For those of you who might have missed my tweets about it, I was recently a guest on the official cPanel Podcast. I introduced you to the cPanel podcast some time ago, via podcast 212 of the Web Hosting Show. It was a real honor to be asked to appear and give my views on podcast, the web hosting industry and of course cPanel.

You can listen to the interview here:

I really like what they are doing over there – and the more unique content the web hosting industry gets, the better off we are all going to be.  Make sure you drop them an email at podcast@cpanel.net to let them know you enjoyed the show – and to continue the great work they are doing!

We all complain day after day.  We complain about little things.  We complain about big things.  We complain about things that do not make any sense.  In web hosting, the main thing we complain about is the relationship between a web host and a customer (or vice versa depending on which side of the fence you are on).  Today, we have a very special guest that will help us all curb our complaining habits.

Meilena Hauslendale personal development author, and has been providing life guidance and insight for over 11 years.  She has published six books and in those books, her style of writing really gives the reader a step by step guide to achieving success.

Her most recent book, Stop Complaining: Your Guide to Living Life Instead of Complaining About It, really brings home the idea that you can live a much happier life if you curb your unproductive complaining and how to really redirect your energy towards bettering your life, rather than depleting it.

On today’s podcast I talked with Meilena one-on-one about not only her projects but the frustration we sometimes have when it comes to web hosting and customer relationships, or the other way around.

You can check out more of Meilena’s work on iMotivate.org and also you can pick up her book Stop Complaining: Your Guide to Living Life Instead of Complaining About It at Amazon.com.

Hope you enjoy this special edition of today’s show.  I hope it serves as a reminder that we don’t need to get all stressed out and worried about silly situations in the web hosting world.  There is always a better solution, you just have to go out there and grab it. 

What things do you complain about when it comes to web hosting or web development these days?

On today’s show we have The Planet’s General Manager of Storage and Data Protection, Rob Walters, to discuss cloud storage.

Download the Web Hosting Show, Episode 188!
Running Time: 8 minutes | File Size: 3.60 MB

Here are some of the topics we cover in today’s interview:

• What is and what are the benefits of cloud storage?
• How is The Planet’s cloud storage business different?
• Why is creating the “shortest path” between clients and servers important?

There are five things customers should evaluate when choosing a cloud platform.

• Performance – It is important that you match the platform with the performance needs for your application.  Many cloud storage platforms only provide 2-3 Mb/sec, which is fine for most backup and archiving use cases, but is likely not sufficient for production data.  It is also important to run multiple tests and measure the variability between tests, as cloud storage platform performance can be inconsistent.
• Ease of integration – The ease of user access is critical to product adoption in web applications.  Most cloud storage products provide proprietary APIs for integration.  This means you will need to specifically develop for that cloud storage platform.  This makes integration more difficult and increases switching costs.  Check if the platform offers any standards-based integration software that allows access via CIFS, NFS, FTP or HTTP.
• Where you want your data – Most cloud products do not offer specific locations for data to reside.  In fact, these companies offer the data “in the cloud” as if “the cloud” were a location rather than an access medium.  While in many cases the physical location of data is unimportant, there are occasions when being able to select a location is beneficial.  For instance, if you are building a disaster recovery plan; working to reduce download times for a specific customer; or attempting to pass strict security audits, then where data resides is critical.
• Flexibility – One of the most appealing features of cloud storage is the flexibility of its on-demand design, which manifests itself in two primary traits: scalability and elasticity.  Most cloud storage products should free you from the task of capacity planning, hardware budgeting and upgrading.  Capacity is available on-demand, as required.  Watch out for commitments for minimum usage levels as these can negate this inherent benefit .  Cloud storage products should provide elasticity, with capacity that grows as your business requires, and scales back as soon as this excess capacity is no longer needed.
• Usage-based billing – Paying only for what you use is certainly appealing.  The primary aspects on which to judge the pricing of a cloud storage product should simply be: how much storage capacity you used and how much bandwidth was used to access your data.  Keep a sharp eye out for “hidden” fees, because in many use cases they can add up quickly to be as much or more than the primary elements of your bill.  “Hidden” fees to watch out for include: connect fees, account maintenance charges, and “puts” and “gets” charges.  Cloud platforms should offer simple and predictable monthly bills.

