WEBDEV Concepts

Part 8: HostingWEBDEV sites 231 Which type of server to choose? The table below presents the benefits and drawbacks of different types of servers. Regardless of the type of server, a deployment license is required for each server. Each server hosts one or more dynamic WEBDEV sites (in Session or AWP mode). Server Benefits / Drawbacks When to use this server? Shared Main benefits: • Lower cost. • Server managed by the hosting company. Main drawbacks: • Memory resources shared by all the sites found on the server. • If a site is locked, all the sites found on the server are locked. • Stand-alone executables can rarely be used. • Non-secured access to data: Unauthorized people can access the data: the hosting company and possibly other clients if the server is not configured properly. Tip: encrypt the data files to avoid any unauthorized use. A shared server is recommended for: sites with few hits (up to 20 or 30 simultaneous connections) • sites requiring little memory (no large calculations performed on the server), • Sites in startup phase. Dedicated Main benefits: • The server resources are available for the sites installed on this computer. • Custommanagement of data download: • replication by emails, • WDREPLIC, • copy of files by FTP. Main drawbacks: • High cost. • Server entirely managed by the client in most cases. A dedicated server is recommended for: • sites with many hits , • sites that require a lot of disk space and memory, • sites that manage sensitive data, • dynamic sites.