Improving Web Performance on Nonprofit Sites

Web performance is a matter of debate among many developers. Most want their website to run at peak efficiency. That will assist with a high volume of internet traffic. New users will flock to high quality websites online. Consider working with a third party company to optimize the performance of a website. A new era is arriving for the internet and several important websites. Development teams need to be cutting edge to unveil new content for their users.

To find a third party company, look online or through the local yellow pages. Its likely that the company will provide local services to their fellow developers. Contact them early in the web development process for advice. They may set up an introductory consultation to discuss the potential of a given site. The team may offer a few services that will improve performance. An initial load test is another important feature of their service package. That will determine whether the website is ready to face peak internet traffic from users. Consider their advice before deciding on a given set of rules.

Website performance is a valuable aspect of internet use. Consider the monetary value of upgrading a website. The traffic could produce valuable ad revenue for the site itself. There are new services in place to ensure the upgrade is successful. Some companies will issue a money back guarantee for its effectiveness. Web performance is one of the leading services in the tech industry. Find a way to monitor its status over time, or at least do a one-off test (using a tool like Load View Testing).

The cost of web performance services may be negotiated. Find a provider that is reputable and trustworthy. They will see the project through to completion as needed. Each service project will be charted and itemized for the client. Many companies will have a busy schedule ahead of them. Call them ahead of schedule to learn more soon. That will give people an opportunity to prepare for project. Load testing and web performance is just the start.

Optimization Tips for Nonprofits

One consideration when it comes to improving web performance is the viability of your server. If you’re a nonprofit, for example, and can’t afford better hosting, it’s possible that optimizing your site will allow you to take advantage of the server resources that you have. It’s also important to make sure that your nonprofit site is easy to navigate too.

One thing to consider if you’re using web hosting made for nonprofits, is that it’s probably not the highest-spec’d option out there, so it needs a little more help in order to perform well. In this situation, you should make sure that you aren’t making any extra calls to random SQL databases, and that you don’t have any scripts that are running wild on the server eating up resources.

Optimizing images is another way to help speed up your nonprofit site and web server too. The problem with big images is that they take too long to load and are often unnecessary. Images can be compressed and scaled down in order help the page load speed and other factors that contribute to an overall good user experience on a nonprofit site.

The Basics of Monitoring MS Exchange for Businesses

Microsoft Exchange is an asset to all businesses, be it a small, large or medium-sized enterprise. For any industry to thrive, it needs to have a fully functional MS Exchange Server in place. Modern-day, business-focused entrepreneurs and IT professionals are primarily dependent on email messaging to carry out work-related tasks efficiently. For this reason, they should put proper measures in place to make sure that MS Exchange is fully operational. Continue reading to learn some unfailing steps to reach this goal successfully.

An IT specialist, dedicated to managing activities on a MS Exchange Server should always monitor all processes and services effectively. Counters are especially useful to in workload management and performance assessment. Unfortunately, it is not the ideal tool to manage critical Exchange availability on a MS server. For a server to perform efficiently, it is imperative to monitor all availability service in MS Exchange client. Some other processes that an IT specialist should take care to monitor in Exchange include; the Average Per-second Sync Request, Response Time, Current Connections, Per-second Message delivery reporting and LDAP Client per minute search performance.

Average Sync Request Performance Per-second for active services give up-to-the-minute data reports on all workforce devices, including iPhones, Androids and other technologies synced in Exchange.

Current Connections give reports on the number of active users. This allows IT professionals to schedule maintenance at a convenient time, when activity is minimal.

Average Response Time measures the speed at which the users receive search results in Exchange.

Per-second Message delivery reporting helps an IT specialist to monitor all sent and received messages properly. Ideally, it lets them control the volume of spam emails and slow down malicious activity in Exchange.

LDAP Client per minute search performance is a useful component of Exchange as it indicates when there’s a suspicious activity(s) that is critical to the MS Server Services.

When using MS Exchange, it is a requirement that all processes run smoothly. The AVM (Available Virtual Memory) status indicator shows the percentage of unused RAM. In an Exchange environment, it is a priority to keep server errors and other inconveniences to a minimal. The CPU utilization, status graph allows the users to keep an eye on efficiency by monitoring all active server processors. Free disk space is a core asset to keep all services up and running smoothly. For this reason, it is a main concern to make sure that enough storage is available. Part of monitoring an MS exchange server is having a good client that helps you keep tabs on it. There are a number of both free and paid solutions available, with the paid solutions being obviously more robust.

