Cast Iron Coding, Inc

Frequently Asked Questions

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fold faq How do I configure TYPO3 image processing?

The Cast Iron Coding servers have all the necessary software libraries pre-installed for TYPO3 image processing. Prior to TYPO3 version 3.8, you need to use ImageMagick for image processing. If you have installed 3.8 or later, you can use GraphicsMagick which is widely thought to be more reliable and more efficient.

fold faq What does it mean to "CHMOD" a file?

General Info

When using a UNIX system it is sometimes necessary to change file permissions. This is done using the CHMOD command. There are two different ways to CHMOD a file.

Certain FTP clients such as Cute FTP and WS/FTP Pro allow for a CHMODing directly within FTP. To do this you would highlight the file that you want to use, and select from the command menu "change file permissions." There is on option for "manual." This is where you will enter the desired CHMOD. Many other FTP clients will support CHMODing as well, we recommend checking the documentation.

Reasons for CHMODING

CHMODing files can be done for a variety of reasons. You can CHMOD files to do things such as: mark them executable, give them write permission, restrict access to them, and a variety of other reasons. It is important to note that CHMODing is nearly impossible to avoid. If you are trying to run a certain CGI script it could require execute permissions on the script itself, write permissions on a directory, and read on an informational page. Your CGI scripts should contain the proper documentation to inform you of the proper CHMODs.

Sample List of CHMODs and What They Mean

  • CHMOD 777 filename The file is available for Read, Write, and Execute for the owner, group, and world.
  • CHMOD 755 filename The file is available for Read, Write, and Execute for the owner; and Read and Execute only for the group and world.
  • CHMOD 644 filename The file is available for Read and Write for the owner, and Read only for the group and world.
  • CHMOD 666 filename The file is available for Read and Write for the owner, group, and world.
fold faq What is cPanel?

General Info

All accounts come with our control account cPanel. You can access your control panel at:

http://{your domain}/cpanel/ or you may use, http://{your ip address}/cpanel/

If using http://www.yourdomain.com/cpanel/ (This will not be active until your domain has been transferred to our nameservers.) you will be asked to enter your user / pass to gain access to your configuration. The control panel is pretty much self explanatory however a little information on the usage of each section is included below if you get confused along the way:

FTP Accounts

Accounts Used for managing access accounts to your web space. The creation of an FTP account will allow users to log into a subdirectory from your main account without gaining access to your main accounts. Sessions show any users that are currently logged into your domain.

Settings allow you to modify access to your anonymous FTP site. More info on anonymous FTP usage.

CGI

We have numerous customizable cgi scripts that have been pre-installed on the server for you to use with your own account. The only thing you'll need to do is select the script you are interested in using, select the colors, style etc., and click the "Make HTML" button. You can then paste the HTML output into any of your HTML files to use that system CGI program.

Java

System Java works the exact same way as cgi see above for usage.

Web Page Protection

Web page protection is used to limit access to any directory to users who enter a user/pass combo. To protect a directory within your account:

  1. Click on that dir.
  2. Enter a user / pass for access.
  3. Click add.

You can add as many users as you wish to this file. This protection is for resources accessed via the WEB only, this will not create an FTP user.

Do not use this if you are also using FrontPage. It is not compatible. Instead, use the security controls within FrontPage itself.

E-mail

E-mail control panel allows instant creation of e-mail POP3, forwards, and aliases.

A POP3 account is a stand alone incoming e-mail account. if you create u: john p: doe it all mail sent to john@domain.com will be routed to the joe e-mail account. The user joe can then check this mail by login into mail.domain.com using his user name and password. REMEMBER: all user names automatically have a determined amount of letters of the domain name appended to the beginning of the user name. So if john was a another domain user the user would use mail.somedomain.net as his incoming e-mail server and use powerjohn as his log in name to retrieve mail sent to john@homepage.net An alias sends mail sent to one address to another POP3 account within your domain. For example if our recently created john account was going to receive all mail sent to sales@anyname.net we would setup sales as an alias to john. Note: by default all names not configured to the root account. So if you sent a message to testl@domain.com it would be sent to your main root account unless you had set it up as an alias, forward or POP3. A forward account sends mail sent to user@domain.com to an address completely out of your domain. For example if john had an AOl account and wanted to check all his mail there you could setup john to forward to john3435@aol.com.

Access Stats

Provides access to many different programs that will analyze your access logs and show you more information about your web sites traffic.

Password

Allows you to change your main accounts password. A good suggestion is to change this password at least once a month.

File Manager

Allows you to modify the files in your web site in real-time via a web based interface. You can perform many commands such as chmod as well as actually edit the file and save it directly to the web server.

Java Chat

Allows you to access your personal java chat server and supplies the code for you to use the product on your own site.

Handlers / Types

You will probably never need to use this portion of your control panel. A MIME type is basically what tells the web server that a .html document is a web page, and that a .gif doc is a gif image etc. If you would like to configure a custom MIME type such as making .pictures a gif image file you would enter it here.

Error Editor

This section lets you customize the errors that your users will see instead of the generic server errors. You could setup a 404 page to redirect users to your main web site instead of the default dead document.

