Ping Pipe power

RAID is a short form for the phrase “redundant array of independent disks”. It involves having more than one hard drive and most often installing  controller hardware on your server so that the operating system only “sees” one drive. Having RAID on your dedicated server is a good way to protect your data and can help make accessing any single file quicker than when only a single hard drive is used. There are many different levels of RAID you can choose to implement, among the most popular are the following:

RAID 0 – Technically, this level is not true RAID, as there is no redundancy. The disks in a RAID-0 array are partitioned into many sectors, and data is written onto each sector in a striping fashion. There is no redundancy, so if any one hard drive fails the data on it is lost.

RAID 1 – This is when your data is mirrored onto multiple hard drives. The information stored on each disk is identical, so this level of RAID can be thought of as a “real-time backup”. Data can be read from either hard drive, so it speeds up access times when there are multiple users. If any one disk fails it can be replaced and the array will rebuild itself.

RAID 5 – This level of RAID uses three or more hard drives, and provides a higher level of protection and redundancy  for your data if any one disk fails.

RAID 10 – This is a combination of RAID-1 and RAID-0. It allows for quicker access times than RAID-1 alone, while protecting your data.

Server hard drives are mechanical, and as such they do sometimes fail. If your data is important RAID should be in your hardware budget, perhaps with secure backup space also (as another level of redundancy). RAID can be thought of as a form of insurance for your data: you may never have to take advantage of it, but it only takes one hard drive failure to make you wish you had it. It’s best that you order RAID on your new dedicated servers when you place the order. If you wait until after the operating system has been loaded a reformat would be needed in order to have the RAID card recognized by the server. RAID is an available option on most dedicated servers with PingPipe.

VoIP software for Samsung mobile phone is available from the PingPipe client area downloads

The following models are supported: Samsung SGH-G810, Samsung SGH-i400, Samsung SGH-i408, Samsung SGH-i450, Samsung SGH-i458, Samsung SGH-i520, Samsung SGH-i550, Samsung SGH-i550w, Samsung SGH-i560, Samsung SGH-i568, Samsung SGH-i570m, Samsung SGH-L870, Samsung GT-i8510 (INNOV8), Samsung GT-I7110, Samsung i8910 Omnia HD

With this software your clients will be able to use their Samsung mobile phones to make and receive voip calls.

Now the clients you host on your voip dedicated server with with PingPipe can make and receive voip calls on their mobile phone.

VoIP software for most popular Nokia smart phones is available for download in the PingPipe client area.

It’s generally accepted that what .tld extension you choose for your domain name has no basis on where your site appears in search engine rankings. Although this may be true from an SEO standpoint,  from a marketing standpoint having a .com is the best domain extension for brand recognition. Posters agree with us on webmaster-talk:  “The only reason I know that a .com can be better is type “Google” into your browser then hit ctrl and enter. Nine times out of ten you go to the .com, though sometimes it takes you to the .net Sometimes of course, like in the case of Google if you are in the UK you get redirected to the .co.uk (or your Country)”

You can add a new domain name to your account from the PingPipe client area.

With a bit of planning, moving your website to a dependable host is no need for concern.  You can seamlessly complete the migration if you follow a few easy steps:

1) Backup your site content hosted with the “old” provider. Connect to your account there with your ftp client,  download a copy of your website, and save it on your computer.

2) Sign up with your new hosting provider. Choosing webhosting with PingPipe is quick and easy. As soon as your payment is verified setup of your new account will get underway. Once your account is setup you will receive a Welcoming Email with your account details.

3) Visit your domain registrar and add modify the DNS settings of the third and forth nameservers.

4) Upload a copy of the content backup to the new host’s  server. When you choose webhosting with PingPipe detailed instructions are included in your welcoming email.

5) Visit your domain registrar and Delete the nameserver (DNS) information of the “old” host.

It could take up to three days for the DNS changes to propagate, and during that time visitors will be served your website from either the old host’s server or the new server.  It’s recommended to not do updates to your website(s) during that time.  After 3 days you should not see the “old” host nameservers when you do a whois search, and it will be ok to cancel your account with the “old” host.

That way your site will never go offline during the move.  Webhosting with PingPipe includes access to an extensive knowledge base, and friendly support available 24/7.

We are pleased to announce that self managed dedicated servers with PingPipe are now available in Chicago. We’re starting this new offering with our Intel Core 2  Quad Q6600‘s, and including 6000 GB traffic and a free upgrade to a 100 Mb/s port. Quantities are limited for this special offer, order yours today at our single processor dedicated server page.

Many people wonder if they should include the income they receive through PayPal on their tax returns.  It is commonly thought that these funds are “hidden” and therefore do not need to be disclosed to the taxman. Unfortunately this is not true. Taxation laws are different throughout the world, but the one thing that is constant is that no matter what country you pay taxes to it is the government that collects them.  You should never underestimate the power of a federal tax collector to uncover financial information. If you are subject to a formal tax audit the person conducting it will need access to all of your records of income and expenses, and will most likely be able to obtain all of your  income information through the courts if necessary. The penalties in most countries for tax evasion are generally far more severe than the amount of tax owing. If you are in doubt about what income to declare or have questions it’s wise to check with your accountant or a local tax expert before you submit your tax return. In many cases you will be able to  also declare any expenses you incurred (like transaction fees, eBay charges, etc) to offset your declared income, which will lower the amount of tax you will have to pay. By way of disclaimer, we are not taxation experts and laws do vary in each country. In North America, for instance,  it just is not worth the risk of not declaring income received via PayPal on your income tax return. This is especially true when there is a large amount of money or many transactions involved.