Although server virtualization technology is currently receiving much attention, the concept is not new. Actually the idea came in the mid-1960s, when the Giants and expensive computers of the day reached to a high processing speed but they were unable to seize the expensive computing time due to management processes that needed to be done manually by the operator. To get the best out of expensive computer processing, it was necessary to run multiple processes in parallel. Thus arose the concept of time sharing, which culminated with the idea of virtualization.

Time Sharing: This concept means sharing time, i.e., idle time between the processes are shared with other processes to streamline the system. Multiple jobs are executed simultaneously, and the CPU meets each job for a little while, one by one in sequence. The time dedicated to each job are small enough so that users can interact with each program to recognize that there are no other programs running.

In 1972, an American computer scientist, Robert P. Goldberg introduced the theoretical basis of the architecture for virtual computer systems in his dissertation at Harvard University. In the same year IBM introduced a mainframe that was able to simultaneously run different operating systems under the supervision of a control program – hypervisor.

The IBM System 370 was the first commercial computer entirely designed for virtualization, with which, the operating system CP / CMS allows you to run multiple instances simultaneously. This was followed by the IBM z / VM, which took advantage of hardware virtualization. The VM / CMS is highly regarded and widely distributed in the industry and academia. Several modern approaches to virtualization implementations are very unique for mainframe of computers from IBM.

Over the years, virtualization has begun to fall by the wayside due to creation of new client / server applications and the decline of the mainframe platform that lost power before the rise of the x86 platform. According to VMWare, the widespread adoption of Windows and Linux as the operating system on servers in the 1990s eventually established the x86 architecture as the industry standard.

Due to high costs for the purchase of a mainframe, companies began to acquire x86 servers according to demand, this is a process called low-end (several small machines doing the work of a large dedicated server). In this scenario, instead of having a high initial cost with the purchase of a mainframe, they opt for purchasing smaller servers according to need.

The impact of this new strategy was to ensure  a good deal of backlash against hardware scaling problems, and most of these servers were used for a single application. Thus, according to International Data Corporation, in each implementation of a typical x86 server, the roof of CPU usage was between 10 to 15% of the total capacity of this server.

The servers were oversized for the application that would perform, and as a result, ended up suffering the same problem of mainframes of the 1960s, that is, not all took advantage of their computing power,  and were underutilized.

Then in 1999, VMware Inc. introduced the concept of virtualization on the x86 platform as a more efficient way to operate the equipment of the platform, taking advantage of x86 servers to provide a computational structure that would enable the full utilization of computational resources of these servers.

From 2005, processor manufacturers like Intel and AMD have given more attention to the need to improve hardware support in their products. Intel with its Intel VT and AMD with AMD-V. These hardware contains features which allow to exploit hypervisors that are used with the improved technique of virtualization (full virtualization) that make it easier to implement and enhance the performance.

In this episode we will see how to choose the company that will provide the hosting service.

Choose a hosting service – The company’s choice

In the first part of our guide, we have spoken about the ‘ requirements analysis, fundamental step to understand what service is needed, what should be the level and above. We will now talk about the different types of hosting to choose from (shared hosting, virtual and dedicated server hosting) in the next episode, but first I want to dwell for a “bit”, the choice of the company that will provide the service, regardless of our crucial final choice.

It is always a topic discussed in our forum, and among those who often have different opinions brought to the surface: the choice of the company actually takes place according to different factors, the user often chooses because he was recommended. In our blog, we talked about word of mouth publicity several times, when choosing a company, it is definitely the preferred solution, second only to targeted advertising.

How do you choose a company that offers web hosting services? Considering various factors, more or less important, which are considered at all, even when the offer is so tempting to just push us to buy.

