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By: Steve Duell Introduction This information may be used to help you choose an ISP. Note: In this document the term ISP refers to companies that provide any or all of the following; web hosting, dialup services, and/or data storage. General Discussion Choosing an ISP is a long-term commitment and the ISP should be evaluated carefully before deciding to choose them. There are numerous factors that come into the equation and which will rule out many a potential ISP with only a minimal amount of investigation. The choice of ISP is the most important consideration in creating a web site since the services and security it provides will directly affect the usefulness of the site. The ISP choice depends on several factors including the following items that are not listed in order of precedence:
The ISP choice should also avoid certain ISP hosting situations including:
Web site requirements The choice of the type of web server will depend heavily on what the chosen requirements of the web site will be. Depending on the features that are going to be utilized, each of the two most popular types of web servers, UNIX and Windows NT, offer different advantages, and in some cases, the only choice for a solution. After you have determined which web site features will be used immediately with their web site and which they would like to have their web site eventually feature, they could find themselves with a situation where two desired features cannot possibly be served by single type of web server. If this should occur, it may be necessary to split the web site up and have portions of it hosted by the two different types of web servers. Hyperlinks can be used to integrate the web site so that this separation will be transparent to the visitor. Alternatively, you could consider foregoing one of the conflicting features or perhaps using a less powerful version of one of the features that does work on a single web server. Cost The cost of the ISP should be comparable to the services and reliability offered by the ISP. Although there are many inexpensive web hosts, being less expensive doesn't always mean its good and a bargain may not always be a bargain. It is always a good idea to ask for references and then to check with those references about their experiences. Additionally, it is prudent to investigate the price history for the ISP. An ISP with a history of frequently changing rate schedules or whose billing policies are not clearly stated and consistently stable should always be avoided. Security The security needed from the ISP will vary based upon the requirements of the individual web site. For instance, a web site that is strictly "informational" will not need the security levels required by an e-commerce enabled or password protected web site. Web sites that offer an online Chapter membership directory will probably want to consider more stringent security even though the directory could be considered "informational". A very important aspect to question an ISP about is the protection that is placed on their web servers that conduct e-commerce transactions. Ideally, these web servers should not be used to run unrelated software or to host unrelated web sites and they should be kept in a secured location away from other computers and behind locked doors with armed guards. At a minimum, these web servers should be independent of any tasks beyond conducting their e-commerce function and they should also reside on dedicated/authenticated/certificated computers. In most cases, the ISP will only be able to provide a portion of the security needed for a Chapter web site and the remaining security will come from being incorporated into the design of the web site and the administration duties. The ISP should, however, be able to support all normal security measures and should be willing to work with you on any special requirements. The use of a dedicated web server for most Chapter websites would be an unnecessary cost and should only be considered in rare circumstances by Chapters with extensive and very specialized needs. A dedicated web server is far beyond the budget of most local Chapters and should rarely be considered as a viable solution. Reliability The reliability of an ISP should be based on several factors:
Technical Support Technical support consideration for an ISP should consist of two critical aspects; knowledge of the hardware being used and knowledge of the software being run. The ISP should work closely with its hardware vendors to ensure that their equipment is functioning properly and support for any custom hardware that may have been developed for them. Of equal importance is the software that is being run and how it interacts with custom scripts, MS FrontPage server extensions, security protection, updates, upgrades, patches, revision levels, and customizations to their software. Secondary to these levels of knowledge, is the ability for technical support personnel to be able to effectively render their assistance. The ability of the ISP technical support personnel to interact with the webmaster or web committee will vary based on the technical skills of the person interacting with the technical support staff at the time. If working with an ISP technical support staff is difficult, clumsy or non-productive, the ISP should not be chosen. Discounts There may be discounts available for non-profit organizations that are offered by the ISP and these should be considered provided that there will not be any sort of compromise made to either services or security protection. Other discounts may also be available and should also be considered. A good example of this is the common practice of offering a discount for prepaid web hosting. However, before acting on a prepaid web hosting discount, consider that prices may very well drop in the future and that paying too far in advance can occasionally work out to the Chapter's disadvantage. Future Expansion and Security Enhancements It is advisable to discover if the proposed ISP has plans for expanding their facilities or service offerings in the future. A poorly planned transition to a new facility can be the cause of downtime and/or numerous, often unpredictable, other problems with the delivery of the web site's content. If there are definite plans to migrate to a new location, a schedule of the proposed transition should be provided and reviewed. In some cases, it may be necessary for a Chapter web site to have minor maintenance performed on it following a transition from an older web server to a newer one by the ISP. In most cases, the transition will be virtually transparent to the Chapter web site and there may only be a few custom scripts that will need modification. In more extreme cases, it may be necessary to completely republish and reconfigure the web site in order to reestablish the web site's functionality. A good ISP will be able to advise you on making any necessary adjustments. In the wake of the recent terrorist attacks, many ISP are now revisiting their security options and many are performing significant upgrades for their protection. In the process of enhancing this security, there may be occasional downtimes or the Chapter may be asked to change certain security procedures in order to accommodate the new ISP security. The ISP should also be questioned about their confidence in their staff to prevent or recover from cyber-terrorist attacks. Geographical Placement Since the Internet works at the speed of electricity (e.g., the speed of light), the actual physical location of the ISP is usually of no consequence when it comes to the time required to access and retrieve the web site's content. For example, using an ISP that is 2 miles away from where a Chapter hosts its meetings does not mean that local members of that Chapter will be able to retrieve the web content any faster than if the ISP were located on the other side of the country. In essence, closer does not mean faster. What is of importance is the "distance" from the major Internet line carriers. If an ISP is not directly connected to one of the major Internet line carriers, then the web site content will have to be uploaded from the web server into one or more secondary carrier lines before it is delivered to a primary line and from there to the visitor. Known as a "hop", this "uploading" can significantly delay delivery of web content in both directions. Therefore, a premiere ISP will feature a direct connection into one or more of the major Internet line carriers. Equipment Equipment is always an important aspect of choosing an ISP. Which equipment they have chosen to use is usually a good indication of their commitment to service and reliability. The term "equipment" should bring to mind more than just the computers and their telephone connections. When evaluating a potential ISP, equipment consideration should also extend to:
Considering what happened when the Pentium was first introduced and the problem that it had with floating point division, an ISP that is not running the "latest and greatest" hardware does not necessarily mean that they have a lack of commitment but that they may be in the process of performing extensive testing before committing to an upgrade. However, exceptionally old equipment should always be considered undesirable. In conversations with a potential ISP, a reluctance to discuss future plans, unless clearly stated that the objection is based solely on security concerns, should reasonably be construed as an ISP that either does not have future plans or else is not yet given to making such plans in the foreseeable future. Failure to plan for expansion and upgrading should remove a potential ISP from consideration. Summary This document has briefly outlined many of the concerns and considerations that you should consider before selecting an ISP to host your web site. Although not all potential risks and problems have been discussed here, the content discussed within should serve as a good foundation for making a sound decision. |
