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Blogs, Podcasting and RSS | eCommerce Impact
Blogs, Podcasting, and RSS Overview You probably have heard all these terms an awful lot lately. You wonder about what these technologies do? What value to they provide? If you aren't up to speed on these new applications and how they are...

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Choosing an online shopping cart is a big decision. Unlike a traditional brick and mortar business, your website is your only chance to impress potential customers. It needs to project a professional image to capture the trust of your visitors....

Leading eCommerce Consultant Admits You Should Only Listen to One Real Expert! (And it’s not him..!)
Let me share with you a secret that most marketing experts and consultants don’t want you to know… (many of them don’t even understand this secret themselves.) The secret is… There is only one true expert who can show you how to drastically...

Surviving the Ecommerce Competition
Just as putting up any other business, e-commerce has also its own trade secrets. Not applying those trade secrets could detrimental to the survival of an e-commerce site. While many webmasters believe that content is king, if you only depend on...

 
Network Monitoring for Serious eCommerce


In the real world, businesses come in every size, from self-employed entrepreneurs like me to mega malls like Wal-Mart.

On the Internet, companies come in every size, too, from a stand-alone ebook sales page with webmaster and owner all in one, to 300 pound gorilla like Amazon, with over a million pages requiring the entire population of a small country to serve as webmaster.

If your site is a single page, it is its own network. But if your site is any bigger, and you have plans to grow, it is a network or is fast becoming one. You need network monitoring.

Most ecommerce webmasters are at least somewhat familiar with website monitoring. Many use a website monitoring service or software to keep track of "uptime" and "downtime".

At your local shopping mall, serious business requires more than just knowing when the front doors are open and when they are closed. Serious ecommerce needs to know more than just when the site is accessible. That is what network monitoring is all about.

Chances are, your e-business owns one of the following, or uses one of the following remotely:

DNS servers: These are used to translate your site name, like www.mycompany.com, to the numbers called "IP addresses" that computers understand. If DNS servers are not working properly, end-users will not be able to find your site and will get an error. Usually only an external or remote monitoring service will detect such a problem.

An FTP server: File Transfer Protocol servers are used to help you exchange files with remote users. If you use FTP, a monitoring service can make sure it is always up and running.

POP3 and SMTP servers: These are used for exchanging emails. If you are using email, chances are you are using SMTP and POP3. If your SMTP server is down, everyone who sends you email will receive an error, stating that your mail server is down and cannot accept incoming email. To say that the impression this leaves your customers is bad would be an understatement. If your POP3 server is down, you will be unable to retrieve email from your mailbox. Once again, only external monitoring will prevent such a problem.

Firewalls: Many businesses use firewalls to protect their internal network from un-authorized traffic, such as spyware, viruses and sabotage by competitors. Furthermore, a firewall is your first line of


defense. If your firewall goes down, your whole network may actually become inaccessible from outside. In other words, if you host your own web site and mail servers, those will become inaccessible to the outside world if your firewall goes down. Once again, remote network monitoring is required to detect that a problem exists and quickly get it repaired.

Internet connections: Users come to your network from multiple backbones, depending on the company they use to connect to the Internet and their location. It is important to ensure that your connection performs well for each user. A remote monitoring service can ping your networks from multiple locations around the world, thus testing most major routes to your web server or network. Before hiring a network monitoring service, check to see that they have both your customer geography and the Internet backbone layout covered.

Very few websites of any size and functionality are anything less than a complete network, and many networks rely on servers in different parts of the world.

A good network monitoring service can ensure, as a base, that all servers are properly functioning, that data can be sent to and received from each server, and that each function sharing the server responds as required. An advanced network monitoring service can even remotely monitor the temperature of your servers.

What you need to monitor depends on how extensive your network is. A network monitoring expert can help you determine what needs monitoring. If you own the servers, or are remotely hosted on dedicated servers, you most likely need everything monitored. If your site is hosted on shared servers, you might need fewer functions monitored.