SMTP Queue Growth shows the status of occupancy for back log messages. The Windows Service Monitor is another resourceful tool to use. It gives status reports on dedicated Windows-focused services. In events where a process stops, it usually sends an alert to the user. The X.400 Queue Growth application is a useful tool to monitor the time lag progress. A safety measure to all business prospects who want to use or are using the MS Exchange Server Suite is to schedule regular hardware checkups. This is to correct any underlying problems early. In the end, it decreases the server downtime frequency rate.

The Basics of a Service Level Agreement

When it comes to picking your new web host, one of the most important factors that you need to consider is the service-level agreement that they have. It should define a number of the responsibilities that your web host should provide to you as the client.

What is a SLA?

A service-level agreement defines what your web host is responsible for providing you with. This can include the level of service you have, how much bandwidth you’re allowed to use, how much storage space your host provides, a promised up-time rate and any extra services that your host should provide like routine file backups.

A SLA should therefore outline what is to be expected from your web host. This can help you quickly determine if the prospective web host has the quality of service that you need, and it can give you a route for recourse if the host fails to deliver upon their promises.

What a SLA is Not

The important thing to remember is that not all service-level agreements are legally binding, but it is the intention that they should be. Reputable web hosting companies will generally honor their service-level agreements with no questions asked.

Why is a SLA Something You Need to Pay Careful Attention to?

A service-level agreement should be a comprehensive definition of all the services that a host should provide to you. This includes how your host will deliver the service, plans for overcoming technical difficulties and even how much you should pay for the selected level of service.

This means that you have to pay attention to the service-level agreement of your hosting provider to ensure that you’re getting what you want. This includes ensuring that you have Unix or Windows-based hosting, secured hosting hardware, extra software like ASP.Net functionality and more.

Even when it comes to basic hosting, it’s important to manage your SLA to know what kind of hosting services you should be receiving. If your host is down too often or they begin to try to charge you extra for features included in your SLA, then it should give you a reason to terminate your agreement with that host and a way to protect yourself.

Keeping an Exchange Server in Good Working Order

Exchange needs to be constantly monitored in order to keep ensure continued service and quickly resolve errors when they occur. A stoppage in service can potentially lead to hours of down time and repair as well as frustration from users. Here are the things you should monitor to ensure the Exchange server is working optimally.

Monitoring the average number of active sync requests per second can help you make sure your mobile workforce such as iPhones, Androids, and Windows phones are able to sync with the Exchange Server.

Keeping an eye on your current connections will quickly tell you the number of users actively using the server. This will help determine when to schedule maintenance when it effects the fewest users.

Average response time is the time it takes for a user to get information from the server they requested. If the user has to wait too long, they will assume there is an issue with the server and call the help desk.

Messages being delivered/sent per second confirms when emails have been delivered and when the emails have been sent. Keeping track of the mail follow will help you recognize if you are being used as a spam relay or if one of the workstations connected to the server has been compromised by a botnet.

LDAP searches timed out per minute will monitor when failures occur in retrieving data from Exchange. This will usually indicate an error in active directory which can critically impact Exchange.

Monitoring available virtual memory is important to ensuring Exchange has enough virtual memory to continue working optimally. If Exchange runs out of available virtual memory, it could result in failure.

Monitoring the server’s CPU utilization is also very crucial in keep Exchange running optimally. There are various companies that offer exchange server monitoring software, either as a download or online that people can use to keep track of their servers, and much of it is paid (not free).

Exchange requires free disk space in order to continue processing requests. A lack of free disk space can result in mail store corruption which can take hours to repair or restore from backup.

SMTP queue growth shows the number of minutes the queue has been growing because messages are not being sent. This will let you know right away that there could be an issue. X.400 queue growth will also display this information

Windows Service Monitor shows you server services and alerts you to errors immediately, helping to provide repair.

Solar Winds is an application that will monitor all of the server’s services including all of the ones mentioned here, and help you stay on top of any errors that may occur.