When it comes to backing up old digital data there are a lot of various options to storing data in different formats.

This could vary between different medium types, disk setups, connectivity etc.

The two main types of data setups include Hot (or) Active data storage, and Cold data storage.

What's the difference between hot and cold storage mediums, and why does it matter ?

Difference between Hot and Cold storage mediums:

Hot data is active information that changes and is used daily. That means it has to be agile and on standby.

Cold data is inactive data that retains mostly static information. For example bulk data that only gets read on infrequent intervals.

This information (cold data) is considered valuable when inactive, as the speed of access is not a priority, but managing where it is kept is.

Hot and cold data both have their advantages but are defined by their differences. The benefits that come from separation have a big impact on the success of business operations.

Hot storage mediums are usually always online and network connected for quick and fast access.

Cold Storage mediums can consist of offline or offshore data storage for security and controlled accessibility.

Choices for Hot and Cold Storage Mediums:

Hot Storage Mediums:

Rack server for hot data storage

A simple and effective hot storage medium can consist of something like a cloud data storage or, a local storage server.

you can purchase a cloud server from popular storage providers like AWS, Google or Azure.

If you plan to construct your own local enterprise storage server, take note it will require a lot of components and software to setup.

what's the difference between a local and online cloud host for data storage ?

Cold Storage Mediums:

Cold storage mediums are usually based on local storage mediums that are offline and not readily accessible.

Typical hard disk for offline storage
Typical USB drive used for local offline storage

Bulk data storage is usually done with cold storage mediums.

This would include storing data for long terms and aren't meant to be touched and modified.

Cold storage's are quite similar to local hot storage's, but differ by being offline most of the time.

Cold storage needs to be impermeable to data loss and corruption over long time periods.

Its typically driven by redundant disk arrays or RAID storage solutions to reduce possibilities in case of an awry situation.

Comparison Between Hot, and Cold storages:

Parameters:Hot StorageCold Storage
Access SpeedFastSlowest
Access FrequencyRegularRare/Very Less
Data Exchange VolumeHighLow
Storage MediaStandard hard drives, solid state drives, portable flash memory, easy-access cloud storageOff-site archival cloud storage (Amazon Glacier, Google Coldline), unplugged & encrypted hard drives
SecurityLowerHigher (physical access required in some cases)
CostHighestLow
Ideal UserEveryone (Enterprise or Personal Usage)Enterprise or Personal with large backup data to be offloaded.
comparison chart of storages

When should one use a particular Data Storage ?

Depending on your needs and use cases, a hot or cold storage system may or may not be applicable to you.

If you are looking for something that requires:

You might want to consider hot storage solutions that are online, or offline.

Otherwise cold storage options or maybe "warm" storage.

It is similar cold storage but exhibits the accessibility and available state of hot storage.

Just not as fast considering it is much more larger in comparison.

Conclusion:

Thus if you are looking to create a hot or cold data storage for your data, consider between the options available and chose accordingly.

Not every business has the same needs, and different data has to be split in between hot and cold storage options.

the choice is based on the various parameters like ease of accessibility and size.

Webserver hosting comes in all sorts of sizes and shapes, depending on your needs you have to choose an optimal webserver that suits your organization.


Here's a list of the various types of Webserver hosting options:

Each one of these has its own variants, upsides and downside which we will list:


Dedicated Webhosting:

Dedicated webservers as described, they are a dedicated server maintained only for individual/personal organizations and nothing else.

They are single handedly the fastest and can handle more for the given resources compared to other offerings.

Dedicated webhosts have variations such as:


Bare Metal webservers

These dedicated webservers are quite simply the most basic webservers that are very lightweight and fast as they have no overhead

It's as simple as a dedicated computer, running a light OS, and hosting the webserver.

Pros:

Cons:


Virtual Host webservers

Virtual Host webservers are just like the aforementioned webservers, the catch being the hosting OS runs on top of a Hypervisor/Virtual Container.