More Interesting Links from The Planet:

• The Planet’s Ever So Excellent Blog
• The Planet Provides Highest Performing Cloud Storage
• The Planet’s Storage Cloud Infrastructure Explained

For the second show in a row, we have the chance to talk with one of the big names in the web hosting game, so I hope you tune in to hear more about cloud storage and how The Planet is serving it up to you.  If you would like to come onto the show to talk to the entire hosting industry about what you do, how you host or anything else be sure to drop me a line at mitch@mitchkeeler.com.

Those questions, and many more, will be answered for you on this week’s edition of the Web Hosting Show.

Download the Web Hosting Show, Episode 187!
Running Time: 5 minutes | File Size: 2.14 MB

Here are some of the questions we will cover in today’s interview:

• Why does Fasthosts centralize around reseller hosting?
• What is the biggest misconceptions about reseller hosting?
• What unique reseller hosting tools does Fasthosts provide?
• What is the history behind Fasthosts?
• Is reseller hosting a good way to make some money?

Also here are a few resources you might want to check out after listening to the interview:

• Fasthosts.com
• Fasthosts Reseller Tools

Thanks to Steve for joining us on today’s show. If you would like to come onto the show to talk to the entire hosting industry about what you do, how you host or anything else be sure to drop me a line at mitch@mitchkeeler.com.

On today’s show I am going to speak with Aplus.net’s CEO Phillip Spencer on what exactly they do and his own views on the web hosting world.

Download the Web Hosting Show, Episode 183!
Running Time: 6 minutes | File Size: 2.55 MB

Here are some of the questions we will cover in today’s interview:

• What is Aplus.net and how long have you been around the hosting industry?
• For those who have not been to your web site, this question might be a little out of the blue, however – who is Jeff?
• Looking back at the past few years, in what ways do you
  see the hosting industry changing?
• You also have a blog. As one of the few hosts that do this, do you feel it has hurt or helped your business?
• If somebody out there is looking for a web host, could you give me a quick reason why they should turn to Aplus.net?

Also here are a few resources you might want to check out after listening to the interview:

• Aplus.net’s Official Web Site
• Aplus.net’s Blog

Many thanks to Phillip for being on today’s show. If you would like to come on and speak to the entire web hosting industry, feel free to contact me at mitch@mitchkeeler.com.

Download the Web Hosting Show, Episode 178!
Running Time: 12 minutes | File Size: 5.58 MB

Here are just a few of the questions we covered:

• How long has Axsys hosting been around and what type of services do you provide?
• What is your own history inside of the web hosting business?
• What advice do you have for others looking to make a mark or maybe get started in the web hosting business?
• Do you have any personal pet peeves when it comes to competing with the bigger names of the hosting world?
• What other projects do you have other than Axsys Hosting right now?

If you want to learn more about Axsys Hosting, be sure to visit their web site at axsyshosting.com. Also, while you are in the browsing mood – be sure to check out these other sister sites:

• http://www.AxsysTechGroup.com
• http://www.AxsysDesignStudio.com
• http://www.BuildMySiteTonight.com

Many thanks to Ken for being on today’s show. If you would like to come on and speak to the entire web hosting industry, feel free to contact me at mitch@mitchkeeler.com.

Download the Web Hosting Show, Episode 168!
Running Time: 8 minutes | File Size: 3.33 MB

On today’s show, I got the chance to speak with Aric Pedersen, who works tech support for the Netenberg company.  If you have ever wondered how Fantastico got started, or how you could get your own scripts included in this legendary cPanel add-on, this podcast is for you.  We also cover other services Netenberg offers to the hosting industry, Fantastico 3, as well as what make Fantastico unique in comparison with some of the other “one-click” install scripts out there.

For those of you who may not know, Fantastico is an add-on for cPanel put out by the fine people at Netenberg.com.  With more than 10,000 installations, it provides more than one million end users the ability to quickly install dozens of the leading open source content management systems into their web space.

