-installed here.

Advantages of The Core Hosting Shared Hosting

• Very economical. Our most affordable plan
• Our shared hosting is Fully-Managed, This way you do not have to worry about anything server related
• Easy to use cPanel based control panel.
• 400+ 1-click install scripts available
• Our servers run on Raid-10 hardware raids on SSD Drives
• Our servers are optimized to run your site at its optimal performance, and we never overload our servers, so that way there are resources available.
• Easily scale your website to VPS or Dedicated Servers with our no downtime migration process.

Disadvantages of Shared Hosting

• You will not be able to install any modules or programs that require server-side changes
• Since it’s a shared environment, issues with other sites sometimes will affect your site.
• It is not suitable for resource-intensive applications.
• You are not allowed to make any customization that will require server-side changes.

VPS Hosting Plans

A VPS ( Virtual Private Server ) is a shared server platform that mimics all features and functions of a dedicated server. A VPS will have its own operating system and customers will get access with full root privileges. This means you can install anything upon it and can customize the VPS as desired.

Advantages of The Core Hosting VPS Hosting

• You will get access to the server with full root privileges.
• You can choose your OS from the list of supported OS’s
• You can install any applications and can make any server-side changes.
• You can choose a stand-alone server or choose any supported control panels.
• You can upgrade or downgrade the resources anytime.

Disadvantages of VPS Hosting

• You will need a bit of technical knowledge to effectively manage the backend of a VPS server.
• VPS is a shared server platform that mimics all features and functions of a dedicated server. Instead, physical resources are being shared amongst customers. In rare situations, other server hosted on your same node may affect your VPS’s performance. ( depends on the virtualization technique. )

Dedicated Hosting Plans

It’s an actual physical server with real hardware and resources. Techs at our Datacenter will be doing the server provisioning and upgrades. If you want to know more about our datacenters and network, the details are available in the following links.

Advantages of The Core Hosting Dedicated Hosting

• Suitable for high resource-intensive applications.
• Recommended if you are are getting high incoming traffic.
• You can choose to install any OS’s.
• Extreme reliability and performance.

Disadvantages of Dedicated Hosting

• Expensive when compared to our VPS and Shared plans.

I hope now you have an idea about our different hosting plans. If you are still confused about which plan to choose, please contact our sales team and we will help you.

New Shared hosting features

Shared hosting is one of our largest services we provide, and we are always looking for ways to improve the performance of our servers, which of course improves your sites. Over the last few months, our team has researched, tested, and now finally rolled out several new features to this platform.

• Redis Server – For all of our Deluxe and Premium Shared hosting packages, you now have the ability to create, manage, and control your own redis instance. With Redis, you can vastly improve the performance of your websites by allowing you to utilize it as a caching system, rather than file-based or Memcache based.
• PHP 7.3 – We’ve added support for PHP 7.3 so you can now use this newer version which is 10% faster than 7.2, 30% faster than 7.0-7.1, and 3x faster than 5.6.
• Discontinuation of PHP 5.6 and 7.0 – Unfortunately, due to both of these versions now falling into their EOL (End of Life), which means they are no longer provided any type of updates. We will be removing these versions from our shared hosting platform. If you need help migrating to a newer version of PHP, please feel free to contact our support team.
• Cloudflare Railgun – We are proud to announce that we have rolled out our Cloudflare railgun to all shared hosting packages. From your Cpanel account, you can now add your site to Cloudflare, and utilize not only its super-fast CDN, but our included railgun network, built on the Cloudflare platform. (Best part, it’s free)
• JetBackups System – We’ve upgraded our backup system to now include the Feature package JetBackup system. You can now have more control over your backups, restorations, and more.

Lower Dedicated Server prices!

Over the years, we have become great partners with our infrastructure provider, and as such, we are now able to provide our Semi-Managed dedicated servers at an even lower price than before. On some server packages, the price has been lowered by almost half, while still maintaining the fully packed hardware and unlimited bandwidth at high speeds.

If you are looking to make the switch from your VPS service or shared hosting, to a Dedicated Server, contact our sales team today. We can help you make the best decision for what your site or application needs, and what will help you grow.

cPanel price changes

As most of us heard back in June, cPanel was acquired by Oakley Capital, and as such, price changes were going to be in the works. Expanding a bit more on our email last month in august, cpanel price changes went into effect September 1st of this year. These changes go from the standard VPS or Bare metal license to a new “Per-account” system. Depending on the number of individual cPanel accounts you have within your system, it will determine the pricing of your license. Below is a simple chart of the # of accounts Vs the price.

For VPS’s (Cloud)

BareMetal Servers (Dedicated Servers)

If you have any questions regarding the new cpanel pricing structure, or what your new price will be, or even how to lower your cpanel license price. Please contact our support team with all the questions, we will be happy to assist you.

A Dedicated server is the “All In” when it comes to power, security, and control. With a Dedicated server, you won’t need to share resources with anyone else. Here are a portion of the top reasons that individuals pick a Dedicated server over other hosting choices:

Security is a top need

In case you’re maintaining a large online presence, security ought to be a top priority. With most hosting services such as Shared hosting, VPS hosting, and cloud hosting, you are sharing the host machine with tens if not hundreds of other clients. In these scenarios, Security can not be fully maintained by you, as you do not have root access to change important settings to secure the server and your hosted website or applications.

With a Dedicated server, you have full control, and as such, you can set up as tough of security as you need. Root access allows you to install needed security application, Change needed server settings, and maintain full access to all aspects of the system.

You anticipate reliably large amounts of traffic

The measure of traffic going to your site each day is a significant factor in your sites’ presentation. Generally, most site owners calculate their site’s performance on the internet based on the number of people that come to their site. However, if your site becomes sluggish due to hosting services that are just not up to capacity for your site or application, Then it is time to look for something larger.

While a VPS Hosting can be an appeasing solution, For heavily trafficked sites, a dedicated server is a far better solution. Since you maintain full usage of all resources of the server, you never have to worry about others using resources that could be desperately needed for your site.

Faster load times means more visitors

In a similar light to the above, the faster your site goes, the more visitors you will get, and the longer they will stick around. Many articles have been written relating the speed of a site, and the time it takes to load a page, directly correlates to site view time. So the slower your site or application, the fewer time people will spend on site and the more bounces you’ll receive.

With a Dedicated server, you can fine-tune every aspect of the system to give you not only optimal performance but 24/7/365 up-time.

You need a custom solution

Shared services can be severely limited, Not only in terms of available resources but in what you can do. As your website or application begins to grow, you may grow out of the standard programming codes, and move into more unique systems. In these events, the normal channels may not be sufficient.

Dedicated servers give you the ability to do what you need. From installing custom services to creating specific environments for your applications. You have no limitations as to what you can do with a Dedicated Server.

You’re envisioning significant growth

If you have a site that will require major resources in the not too distant future, you may find it best to start out with the type of hosting you’ll need rather than trying to migrate your site to a dedicated server. Other hosting options will allow you to scale up, but there’s a limit to the amount of resources you’ll have access to.