Let’s see a small lineup of the factors we should consider:

• Company Size (2 / 5)
• Type of business (sole proprietorship, company or other) (1 / 5)
• Location of webfarm (3 / 5)
• Number of carriers and connectivity (3 / 5)
• Type of hardware used for its servers and security tools used (4 / 5)
• Methods of care provided and the language in which it is provided (5 / 5)
• Opinions, reviews and testimonies on forums and portals in the industry (4 / 5)
• Number of customers of the company (1 of 5)
• Number of years on the market (2 / 5)
• Types of services offered (4 / 5)
• Prices list (4 / 5)
• Partnerships or membership in associations in the industry (3 / 5)

As you can see, a rating value ranging from 1 (least important) to 5 (highest importance) was given, but not all the factors mentioned must “weigh” the same way in our choice of provider hosting.

Conclusion:

At the end of the list of important factors to consider, when choosing a good hosting company, we should always keep in mind that these factors are considered as the basis and starting, then every choice must also consider other factors that vary according to your needs. As you can see there is no surefire way to tell if an activity is completely reliable, however, there are, as we have seen, evaluated factors that restrict the possibility of a wrong choice or disappointment.

The term web hosting, more commonly abbreviated as “hosting” means the practice of hosting one or more websites on a web server, accessible over the network and then viewed by online users.

The web hosting is a service provided by millions of companies worldwide who are called “Web Hosting Provider” or simply “hosting provider”. The owners of web hosting allow a website to have a space with certain characteristics (disk space, monthly bandwidth, email accounts, databases and other services). Within this space all web pages, images and general content required for the operation of the website are saved: a domain, such as www.esds.co.in is connected to this space so that the site is publicly accessible.

The web hosting services are hosted on servers, and these in turn reside in particular physical structures called Data Center, designed to have low temperatures and ensure continuity of service, so that websites will always remain visible.

The web hosting providers usually provide different levels of web hosting services that include:

• Dedicated Server
• virtual servers
• colocation web hosting services
• cloud hosting and applications hosting

How Many Web Hosting Companies Are There?

Currently in India, as well as in the rest of the world, there are thousands of companies that provide web hosting services: the distinction between them is mainly due to the fact that each decides to host their servers in a different nation.

These are real companies that work with staff specializing in providing customer service and maintenance of servers online: this type of activity is not performed with the same quality from all operators, and this leads to a differentiation of solutions and prices in the web hosting market.

Please refer to the section on choosing a web hosting company for all information and advice when purchasing a web hosting service.

Key Features Of  A Web Hosting Service

We conclude this brief introduction to web hosting services, listing what are the elements that are usually included in a web hosting service. A web hosting service is built with a number of features and technical elements:

Domain name: (such as www.esds.co.in) to associate the web space (website)
Web Space: 50 MB up to 20/30 GB of space to publish the files
Monthly bandwidth: the amount of bandwidth that we can use for our account
Subdomains: it is shaped as webhosting.esds.co.in, restricted or limited in number
Control Panel: software that allows you to manage your account
E-mail boxes: vary in the number and size available (these services usually also include Antivirus and Antispam)
Databases: MySQL, SQL Server or other types used
Statistics: a tool to monitor the access and visits to the pages of our website
Supported languages: PHP to Ruby on Rails, specify what types of programming languages that we use to write the pages of our website
WebMail: A tool to view your email online, in your browser.

Conclusion

In this article we have seen what is meant by web hosting. Services are often very complex and within them, as we have seen, there are dozens of different characteristics. Use our search engine, on top of this page, for the information and terms that you are not clear about.

Emerging technologies such as cloud computing, mega-storage, intelligent software and all applications for the use of mobile telephony, for example, still have enough room to grow. Part of the market does not yet know how to use available technologies to transform business and get the work done at higher level.

According to me, The Eight Technologies That can Transform Businesses are:

Internet as a tool for customer relationship: It has never been so quick to understand, “what it takes to meet the needs of loyal consumers of products and services?”. The Internet and related technologies promotes this interaction and results in maximizing the potential of each company.

Social Networks: It is being increasingly realized that social networking has already became a part of the routine work of many professionals. Despite being a controversial issue within companies, it is necessary that employees use their work computers to access social networks. In many cases, not only in spare time. In many businesses, it can engage consumers in product design, testing, and after the sale including viral marketing.

