Traceroute
Data traveling from our servers to your computer will pass through many different computers and ISP networks. A Traceroute is a chart which shows all of these interconnections. It can be a useful tool in diagnosing faults and we will sometimes ask you to do one and send it to us in a support ticket.
How to do a traceroute
If you are having problems connecting to your web site it is very helpful to us if you include a traceroute in your support ticket. The following instructions are for Windows XP but also work with previous versions of Windows and Windows 2000 or 2003:
Click on the Windows start button and then Run
In the run box type the word command and press OK
In the black screen which appears type tracert followed by your domain name, then hit return. Make sure you replace www.hostroute.com with your actual domain name.
A list of all the computers carrying data between your computer and our server will gradually appear.
Right click on this and choose select all
Now go to your support ticket, right click with your mouse and choose paste and this information will be pasted into the ticket.
What sort of systems do you use?
Our latest servers are deployed on rackmounted chassis with Intel Core 2 Duo processors and a minimum of 2GB of RAM, to ensure that however busy your site is our servers are able to take the strain.
What backups do you run?
We store daily, weekly and monthly backups of each web site we host so in the event of a hard disk failure we can restore all sites quickly. We will be rolling out off site backups to a new back up site in Paris during 2008.
What operating system are your servers running?
Our premium web hosting plans are hosted on servers running Apache web server under CentOS Linux. This is a highly stable operating system, integral to our aim of achieving 100% uptime for your web site.
What sort of DNS system do you run?
We use a distributed DNS system with primary name servers in the USA and UK.
Many hosting companies run two name servers on the same server as your web site. You can spot these companies because they will give you DNS server names like dns12.hosting-company.com and dns13.hosting-company.com. This is insecure, because if the web server goes down the DNS needs to propagate out when the system comes back on line.
Our DNS system continues to work regardless of any issues with your web site.
Some hosting companies will put two name servers on different physical servers in the same data centre. This is not sufficient because if they have servers in more than one data centre and the line to the first location goes down, all the sites they host will disappear from the internet.
Even having two name servers in different countries is not always enough if both are set to update from each other. When one goes down their is the risk that the other will update incorrectly.
By updating from one central server we avoid this problem. The master DNS server is protected by a firewall and sends updates to the servers that broadcast the DNS information to the Internet. This prevents the master zone file information being corrupted by worms, trojans or other exploits. In the event that the master DNS server fails we have a backup machine running in parallel.
Some of our competitors think this system is overkill, but you should take this as an indication of how seriously we treat the business of hosting your web site.
Can you change my MX record?
Yes, we can change your MX record so that your email is directed to another mail server.
If you choose this option it will disable all your email accounts at Hostroute.com.
Why is your bandwidth not “unlimited”?
When we set up Hostroute, we wanted it to be the most reliable and honest web hosting company on the Internet. Many companies quote “unlimited” or “unmetered” bandwidth allocations, but in the small print you will find that they have the right to remove your site without warning if you are using too much bandwidth. Put simply, this means they have a limit but they are not prepared to tell you what it is. They need to have this clause because bandwidth (or data transfer) costs money. The telecom companies that provide internet connectivity charge for every GB of transfer on their networks and many “unlimited companies” have found that they cannot sustain their service without regularly removing accounts.
Hostroute has a proper, sustainable business model which offers high bandwidth allocations to all our customers. We tell you how much bandwidth you have and give you a meter (in your control panel) to monitor your use of it.
