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Frequently asked questions

If you have questions that may need answering about dedicated Windows hosting have a look here in our FAQ's.

If you have any more questions submit an FAQ here or call us 0800 4584545.

Operating SystemsWindows Dedicated Servers

Should I opt for a Windows server or a Linux server?

If you specifically require ASP, IIS, MS SQL server or any other Microsoft products then you will probably want to opt for a Windows server.

Otherwise, Linux is a far more reliable, secure and economical solution. Administering a Linux system does requires some level of technical expertise.


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Which versions of Windows and SQL do you install on your dedicated servers?

We offer the following versions of Windows Operating system:


We offer the following versions of SQL:

All Licences are available on a monthly payment option taking advantage of Microsoft's Service Provider's Licence Agreement (SPLA).

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What are the differences between the different versions of Windows 2003?

There are various differences and a full list of these can be found on the Microsoft Website

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How do I create user accounts on Windows?

1. From the desktop you need to right click on the "My Computer" icon and select Manage from the menu

2. This will bring up the Computer Management window.Next expand the Local Users and Groups

3. Select users and then right click select New User

4. In the New user screen you need to fill the following details in "User name" (this will be the name used to login with) and "Password" The tick boxes adjust how the account is handled i.e. the user can not change their own password, or they must change it when they login for the 1st time. Once these have been set as required you need to click on Create and then select Close.

5. On the right hand section you should be able to see the newly created Username if you highlight this and then right click and select properties.

6. In the properties screen you will need to select the "Member Of" tab this will then allow you to set the level of access the account has i.e. Administrator or just generic User.

7. Click Add

8. Click Advanced

9. Click Find Now

10. Select the relevant group i.e. Administrator

11. Click OK

12 Click OK

13. Click OK

14. Close the Management window


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How do I configure AWStats?

(Please read the "How do I configure IIS for my website?" FAQ before performing these actions)

1. First open IIS (Start Menu, Programs, Administrative Tools)

2. Expand the tree on the left pane to show the Web Site

3. Right click on the domain name eg test.com and select "Properties"

4. Select the "Documents" tab, check the list of default names for "default.pl" , if not listed click "Add" and enter default.pl

5. Click "OK" , then click "OK" again

6. On the Left Pane, right click on the domain name, select "New" then select "Virtual Directory"

7. The Virtual Directory Creation Wizard will be displayed, to continue click "Next"

8. For the Alias enter stats , click "Next"

9. For the Path browse to the D drive, awstats, cgi-bin folder. Once highlighted click "OK"

10. Select Read - Run Scripts - Execute , click "Next"

11. Click "Finish"

12. Another Virtual Directory is needed so right click on the domain name, select "New" then select "Virtual Directory"

13. The Virtual Directory Creation Wizard will be displayed, to continue click "Next"

8. For the Alias enter stats-icons , click "Next"

9. For the Path browse to the D drive, awstats, icons folder. Once highlighted click "OK"

10. Select Read , click "Next"

11. Click "Finish"

The server is configured to run the Awstats software nightly at 2am so please leave 24hours before expecting to see any logs displayed. To view the web stats (for test.com) go to the following :

http://test.com/stats/awstats.pl


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How do I create a new FTP user?

First connect to the server via VNC or Remote Desktop

Create New FTP user
======================

1. Open FileZilla Server using the shortcut on your desktop or via Start Menu.

2. Click Edit, then Users

3. Underneath the users list on the right click Add

4. Enter the name of the user account

5. Tick the Password box and enter a password - keep a note of this

6. Click Shared Folders on the left, then click Add

7. Select the folder that you want to allow the User to access,click Ok

8. Tick all Read/Write/Delete/Append/Create/Delete/List/+Subdirs

9. Click Ok at the bottom to finish.

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How do I create a new MySQL Database?

First connect to the server via VNC or Remote Desktop

Create New MySQL Schema/Database
===============================

1. Open MySQL Administrator using the shortcut on your desktop or via Start Menu.

2. Login using the root details (as provided when server details sent out)

3. Select Catalogs then underneath where other databases are listed, Right click and select New Schema

4. Enter the database name and click ok.


Create New MySQL user
======================

1. Open MySQL Administrator using the shortcut on your desktop or via Start Menu.

2. Login using the root details (as provided when server details sent out)

3. Select User Administration on the left, then click Add user

4. Enter the name of the user account

5. Enter a password - keep a note of this

6. Next Click the Schema Privilages Tab

7. Select the database you want the new user to access

8. Select the privilages you want to grant to that user, click the double arrow << to assign all

9. Click Apply Changes and that's it.

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How do I configure Webmail for my server?


Once you obtain access to your Dedicated server the Default Web Site in IIS
is setup as the Webmail site.

You can access this by entering your server IP address in a web browser and the Squirrelmail
Login interface should be displayed.

If you would like to setup a new website for your Webmail simply do the following :

First connect to the server via VNC or Remote Desktop

1. Create a new site via IIS (refer to previous FAQ) using a name such as webmail.domain.com

2. When entering the home directory browse to the D:\inetpub\Webmail dir

3. Once the site is listed in IIS, right click on this to display the properties and then view
the Documents tab. Here you should make sure index.php is added.

4. Next you need to setup the webmail.domain.com as a DNS record. If you manage the
DNS for domain.com through UKFast this can be done easily via your Client area or SafeDNS.

After the DNS has propagated the website should now display the login page.

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How do I configure hMailServer Web Admin for my server?

First connect to the server via VNC or Remote Desktop

1. Open My Computer, D drive, inetpub, wwwroot, PHPWebAdmin

1. Make sure there is a sub-directory named template_c and one named temp.
If they do not exist, create them.

2. The file config.php contains the basic settings for PHPWebAdmin and needs to be modified to correctly adjust it for your system:
Set the value of rootpath to your root web directory where PHPWebAdmin is placed.
Example:
$hmail_config['rootpath'] = "D:/inetpub/wwwroot/PHPWebAdmin/";

Set the value of rooturl to the URL where the PHPWebAdmin will be located.
Example:
$hmail_config['rooturl'] = "http://mail.domain.com/PHPWebAdmin/";

3. Open up php.ini, and make sure that short_open_tag is set to On

4. From the Windows Start Menu, go to Administrative Tools,

5. Open Component Services, Expand the Component Services folder

6. Expand down to Computers | My Computer | DCOM Config

7. Right-click on hMailServer and select properties

8. Select Security tab , Under Launch and Activation Permissions, select Customize and click on Edit

9. Set the Local Launch and Local Activation permissions of the built-in anonymous IIS user to Allow.
( IUSER_machinename)

Now once the DNS record is setup for mail.domain.com then you can use this to login to the Administration Interface.


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