Cloud Computing Services: It’s a business model where the customer has access to a variety of services, applications and solutions guaranteed by the provider. The idea is to allow to get access to data or company data in a way that it works remotely. It is certainly not only transforming the business but their own work environment as well.

Green IT: The company that is not aligned to display most discussed issues in the globalized world and not have their brand associated with issues such as sustainable growth, rational use of natural resources, respect for the environment and energy efficiency, will be the subject to be viewed by the market. Common initiatives include reducing paper printing, increased use of e-documents and data center outsourcing.

Virtualization: With virtualization, the physical equipment start to behave like software, enabling significant cost savings and redirection of human resources for more strategic business areas – such as creating new products and services, or programs for the welfare of employees. There are a lot of experts who recognize virtualization as a kind of precursor of cloud computing solutions.

Outsourcing Database: Even during the international economic crisis, outsourcing data center was a major investment, done by U.S. companies, according to surveys on intent. In India, it is also a smart and viable option, since it frees the customer cost with property, building maintenance, energy, security, upgrading equipment, hiring staff with expertise in specialized management, etc.. The main gain, however, is that the customer will have more time and resources available to devote to the business itself.

M-Commerce: The mobile payments are being made possible. Despite many tools are still undergoing testing, pay a bill using the mobile phone offers the same level of security of a banking transaction via the Internet, or more. It is a procedure that is very similar to the debit. Just bring the phone to an authorized reader (POS), and get it connected to a terminal. The information is transmitted over the phone and payment information is processed quickly and securely. Each time, more financial commitments would no longer represent an obstacle to the lives of people.

Security / Monitoring: In addition to safety devices, with a simple monitoring system, it can resolve disputes in various sectors and services necessary for the maintenance of a company. This is the case of NOC, which are connected to the network management Database of Company, lets you control many physical dedicated servers and services in real time. The system can detect possible failures or interruptions of links, routers and servers, sending alerts and allow to reduce the incidence of problems.

In this brief article we will cover the installation and configuration of Apache on CentOS and some other functions required in today’s web servers. Although there are already plenty of material about it, a simple Google search returns a number of texts already, I decided to write about it because it is something simple that sometimes escapes from memory, having published the text is easier to see later and also did not find here any similar text in Vol.

To begin, let’s put some basic descriptions, because there’s always a first-timer. CentOS is a distribution Linux Enterprise class derived from source code freely distributed by Red Hat Enterprise Linux and maintained by the CentOS Project. The version numbering is based on the number of Red Hat Enterprise Linux. For example, CentOS is based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux. The basic difference between them is the provision of support paid on acquisition of a Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

Functionally, it can be considered as clone systems. CentOS provides greater access to industry-standard software, including full compatibility with the software packages prepared specifically for systems Red Hat Enterprise Linux. This gives you the same level of safety and support via updates that other Enterprise Linux solutions, but without cost. Supports both server environments for mission critical environments and workstations and also has a Live CD version.

CentOS has numerous advantages, including: an active and growing community, a rapid development and testing of packages, an extensive network for downloads, accessible developers, multiple channel support including support in India. and commercial support through partners. Centos Apache server (Apache HTTP Server, or simply, Apache) is the most successful free web server.

It was created in 1995 by Rob McCool, then an official of the NCSA (National Center for Supercomputing Applications). In a survey conducted in December 2007, it was found that using the Apache represents 47.20% of active servers in the world. It is the core technology of the Apache Software Foundation, responsible for more than a dozen projects involving technology webcast, data processing and execution of distributed applications.

The dedicated  server is compatible with the HTTP protocol. Its features are maintained through a structure of modules, including allowing the user to write their own modules – using the API software. It is available in versions for Windows OS and the various other POSIX (Unix , Linux, FreeBSD, etc.).

PHP (recursive acronym for “PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor”) is a computer programming language interpreted freely and widely used for generating dynamic content on the World Wide Web such as Wikipedia.

MySQL is a database management system (DBMS) using SQL (Structured Query Language) as an interface. It is currently one of the most popular databases, with more than 10 million installations worldwide.

