Is there any benefit to the consumer to settle for a shared IP hosting account?

Why would there be a faster ping time on a shared IP server, but the pages load more slowly than the same pages on a server with a dedicated IP but a slower ping time?

Please help me sort this out!

Thanks,

Armanda,

While I can't really answer the second part of your question, although ping time doesn't test the speed of the server only the speed of the network connection to that server, therefor a site could have a fast ping time yet be an old slow server.
In answer to the 1st part of your question, the only benifet to using a shared IP (Name Based) hosting is price, it is normaly cheaper than static based IP hosting.

Caislanders,

Thanks for the explanation. I visually saw one move faster than the other yet have a slower ping time. Can you recommend a book or web site to become more knowledgeable about servers?

Thanks,
Armanda

Also, I think we have a problem with terminology.

All servers have a dedicated IP. We couldn't access them if they didn't. It's possible the concept of static and dynamic ip assignment is muddying the waters here.

The idea of a shared or dedicated server refers to how it's managed. The IP has nothing to do with it. Are you the only person on the server, or does the server host many domains? The server can identify domains by name or by ip address, but that does not effect the speed.

Processor speed and installed memory will influence server response, but more than anything else is the through-put the host company as well as the server can handle. Does the server have a single network card or a multiple card configuration. What kind of lines is the host company supporting and how is traffic being routed. And, last but not least, what kind of traffic load is the server under. Clearly, if you are the only one on the server, traffic will be 'comparitively' lower and it, in theory, will be faster. In theory. There are many factors involved in this question.

I was using a shared server on a site for five years and traffic was as fast as anything on the net. The host was bought out by another company and performance tanked. On the other hand, I have a couple sites on a dedicated server and most days it just flies. But during heavy traffic performance can slow as the single nic card strains toward capacity.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Phineus
[B]Also, I think we have a problem with terminology.

All servers have a dedicated IP. We couldn't access them if they didn't. It's possible the concept of static and dynamic ip assignment is muddying the waters here.

Yes, I understand that part. I have many customers hosted with Interland. Some on legacy servers from Innerhost that seem to perform well., others on the "new" Blue Halo shared IP servers that are not performing so well. The sluggish performance coupled with a day or two where ftp access to the servers was down, sent me hunting for a new provider.

Processor speed and installed memory will influence server response, but more than anything else is the through-put the host company as well as the server can handle. Does the server have a single network card or a multiple card configuration. What kind of lines is the host company supporting and how is traffic being routed. And, last but not least, what kind of traffic load is the server under. Clearly, if you are the only one on the server, traffic will be 'comparitively' lower and it, in theory, will be faster. In theory. There are many factors involved in this question.

I don't have the answers to theses questions.

Thanks for helping me out!

AJ

> Now, we'll see how much I don't know.

Ah ha, but see, you know enough.

> Interland

There's your problem. Dump them as fast as you can. In short, they stink. Sorry, there's no other way to say it. You can talk server set up and configuration all day and all night but until you ditch those guys the problems won't go away.

I am precluded by the "non-offensive language" policy to discuss my real opinions but I am on my way to dumping Interland.

Have you heard of www.hostmysite.com? I have one site there that is running quite well. Any opinins or suggestions? ASP enabled is a must!

Thanks,
A

Armanda,

What is your sites domain name that you have on

hostmysite.com. If I use them I`ll put you down as a referral

so you can get a month free.

Bigair,

I have www.remax-ideal.com there and on a dreaded Interland server as well. To date it is performing much better on hostmysite.com. I looked through the reports today and found them to be ok. Their menu flickers a bit and they scroll hits etc in a box in the upper left of the screen. I think the scrolling and flickering are related.

I want to have this site there for about a month and see if any issues arise. Actually, the Remax site is broken into two parts with two distinctive looks. You can see the other "look" at www.remax-ideal.com/ReMax/default.asp

Much more information and pictures to come. If you look at the site and see glaring mistakes, please let me know. Just so you know, I had nothing to do with the staff pictures, they were a leftover from a previous designer.

If anyone has other suggestions on hosting, bring it on. I want to make an informed decision before I move my customers.

'night all,
A-

If you want to know more about servers, get yourself a copy of the Cisco handbook. It has everything you could possibly want to know about the subject.