Java Web Hosting - FAQ
What's the difference between shared and private Java web hosting?In a private hosting environment each customer is given their own Java server (in our case Apache-Tomcat 6) with which to run their Servlets Java Server Pages (.jsp) and other Java applications. In a shared hosting environment all customers share one Java server.
The main benefit is in memory allocation. In a shared environment all customers are using the same memory space. If one customer has a memory intensive application it reduces performance for all customers. If one customer has a memory leak all customers code fails on that one customers out of memory exception.
With private Java hosting each Tomcat server runs in its own memory space. You have control over what happens in that space including stopping and starting the server which if available at all usually requires a work ticket to tech support in a shared environment.
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What's the difference between the various amounts of RAM offered?The default setting for Tomcat is 64MB of RAM. Its the default because it is more than enough memory for almost every application. If you code properly and don't waste memory (i.e. put an entire table into a result set instead of asking for the lines that you need) you will not need more than 64MB.
Your site may require a larger heap if it is very data intensive such as if it simultaneously loads multiple result sets of thousands of rows. If your site gets a very high amount of traffic (50K+ page views per day) to dynamic (JSP or Servlet) content you may also need a larger JVM.
When in doubt we recommend choosing the smaller JVM - its a two minute fix to increase your memory if need be.
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I see Virtual Private Servers with 64MB of memory for prices similar to yours. What gives?Those are hosting companies with an interesting sense of humor. When we offer 64MB of RAM its the amount reserved for your Tomcat. All of the other uses on the server (starting with the kernel itself and including everything else running) do not count towards the reserved RAM - they're powered by 2GB of RAM outside of that reserved for the Tomcats.
VPS is a container on a server in which a virtual computer is created. Each user gets their own container / computer. When a VPS host offers 64MB they are providing 64MB total. Everything that is put onto the virtual server - including the OS - runs in that 64MB. Its as if they sell you a car you go to turn it on it doesn't start and the salesman is standing by the car saying "Oh did you want an engine with that?".
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How do I transfer my domain from another server?Its a simple four step process.
- Sign up for Java Web
Hosting. At this point your current server will still be serving your content to the public.
- Copy and paste two lines from the quick start e-mail that you will receive from us into your computers hosts file. Your computer will
now connect to your new server rather than to your old server.
- Upload your site to the new server.
- Contact your domain name registrar to change your A record so that it points to the new server. Allow 24 to 48 hours for the new
record to propagate throughout the Internet and then cancel your old server.
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What if I don't have a domain name? If your server is for internal use only (public access not needed) use
your-name.dom .
For your server to be accessed by the public requires a domain name. We recommend (and use ourselves)
1and1.com for domain name registration. They have a great feature set and at $8.99 per year they sell domain
names retail for less than we can buy them wholesale.
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How many domains may we put on our account?You may put an unlimited amount of domains into your space at no additional charge.
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How much server maintenance do you provide?All of it. We see to it that server is secure and that all applications are current. We do an off-site server backup each night. We provide
complete tech support to the extent that we will help you deploy your applications if you run into difficulty. We provide a 100% managed
environment - you need only write and load your code.
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Will you provide applications other than those listed?Yes - just ask. So long as the program is open source and is not designed for bad purposes (cracking spamming etc.) we will install it
for you.
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How long will it take to setup my Tomcat server?The process is completely automated. It generally takes between 5 and 15 seconds from the time that you press the button on the purchase
form.
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Do you offer a money back guarantee?Yes. If for any reason you are dissatisfied cancel within the first seven days for a full refund. Also please keep
in mind that we only charge on a month to month basis - you're never on the hook for more than the current months charge.
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How long do I have to sign up for?Our plans are all quoted month to month. We don't ask that you sign up for multiple years to get our best prices.
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How do I access my Tomcat server?Access is provided via control panels and FTPES (FTP over explicit TLS/SSL). The control panels are browser based and we provide and support
a GNU FTPES client.
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Do you provide SSH access?SSH is problematic on a server with Java and more than one user. Java is human readable either directly (JSP) or with decompilers (any class). It is difficult to impossible to maintain chroot jails especially when people are running code within their space. Without jailing, any user could walk the file system reading everyone else's code (or if someone were careless with their space, worse). It's a security risk with which we are not comfortable.
Instead we've built widgets that give you complete control over your space and your Tomcat but without the direct command line interface. If you find something that you cannot do, we'll build a widget to handle the task.
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Can we stop and start Tomcat as often as we would like?Yes. You have complete control over your Tomcat. There is a widget that you use to stop, start, restart or kill your Tomcat.
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How many application contexts are we allowed?You may run as many applications as you would like.
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Can we use MySQL connection pooling?You have complete control over your JVM and Tomcat including MySQL connections. We provide a JDBC driver for convenience or you're welcome to load your own.
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Are PHP and Perl available on the server?Yes. The latest version of all major scripting languages are built into the server.
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Is HTTPS / SSL available?Yes. There is an additional $3 per month to pay for the dedicated IP address and $19.95 per year for the SSL cert.
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Can we setup cron jobs?Yes. There is a control panel for cron jobs. You may have as many as you like with no restrictions on how often they may run.
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What if I need tech support?We offer live tech support 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Our support personnel are all experienced Tomcat users and Java programmers.
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What are the server specifications?Our servers run Fedora 10 x86_64 SELinux on an Intel Quad Core system with 8GB of memory and SATA RAID arrays. Your Tomcat 6 server is behind a
virtual host on Apache 2.2 and includes a private MySQL database and access to all web processors (perl PHP Apache ASP etc.). Other database management
systems (PostGreSQL etc.) and / or any open source server scripts available at no charge.
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Do you support Hibernate? Yes all of our plans support Hibernate ORM. More information is on our
deploying Hibernate on Tomcat page.
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Do you support Struts? Yes all of our plans support Apache Struts. More information is on our
deploying Struts on Tomcat page.
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Do you support Spring? Yes all of our plans support Spring. More information is on our
deploying Spring on Tomcat page.
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Do you support Stripes? Yes all of our plans support Stripes. More information is on our
deploying Stripes on Tomcat page.
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Do you support Liferay?Our Tier Three plan supports Liferay. More information is on our
deploying Liferay on Tomcat page.
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Do you support Java Server Faces?All of our plans support Java Server Faces. More information is on our
deploying Java Server Faces on Tomcat 6 page.
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Do you support ICEFaces?Java Web Hosting supports ICEfaces in Tier Two and above. A Tier One Tomcat will not run with ICEfaces deployed. More information is on our
deploying ICEFaces on Tomcat page.
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Do you support Cocoon?All of our plans support Apache Cocoon. More information is on our
deploying Apache Cocoon on Tomcat 6 page.
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Sounds great, how do I sign up?Click to
sign up for Java Web Hosting.
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My question wasn't answered, what now?If your question wasn't answered please call us at (800) 450-2750 (US and Canada toll free) or (215) 654-8150 or
e-mail Sales@StrategicServicesGroup.com.
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