Fantastico

Fantastico automatically installs a number of open source web applications. Note: Cast Iron Coding does not offer free support for these applications.

fold faq Why can't I send mail?

Our SMTP servers are configured as secure relays. This means that you cannot simply reference "mail.yourdomain.com" as an Outgoing mailserver unless you successfully log in via one of your pop3 accounts at "mail.yourdomain.com' before you try to send. This is a mandatory setting to prevent spammers from using our mailservers as havens for unsolicited email. If you are getting a "relaying prohibited" or "disconnected by administrator" error, it means that you haven't logged into the pop3 server at your domain before you tried to send through the smtp server at your domain. To log in, you need to check for mail first.

In addition to this, you might not be able to send regardless of if you check mail successfully. Some ISPs have it set so that their users cannot use an outbound SMTP server to relay messages. If you are still experiencing problems sending through your domain, and are certain that you have logged in via pop3 to an account at your domain, you might want to contact your local ISP to see if they do allow their users to use outbound smtp servers.

fold faq What is my default root e-mail account?

Every account starts out with a default "catch-all" account for its domain. This email box will grab all mail heading to ANYNAME@yourdomain.com. The login for this box is simply the same main account login you received after signing up. Thus, if your root account is "test@homepage.net" (login of "homepage" - first 8 letters of your domain), there is no need to request an alias to your root account, because all names under your domain already are filtered into this account.

fold faq What do I do if my mailhost won't resolve properly?

If you find that you can't get "mail.yourdomain.com" to resolve as a valid SMTP or POP3 server, please be sure that your domain is registered to our nameservers. Also, try clearing out your cache and cookies and then restarting your computer. in some cases your registration was not completed by the registrar.

fold faq I'm having a username / password error when I check my e-mail. What should I do?

The main cause for this is trying to access the e-mail account with the wrong user / password. If this is NOT your primary e-mail account remember to use the full email address (user@domain.com) as your user name for logging in. If all else fails, simply remove, and then recreate the account with your mail control panel.

If none of this helps, then most likely the POP3 box in question has a received a corrupted message. Contact support and tell them to clear that box out. Usually this results in most or all of that particular mailbox's contents being erased.

fold faq What program can I use to FTP to my account?

We have put together a list of popular FTP software: (Keep in mind that new versions of FTP software are continuously being released--you might want to stop by www.download.com and search for the client of your choice to see if an updated version is available.) Also www.tucows.com is recomended for windows apps.

  • WS_FTP 4.5 -- a standard FTP client for Windows Sockets. The graphical interface was designed with the novice FTP user in mind. This version features a reengineered FTP server detection and decoding process. Requirements: Windows 3.x or higher.
  • Cute FTP -- CuteFTP is a Windows-based Internet application that lets beginners use ftp without having to know many details about the protocol itself. It simplifies ftp by offering a user-friendly, graphical interface instead of a command-line prompt. Requirements: Windows 95 or higher.
  • WinTelnet and FTP Pro 32-bit 1.0 Release 2 -- WinTelnet and FTP Pro is a set of Telnet and FTP clients. The application hides the complexities of Unix with an easy-to-use Windows interface, and it offers features such as auto-login profiles and automatic FTP login. Requirements: Windows 95 or higher.
  • FTP Icon Connection 2.5 -- Anawave's FTP Icon Connection is a true 32-bit, drag and drop FTP client. Transfer files to and from a remote site with an easy-to-use interface and automated program settings. New features include shortcuts to 40 top FTP sites, file sorting, and firewall support. Requirements: Windows 95 or higher.
  • Free AutoFTP 1.1a -- Free AutoFTP is client software for transferring files over the Internet. It lets you schedule automatic transfers for a future date or time. Other AutoFTP features include automatic dial and connect, a Windows Explorer like user interface, pop-up menus, drag and drop, activity log, Icon Tray installation, multiple simultaneous transfers, repeated autotransfer scheduling, and more. Requirements: Windows 95 or higher.
  • eFTP Explorer 1.10 -- To keep file transfers as hassle-free as possible, eFTP presents FTP sites in a familiar Explorer-like interface. It has a tree view on the justify, changeable file view on the right, and Internet Explorer/Office 97 "buttonless buttons." It also has features like file synchronization and scheduled downloads. Requirements: Windows 95 or higher.
  • Transmit -- A nice FTP client for OSX, unregistered version works for 10 minutes before quitting.
fold faq Do you have Front-Page extensions?

Yes, we do offer Front Page extensions. If you want to remove and/or add Front Page extensions to your account, you can do it in your Control Panel.

fold faq What is bandwidth?

Bandwidth is the amount of data moved between your site and the browsers of the customer's accessing your site. It is typically measured in gigabits (1,000MB).

fold faq I want to change my account plan. How do I upgrade / downgrade my account?

To upgrade or downgrade your account, go to our customer support page and complete a customer support request. Just specify what plan you want to change from or other services you'd like changed and submit your request.

fold faq What domain names do you support?

We support all domains, including foreign domains.

fold faq Can we add services as we grow and need them?