This helps with maintenance of the system and control over the hosting system.

Bare Metal webservers are quite more cumbersome to deal with in maintenance situations.

Pros:

Cons:


Shared Web hosting:

Shared webservers in essence are servers that do shared tasks along with webhosting such as hosting other servers on the same system.

Since multiple tasks run on the same system, The resource usage is dynamically managed.

However if one task is in a state of using heavy resources it will affect other tasks.

Shared hosting can also be bare metal or virtually hosted.

Pros:

Cons:


Virtual Private Server Hosting:

VPS services essentially provides the same kind of experience as a dedicated host but are organized in the same way shared hosts do.

Your webserver will be hosted a on cloud with limited resources, but it has full control for maintenance and is given various protection services like anti-DDoS protection, etc.

VPS services provide peace of mind as it doesn't involve too much of the design process for a proper hosting setup.

Instead, it's a set it and forget it type of service.

For more detailed info about VPS services check here.

Pros:

Cons:

Hostinger is a popular VPS that offers this service.


So which kind of hosting should I prefer ?

Shared and Dedicated webhosts fall into more of a similar category of self-hosted webservers, whereas other services like VPS fall into the cloud-hosted/external hosting services.

If your organization doesn't have a complex need and just needs to host a simple static web page, external hosting might be a cheaper option.

Given the complexity and available resources, self-hosting might seem more reasonable.

If you expect less traffic but want to be able to manage the server on your own, consider self-hosting.

For larger commercial organizations, self-hosting again might seem more reasonable.

If you are a single individual or a smaller commercial business, cloud-hosted/external hosting is just much more feasible, considering network limitations as well.


Wrap-up:

In short, we were able to list down the various options for hosting a webserver for an Individual's needs.

may it be commercial or Individual.

If you host a webserver, a very important that its running optimally and is in proper conditioning.

Here is a small guide to various easy diagnostic tests you can check to see if you webserver is running up to grade.


Getting the tools setup:

Depending on your OS distribution running your webserver the installation methods may vary, However all the tools are all usually the same.

All of them can be invoked from the command line terminal or SSH shell, given that your webserver may be running on a remote system.

The tools include:


Ping:

ping is a simple utility to see if your system is able to respond to systems on the network and check latency.

This comes pre-installed on almost every operating system.

A simple command to check if you are able to communicate with google DNS servers for example:

ping 8.8.8.8
ping checking latency between pc and google's DNS server

Htop:

Htop is a simple system utility to see system runtime stats like CPU usage, RAM usage, processes, etc. kind of like a task manager.

Install it on:

Ubuntu, and Debian derivatives:

sudo apt install htop

Fedora, OpenSUSE, and other RedHat derivatives:

sudo dnf install htop

Manjaro, and other Arch derivatives:

sudo pacman -S htop

Run it with:

htop
HTOP system task view

Uptime:

uptime is a simple utility to see how long you system has been up and running for.

This comes pre-installed on almost every operating system.

Run it with:

uptime
system has been up for about 5 minutes, on average the system hasn't been under any load.

Nload:

nload is a utility to see how much network traffic passes through your system in terms of uploaded and downloaded bytes.

Install it on:

Ubuntu, and Debian derivatives:

sudo apt install nload

Fedora, OpenSUSE, and other RedHat derivatives:

sudo dnf install nload

Manjaro, and other Arch derivatives:

sudo pacman -S nload

Run it with:

nload

(P.S pressing tab switches between network devices like ethernet and wifi to see how much traffic passed through each one)

nload viewing throughput of upload and download data.

Other Utilities:

If you are looking for a more overall system view, you might want to consider using glances.

Install it on:

Ubuntu, and Debian derivatives:

sudo apt install glances

Fedora, OpenSUSE, and other RedHat derivatives:

sudo dnf install glances

Manjaro, and other Arch derivatives:

sudo pacman -S glances

Run it with:

glances
Overall system view with glances.