I guess not many people ask this question because by default it is assumed that SAAS has to be accessed through the browser. And the truth is that the vast majority of SaaS applications are accessed via web and logical thinking.

But although we know that everything is not SaaS web and some are SaaS web apps, all the web applications are not and therefore there is no need to access them from a browser to retrieve. Saas reviewing concepts that relate to this issue are:

1.  Access to the software without installation or investment
2. Maintenance and upgrades of application by provider
3. Access via internet, ie from anywhere in the world.

None of them means that the application must be accessed through the browser, but sometimes it is more natural.

And then, if not accessed through browser, what other forms of access does it have? Through certain runtimes that allow code or perform other applications located on servers, ie out of your PC. The most popular are: Java Web Start Java JRE, Adobe Flash Player, Adobe Air and Microsoft Silverlight.

Java Web Start is installed with the Java JRE on client server and ensures that you’re running the latest version of the application on your dedicated server. You can run it from the browser or the desktop of the client.

Adobe Flash Player and Microsoft Silverlight are plugins that need to be installed in the browser to run applications located on the server. Apparently it seems that you are accessing it via browser and the application is running on common standards like HTML, CSS, DOM, JavaScript, XML but you’re actually running the runtime.

Adobe Air is installed on client runtime running applications located on the server. In the event of Adobe Air you can schedule when you want the application to be updated but it is a very easy task.

The most notable disadvantages are :

1. You need to install the runtime on your PC. Adobe Flash Player has it easier because 95% of all browsers already have it installed but  runtime no longer updates itself.
2. The access time to the application is greater at the first time
3. Increased consumption of resources of the client PC

The advantages would be :

Still keep the look of client applications lifetime. You do not have the limitations of the technologies associated with the browser (HTML, CSS, DOM, JavaScript, XML) in terms of compatibility, interface, etc.

All cross-platform (including Silverlight is), ie, the runtime can be installed on different operating systems and applications work the same way.

Development time is usually much smaller

In my opinion, saas have a relatively short comparison in all web users or those who purchase, happens to have a commercial use, I prefer this solution for all these advantages. For the rest, this solution with Adobe Flash Player (because of its ubiquity) also may be worth even the safest, if you want to reach a large number of users, using standard browser technologies.

And you, what do you prefer?

Typically, new servers have a lot of interesting features and benefits associated with the processing of data, work with memory, network, etc. But due to budgetary constraints during the initial procurement of servers, often have to be contented with only a minimal part of all these possibilities. With the growth of business for your company it may be possible to increase their technical capacity and to upgrade servers.

If you decide to upgrade your dedicated server, how do you get the most from your investment?

When planning the upgrade of servers, it is important to understand that we are entering a time when processor performance is enough for all the complex computer tasks virtually. Typically, today, performance problems do not arise from the fact that the computational load becomes more intense and require a higher performance machine because plug-ins are required to solve problems. In other words, the problem is not CPU performance.This problem is frequently encountered both in enterprise systems and as well as in the “cloud services” platforms. Therefore, upgrading servers can be financially justified and warranted, and bring real benefits and cost savings.

Here are four areas in which the money spent on upgrading existing servers, can have a good return on investment. Expand the memory in servers for even more performance per dollar spent enable memory expansion in upgrading servers. With the growing popularity of virtualization increases memory requirements. Hypervisor can stand a lot of system memory, which had happened only during peak loads. In fact, the cost of memory expansion capabilities to the limit of the system can save money by enabling the use of virtualization technologies to consolidate and efficient use of computing resources. Increasing the size of memory increases the performance of the system allows the use of equipment that has already acquired the company, as well as it can reduce the time to handle multiple applications running on one server and allows you to extend the life of the server for two or three years.

Use a hard drive

If you happen to get a good budget crisis for the modernization of IT systems, we can spend some money on the purchase of more effective local storage systems.Heads in hard drives that spin at high revolutions per minute (e.g., SAS drives with speed of 15 200 in one minute) and drives that use the faster protocol processing or use a high-speed controllers that enhance overall system performance. In addition to improving performance, upgrade of the disk storage systems can also reduce power consumption, because modern hard disks are manufactured taking energy efficiency into account. Drives that consume little power, coupled with the controller and the operating system that supports plans for efficient use of electricity can significantly reduce power consumption.This provides a fast return on these new hard drives.

