Technical Stuff
Return to Main Index We take pride in our commitment to providing the highest quality, most flexible,
and most competitive Web Hosting Services available. When you place your website on our
machines you can be assured that people around the world will have consistent, reliable
access to your website 24 hours a day.
This is a test...
Our computers are Pentium II Dual Pro 400 and 450 machines running Apache
over Linux. You will be able to access and manage your website on our machines using
Telnet and FTP or Fetch. With our PlusMail Web Control you can even
perform some management functions using your web browser. Our servers are connected
to the Internet backbone over Multiple T3 Connections, each of which has a capacity of 45
MBPS (million bits per second).
What’s Your Level?
Okay…if you read the above paragraph and understood every word of it
then you qualify as an advanced user. You will probably only need to use this manual
as a reference tool to look up specific information. If you cannot find the
information you are looking for here, please feel free to contact us at support.
If you read the paragraph and understood some of it but not all,
then you will probably want to take a little time to review a few things before diving
in. You will find the comprehensive Index a useful tool for tracking down the
information you need, when you need it.
Finally, if you read the paragraph and found it to be total gibberish,
then it is strongly recommended that you take the time to read the explanations and
instructions in this manual before you begin a new task that you are unfamiliar
with. If you are completely unfamiliar with Telnet and FTP, and have no desire to
learn about them, you might want to go directly to the PlusMail Web Control
section. The PlusMail Web Control will let you control virtually every aspect of your web
presence from your web browser.
If you need to perform tasks that require you to use FTP or Telnet, or
if you would just like the general knowledge of what they are, then you should read
the section titled The Novice WebMaster.
It will give you a basic, but clear idea of what you will be dealing with, and take some
of the mystery and confusion out of it all.
We have made every effort to cover all the bases in this
manual, and make it as complete and informative as possible. However, please keep in mind
that if you cannot find the answers you are looking for here, you should feel free to
contact us at support.
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The Novice WebMaster Ftp? Telnet? Unix? Linux?!!!
HUH!?
Chances are pretty good that you access the Internet using a browser
program. Chances are also pretty good that you use some version of Netscape,
Internet Explorer, or something very similar to those two biggies. You may be
wondering why I mention this cause, gee, is there any other way to access the Internet??
You gotta have a browser…right?? Well…no. You don’t. In fact, the gigantic,
feature laden browser programs most commonly used today are just one type of program that
you can use to surf the net. Granted, they provide the most visually appealing view of the
Internet, and they are the most fun and entertaining to use with their image and sound
capabilities. They are, in fact, largely responsible for turning the Internet into a place
where people from all walks of life around the world now go to play, work, shop and
learn.
Browsers are not the only programs you can use to access
the Internet, they are certainly not the first, and, depending on what your needs and
tasks may be, they are not always the best program to use either. After
all…your email program is great for email. But it isn’t necessarily the best
tool to use if you want to write a book. Your browser is great for viewing the
Internet, but it is not always the best tool to use for managing a website. For
that, you will want something simple, fast, and basic that will let you upload, download,
and access files on your site quickly, easily and with a minimum of fuss and frills.
Telnet and FTP are the two tools that fulfill these needs best.
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Telnet
Telnet is a program that emulates a computer terminal, allowing you
to view information on site rather than downloading it to your personal computer for
viewing. This is extremely useful if you need to view large amounts of information, such
as all the files and folders on a web site, or a library catalog for example. Imagine how
long it would take for you to download a web page containing the entire catalog of book
titles from just a city library! With Telnet, you are able to actually view the
information on the library site, eliminating the download time.
Telnet is not graphics capable, does not play sound files and is not
one tiny bit entertaining. But it is the best tool to use for certain tasks. You
will have a white screen with black text, much like the old DOS screen only in
reverse. And, again like DOS, you will need to type in your commands. If you
use Windows you will have a Telnet program already on your system. Go to Start, Programs,
Run, and type the word "telnet" (no quotes) into the window.
FTP
FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. Like the name implies, it’s
main purpose is to make transferring files from one computer to another as fast and easy
as possible. And it is very good at it’s job! Unlike Telnet, FTP is not a
program. It is instead a "protocol" just like http is a protocol.
Your browser program uses the http (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) for viewing, reading,
and translating HTML into the bright and colorful interactive web pages you see on your
computer screen. In order to use FTP you will need a program such as WS-FTP for
Windows, or Fetch for Macintosh users.
Visually, you will not see either the imagery of a
browser, or the blank white screen and black text of Telnet. Instead, if you are using
WS_FTP, you will see two panels, each with folders (also called directories) and
files displayed. One panel will contain the folders and files on your computer. The other
panel will contain the folders and files on the site you are logged into. If you are using
Fetch, you will see something a bit different.
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Linux and Unix
An OS, or "operating system" is the program you use to operate
and run your computer. By far the three most universally used and recognized by the
average lay surfer are Windows in any version from 3.x to Win 98, NT, and Macintosh.
Linux, and Unix are both operating systems as well. They don’t have, or support, all
of the bells and whistles of the more popular operating systems, but that’s not what
they are meant for. These two operating systems are for serious stuff…for fast
and dynamic data transfer…for allowing one computer to talk to others quickly and
smoothly. Not for personal entertainment. This is why server computers and many
other types of businesses use Unix and/or Linux operating systems. They aren’t
pretty, but they are smart, they are stable, and they are fast.
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Appendix: Helpful Links
The following are sites on the Internet which we have found to be
helpful:
The
Web Developer's Virtual Library
A great resource for all things HTML.
The CGI Resource Index
A vast selection of CGI Scripts (free and for pay).
Directory Guide
A guide to many of the directories on the Internet.
Black Coffee
Applications, resources, and source code for Java users and
developers.
Gifpile
A huge selection of artwork for your webpages.
Notice Some of
the text referring to CGI scripts was taken directly or adapted for our use from ReadMe
files provided by the script designers. Many thanks to the folks at Matt's Script Archives
for their excellent documentation!
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