What to concur from these diagnostic tests ?

Knowing these various parameters is all well and good, But one must know how to make use of them to analyze and troubleshoot issues with their webserver.

For example:


Wrap-up:

There are a lot of simple diagnostic tools for checking the server status. If you are looking for a graphical dashboard, consider using the cockpit-project.

Stuff to get you started on your next installation

So, say you have a brand-new installation of a linux distro, you are new to the ecosystem
you definitely need to setup essential tools aimed towards your area of interest and working profile.

here are some essential software packages you might want to pick up to help you along the way.


Index:


Getting Started with Software Packages in Linux:

In linux, most software is distributed via a "package manager", which is essentially automates the installation, deletion, modification of programs.

Most of the software listed here is packaged in a format called "Flatpak", and is widely accessible on almost all Linux distros.

some software will be available from native distro package manager like aptdnfpacman etc.

All flatpaks available can be viewed from Flathub.org.

To get flatpak on your system, you will need to install it from your distro package manager, follow the following commands to install it:

Ubuntu, Pop, Mint and other debian based distros:

sudo apt install flatpak

Manjaro, and other Arch based distros:

sudo pacman -S flatpak

OpenSuse, Fedora, and other Redhat based distros:

sudo dnf install flatpak

Essential software catalog:

Thunderbird Email Client:

Mozilla's Thunderbird email client

Mozilla's Thunderbird is an amazing email client, accepting a wide number of accounts such as gmail, yahoo, outlook etc.

The setup is seamless and all your mail is neatly displayed with side tabs and folders.
features auto-sync functionality, desktop notifications, standard security protocols, etc.

It also has extra features such as plugins, extensions, and themes. Calendar view is also present so you can sync your reminders to your desktop as well, making it a multi-functional Email and Planner application.

Website: https://www.thunderbird.net/
Flatpak: https://flathub.org/apps/details/org.mozilla.Thunderbird


GNU Image Manipulation Platform (GIMP):

Gimp Image editing software

GIMP is a powerful algorithmic Image editor like Adobe's photoshop, but is free and open. It comes packed with plenty of standard features for editing like exposure, saturation, layers, color mapping etc.

GIMP provides extensions via multiple different programming languages, to provide a seamless and superfast image manipulation setup.

There is also a large community backing GIMP, so rest assured it does not come with the baggage that most proprietary software comes with.

Website: https://www.gimp.org/
Flatpak: https://flathub.org/apps/details/org.gimp.GIMP


Evince document reader:

Gnome's Evince Document viewer

Evince is another free and open-source piece of software that allows you to read your documents in formats like PDF, XPS, DjVU, etc.

It has standard features such as search indexing, outlines, annotations, and bookmarks.
The search feature is exceptional in the sense when tested against other document readers, it has been always able to find the search term much quicker than something like Adobe Acrobat.

The lightweight-ness, simplicity, and speed of Evince makes it an instant recommendation as a preferred document reader on Linux.

Website: https://wiki.gnome.org/Apps/Evince
Flatpak: https://flathub.org/apps/details/org.gnome.Evince


Kdenlive Video editor:

KDE's Kdenlive Video editing suite

Kdenlive from the KDE community is one of the most popular video editing software out there, like a much lighter version of much more professional tools like DaVinci Resolve.

It has many features, a uniform UI, simple and easy access to all kinds of tools to edit your videos, and is also very extensible, not to mention also free and open.

ffmpeg and video codecs supported

with the power of ffmpeg, it supports a wide variety of video formats, from MP4, WebM, RAW, etc. and Popular video codecs such as VP8, H.264, H.265, etc.

Website: https://kdenlive.org/
Flatpak: https://flathub.org/apps/details/org.kde.kdenlive


Libreoffice suite:

LibreOffice's document manipulation suite

The LibreOffice document suite is a powerful text document, spreadsheet, slide creator/editor with support for multiple document formats.