Network upgrade

With the growing popularity of virtualization in data centers the construction of a single high-speed network, which combines Ethernet and Fiber Channel, use of converged network adapters has become popular. Installation of new adapters can be difficult, if you’re working with rackmount servers (rack server), as the motherboard or chassis do not have space to install additional PCI and PCI-Express. However, when working with medium sized servers or even mini-towers, which are arranged differently, may have a place to insert a modern Ethernet network card on which you can send Ethernet traffic, and Fiber Channel. Naturally, the need for convergence of networks and use advanced network switches or unified computing platform is required.

Do not forget the backup infrastructure

Notice the redundancy of infrastructure and duplicate elements. Think about the acquisition of RAID systems for file and mail servers, or may be more expensive solutions to ensure the expansion of disk arrays in the future and be prepared for emergencies.Also do not forget about the uninterrupted power supply. A good investment of funds will also include UPS, redundant internal power supplies, as well as the use of “hot” backup technology and the subsequent replacement of the failed system hardware.

Solutions to restore the work after emergency situations

Solutions to restore the work after emergency situations are costly and sometimes not included in the program of the initial purchase, but they are very important functions of IT infrastructure. Specialized card remote access servers, which allow you to remotely start and shutdown the computer, as well as access to the server console and perform tasks that normally require a physical presence, are expensive, but it pays off in the event of a problem in remote offices or remote data centers.

For several days I was thinking to write a post about the differences between ASP and Saas and yesterday I decided to do because of an email I received from one of the readers of this humble blog. In the mail, there was a series of questions using the acronym asp and other using the acronym SaaS, and I was unable to identify whether it was a matter of right or use of the acronym that were really confusing.

If you seek information from the term ASP and Saas and even if “differences between ASP and Saas” many entries appear that attempt to explain the terms but most of the comparisons confuse the term ASP hosting and from there the comparison does not fit with Saas. I would like to clarify first “what is ASP and What is Hosting?” based on these definitions:

ASP is a paid platform. Within its single fee it include licensing, dedicated hosting, maintenance, etc.

In regime, Hosting pay licenses and / or project and servers can host it on your property or perhaps the provider.

I think it is clear that pay-per-use ASP Hosting and pay licenses to use products and machines can be yours or rented but are in provider’s premises. Clarifying these concepts, I will try to clarify the differences between ASP and SaaS.

ASP stands for Application Service Provider and the Wikipedia explains in its first paragraph that it provides software services.

Among the factors that characterize a PSA highlights the widespread use of Internet , the ability to accelerate the deployment and implementation of applications and portability of services and operations to third parties. The main barrier to a PSA lies in convincing their customers that their information with a third remains secure. On the other hand, own and operate the software and hardware environment and rented to customers to use computer applications.

Let us now turn to the definition that makes SaaS wiki:

“Software as a Service (SaaS) is a distribution model of software where the IT company provides maintenance, daily operations, and support software used by the client. In other words, it is to have the information, processing, inputs and outcomes of the business logic of the software. In simple words: The customer has the system hosted in the IT company. It is software accessed via Internet . It is not necessarily to operate through Web browsers, business logic resides in the central city of provider.

And the truth is written in different words but there are very few differences:

• Accessed via the Internet.
• In a service operation and maintenance.
• You pay per use, not license.
• The data and business logic in provider’s premises.

Applications will not necessarily be delivered through web browsers and therefore at times be necessary to install software on the client and not others.

And then ” What are the differences between ASP and SaaS?”. For a though, it does not seem if there are differences:

ASP is a proprietary software from other ISVs . In the SaaS model there are those ISVs (software developers) that offer hosting and software in one package.

Many of the applications running in the ASP are not prepared to provide access via the Internet. I’ve seen agreements of HP, SAP, etc. with ASP to offer internet through the same applications that were designed to run in-house.

