Need help understanding Software and servers.

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Hi, I need help understanding the whole software/server thing. I have a general idea that a software can be hosted on a server on a far away land (like Texas for hostgator dedicated servers) and that all users can log in remotely from their computers on the other side of the world to access the software. Is that right? Would a server in Texas and a user in Australia for example, be fine? Or would there be some lag and more connectivity issues than usual when accessing the software? Would it be more convenient to setup the server closer to the user's location? And would it be just as easy for the software developers to manage the software no matter where the server is?

Also, if you were a software start-up, would you prefer to have your own servers at your office or would you lease the from a web server host like hostgator? Of course, I would imagine that if the servers were at your office you would need to have a super fast connection so your users can access the software faster with less lag, right? Also, you would need some tech people on-site whereas hostgator would handle all the hardware troubleshooting issues themselves?

Sorry for all the questions. I must sound like a complete idiot posting on the software forum, but I'm trying to understand my friend's business better.

If it's more complicated it would be awesome if someone could give me a call to explain this whole thing to me. I'm kind of confused. PM me if you have time to talk. I live in the US by the way.

Thanks!
#programming #servers #software #understanding
  • Yes, assuming their country does not block it.

    Yes, but fine for what? If your user base is in Australia, then use a server based in Australia.(faster)
    That's part of the point of the "cloud" such as Amazon and others. They have multiple locations around the world so when a user is on the site the nearest server serves up the website.
    Have your server where most of your customers will be. If it really is world wide, use a company that can serve up your site/assets from around various parts of the world. 1 server in Texas will be slower then something like Amazon Cloudfront, Rackspace and others.

    A little worrisome that your asking questions about servers but your a potential software company? Don't get me wrong, just seems a little odd that a company/individual could develop software but not understand servers intricately.[/QUOTE]

    Neither one.
    Use a VPS from a good VPS company, not hostgator. Hostgator is ok, but if your going to use a VPS, don't use hostgator....I don't even know if they even offer a VPS anyways.



    A lot depends on what type of scale your talking about.
    I would not buy or setup your own server (in the office).... why not let experts handle that.
    Just use a reputable VPS company. And, a VPS can be scaled easily.

    These are a couple decent ones.


    VPS.net
    Westhost.com
    • [1] reply
    • Thanks for the info. I'm not very knowledgeable on this whole software thing. I am mostly just helping him out with putting together graphics for media kits, etc, so I'm trying to at least have an idea of what I'm in. So you recommend a VPS at first, and not a dedicated server? I was looking at the prices for the sites you listed and they are pretty good. Anyway, thanks!
  • There's definitely opinions regarding VPS versus dedicated.

    The problem with dedicated I've seen is scaling.
    How much do you need? (rhetorical question)......

    You either don't get enough or you have too much.
    VPS allows you to scale seamlessly by adding what you need (speed, storage, etc....)
  • UNIX(or LINUX) is MADE to be networked and accessed remotely. Windows is more problematic. as for the lag? We are talking perhaps a couple seconds TOPS, and most processing is done LOCALLY. Generally you enter everything LOCALLY, and clock or hit return and it is sent to the server. GOOGLE is a kind of server. You enter the search string LOCALLY, hit return, the server takes the info and sends you back a response page.

    The roblem is NOT the server. TODAY, it is not even the software. It is the CONNECTION.

    Software can be simple or complicated, as can servers.

    Steve
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    Need help understanding Software and servers.

    Hi, I need help understanding the whole software/server thing. I have a general idea that a software can be hosted on a server on a far away land (like Texas for hostgator dedicated servers) and that all users can log in remotely from their computers on the other side of the world to access the software. Is that right? Would a server in Texas and a user in Australia for example, be fine? Or would there be some lag and more connectivity issues than usual when accessing the software? Would it be more convenient to setup the server closer to the user's location? And would it be just as easy for the software developers to manage the software no matter where the server is? Also, if you were a software start-up, would you prefer to have your own servers at your office or would you lease the from a web server host like hostgator? Of course, I would imagine that if the servers were at your office you would need to have a super fast connection so your users can access the software faster with less lag, right? Also, you would need some tech people on-site whereas hostgator would handle all the hardware troubleshooting issues themselves?