Now, some people may say, “Why not just install the scripts you need yourself?”.  While that may be an alternative for seasoned gurus like myself, or some of you out there, new people to the web hosting game sometimes need a helping hand.

It integrates with your cPanel and gives you and your web-hosting customers the ability to install multiple instances of any of these scripts:

• in add-on domains
• in subdomains
• in top level directories

How does Fantasico stand up to other third party script installers? Check out this handy comparison chart to find out more information about that.  I am all about making the world of web hosting and web mastering easier, and Fantastico has been helping in that effort for years.

So if you want to know more about this company and the tools they provide, stay tuned – because this will be your kind of podcast.

Download the Web Hosting Show, Episode 167!
Running Time: 9 minutes | File Size: 3.82 MB

On today’s podcast I am lucky enough to have the Vice President of Business Operations of SmarterTools Inc, Jeff Hardy.  From going through their services to ask him why he thinks these tools would be helpful to your web hosting or small business, I promise to leave you at least knowing more about this excellent web services company.

SmarterTools defines itself as an information technology management software company.  They build applications to simplify, automate, and really just make our lives easier.  Founded in 2003, the company is (in at least my opinion) one of the top web hosting script and service companies too.

How can I say that?  Well, thankfully I don’t have to.  Their services do the talking for them.  Here are their main products.

• SmarterMail - SmarterMail Windows mail server is the cost-effective Microsoft Exchange alternative. SmarterMail provides antispam/antivirus out-of-the-box, reporting, events/notifications, throttling, email archiving, and more.
• SmarterTrack – SmarterTrack brings all the functionality of a Help Desk, a Ticket System, Live Chat, WhosOn, Cost Analysis, Data Mining, Reporting, and a Knowledge Base in one software application—delivered through one elegant Web interface.
• SmarterStats – SmarterStats log analytics delivers detailed website statistics for a single website or up to thirty thousand websites across a distributed network.

To find out more about the company, what they do and how they can help you, check out SmarterTools.com.

They specialize in support for small, medium and large hosting companies.

Download the Web Hosting Show, Episode 166!
Running Time: 10 minutes | File Size: 4.44 MB

On today’s show I am luck enough to get to talk with the co-founder and Director of Bobcares, Sangeetha Naik. Want to know what they are all about, who they get the most business from, and how they feel about their type of services versus freelance contractors, this is the podcast for you.

Bobcares promotes itself as somebody who works on your business as much as you do.  With services ranging from phone support, to help desk and server administration – they have left no stone unturned when it comes to a variety of different support options they provide.

What Services Can They Provide to Me?

Just looking over their help desk service options, they provide support for WHM/cPanel, Parallels, Helm, H-Sphere, Ensim, Webmin, Alabanza, WinPanel, DirectAdmin, Cobalt RAQ, and DonHost.

With phone support, they offer 12 to 24 hour support, and the ever-important overnight option, so you can catch some sleep while they keep thing under control.  Server management varies from hourly services to monthly, with everything covered in between.  They also specialize in Virtual Private Server (VPS) support too.

Another secret jewel of theirs I found was the blog, you can check out the Bobcares blog here: http://bobcares.com/index.php/blog/

Want to give them a shot? Try out their FREE, no obligations 7 day trial and see what Bobcares can do for you.  Also be sure to let them know that the Web Hosting Show sent you there.

Download the Web Hosting Show, Episode 162!
Running Time: 8 minutes | File Size: 3.03 MB

Here is how the Association of Internet and Hosting Service Providers is described from the official web site’s front page:

We represent an innovative collaboration of industry providers, from small Web hosting proprietors to major software vendors and consultants. We aim to instill a spirit of cooperation within hosting and related industries and achieve meaningful representation for our shared interests in the public sphere.

After listening, if you are interested in learning more, check these links out:

• AIHSP Membership Section
• AIHSP Community Forums
• AIHSP – 14 Long-term Goals

Personally, I am fully behind any organization that promotes the success of the hosting industry as a whole.  The AIHSP looks to be on the right track.