These same applications were not designed to serve multiple clients from different companies, moreover, is running an instance for each client of the ASP. Most applications as a service (SaaS) are designed to deliver the application to multiple clients through a single instance (multitenancy).

Relating to the above, to provide coverage instance to several clients at once it is necessary that the application has a high level customization for each client.

Although we have seen that not necessarily the applications offered as a service (SaaS) are consumed through a browser and therefore do not require installation on the client, in fact most of them are consumed by the browser. In fact I know that Saas is not the case. The applications running on ASP may or may not run through the browser and therefore require additional installation on the client (a Windows emulator or unix, remote desktop, terminal server , citrix).

Related to the above, ASP can offer different applications and different types depending on the agreements reached with the companies that own software. This however is more complicated to get into the SaaS model, normally ISV offers a single software but we also have example like google apps.

Finally, something more than evident is that SaaS can enjoy direct support, more personalized, and without intermediaries who can pass the buck to a software problem.

I hope the post has been cleared to add more questions and that in any case in controversy, sufficient to get us to clarify the terms.

In 1983 Apple introduced a great innovation, the Lisa, which used a graphical interface quite elaborate and had a suite of office applications to the Office there. The interface worked well, applications ran with a surprising performance and configuration was far superior to the PCs of the time. The problem was the price: $ 10,000 at the time:

Although there was nothing better in the market, Lisa ended up not reaching the expected success. In total, they produced about 100,000 units in two years, but most of them were sold at deep discounts, often below cost price. Because Apple has invested approximately $ 150 million in the development of the Lisa, the account ended up in the red.

Nevertheless, the development of the Lisa was the basis for the Macintosh, a simple computer, released in 1984. Unlike Lisa, it made a great success, even threatening the empire of the PC setup as it was  similar to the PCs of the era with an 8 MHz processor, 128 MB of memory and a 9 inch monitor. The big gun was the Macintosh MacOS 1.0 (derived from the Lisa operating system, but optimized to consume much less memory), an innovative system from various points of view.

Unlike MS-DOS it was entirely based on the use of the graphical interface and mouse, which made it much easier to operate. MacOS continued to evolve and incorporate new features, but always keeping the same idea of user-friendly interface.

During this same period, Microsoft had developed the first version of Windows that was announced in November 1983. Unlike the MacOS, Windows 1.0 was a rather primitive interface, which did little success. It ran on MS-DOS and Windows applications could run as much as the programs for MS-DOS. The problem was the memory.

The PCs of the era came with very small amounts of RAM and at that time there was still no possibility to use virtual memory (which would be supported only from the 386 ). To run Windows, it was necessary first to load MS-DOS. The two together have consumed virtually all memory of a PC base of the season. Even the more bulky PCs could not run many applications at once, again for lack of memory.

As Windows applications were very rare at the time, few users saw the need to use Windows to run the same applications that were running (with more available memory …) in MS-DOS. Not to mention that the initial release of Windows was very slow and had too many bugs.

Windows started to make some success in version 2.1, when the computers with a 286 MB or more of memory were common. With a more powerful configuration, more memory and more applications, it finally began to make sense to run Windows. The system still had many problems and crashed often, but some users began to migrate to it. The Windows 2.1 version also won one for the PCs with 386 processors, with support for memory protection and use of virtual 8086 mode to run applications in MS-DOS:

Windows even spawned from version 3.11 (for Workgroups), which was also the first version of Windows that supports network shares. It was relatively mild in terms of PCs of the time (the 386 with 4 or 8 MB of RAM were common), and supported the use of swap memory, allowing multiple for applications to open, even if the RAM runs out. At the time the application base for Windows was already much higher (the titles were used more as Word and Excel, not much different from what we have on many desktops today) and there was always the option to return to MS-DOS when something went wrong.

At this time the PCs began to regain ground lost to Apple Macintosh’s. Although it was unstable, Windows 3.11 had a large number of applications and PCs were cheaper than Macs.

