This month we launched a “smaller” extension for our NoLimit web hosting, which allows you to increase security or spread the load of your web project.
Until now, you could use our NoLimit web hosting only for second-level domains (e.g. wedos.cz, pojisteni.cz, wedos.online, etc.). Which is very limiting, because today it is common to use one domain, through subdomains (3rd level domains), for multiple projects, service distribution or even load distribution.
Our NoLimit can already do all this. You can get a separate NoLimit for each subdomain, set it individually in the administration and use it for a specific purpose. For example, you can also share a common database.
Until now, you could do this via .htaccess, but some content management systems had problems with this and it was not a completely safe and optimal solution. Not to mention that it was still a single hosting and thus you only had one common (and shared) performance and a common number of PHP processes. Now you can have it all completely separate.
We had already decided to prepare a new WMS service (more about that next time), but everything was very slow. Although we will soon release the WMS for public testing, in the meantime we have switched our websites to WordPress. We trust our web hosting, so we run our sites on classic shared web hosting, just like our customers. Due to several new sites (new language versions, blog, new support site…) on WordPress, we were looking for the optimal operational solution ourselves. For this reason we needed hosting on third tier domains. So we developed the whole solution purely for our needs first and now we offer it to our clients.
Use for content distribution
We use subdomains mainly for content distribution. For example, our blog goes to blog.wedos.cz, the main content for Czech visitors can be found at www.wedos.cz and the process of ordering domains is handled through order.wedos.cz. These are actually three separate sites. Each has an individual setting, they do not interfere with each other and do not affect each other operationally.
So you can have 3x as many independent PHP processes, one site with caching enabled via our proxy server and another without. One may contain multiple other domains and the other may not. None of this affects content management systems and various CMSs.
Use for increased security
For example, if you have a custom-made e-shop worth hundreds of thousands and you would like to add a blog to it, where you intend to contribute only occasionally, you can choose the popular open source WordPress, which is free. It can be installed with one click from our administration.
However, when you put a new blog on a common web hosting, you can cause your entire e-shop to become dysfunctional by improper handling. In addition, there is also a security risk if you underestimate the security (weak password, not using a security plugin, forgotten update, etc.).
Now you just need to get another NoLimit for a subdomain, for example blog.váš-e-shop.cz. Both the e-shop and the blog will be separate from each other. If there was some mistake, one will not affect the other.
But it doesn’t stop there. For example, you can separate the administration for your Internet project into a separate subdomain and use a common database. You can then set the NoLimit for administration to be much more resistant to attacks. They can use a shared database, you just create another user with limited rights.
You can even make a script that will back up the database between hosts. There are no limits to imagination.
Of course, you can make a separate website admin.your-domain and have access to the administration of your services, your e-shop, etc. All this thoroughly restricted for access to IP addresses etc.
One of the big Czech e-shops with a turnover of over 1.5 billion crowns, which by the way is hosted on our web hosting, has also made a separate hosting for imports and exports (between their suppliers and their customers). Everything is again limited to IP addresses, there are other forms of security and none of this affects or burdens the main website, which receives tens of thousands of visitors a day.
Usage for static content
Need to save power? Then set up a NoLimit for a subdomain with no PHP or .htaccess. Just directories with static content like images. You will then link to them from your site.
You can argue that new web hosts automatically take care of everything with proxy servers, but separate hosting doesn’t hurt.
Use for performance enhancement
Do you have a more demanding website? So why not divide it by subdomains, for example by language mutations?
You can also make a central administration, through which you will upload and update content on individual sites, which will be on subdomains, while if one is overloaded, it will not affect the other. Each can have up to 10 PHP threads with the Extra service. You have access to the databases of the individual hosts.
Power splitting is also suitable for more complex operations, such as importing or processing large volumes of data. Such an operation can block a PHP thread for up to several minutes. In doing so, you will just need it for visitors. By handling all the more demanding operations separately (on separate hosting), there is no risk that your visitors will see the 503 error.
Use for development and deployment of new versions
You can have a development version (called, for example, dev.váš-projekt.cz) and a live version of the site (customer-projekt.cz). Click in the administration to rename both web hosts and the content will be swapped. We are still working on making it so that it can be done in practice without any downtime – no waiting for DNS changes and especially no subsequent certificate generation for HTTPS.
By the way, we are also preparing the possibility of versioning with web hosting and one-click backup. We certainly didn’t rest on our laurels. We are always working on and improving our services. 😉
The real power of third-order domains is unleashed with WMS
We are currently working intensively to complete the development of a new WMS service. The web hosting and database are enclosed in a separate container. The customer has dedicated resources. WMS will only be with dedicated resources. A shared option is not even planned at the moment. Although it will increase the price, but the whole performance will be yours only, up to the level of the whole server.
In the WMS itself, you set up web hosts similar to NoLimit, but with the parameters you want. Everything is up to you. Script timeout can be several hours, you can “cut” PHP threads into dozens of weaker ones, etc. You have full control over all web hosting parameters. If you overdo it, there’s still the option of reverting to “factory settings” :). But don’t worry. They will be preset as our NoLimit. You don’t have to use the more advanced settings at all.
Just for the record. We will allow you to run scripts for up to 24 hours or use memory via PHP up to several GB. There are no limits to imagination. Everything will be reserved for you. You won’t be sharing power with anyone.
This is where subdomains can be used to their full potential. One super fast PHP thread with a high memory_limit will be useful for parsing data, a very high max_execution_time will be useful for importing data, static or cached file storage with lots of weaker threads, super secure administration, etc. All this and much more awaits you at WMS.
By the way, it will also be possible to order several different WMS on different physical servers to increase availability. You can have different domains II. order or III. order on different WMS. They can use each other’s databases and complement each other in load sharing and traffic balancing. You can order a weak WMS with a huge database (maybe tens of GB). Or you can order a WMS with huge parameters but without a database. Imagination really has no limits.
Conclusion
We’ve taken our NoLimit service one step further. There are a few more improvements and new features coming this year, but most of them will come after the migration of NoLimit set up on older servers to the new HPE Moonshot. This will be done gradually. This is some 80 thousand web hosts. We need to bring everything together.