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Questions?...
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| At DialUp Net we realize that even the most extensive services descriptions may still leave many questions you may have unanswered. For the answers to the most common questions we get asked, and for explanations of some technical terms that you might be unfamiliar with please review our section below. Our answers are grouped by categories, which will hopefully help you in finding the answers to your questions.
If the explanations here still leave your questions incompletely answered PLEASE feel free to contact us at support@dialupnet.com and we will address your questions or concerns individually. Our commitment is to customer satisfaction - we are dedicated to making you feel completely comfortable with our company and the services you will receive from us.
Establishing Services
General Questions about Account
Technical Questions about Accounts
...More Technical Stuff & Troubleshooting Tips
Domain Names and Domain Name Registration
Upgrading Services
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Establishing Services
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- How do I place an order?
You can place
an order for any of our accounts directly from our web
site 24 hours a day with no setup fee*. Visit our Services
page to choose the account that is right for you and register
on-line for it, or, if you prefer E-mail us at sales@dialupnet.com
or call us at 1-800-290-0461.
- How long does it take to set up a new account?
If you sign up for Internet access through our automated sign-up system you can be online within 20 minutes. If you order web hosting, we will have your server configured within 24 hours - and most times will be done the same day. Once an account is set up, an activation notice will be sent you via e-mail including a user-ID, password, and FTP hostname. You can begin uploading files to your new web site immediately. Domain account users (Value Server, Value PLUS Server, Business Pro Server, Enterprise Partner) will be given a temporary URL to access their site via the web prior to the completion of either domain registration or transfer.
- What contract and payment terms are available?
For personal internet access accounts, DialUp Net bills your credit card monthly. For our commercial customers, we bill monthly for Access and Hosting. Quarterly for stand alone Non-Domain Accounts. WE DO NOT REQUIRE A MINIMUM CONTRACT beyond the initial set up and first month, or first quarter for Non-Domain Accounts. We accept MasterCard, Visa, and American Express, as well as business checks.
- Do you accept international orders?
While we do not yet offer Internet access outside of the United States, yes, we are happy to host customers from around the world. The internet has made the world as close as your computer. You will get the reliability of the most extensive telecommunications network in the world. We can also host non-US domain name extensions.
- I signed up, why can I not establish a connection to DialUp Net?
If you signed up through our online registration form, the automated system should have configured your internet connection for you. However, some of your computer settings may interfere with the automatic setup. Please visit the technical info page and select the system type you are running for instructions on manually configuring your internet connection properly. If this does not solve the problem, please contact us by phone and we will help you establish your DialUp Net connection.
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| General Questions about Accounts |
- Does
DialUp Net offer technical support?
Yes. We encourage
our customers to send email to support@dialupnet.com
with questions or concerns about their web site. We are
quick to respond to support e-mail. If we cannot offer
a solution to a concern within a reasonable time, (usually
within two hours) we will call you directly. For Internet
access problems or quesitons, we have 24 hour technical
support by calling 1-800-290-0461.
- Can I use my account for commercial purposes?
Beyond the terms of our hosting contract which prohibits spamming, hacking, warez sites, and adult oriented sites, DialUp Net does not restrict how you use your web space.
Yes, you may use your non-domain Unlimited Internet Access web space your domain Web Discovery and Web Discovery Plus account for your commercial purposes. However, both of those account options are limited in the types of functionality and interactivity that they support!
The World Wide Web is a vast, efficient and cost-effective means of making information, products and services available to the users of the Internet community. If you are heavily relying on your Internet commercial venture our line of fully functional commercial accounts (see Services For Business Users) will be a more adequate solution than the hosting options listed above.
With one of DialUp Net's Virtual Server accounts, you will gain full CGI-bin ability, and secure processing will be available to you through use of our.
- Can I resell space within my own account?
Only customers with Enterprise Partner reseller accounts may resell the space within their account. But under any other account DialUp Net will give you credit as stated in our Referral Incentives program for every customer you refer to us.
- Does DialUp Net offer web page design services?
We do offer web page design services at very competitive prices. Contact us to discuss design and pricing. For more information, contact sales@dialupnet.com .
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Technical Questions about Accounts
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- What is "non-domain hosting" vs. "virtual hosting"?
"Non-domain hosting" refers to a web site that is hosted on someone else's domain, such as ours. If you sign up for an Unlimited Internet Access account, you will have "non-domain hosting." The only way surfers will be able to access your web pages in your account is through the DialUp Net domain: http://www.dialupnet.com/youraccountname. (Users will have to enter the DialUp Net WWW address followed by a slash and then your unique account name).
