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 Revised: July 30, 2002

NOTE: In examples below, XXXXXX.COM represents YOUR actual domain name

Overview

Administrators

Webmasters

New Site Upload

OVERVIEW

The hosting plan provides you with a virtual server, which comes with storage space and Internet Backbone connectivity. We provide the equipment and services on the host side and we are responsible for keeping it up and running. You are responsible for the all the rest. Assistance for the client side setup, on-going usage, occasional troubleshooting & planning, etc. is available at standard consulting rates.

To perform the roles of hosting administrator and webmaster, you have 3 options:

• designate an in-house employee,
• supply your own out-sourced consultant, or
• simply hire us, especially if we're already handling the rest of your IT tasks.

What kind of tasks is the administrator responsible for?

• manage your virtual server
• setup email and/or ftp accounts for end-users
• setup aliases and forwarding
• actively maintain email system, including catch-all account
• reset user passwords, allocate user space quota & suspend users
• combat spam at domain level
• upload web site to host and keep it up-to-date
• backup content of website, on local hard drive, or at alternate hosting locations
• respond to external inquiries (from visitors and the authorities)
• respond to Mach-4 notices
• implement security measures at site level
• troubleshooting
• monitor services, traffic & space quotas
• respond to DDOS attacks and other hostile threats
• coordinate with your local access provider
• enforce Mach-4 AUP/TOS
• training end-users
• publish internal usage policies
• register and renew domain names
• project future usage and evaluate new services

How do I switch from another web host?
First, login to the registrar to manage your domain name. Change the name servers to:
  ns1.bravotech.net
  ns2.bravotech.net
Then you wait for that DNS information to propagate throughout the world. It generally takes 8 hours to 3 days depending on the local access ISP of the web visitor (including yourself). For seamless switching, you should have a 2-4 week overlap of the old and new hosts. Upload the site to the new host prior to DNS propagation to ensure a smooth transition. Caution: Some UK registrars tend to "trap" people within their own hosting by making your switch as painful as possible. Many do not provide any form of online domain management. When contacted by phone, they give you the run-around and semi-purposely provide incorrect information. Some demand a hefty "release fee!"

What kind of aircraft is in that picture on your site?

It's the world's only civilian supersonic jet, the Concord. Top Speed: Mach 2.2. Photo courtesy of Air France.

Use Manage Domains to update your contact info and change name servers, if it is registered with Mach-4/Bravo. Otherwise, contact your registrar. If you need assistance in doing that, we provide DNS Rx service.

We don't have a domain name yet, can you help?

Yes. We are a domain name registration service provider for the following top level domains: 

How do I manage my server and create user accounts?

Use the Site Administrator's Control Panel:
URL:  http://XXXXXX.COM/admin (where XXXXXX.COM is YOUR actual domain name, for example: http://mach4.bravotech.us/admin)
Login:  admin

Domain:  XXXXXX.COM

Password:  As assigned by Mach-4. See notification email sent to designated administrator.

Can users manage their own account?
Yes. User may change their own password or add/remove aliases via User Control Panel.
URL:  http://XXXXXX.COM/user (For example: http://us-uk.org/user)
Login:  user

Domain:  XXXXXX.COM

Password:  As assigned by your designated administrator.

How do I monitor my disk space and bandwidth usage so that I don't get billed for overage?

It's listed in site administrator's control panel: Site Summary page. This is a major upgrade from our old system, and has been the most requested feature among webmasters like yourself. See Terms Of Service (TOS) document for details on overage policies.

What's my email client login info?

POP Server: mail.XXXXXX.COM  (For example: mail.bravotech.us)

SMTP Server: Same as your current, or as instructed by your local access ISP  (for example: smtp.frontiernet.net)

Login: user@XXXXXX.COM  as assigned by your designated administrator (Note: you must include the domain name in login)

Password: As assigned by your designated administrator

What is my FTP login info?
Server: ftp.XXXXXX.COM  (For example: ftp.instantwebbie.COM)
Login: admin@XXXXXX.COM  (Note: you must include the domain name in login)
Password: As assigned by Mach-4. See notification email sent to designated administrator.

Can I check my email via the Web?

Yes. We provide a free web client for IMAP servers. To access your email with a browser, go to:

URL: http://XXXXXX.COM/webmail  (For example: bravo-studio.COM/webmail) and login as usual.

You can even fetch your POP server email from other accounts. This feature is great for emergencies when your email client is not working, or when you're on the road away from your computer. Use it for troubleshooting purposes as well.

What is "catch-all" alias?

"catch-all" is a built-in alias which points to the "admin" account. All email addressed to non-existent accounts (senders' typo or spammers guessing) are forwarded to the "admin" mailbox. Admin must periodically check mail and forward them back to the intended recipients or delete them. Elimination of "catch-all" alias would stop such forwarding/cumulating and result in the sender receiving a "no such user acct" email notification. If your site is receiving enormous amount of spam, the resulting out-bound bandwidth consumption could be very significant. You might want to simply ignore those email by pointing the "catch-all" alias to "site_blackhole@XXXXXX.COM"  (a built-in alias). This way, you will not waste valuable bandwidth in sending notification email to the return addresses (which are almost certainly spoofed) and trigger a perpetual storm of email. 

It's fairly easy to perform the most basic functions of an FTP program. Simply enter the URL for your ftp site, the login and your password. Uncheck the login anonymously box. Leave the rest of the settings in default or automatic for the time being. You should now be able to upload your files to your host computer. From here, it's a matter of learning the many functions and concepts about ftp and Internet in general. See the Webmaster Resources area for a crash course on such topics. 

What FTP program do you recommend?

We recommend SmartFTP, a completely free program for personal use. It is extremely feature rich, and yet amazingly simple. In our 2 years of very extensive use, it performed reliably. FTP Voyager, CuteFTP and WS_FTP Pro are also popular. 

SmartFTP features an Explorer-like interface and fully supports drag-and-drop. Advanced features include:  favorites list, multiple FTP connections, transfer among remote hosts, directory caching, built-in viewer, FTP search engines, resume interrupted or aborted downloads, global history; background transfers, proxy support, passive transfer mode, and recursive downloads/uploads/deletes.
    See Bravo tutorial for download link and step-by-step instructions.

Do you support FrontPage Extension?

Yes. FrontPage Extension 2002 is standard for all plans. It is not enable by default. Contact us to request it. Use of FP extension of course could interfere with other operations, due to .htaccess and other hidden files created. It is not advisable to mix FP extension with standard FTP transfer.

Do you offer web design and webmaster administration assistance/training?

Certainly. See Bravo Technology Center for details on rates and terms & conditions.

How can I setup a password-protected area in my web site?

This requires some Webmaster and O.S. know-how's. There are several options, including using UNIX commands setup on the server, and using Java Script programming. You also use the front-end provided by Ensim, your virtual server control panel, to create the necessary UNIX files. Contact us to arrange for consulting services, or research such topics in the Webmaster Resources area. 

If you have additional questions, please CONTACT US