David Leonhardt is a freelance writer and SEO consultant. Contact him at


http://www.SEO-writer.net


He wrote this article for Dotcom-Monitor:


http://www.dotcom-monitor.com


Read more on network monitoring:


http://www.dotcom-monitor.com/network-monitoring.asp


Read more on website monitoring:


http://www.dotcom-monitor.com/website-monitoring.asp


david@seo-writer.net


 

E-Commerce Times: Because E-Business Means Business
Everything you need to know about doing business on the Internet. Information for C-Level executives and small-to-mid-sized business managers.
www.ecommercetimes.com
 
ECommerce-Guide to News, Reviews and Technology Solutions
ECommerce-Guide provides ecommerce business owners with e-commerce news, hardware and software reviews and tutorials, technology solutions and information ...
www.ecommerce-guide.com
 
Electronic commerce - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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New Zealand Government E-Commerce
Resource containing information on electronic commerce, including law, trade, tax, privacy, consumer protection, and help for businesses.
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eCommerce Guidebook for web hosting
The eCommerce Guidebook provides many resources, including a directory of online transaction providers, a tutorial, and many other resources.
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Includes columns with commentary and analysis on a wide variety of internet marketing subjects ranging from B2B marketing to search engine marketing.
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Shopping cart software integrated into Frontpage, Dreamweaver, CSS and Golive ecommerce software templates.
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E-Commerce & the Internet
Information from the FTC on E-commerce and the Internet. Includes anti-fraud tips.
www.ftc.gov
 
Economy & Work: eBusiness | Europa - Information Society
The e-business concept goes well beyond e-commerce (buying and selling ... A pilot study on E-commerce and the Internet in European businesses (2002) was ...
ec.europa.eu
 
Online Business
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onlinebusiness.about.com
 
eCommerce Info Center- ONE-STOP for eCommerce info, services ...
eCommerce Info Center, created and maintained by Slim Baltagi, will make it easier and faster for you to find out relevant eCommerce information, ...
www.ecominfocenter.com
 
eCommerce Innovation Centre
Practical resources for small business involved in or considering eCommerce implemetations. Expert Advice and Assistance.
www.ecommerce.ac.uk
 
Web Marketing Today -- E-Commerce, E-Mail, Internet Marketing, and ...
Articles, tips and advice on e-commerce and effective Internet marketing strategies.
www.wilsonweb.com
 
Web Marketing Today Research Room for E-Commerce
The largest collection of annotated links to web marketing and ecommerce articles and resources to be found at any single place on the planet.
www.wilsonweb.com
 
The 2005 E-commerce Awards - Welcome
The UK national E-commerce awards organised by the DTI and Interforum.
www.ecommerce-awards.co.uk
 
Mal's e-commerce
Mal's e-commerce ... Customize the look and feel of your store; No scripts or applications to install; Build as large an e-commerce site as you want ...
www.mals-e.com
 
Howstuffworks "How E-commerce Works"
E-commerce has exploded in the last 10 years. Find out how e-commerce works and how you can harness the potential of e-commerce, from affiliate programs to ...
www.howstuffworks.com
 
Ecommerce Guide - Terms You Need to Know to Do Business on the ...
An online computer dictionary and internet search engine for internet terms and techincal support.
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Shopping Cart Software Ecommerce Solutions
Ecommerce solutions by Volusion will take your business to new heights. Volusion offers the best prices in the industry for a complete ecommerce web ...
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Content Menu
  • 7 tips to increase sales with your ecommerce web site

  • accepting payments online an ecommerce web site overview

  • advertising your ecommerce web site

  • an arm a leg for ecommerce

  • an ecommerce internet merchant account

  • ask mr d ecommerce sales

  • a successful ecommerce website part 1

  • a successful ecommerce website part 2

  • blocking and tackling a quick look at some ecommerce fundamentals

  • blogs podcasting and rss ecommerce impact

  • blogs podcasting and rss how will these technologies affect ecommerce

  • building ecommerce websites that work part 1

  • building ecommerce websites that work part 2

  • building ecommerce websites that work part 3

  • building ecommerce web sites where do i start

  • canadas ecommerce opportunity

  • canada and ecommerce

  • choosing an ecommerce shopping cart

  • comparing ecommerce software programs 5 tips

  • cost effective ecommerce solutions

  • developing a winning ecommerce marketing strategy

  • developing a winning ecommerce strategy

  • divesify with ecommerce

  • drop shipping is ecommerce snake oil

  • ecatalog a key component of your ecommerce initiative

  • ecommerce 101 online credit card processing

  • ecommerce and other strange animals

  • ecommerce a new artform

  • ecommerce a plan

  • ecommerce boost your business roi

  • ecommerce communications and the global internet community

  • ecommerce development for microsoft great plains tools and highlights for programmer