Similar to something like Microsoft office, but being free and open, and has extensions, making the productivity experience much better and seamless.

Its free, fast and lightweight and its an absolute recommend when it comes to document production on Linux.

Website: https://www.libreoffice.org/
Flatpak: https://flathub.org/apps/details/org.libreoffice.LibreOffice


Wine:

Wine application management panel

Wine (Wine is not an emulator), is a piece of software that allows you to run native windows programs on Linux.

It's a very useful piece of software that helps in getting applications that don't have a Linux version to run on Linux nevertheless. it does this by translating the executable via a Linux translation layer, so it is able to run.

Many applications from standard programs, to even games can run on Wine, (however for games, there is a more specific translation software available)

Website: https://www.winehq.org/

There isn't a flatpak for wine and it has to be installed by your native package manager,
Mostly the package's name is wine, you can check here

Ubuntu, Pop, Mint and other debian based distros:

sudo apt install wine

Manjaro, and other Arch based distros:

sudo pacman -S wine

opensuse, fedora, and other redhat based distros:

sudo dnf install wine

Gparted:

Gparted is disk management software that allows you to manage storage disks like hard drives and thumb drives, and allows for thing things like, formatting, partition creation/deletion/resizing, etc.

being a very simple graphical program, having an understandable UI, it makes the cumbersome process of disk partitioning a bit easier to do compared to command line alternatives like fdisk.

website: https://gparted.org/

There isn't a flatpak for wine and it has to be installed by your native package manager,
Mostly the package name is gparted, you can check here

Ubuntu, Pop, Mint and other debian based distros:

sudo apt install gparted

Manjaro, and other Arch based distros:

sudo pacman -S gparted

opensuse, fedora, and other redhat based distros:

sudo dnf install gparted

Syncthing:

Syncthing peer to peer file syncing service

Syncthing is a Peer-to-Peer file syncing service that allows you to have shared folders between computer to computer, or phone and computers etc. on the same network.

using encrypted file sharing, it's a very secure file syncing service that is also very lightweight and speed of syncing is adjustable as needed.

You can use it to do continuous backups of media like photos, videos, and documents between your phone and computer to make sure data is somewhere safe at all times as well.

Website: https://syncthing.net/
Flatpak: https://flathub.org/apps/details/me.kozec.syncthingtk


Blueman:

Blueman is a versatile Bluetooth peripheral management center, just like gparted, this simplifies what can be done over a command line, and just uses a simplified graphical interface to make pairing, disconnecting, modifying Bluetooth peripherals much easier.

it has a simple UI, easy access to some important things associated with Bluetooth device connections and much more.

website: https://blueman-project.github.io/blueman/

There isn't a flatpak for wine and it has to be installed by your native package manager,
mostly the package name is blueman, you can check here

Ubuntu, Pop, Mint and other debian based distros:

sudo apt install blueman

Manjaro, and other Arch based distros:

sudo pacman -S blueman

opensuse, fedora, and other redhat based distros:

sudo dnf install blueman

KDE Connect:

There are a lot of software packages that are available to have integrations with mobile phones and your desktop, some proprietary like Samsung's flow integration, KDE connect supports all android devices.

You can get message notifications, call alerts, battery info, file sharing, and even desktop control from your phone on the same network.

Overall, a great piece of software to keep your mobile smartphone connected.

website: https://kdeconnect.kde.org/

There isn't a flatpak for kde-connect and has to be installed from your native package manager,
Mostly the package name is kde-connect, you can check here

Ubuntu, Pop, Mint and other debian based distros:

sudo apt install kde-connect

Manjaro, and other Arch based distros:

sudo pacman -S kde-connect

opensuse, fedora, and other redhat based distros:

sudo dnf install kde-connect

Wrap up:

If you want to take a look at more available packages from distro specific package managers, check out pkgs.org

If you have the Gnome desktop then you will have access to these packages via the "Gnome software center", which is a graphical app store/package manager.

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