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Web Hosting - Bandwidth and Server Load, What's That?
Two key performance metrics will impact every web site owner sooner or later: bandwidth and server load.
Bandwidth is the amount of network capacity available, and the term actually covers two different aspects. 'Bandwidth' can mean the measure of network capacity for web traffic back and forth at a given time. Or, it sometimes is used to mean the amount that is allowed for some interval, such as one month. Both are important.
As files are transferred, emails sent and received, and web pages accessed, network bandwidth is being used. If you want to send water through a pipe, you have to have a pipe. Those pipes can vary in size and the amount of water going through them at any time can also vary.
Total monthly bandwidth is a cap that hosting companies place on sites in order to share fairly a limited resource. Companies monitor sites in order to keep one site from accidentally or deliberately consuming all the network capacity. Similar considerations apply to instantaneous bandwidth, though companies usually have such large network 'pipes' that it's much less common for heavy use by one user to be a problem.
Server load is a more generic concept.
It often refers, in more technical discussions, solely to CPU utilization. The CPU (central processing unit) is the component in a computer that processes instructions from programs, ordering memory to be used a certain way, moving files from one place to the next and more.
Every function you perform consumes some CPU and its role is so central (hence the name) that it has come to be used as a synonym for the computer itself. People point to their case and say 'That is the CPU'. But, the computer actually has memory, disk drive(s) and several other features required in order to do its job.
Server load refers, in more general circumstances, to the amount of use of each of those other components in total.
Disk drives can be busy fetching files which they do in pieces, which are then assembled in memory and presented on the monitor, all controlled by instructions managed by the CPU.
Memory capacity is limited. It's often the case that not all programs can use as much as they need at the same time. Special operating system routines control who gets how much, when and for how long, sharing the total 'pool' among competing processes.
So, how 'loaded' the server is at any given time or over time is a matter of how heavily used any one, or all, of these components are.
Why should you care?
Because every web site owner will want to understand why a server becomes slow or unresponsive, and be able to optimize their use of it.
When you share a server with other sites, which is extremely common, the traffic other sites receive creates load on the server that can affect your site. There's a limited amount you can do to influence that situation. But if you're aware of it, you can request the company move you to a less heavily loaded server. Or, if the other site (which you generally have no visibility to) is misbehaving, it's possible to get them moved or banned.
But when you have a dedicated server, you have much more control over load issues. You can optimize your own site's HTML pages and programs, tune a database and carry out other activities that maximize throughput. Your users will see that as quicker page accesses and a more enjoyable user experience.
Movie Copyright Law College Students Are Being Targeted For Breaking Movie Copyright Law Many people have taken up the hobby of downloading movies and songs on the Internet and sharing them with their friends and family online. However, this is direct violation of the movie copyright law. Not surprisingly, the biggest violators of the movie copyright law are students. It is not surprising that the movie industry sector is sending out copyright infringements claims to college universities around the country. One reason that college students may be the hardest hit when it comes to violations brought against them for infringing on movie copyright law is that they are not aware of how serious a crime it truly it. Many college students who have suits brought against them are shocked, to say the least. They question why they were not warned about the perils of downloading movies and songs online and passing them along to friends. However, with the rise of claims that are being handed down, no one can claim ignorance for much longer. Word is being spread near and far that if you are engaging in illegal downloading and/or sharing then you can be brought to court. College students are learning the hard way that it is against the law and in violation of the movie copyright law to share or download copyrighted material. Many colleges and universities are now stating in their handbooks that it is against the law and the university rules to illegally download movies, music and other forms of media online using a school computer. In addition to illegal downloading and sharing software, the files take up space on the computer systems and use a considerable amount of bandwidth. While most universities and colleges will not look at the content an individual has -- they can isolate and identify the individuals who are hogging up the bandwidth by using illegal file sharing software. The movie and music industries have stepped in and are demanding restitution for illegally downloaded movies, music and other forms of copyrighted media. They have detection agencies that have the technology to identify and trace copyright infringements straight to their source. Once the computer is located they can notify the university or the college that they are in violation. The university will be told that they have a copyright infringement claim against them. Based on the Digital Millennium Copyright Act once the computer is isolated Internet access is terminated to that computer and court proceedings can begin. Does this sound far fetched? Well, it is not. You should know that in April of 2003 four students were sued by Recording Industry Association of America. These students attended Princeton, Michigan Technical University and Rensselear Polytechnic Institute. One student alone had an estimated liability of $150 billion. When you consider that you can be charged $750 per song that is illegally downloaded, the total can add up fast! The good thing is the lawsuits against the college students were settled for amounts less than $20,000. That is not pocket change for college students – or anyone for that matter! Movies and music are meant to be enjoyed. However, illegally downloading movies and music is not much different than walking into a video store and sticking DVDs and CDs in your pocket. Be careful. You do not want to be caught violating the movie copyright law. Copyright music consecutive notes Copyright Music, Consecutive Notes, and Fair Use When it comes to copyright music, consecutive notes, and lyrics are all covered under the blanket of copyright protection. Once you've registered your copyright you have legal recourse should someone steal or 'borrow' any part of your music without permission. Just so you understand, most of sites online that you visit when checking out the lyrics to your favorite song are actually infringing on the copyright of the author and the recording artist. Not only are the sites that offer lyrics guilty of infringing on the copyright music, consecutive notes and all so are the sites that offer written music, chords, and tabs. It is not legal to use any part of the song that isn't covered by 'fair use' without the express permission of the holder of the copyright. It makes things a little difficult for most people and it is often hard for many to distinguish what qualifies as fair use from what is actually copyright infringement. Copyright music, consecutive notes included keeps artists paid as most of them live on royalties rather than fat cat advances, fair use will not take those future payments from the authors for the sake of personal entertainment. Fair use was once thought to mean that if you weren't making money from the copy or use of materials then it was allowable. This is one of the arguments that was used when defending massive file sharing servers, the defense however falls flat of the law. It is illegal to share copyright music, consecutive notes, lyrics, tabs, chords, or any other part that is part of the music and covered by copyright. The fact is that the only case where the copying of music is clearly allowable is when used for non-profit education and educational research, for the purpose of criticism, commentary, and news reporting. According to the letter of the law ripping your CDs is an infringement of copyright. The result of massive file sharing has prompted new laws to address the problem and provide a more clear definition of what is not allowable as far as copyright music consecutive notes and any other part of a song are concerned. According to the amendments you must have the express permission of the performer to fix the sounds or images into any type of phonorecord, to transmit these sounds to others, or to offer to distribute, sell, or rent any of the copyrighted material. That about sums up file sharing in a nutshell and clearly establishes the practice as illegal. Artist copyright music consecutive notes, lyrics, and performances in order to protect those things from abuse, misuse, and to protect their interests. While some may be artists that perform for the sake of the art, most of them are not independently wealthy and need the income that results from the sales of their music. Many have families to feed as well as fabulous lifestyles. Regardless of their inherent needs for the funds, they've provided a service (entertainment) that we place a certain value on and they deserve to get paid for the services they provide. The copyright music, consecutive notes, new music, and future music depends on people honoring the spirit of current music copyrights. If you haven't noticed entertainers are more often than not interested in the money that is their reward for entertaining. If that wasn't the case, NFL players wouldn't make more money than many corporate CFO's. You might also have noticed that players and entertainers often stop playing and entertaining when they do not think they are getting what they are worth. If you don't recall, the NHL skipped an entire season a few years back over salary negotiations. This, more than many things, should drive home the point that if things such as copyright music consecutive notes and otherwise aren't respected and observed our favorite performers will stop producing new material for us to enjoy. |