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Web Hosting - Redundancy and Failover Among the more useful innovations in computing, actually invented decades ago, are the twin ideas of redundancy and failover. These fancy words name very common sense concepts. When one computer (or part) fails, switch to another. Doing that seamlessly and quickly versus slowly with disruption defines one difference between good hosting and bad. Network redundancy is the most widely used example. The Internet is just that, an inter-connected set of networks. Between and within networks are paths that make possible page requests, file transfers and data movement from one spot (called a 'node') to the next. If you have two or more paths between a user's computer and the server, one becoming unavailable is not much of a problem. Closing one street is not so bad, if you can drive down another just as easily. Of course, there's the catch: 'just as easily'. When one path fails, the total load (the amount of data requested and by how many within what time frame) doesn't change. Now the same number of 'cars' are using fewer 'roads'. That can lead to traffic jams. A very different, but related, phenomenon occurs when there suddenly become more 'cars', as happens in a massively widespread virus attack, for example. Then, a large number of useless and destructive programs are running around flooding the network. Making the situation worse, at a certain point, parts of the networks may shut down to prevent further spread, producing more 'cars' on now-fewer 'roads'. A related form of redundancy and failover can be carried out with servers, which are in essence the 'end-nodes' of a network path. Servers can fail because of a hard drive failure, motherboard overheating, memory malfunction, operating system bug, web server software overload or any of a hundred other causes. Whatever the cause, when two or more servers are configured so that another can take up the slack from one that's failed, that is redundancy. That is more difficult to achieve than network redundancy, but it is still very common. Not as common as it should be, since many times a failed server is just re-booted or replaced or repaired with another piece of hardware. But, more sophisticated web hosting companies will have such redundancy in place. And that's one lesson for anyone considering which web hosting company may offer superior service over another (similarly priced) company. Look at which company can offer competent assistance when things fail, as they always do sooner or later. One company may have a habit of simply re-booting. Others may have redundant disk arrays. Hardware containing multiple disk drives to which the server has access allows for one or more drives to fail without bringing the system down. The failed drive is replaced and no one but the administrator is even aware there was a problem. Still other companies may have still more sophisticated systems in place. Failover servers that take up the load of a crashed computer, without the end-user seeing anything are possible. In fact, in better installations, they're the norm. When they're in place, the user has at most only to refresh his or her browser and, bingo, everything is fine. The more a web site owner knows about redundancy and failover, the better he or she can understand why things go wrong, and what options are available when they do. That knowledge can lead to better choices for a better web site experience.

Copyright lawyer complaints Complaints, Copyright Lawyer Complaints and Clients There are many copyright lawyer complaints, from both the lawyer and clients, but here is a list of what are the most popular. That’s right clients aren’t the only one that can have a complaint, even lawyers get them. Imagine working in an office all day representing people. You have to deal with the worse crowd some days, other days are a piece of cake, but it is the person that comes in demanding that you get them what they want right then and there. This person gets mad once the lawyer explains the process and ends up storming out of the office. Now the lawyer is left, angry and without pay. Wouldn’t this fall under a copyright lawyer complaints? As a client you have the choice of picking another lawyer; however a lawyer doesn’t have this option. They need you in order for them to get paid; they aren’t going to turn you down just because you are a bit obnoxious. Another copyright lawyer complaint may also be towards the clients, lawyers hate to work a case that others have already tried…or worse one that the client has tried himself without legal representation. To avoid this, hire a lawyer before you go to court. Don’t think you are an expert in the field just because you read a few articles or have seen a few cases on copyrighting on the television. One of the biggest copyright lawyer complaints is that the client didn’t know that the lawyer was going to charge something. This is one reason you should find out before agreeing to anything what it is you, as a client, will be paying. You don’t want to find out after the trial that you owe a huge amount of money to a lawyer that you don’t have the cash for. A copyright lawyer complaint may be that their client doesn’t have the proof they need for a case. This can be easily solved by the client if they took the proper precautions, however chances are they didn’t or they wouldn’t be needing a lawyer. Try keeping all your work in a safe place with dates stamped on them to prove when they were created. This doesn’t guarantee you that you will win a case but it can help your lawyer. Last, you, as the client didn’t know much about your copyright lawyer, complaints were filed against him in the past but you had no knowledge of them. Maybe he just lost your case because he gets angry at the drop of a hat and just showed it in the courtroom, or maybe he just didn’t return your phone calls and you had no clue when you had to be at a hearing. This will only fall back on you for not looking into him/her enough. There are a ton of resources out there, use them. Don’t just pick the first name you see. If you think that you have a case against your lawyer you can always file a claim. The best way to avoid copyright lawyer complaints is by making sure both parties are satisfied with the experience. If you are the lawyer, find out in the first meeting what your client expects of you and as a client find out what it is your lawyer will be doing for you so you don’t make assumptions. Making sure everyone has a clear understanding of what shall take place is the only way to have the best experience. Remember, a happy client means a returning client and more customers. But a client with a bunch of copyright lawyer complaints is bad for business.

Web Hosting - When Changing Web Hosts Nearly everyone will want to change to a new web host at some point. It may involve just changing out old hardware for new. It usually means finding an entirely new web hosting company. When faced with that decision there are a number of issues to be considered. Swapping hardware and/or software is a fairly straightforward decision. There are two possible scenarios. Either you maintain your own hardware and software at a facility managed by others, or you are considering upgrading to newer (usually more expensive) systems maintained by others. In either case, it's simply a matter of estimating the cost and the short-term impact versus the long-term benefits. If the system(s) you currently use are short on capacity, sooner or later you'll be sufficiently motivated to make the change. Either the hardware will become unreliable or loaded to the point you'll be forced to migrate, or your needs will expand enough to justify the effort and expense of moving. Similar considerations apply to the scenario in which you rely on the web hosting company for everything, and want to find someone else to rely on. Regrettably, that's a very common situation. Many web hosting companies provide systems and staff that sooner or later fall below an acceptable level. Most people make the decision to change based on emotion. That's not entirely bad. Emotions incent you to take action. But you need to keep a cool head, too, in order to calculate your long-range self-interest. Bearing some minor inconveniences from time to time is usually worth the trade off. When it begins to affect your site to the point you're losing visitors, it's time to make a change. To get a more objective handle on when that point is reached, reach for some numbers. Maintain, or get from the hosting company, a factual report about availability and current usage. If the server is down so much, or so heavily loaded, that it drives your visitors away, it's time to take action. There are other less easily quantifiable but equally important factors, as well. You will at some point need to communicate with one or more persons who help maintain your site. Even if you do all your own server, database and web site maintenance, someone behind the scenes is helping to keep things running smoothly. That's called 'infrastructure'. If the road you drive on has potholes, it's not enough that you can fix your own car. In terms of network bandwidth and availability, server capacity, disk space, security and a whole array of other aspects, the web hosting company has to have competent people who care (and are allowed) to do the job well. When the company's people fall down - because of incompetence, lack of resources or absence of a culture of excellence - or for any other reason - your web site suffers. This issue more than any other is what drives people to seek another web hosting company. Even if you choose well at the outset, things can change. Management changes, staff changes and companies are taken over by other companies. Sometimes, it isn't simply a matter of swapping out an unreliable piece of hardware or software. When it's time to swap out people, you look for the same aspect: doing the job required.