Under "virtual hosting," which is the format used with all of our web hosting options, your users can get to your website by visiting http://www.yourname.com. "Virtual hosting" occurs when we either register a domain specifically for you with InterNIC, or transfer a domain name you already have to your DialUp Net virtual hosting account.
- What is a " virtual server" compared to a "dedicated server"?
In the simplest terms, "virtual web servers" are computers that host several different web sites on one machine. Dozens of web sites can co-reside on the same computer which makes virtual servers a very popular way of providing low-cost web hosting services. Because most web sites are not large enough and do not carry enough traffic to justify their own "dedicated server" using virtual web hosting is the ideal solution for the majority of web site owners.
At DialUp Net we specialize in virtual servers which means that you can find a home for your web site on our web servers and establish a presence on the Internet. We can help register your own domain name which will become your unique address on the World Wide Web. Having your own domain name does not reveal that you are renting web space, and, since e-mail can be addressed to your domain (eg. WWW.YOURNAME.COM ), you will not have to announce a new e-mail address if you change Internet providers. And, with a domain name, you can transfer your web presence at any time and never lose your identity since you can take your www.yourname.com with you.
In web hosting terms a "dedicated server" is a computer which has the sole function of serving up the web pages of the company which owns it. If you decided to establish your own dedicated server at your company location, you would need to purchase costly equipment, acquire a high speed Internet connection, and possibly a support staff - an overall pricey approach.
With a Virtual Server, you get the Internet services you need without the problems and expense of your own dedicated Internet connection. Best of all, no one can tell the difference! If you still feel that a dedicated server is the right solution for you - which may be the case if your web site is very large and records thousands of hits per day - please contact us at support@dialupnet.com to discuss the possibility of setting up a dedicated server for you here at DialUp Net.
- What is CGI-programming and what is it for?
Interactivity on websites is created in two ways. With client-side scripting languages, such as JavaScript, Visual Basic Script, and VRML your browser "reads" and executes instructions that are embedded in the actual file that the browser has downloaded. (Mouse-over effects and alert statements when filling out forms are some of the typical client-side applications.)
With server-side CGI-programming your browser displays the results of a program that the server is running. CGI-programming is used for things such as complex mail-back forms, hit counters, site search tool, discussion boards, on-line catalogs and ordering, shopping carts, etc.)
- Can I transfer an existing domain to DialUp Net?
Yes. Whether you place an order by telephone or via our Services page, be sure to specify that you are requesting a transfer and NOT a new domain. You should keep the service at the present site while waiting for InterNIC to complete the transfer. We will provide you with a temporary IP address so you can mirror the site on our server. All e-mail and web pages will still be accessed from the current site. NOTE: You need to be able to receive e-mail at the address on file with the InterNIC for your current domain name if it is a transfer. Otherwise, you will need to contact them directly via telephone at: (703) 742-4777.
- Can multiple domains point to the same HTML files?
In general, if you have more than one domain account (web site) set up in your DialUp Net hosting space, we can point each domain address to the same HTML files at no charge.
- Will I have unlimited access to update my pages?
Yes, you have unlimited access via FTP 24 hours a day. As such, you can create and maintain your web pages on your own computer and upload files to your web site at your leisure.
- How do I transfer files to my web site?
Files must be transferred to the web server via File Transport Protocol (FTP) or by using MS-FrontPage (you need to inform us if you intend to use MS-FrontPage so that we can configure your account accordingly.
If you have a PPP internet account and need FTP software, you can download a 30 day trial version of WS_FTP Pro 5.0 free for the PC HERE.
- Does DialUp Net support MS FrontPage Extensions?
Yes, we have set up a special account for our MS FrontPage users. It has all of the features of our Standard User Account account plus MS FrontPage 2000 extensions.
- Does DialUp Net limit the number of hits I can receive each month?
DialUp Net gives you virtually unlimited data transfer based on the web hosting space that comes with your account. Experience shows that 300MB/month is more than enough bandwidth for 99% of all web sites and we use it as a bench mark. Depending on the quantity and size of your files, 1000MB (1GB) could support many thousands of hits per week. If your site begins to exceed the transfer rate of your account we will contact you about upgrading so performance does not suffer.
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...More Technical Stuff & Troubleshooting Tips
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- What
kind of system/platform does DialUp Net use?
We use Servers
with mirrored drives equipped with RedHat Linux 9 and
Windows 2000 Server. Linux (a version of UNIX) is the
up-and-coming operating system which is quickly becoming
the choice for servers that need a high reliability rate.
It also allows for easy scalability and maintenance. Windows
NT Server is also available for hosting your domain. This
popular server software has become a standard in many
organizations, from large corporations to government offices,
mainly because of its security features. How do you know
which server is hosting your account? Just ask. There
is one easy way to tell: if you have requested FrontPage
Extensions, you are on the Windows server. Otherwise,
you are being hosted on the Linux server.
