Granted Patent B1

US 6,868,444 · App. 09/678,170 · Granted Mar 15, 2005

Assignee: Interland, Inc.

Abstract

Claims (41)

1. A web hosting system comprising:

a plurality of geographically separate web hosting facilities associated with a web hosting provider;

a plurality of servers located at each of said facilities having internet resources hosted thereon; and

a server inventory database remote from at least some of said geographically separate web hosting facilities, said database configured to allow access to a first portion of the database by first user and access to a second distinct portion by a second user.

2. The web hosting system of claim 1 , additionally comprising a database access program.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein said server inventory database contains information comprising one or more of server serial number, server model, server facility location, server location within a facility, server speed, server memory capacity, server traffic, and server software configuration for at least some of said plurality of servers.

4. The system of claim 3 , wherein said server software configuration information comprises information regarding server operating system and server application programs.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein said portion is identified by login information.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein said first user is a customer of the web hosting provider.

7. The system of claim 6 , wherein said first portion corresponds to information related to a first one of said servers, wherein said first one of said servers is a server providing hosting services to said customer.

8. The system of claim 7 , wherein said information is determined by a class of service provided to said customer.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein said class of service comprises a dedicated server.

10. The system of claim 8 , wherein said class of service comprises a shared server.

11. A computer implemented method of managing the configuration of a plurality of geographically separated servers, said method comprising:

storing, in a database, information related to the inventory of said servers, wherein each of said servers is used to host internet resources, said database configured to allow access to a first portion of the database by first user and access to a second distinct portion by a second user;

routing a predefined subset of said information to a user in a server information web page;

in response to said routing, receiving from a user a request for a configuration change of at least one of said servers; and

in response to said request, modifying said server configuration.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein said server information web page includes information related to configuration of an application program.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein said entering a request comprises entering said request onto said server information web page, and wherein said modification is performed automatically without human intervention.

14. The method of claim 11 , wherein said server information web page includes information related to server hardware configuration.

15. The method of claim 14 , additionally comprising linking, prior to entering said request, to a service provider contact web page, and wherein said modification is performed manually.

16. The system of claim 11 , wherein said first user is a customer of a web hosting provider associated with at least one of said servers.

17. The system of claim 16 , wherein said first portion corresponds to information related to a first one of said servers, wherein said first one of said servers is a server providing hosting services to said customer.

18. An information processing system comprising:

a plurality of servers hosting internet resources;

a first database storing server hardware inventory information regarding said plurality of servers, said first database configured to allow access to a first portion of the database by first user and access to a second distinct portion by a second user; and

a second database storing parameter information for application programs, said application programs running on said plurality of servers.

19. The information processing system of claim 18 , wherein said first database and said second database are remote from at least some of said plurality of servers.

20. The system of claim 18 , wherein said first user is a customer of a web hosting provider associated with at least one of said servers.

21. The system of claim 20 , wherein said first portion corresponds to information related to a first one of said servers, wherein said first one of said servers is a server providing hosting services to said customer.

22. A method of managing web hosting resources comprising:

storing server hardware inventory information regarding a plurality of servers in a first centralized database, said first centralized database configured to allow access to a first portion of the database by first user and access to a second distinct portion by a second user;

storing, in a second centralized database, parameter information for application programs, said application programs running on said plurality of servers;

routing information from both of said databases to users of said web hosting resource;

receiving requests to modify one or both of server hardware or application program parameters from said users; and

modifying one or both of said server hardware or application program parameters in response to said requests.

23. The method of claim 22 , wherein said databases are separate.

24. The method of claim 22 , comprising updating said database, and in response thereto, automatically modifying said parameter information.

25. The system of claim 22 , wherein said first user is a customer of a web hosting provider associated with at least one of said servers.

26. The system of claim 25 , wherein said first portion corresponds to information related to a first one of said servers, wherein said first one of said servers is a server providing hosting services to said customer.

Assignments (20)

Continuity (1)