- Selection of a site for a web presence is dependent on various requirements that are discussed below. Since the World Wide Web is really world wide, the choice of a site is not always as clear-cut as it may seem. You may want to maintain the site at the location where it is created, or you may locate the site at a remote location that meets more of the requirements of the users.
- 1.1 What Local Internet Communications are available?
- A web site requires a link to the internet. A site that requires a high speed connection to the Internet will need a location that is close to the point of presence (POP)59 of the local communication services. If your location is a good distance away from the POP then the cost of the connection may be more or the local company may require a longer contract in order to get the connection made. The following document explains how you go about locating a provider and what kind of a contract you may obtain.
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- 1.1.1 Locating a Communications provider that you can communicate with.
- In order to connect to the Internet a source of communications must be found. Long distance communication equipment is expensive and the most cost effective option usually involves contracting with a local communications company to connect to a service provider. The most likely source of service is a local long distance carrier. A local company will have the resources and the system most likely already installed to provide you with a service such as ISDN, T1, or T3(45,000,000 bps) if you need this much speed.
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- 1.1.2 Locating an Internet Provider.
- Once you have located a suitable communications provider, you must find an Internet service provider. If you are in a location that already has an Internet presence a good approach is to communicate your needs to the local Internet provider. The local provider already has a connection to the Internet and should be willing to help you with your web site.
- 1.2 Acquiring a domain name.
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Domain names are constantly being created to make it easy
to find a web site on the Internet. Each of the domain names that is created
must equate to at least one IP address on the Internet. Often one address
will have numerous domain names because users wish to have their own domain
name. This is the case with Internet mail servers on the Internet such
as FREEVIEW.COM1.
In addition to using different names for the same address it is becoming
even more common to have several IP addresses for the same physical machine.
These "vanity IP's" are created so that each domain name will be a different
address and contain a different default web page. Most web servers are
configured to produce a default web page when they are contacted with no
specific page specified. This requires that a different IP be used for
each connection; since no page is specified the machine will check the
IP address to determine which page to serve to the user. One easy way to
quickly check to see if the domain name you wish to use is already being
used is to submit the name on http://www.tabnet.com2.
Domain names are only registered at the second level (example indiana.edu).
If you are interested in learning more about Domain names take a look at
InterNIC's DNS
Background Materials.
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You can also request registration of your domain name online with InterNIC. - Domain names are being created at the rate of about 17,000 per a day.
- The bandwidth that is required for your web site is dependent on many different variables. If the purpose of your site is to serve a large number of users and if the site is "hit" frequently, you will need a fast connection to the Internet. If your site is used to provide users with large files such as graphics, you will need a large bandwidth so that each user is not waiting a great deal of time for the information they require. If the site is for a small subset of the Internet such as an Intranet for an organization then possibly a slower connection such as ISDN would be quick enough.
Edited Last: December 12, 1997
