What
is "virtual web hosting"?
In
order for a website to be viewed on the Internet, the web site
must reside on a host computer (World Wide Web server). Virtual
Web Hosting gives your web site a home on our web servers to
establish your presence on the internet. Our servers are always
on and always connected to the Internet 24 hours a day 7 days
a week. Our servers are constantly monitored so your site is
always active and protected.
A
Virtual Domain is the ability to have your own domain (http://www.yourname.com)
without the expense of costly server hardware and software.
With a Virtual Domain, you utilize our server's storage space
while still being professionally represented with your own personal
Internet web address with your own personal domain name (www.yourname.com).
This presence is only enhanced with
the use of your own personal e-mail addresses at your domain
name.(yourname@yourname.com).
Can
I access my site with or without the 'www'?
Unlike
some of our competitors, with our services you can access your
site with both (www.yourname.com) and without (yourname.com).
What
steps do I need to take to setup an account?
Simply
sign up with us by filling out our online
order form.
Does
it matter which ISP (Internet Server Provider) I use?
Any
ISP is fine (e.g. EarthLink, AT&T, IBM.net, etc...).
As long as you have an Internet connection you will be able
to access our servers to make updates to your site.
My
ISP already gives me some web space, why do I need your services?
Your
ISP will not provide you with your own domain, multiple
custom e-mail accounts, or any of the other
features we
offer. Typically ISPs who offer web hosting have slow connections
because of all of net congestion created by the dial-up users.
This is the very reason we do not offer dial-up Internet.
What
version of Perl do you use?
5.00404
Do
you host foreign domains?
Yes,
we host all types of domains foreign and domestic.
Do
you host pornographic or hacker sites?
No.
There are no exceptions to this rule.
Do
you allow me to send mass unsolicited e-mail?
No.
Sending a newsletter or information that is requested is acceptable,
but unsolicited spamming is not.
How
can I make payments on my account?
Currently
Masterpiece Hosting only accepts checks and money orders. We
have no plans of accepting credit cards, at this time. This
helps keep our pricing plans more economical and affordable
for our customers. Your account can be set up for a no charge
trial period before you buy. We are sure you will be very satisfied
with our service and we are ready to prove it.
When
you say annually, do you mean pay for twelve months in advance
or pay monthly for one year?
You
must pay the full year in advance to receive the yearly discount.
What
does it cost to transfer a the domain name?
There
is no fee for transferring your domain with Network Solutions
or us.
Do
you charge additional fees for using the mySQL database?
No.
It is included at no charge with all of our plans.
How
long does it take to get my account setup?
Most
accounts are setup the same business day. Often within an hour
or two. Once setup, an activation notice will be sent to you
via e-mail that will include your new username, password, IP
address and all start up information. Of course if you have
any questions or need any help, contact us at anytime.
Who
is Network Solutions?
Network
Solutions is an independent organization responsible for holding
the registration and routing of Internet domain names. They
are the self-proclaimed "dot-com people".
Does
your system support Macintosh systems?
Yes.
We recommend the Fetch program or our own web-based file manager
to transfer files from your MAC System to our system. You can
also use Telnet and POP e-mail programs such as Eudora, Claris
E-mail and Netscape Mail.
Are
your severs connected 24 hours a day, 7 days a week?
Yes.
They are always connected and always monitored so your site
is always up and running.
What
web server do your servers run?
We
run Apache 1.3.6.
What
are your server types:
We
use UNIX. Linux Red Hat
Why
do you use UNIX and not NT?
UNIX
is more reliable. Please refer to these articles that back this
claim up:
UNIX
vs. NT 4.0 Service Pack 3 from an experienced
user: http://www.zdnet.com/sr/columns/sjvn/980528.html
UNIX
vs. NT 5.0 with detailed comparison:
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/content/inwk/0513/305389.html
What
do Auto-responders do and are they included? How many?
An auto-responder
is similar to an alias. It will also send an automatic reply
to the sender of an e-mail. You have an unlimited number of
Auto-responders at no additional charge with all Masterpiece
Hosting plans.
What
programs can be used to access my e-mail accounts?
All
POP clients can be used. Any program that downloads the files
from our server onto your computer. You can use mail user agents
that run on our servers (such as Pine, Elm, Netscape Mail,
or even Hot Mail) with a special configuration. You cannot
use IMAP programs.
What
are e-mail aliases and are they unlimited?
An
e-mail alias is used to send e-mail and other collected data
to an e-mail account that you have created on your domain. The
e-mail or information can be forwarded to one or multiple recipients
depending on the disbursement structure that you personally
create. You will receive an unlimited number of aliases with
all Masterpiece Hosting plans.
How
can I manage my e-mail users?
To
add, delete or update POP boxes, your personal Mail Manager
is located in your control panel at:
http://yourdomain.com/menu/
Do
you have a database system?
We
use mySQL.
Do
you have FTP and FTP Anonymous access?
Yes,
we provide both FTP and FTP Anonymous access.
Do
you have a limit on the FTP transfer?
No,
There is no limit. You can update your pages an unlimited amount
of times, at any time you wish. FTP updates do not count
as bandwidth transfer.
Do
you use SSL technology?
Yes,
we use Apache-SSL. It is several times more secure than Netscape
SSL.
Can
I run two cron tasks to update pages daily?
Yes.
Are
your virtual servers able to work with old and text-mode browsers
such as Lynx, or will users with those browsers not find our
index.html when putting in only www.yourdomain.com?
Our
servers are truly virtual. You are assigned your own dedicated
IP address on the web server. They do work well with Lynx and
other older browsers.
How
many client sites are put on each web server? Do you move sites
to different servers if a given server has a high load? Is this
monitored?
The
number of client sites on each server does vary according to
load. We do occasionally move clients according to demand. Our
goal is to keep the peak CPU load for each server below 10%
on all machines. This helps all of our customers and keeps loads
to a minimum at all times.
I
would like to know if you support VRML 1.0 and 2.0 mime types
wrl and mus?
Yes,
we do support these. You can set your own mime types with your
.htaccess file or in the mime types in the control panel.
We
already have our own custom web statistics applications, so
what we really need is the raw log files, not just summaries.
Does each virtual server have its own log files?
Yes,
you have your own raw log files.
Do
you provide a CGI-BIN personal directory for CGI/PERL Programs?
Yes,
a CGI-BIN is provided for custom programs.
What
is CGI access?
CGI
scripts (Common Gateway interface) are used to provide applications
such as counters, form responses, guest books, and many others.
These are available to you at no extra cost. You can use your
own personally written scripts, install someone else's
(as long as there is no copyright infringement), or use one
of our pre-installed CGI scripts. Please be sure to take a look
at these great scripts that are free for your use.
What
cgi scripts are pre-installed?
pgpmail.pl,
formmail.pl and count.cgi
Which
languages are supported in CGI?
Bourne,
Shell, Perl, and Java are all supported and available.
Do
you offer backward compatibility browser detection?
Yes.
Do
you offer server-side-includes?
SSI's
are included on all our accounts.