If your site is hosted on the Windows machine, Microsoft
Internet Information Server is the web server being used
to present your site to the world. On the Linux machine,
we use Apache, the increasingly-popular and stable web
server designed specifically for use with UNIX-based computers.
- Will I have unrestricted CGI-bin access?
YES. With our Value Server, Value Plus Server, Business Pro Server, as well as the Enterprise Partner reseller account, you have unlimited CGI-BIN access. We ask that you ensure your program be bug-free and not have any uncontrolled for-loops that may cause your programs to run continuously by accident. We prefer PERL scripts, but will accommodate executables. All you have to do is upload your file(s) to our web server and place them in the CGI-bin directory, located in the root directory of your web. If it is not there, you can create it (by using FrontPage or any popular FTP program). Then, send us a note to request that we activate the file by making it executable. That's it!
- What do the error codes mean?
- 100 Continue
- 101 Switching Protocols
- 200 OK
- 201 Created
- 202 Accepted
- 203 Non-Authoritative Information
- 204 No Content
- 205 Reset Content
- 206 Partial Content
- 300 Multiple Choices
- 301 Moved Permanently
- 302 Moved Temporarily
- 303 See Other
- 304 Not Modified
- 305 Use Proxy
- 400 Bad Request
- 401 Unauthorized
- 402 Payment Required
- 403 Forbidden
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- 404 Not Found
- 405 Method Not Allowed
- 406 Not Acceptable
- 407 Proxy Authentication Required
- 408 Request Time-Out
- 409 Conflict
- 410 Gone
- 411 Length Required
- 412 Precondition Failed
- 413 Request Entity Too Large
- 414 Request-URI Too Large
- 415 Unsupported Media Type
- 500 Server Error
- 501 Not Implemented
- 502 Bad Gateway
- 503 Out of Resources
- 504 Gateway Time-Out
- 505 HTTP Version not supported
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Domain Names and Domain Name Registration
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- What is a "domain" or "domain name"
A domain or domain name serves two functions. The primary function of a domain or domain name is "routing". Your domain name tells a viewer's browser where your web site can be found, by identifying the IP address of the web host. A domain is in fact equivalent to an address.
The secondary function of a domain name is that it constitutes a way to identify yourself or your company, by using your company name as your domain name. This makes it easy for users to find or remember your site URL.
- Can DialUp Net handle my domain name registration?
DialUp Net will register new domain names with InterNIC for you. We will bill you directly for this. We do not charge to fill out your paperwork. If you have an existing domain we will fill out and send a modify domain name template. When InterNIC announces the completion of the transfer, there is a 72 hour propagation period where visitors could go to either site. At the end of the 72 hours, you should contact the previous host to have them delete the old domain from their records and update their DNS record. If you use this same provider for your Internet access you will not be able to access your domain site at dialupnet.com until they update their DNS. During the propagation period, persons accessing your site will be going to both sites until all are accessing the new site.
- How can I check domain name availability?
Yes. You can check worldwide domain availability directly from our web site by clicking HERE.
- What is the InterNIC fee for domain registration?
Currently, DialUp Net charges $50 to register a new domain name. This fee covers the first two years. The current annual renewal rate is $15 per year. (InterNIC rates may change over time, but we will make every attempt to always reflect the current rates).
DialUp Net will bill you separately via credit card for your initial registration and then for subsequent annual renewals you will first receive an invoice via e-mail, and then a mailed invoice.
Be sure to pay your InterNIC dues in a timely manner or you will loose your domain name.
- How long does it take before my domain name is active?
Once InterNIC announces that your domain name has been registered (or transferred, if applicable), it usually takes about 72 hours before your domain name is fully active. This delay is due to the fact that all Internet providers must update their records (DNS tables) to reflect new site locations. This process is called propagation.
- Can I access my domain name without the WWW?
Yes, you will be able to access the domain name with or without the WWW in front. For example, you could access the domain name "mydomain.com" by going to "www.mydomain.com" as well as "mydomain.com".
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Upgrading Services
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- Can I upgrade from a non-domain account to a virtual server account?
Yes. Please keep in mind that since your site will move to a new server your IP address will also change. As a consequence, your site will be inaccessible via its domain name for 2-3 days.
- Can I upgrade from a Value Server account to a Business Pro Server or Enterprise Partner reseller account ?
Yes, you can upgrade your business account at any time for the difference in the fee for the higher grade service. If you upgrade between billing cycles, we will also give you rental credit toward your new virtual server for the unused amount already paid on your current server.
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