  • ecommerce fundamentals

  • ecommerce hosting considerations

  • ecommerce hosting for your online business

  • ecommerce hosting how to choose a merchant account

  • ecommerce how much does it cost

  • ecommerce installing and configuring your shopping cart

  • ecommerce making your bank account grow

  • ecommerce marketing plan

  • ecommerce seo

  • ecommerce solutions

  • ecommerce solutionsthe call of the time

  • ecommerce solutions compared

  • ecommerce solutions for small business owners

  • ecommerce solution for the big and small business

  • ecommerce store owners want visitors heres how

  • ecommerce that makes sense

  • ecommerce turnkey sites

  • ecommerce website development brings more people to your business

  • ecommerce website overview accepting payments online

  • ecommerce web design solutions

  • ecommerce web hosting all you need to know

  • ecommerce web sites if you build it they will come or will they

  • ecommerce web site building where do i start

  • ecommerce your opportunities are unlimited

  • econnect ecommerce development for microsoft great plains

  • evaluating vendors of ecommerce fulfillment services

  • ever wondered what an ecommerce merchant account is

  • eyes on your ecommerce website

  • for your ecommerce success

  • getting started in ecommerce part one

  • getting started in ecommerce part two

  • hosting options for an ecommerce web site

  • how exactly does ecommerce work

  • how to achieve ecommerce success you gotta plan

  • how to create a money magnet ecommerce web site

  • how to set up the ecommerce shopping cart software tools to handle your transactions and how to do in smart efficient and cost effective way

  • increasing your conversion rates 50 tips for ecommerce sites

  • index

  • integrating microsoft great plains accounting erp rms crm ecommerce lotus domino overview

  • integrating microsoft great plains accounting erp rms crm ecommerce lotus domino overview for developer

  • internet basics ecommerce is like playing house

  • introduction to ecommerce

  • is ecommerce right for our business

  • leading ecommerce consultant admits you should only listen to one real expert and its not him

  • meeting the uk ecommerce regulations

  • merchant services add ecommerce functionality to any business

  • microsoft dynamics gp 9 0 ecommerce web development overview for programmer

  • microsoft ecommerce web development great plains econnect net approach highlights for programmer

  • microsoft great plains ecommerce know your options and alternatives

  • microsoft great plains ecommerce overview for developer

  • microsoft great plains ecommerce stored procedures approach

  • microsoft small business manager ecommerce overview

  • my top 7 favorite ecommerce tools

  • network monitoring for serious ecommerce

  • oscommerce a viable ecommerce solution

  • outsourcing your ecommerce order fulfillment

  • quick ecommerce tutorial

  • reverse logistics and ecommerce

  • rotator

  • search engine optimization in an ecommerce world

  • select a niche market for ecommerce

  • seo for ecommerce

  • small business ecommerce web design

  • surviving the ecommerce competition

  • the ecommerce business plan

  • the ecommerce myth

  • the lowdown on ecommerce making all the pieces fit together

  • the no 1 ecommerce solution tip for you

  • the rumors of ecommerce death

  • the seven pillars of ecommerce defined

  • using ebay to market your ecommerce website

  • victoryvisions your one stop to build a successfull ecommerce website

  • web design for ecommerce

  • web ecommerce where to begin

  • whats toll free numbers got to do with ecommerce

  • what ecommerce software has to offer

  • why ecommerce is not ready for my daughter or me

  • why vps is perfect for ecommerce hosting

  • why you should use turnkey websites to jumpstart your ecommerce activity