Strange as it may seem, Windows 3.11 was still a 16-bit system, which operated more like a GUI for MS-DOS rather than as an operating system itself. By connecting the PC, MS-DOS was loaded and you had to type “win” at the prompt to load Windows. Of course, you could set your PC to boot Windows by default, adding the command to autoexec.bat, but many (possibly most) preferred to call it manually, to get how to fix things by DOS if Windows passed to curb during charging.

In August 1995 it launched the Windows 1995, which marked the transition from platform to 32 bits. Besides all the interface improvements and the new API, Windows 1995 brought two important changes that were supported preemptive multitasking and memory protection.

Windows 3.11 was using a primitive type of multitasking, called cooperative multitasking. In it, no memory protection was used, there was no real multitasking, and all applications had full access to all system resources. The idea was that each application uses the processor for some time, then passes to another program and wait for your turn to come again to run over a handful of operations.

This anarchic system gave room for all sorts of problems, since applications could monopolize processor resources and end up halting the system completely in case of problems. Another big problem was that, without the protection of memory, applications could invade areas occupied by other memory, causing a GPF (General Protection Fault “), the general error that produced the famous Windows blue screen.

The memory protection is to isolate the area of memory used by applications, preventing them from accessing areas of memory used by others. Beyond the question of stability, this is also a basic function of security, since it prevents malicious applications that have easy access to data handled by other applications.

Although it was supported from the 386, the memory protection was now only supported from Windows 95, which also introduced the already mentioned preemptive multitasking, isolating the memory areas occupied by applications and managing the use of system resources.

The big problem was that, although it was a 32-bit system, Windows 95 still had many 16-bit components and maintained compatibility with 16-bit applications of Windows 3.11. While they only used 32-bit applications, things worked fairly well, but when a 16-bit application was executed, the system returned to use cooperative multitasking, where it found the same problems.

At the time, Windows was facing competition from OS / 2 from IBM, which glowed like a more robust option, especially for the business audience:

OS / 2 arose from a partnership between IBM and Microsoft to develop a new operating system for the PC platform, capable of succeeding in the MS-DOS (and early versions of Windows, which ran over it). Initially, the OS / 2 was developed to take advantage of features introduced by the 286 (new instructions, supporting 16 MB of memory, etc.). But it was quickly rewritten as a 32-bit operating system, able to enjoy all the features of 386 onwards.

However, the success of Windows 3.x that Microsoft made to change its mind, going to see the Windows (not OS / 2) as the future of the PC platform. Tensions went on increasing, until in 1991 the partnership was broken, which led to Microsoft and IBM to become competitors. IBM continued to invest in the development of OS / 2, while Microsoft used the code developed to initiate the development of Windows NT that was developed in parallel to Windows 95.

Although OS / 2 was technically superior to Windows 95, Microsoft which was just getting better, because Windows 95 was easier to use and had the users’ familiarity with Windows 3.11, while IBM skidded on a combination of lack of investment, lack of support for developers and lack of marketing.

Thanks to the terms of the previous agreement, IBM was able to include support for Windows applications on OS / 2. However, the strategy backfired, and it discouraged further development of native applications for OS / 2, so it ended up competing with Windows on its own territory. To run Windows applications inside of OS / 2 was more problematic and the performance was lower, causing more and more users prefer to use Windows directly.

Although it is officially dead, OS / 2 is still used by some companies and some groups of enthusiasts. Serenity in 2005 bought the rights to the system, giving rise to eComStation .

A much more successful system that began to be developed in the early 90′s- Linux , we all already know. Linux has the advantage of being an open system, which currently has the support of thousands of volunteers and developers around the globe and the support of companies of weight, such as IBM, HP, Oracle and virtually every other major tech company with the exception of Microsoft and Apple.

Nevertheless, in the beginning the system was much more complicated than the current distributions and did not have the lush graphical interfaces that we have today. While Linux is strong on dedicated server since the late 90s, using the system on desktops is growing at a slower pace.

Back to the history of Windows, with the release of NT, Microsoft has to maintain two separate development branches, one of it with Windows 95, for the consumer market and the other with Windows NT, for the corporate audience.