You may grow at whatever pace you like. All options can be added or removed at any time. There is no setup fee associated with hosting plans, so you may upgrade or downgrade when you choose to.

fold faq Do you provide backup processing?

We backup the data on our server to a second hard drive on a daily basis. We keep local copies of daily, weekly, and monthly backups of your site. We also upload daily backups to a remote location in another datacenter every night at 1:00 AM. We generally do not restore single files from backup, and all users are responsible for keeping local backups of their site. We can, however, restore entire user directories from backup on request.

fold faq How do I move my current site to the Cast Iron Coding servers?

Every situation is different, but generally, there are 3 basic steps in moving your site from your current hosting company to Cast Iron Coding.

  1. Selecting and ordering your hosting package.
  2. Moving the contents of your current site to your new site. Setup email accounts, forwarders, autoresponders, ...
  3. Changing the name server for your domain at the registrar where your domain is registered. In 24 to 48 hours, your changes should start to take effect.

Cast Iron Coding nameservers are:

Primary Server Hostname: ns1.castironcoding.com

Secondary Server Hostname: ns2.castironcoding.com

fold faq How soon will my account be set up and ready to use?

Your account will be setup in 12 hours or less or your first month is FREE. You will receive an email with your account information, IP address, user name and password. You can then start uploading your site.

fold faq Is my access 24 hours a day?

Yes. You will have access to your account 24 hours a day.

fold faq Does Cast Iron Coding allow adult, warez or other illicit sites or content?

No. Please see our terms and conditions page for permissible and unpermissable content.

fold faq What are your Network Connections?

Our servers are hosted on the SAVVIS backbone network. SAVVIS has engineered its network around a single platform, AS3561, which enables one global IP backbone, rather than regional Autonomous Systems stitched together. That means that once data gets on the network, it’s a single BGP hop to the global network node nearest its destination. This minimizes the number of router hops and reduces the risk of downtime when traffic has to traverse multiple networks. We lease all of our servers from Layered Technologies, which as an excellent reputation in the hosting community (see webhostingtalk.com for reviews of layeredtech). For more information on the SAVVIS network, click here

fold faq Where are your servers located?

Cast Iron Coding's web servers are located in Dallas, Texas, United States of America. The servers are leased from Layeredtech.com, and are housed in one of the best data centers in the nation. Click here to learn more about the data center.

fold faq Can I get unlimited bandwidth?

No. We do not offer packages with unlimited bandwidth primarily because there is no such thing. Any one that promises that is not telling the truth. Somewhere in their terms and conditions are probably some words referring to "excessive use of resources", and in effect these place some arbitrary limit on your bandwidth. We set limits to both protect you and to provide you with a reliable quality service.

fold faq Does Cast Iron Coding offer a money-back guarantee?

All our Hosting packages include a 30 day unconditional money back guarantee.

fold faq Does Cast Iron Coding offer 24/7 support?

No. While you can access our support system at any time of day, tickets are only answered between 6:00 AM and 10:00 AM Pacific.

fold faq Does Cast Iron Coding offer phone support?

No, we prefer support requests to come through our trouble ticket reporting system or email for a variety of reasons.

First, it provides an audit trail of communication so that all the facts can be passed on to whomever may be working your problem.

Second, it allow us to focus on fixing problems instead of answering the phone.

Third, the audit trail allows us to objectively review the performance of our support team.

fold faq Do you allow CGI to run on your servers?

We do allow running of CGI scripts on the servers, however they must conform to our acceptable server resource usage policy. If we deem that a script is using an excessive amount of server resources, it will be disabled.

fold faq What is CGI?

CGI, Common Gateway Interface, includes programs that run on the server to enhance the quality and functionality of a web site. There are many resources on-line that allow the downloading of free cgi scripts.

(For instance: www.hotscripts.com) or (cgi.resourceindex.com)

fold faq What is the correct path to perl?

Before a cgi script will work certain modifications must be made to them. Certain paths must be specified in some scripts. After the "#" in the first line of the perl script, the path to perl must be specified. /usr/bin/perl should suffice for this path. Below is a printout of a "whereis perl" from our system.

perl: /usr/bin/perl

fold faq What is the path to send mail?

Another program that needs to be specified in many scripts is sendmail. This is located at /usr/sbin/sendmail

fold faq What is the exact physical path to your root directory on the webserver?

The path to your root directory is: /home/username/

Obviously, substitute "username" with the login you were assigned when you first received your account details. Also, keep in mind that when you configure your CGI, that your /public_html is included in your path. For instance, if you have a guestbook.pl script in your /cgi-bin, the exact physical path to that file is:

/home/username/public_html/cgi-bin/guestbook.pl

fold faq Why doesn't my CGI work?

Make sure when you upload the CGI file DO NOT upload in binary mode, instead use ASCII mode. Uploading in binary will cause the server not to recognize the scripts as executables. Most FTP clients will upload .pl or .cgi files in binary mode by default so you will need to change this. You will need to upload the scripts into your cgi-bin directory for security reasons, however they will execute from anywhere within your account.

The last step is to set the file permissions. This is otherwise known as chmoding and can be done from most FTP clients. For specifics on chmoding you can refer to our "CHMODing files" help section.