From the desk of: Sam C. Chan

Clarifications on Web Hosting

March 7, 2006

Since 1/17/01, we've been providing web hosting services to our clients. Here are some clarifications on what is covered by the hosting fees. Majority of you can safely skip through this memo and read only the FAQs except below, as virtually all of you never had any issues in this area. If you're concern about the specifics, read on.

A few items to reiterate:

  • Mach 4 Network (formerly Bravo Web Hosting) provides subsidized services for the benefits of our active consulting clients.
  • We have no incentive to gain or retain you as a hosting client.
  • In the past 6 years, a lot had happened on the hosting scene. Outrageously over-priced plans are no longer the norm. It is now very feasible for you to find something comparable elsewhere, and we encourage you to do so.
  • The whole point of hosting with us is to streamline the process, and get low utilization rate, and high performance and reliability.
  • Excessive perennial inquiries regarding the worth for the $5/month fee, and forcing us to justify, compare & explain repeatedly; are automatic grounds for termination of your hosting client privilege, and possibly the general business relationship.
  • This is done in an effort to maintain fairness to our client base, and to humanity.

Commonly misunderstood items of coverage:

  • Administration of the site, including setting new user, updating info, changing passwords/user quotas, etc.
  • Troubleshooting your specific accessibility issues.
  • Troubleshooting your email issues.
  • Maintaining backup of site content, for use in the event of a server failure.
  • Strategic decision making regarding your web presence.
  • Specific web hosting-related techniques and concepts, e.g.: catch-all, bouncing, etc.
  • Advanced DNS issues.
  • Domain name registration/transfer/renewal issues.

These are all considered general IT administration tasks that your firm is responsible for. They're exactly the reasons why we provide the hosting services, so that we can work for you efficiently in those areas, without needlessly frustrating (and costly) hurdles to get through.


An excerpt from Mach 4 Network FAQs page:

 Who is responsible for setting up our email & web site?

You are.

The hosting plan provides you with a virtual server, which comes with storage space and Internet Backbone connectivity. We provide the equipment and services on the host side and we are responsible for keeping it up and running. You are responsible for the all the rest. Assistance for the client side setup, on-going usage, occasional troubleshooting & planning, etc. is available at standard consulting rates.

To perform the roles of hosting administrator and webmaster, you have 3 options:

  • designate an in-house employee,
  • supply your own out-sourced consultant, or
  • simply hire us, especially if we're already handling the rest of your IT tasks.

What kind of tasks is the administrator responsible for?

  • manage your virtual server
  • learn and implement proper email policies & strategies
  • setup email and/or ftp accounts for end-users
  • setup aliases and forwarding
  • actively maintain email system, including catch-all account
  • reset user passwords, allocate user space quota & suspend users
  • combat spam at domain level
  • upload web site to host and keep it up-to-date
  • backup content of website, on local hard drive, or at alternate hosting locations
  • respond to external inquiries (from visitors and the authorities)
  • respond to Mach-4 notices
  • implement security measures at site level
  • troubleshooting
  • monitor services, traffic & space quotas
  • respond to DDOS attacks and other hostile threats
  • coordinate with your local access provider
  • enforce Mach-4 AUP/TOS
  • training end-users
  • publish internal usage policies
  • register and renew domain names
  • project future usage and evaluate new services

See also:

Copyright @2005-2006   Bravo Technology Center  *  Bravo:GO  *  Contact Us