The tree originated from Windows 95 to Windows 98, 98SE and ME, that despite the progress in relation to the API and applications, have retained the fundamental problems in Windows 1995 for stability. Another major problem is that these versions of Windows were developed without a security model in an era in which the files were exchanged via diskettes and the machines were accessible only locally. This allowed the system to use and swirled with a good performance on the machines of the time, but started to become a heavy burden as access to the Web became popular and the system started to be targeted by all sorts of attacks.

The tree of Windows NT on the other hand had much more success in creating a modern operating system that was much more stable and with a more solid foundation from the point of view of safety. Windows NT 4 gave rise to Windows 2000,  which in turn was used as foundation for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, kicking off the current line.

Apple, in turn, has undergone two major revolutions. The first was the migration from old MacOS to OS X, which, below the polished interface is a Unix system, derived from BSD. The second happened in 2005 when Apple announced the migration of its entire line of desktops and notebooks to Intel processors, which allowed it to benefit from cost reduction in processors and other components for personal computers PCs, but at the same time retain the main difference of the platform, which is the software:

From the viewpoint of hardware, Macs today are not much different from PCs, you can even run Windows and Linux via Boot Camp. However, only Macs are capable of running Mac OS X, due to the use of EFI (which replaces the system BIOS as the bootstrap) and the use of a TPM chip.

Despite the change, Macs remain a closed platform, controlled by Apple, which develops both computers and the operating system. Of course much is outsourced, and many companies develop software and accessories, but as Apple has to keep track of everything and develop a lot on their own, the cost of the Mac ends up being higher than that of PCs.

In the early 80s, competition was fierce, and many felt that the Apple model would prevail, but that’s not what happened. Within the history of computing we have many stories that show that open standards almost always prevail. An environment where there are several companies competing with one another, promotes the development of better products, which creates a greater demand and, because of economies of scale, allows lower prices.

As the computers have a PC open architecture, several different manufacturers can participate and develop their own components based on standards already set. There is a huge list of components compatible with each other, which allows us to choose the best options among various brands and models of components.

Any new manufacturer with a motherboard cheaper or faster processor, for example, can enter the market, it’s just a matter of creating the necessary demand. The competition makes it that manufacturers are obliged to work with a relatively low profit margin, winning based on the volume of things sold, which is very good for us that we buy.

When two years ago we started to talk intensely about cloud computing, you looked at this technology as something very abstract, so that the same hosting provider did not see any reason to start to become interested in something that would come to a finished product after years. So it was not, and even at the expense of those who did not believe it, the cloud services today, is a “race” for many providers  convinced that they can reuse their hardware or their marketing, even with this new product. Many are taking it seriously, with advice and targeted investments, mainly aimed at creating its own private cloud, and not the use of a public cloud, obviously considered too “far” from the property.

Yet there are also opportunities to wonder. A provider of the Indian scene claims to use a solution of a cloud as well-known Indian company, came in first with the reality term cloud services in the Indian  market. The most observant will know who we speak, for others simply search on Google. This is an interesting piece of news, because in fact marks the transition from dedicated server, up to now, seen as the only solution for hosting providers that want to offer shared hosting, the ability to accommodate all its customers on cloud instances, expandable and scalable so as to decrease the load or the customers.

The cloud services today provides everything that you need, with a management certainly greater than that of a dedicated machine. The potential for increasing the resources allocated in real time, including the band, is certainly a feature of interest to those who provide shared hosting or have clients with unpredictable traffic.

The costs are definitely lower, but in this case we are talking about an investment that can make sense only if all its infrastructure migrates in a cloud outside. The choice of a public service for a hosting provider sets conditions of assurance on it that could turn up their noses a lot , but it is clear that the implementation of a solution of much higher costs than private cloud has an initial investment and all hosting providers will not be able to afford this.

The transition from dedicated server to cloud computing will obviously be easier for hosting companies, when they exist standard platforms, then move one instance of a large provider to another will not be a problem and will give technical and economic opportunities that will not be indifferent.