Research a web server management tool

Webalizer version 2.1Analysis results for cyberart.com.au

1. I have selected the website performance tool-webalizer, which can be found in the CPanel of the hosting service Eastern IT Solutions. I am analysing the statistics for the website http://cyberart.com.au (/gallery if you wish to visit).

At present cyberart is simply a tool for gaining business for a web designer. I the future, cyberart will be a virtual gallery with a shopping cart and client accounts, so at that stage, one or more sophisticated security tools will need to be employed. Capacity planning will be implemented befor cyberart becomes a gallery, as it may need a bandwidth upgrade from the 25gigs it now holds. For now the main function fro a tool is for SEO and activity reporting in order to keep track of who is being attracted to the site, the volume of traffic and what activities are taking place.

2. Webalizer is installed by the webhosting company. It is utilised simply by logging into the Cpanel, then clicking on the webalizer icon and typing in the URL of the site that you wish to analise.

Cyberart.com.au/gallery

The report, which Webalizer has generated is presented below in the form of screen shots. These screen shots are labeled according to the purpose that they serve.

Annual Summary

Monthly Stats

Daily Usage

Daily Percentages

Hourly Usage/Percentages

Top URL entry/exit

Top Sites and Usage

Referrers/Search Strings/User Agents

Usage by Country

3. Webalizer is useful for tracking where traffic is from and which pages users visit. It also keeps a record of the duration of visits to pages, which would be useful for showing the level of user interest in a particular page, or how long it has taken to complete a task on that page. It is also useful for tracking unusual activity, though only for observational purposes. No installation is required, as webalizer is part of CPanel. This tool is simple to use. The cost is included in hosting fees.

Back in July, cyberart had a small security breach, in which part of the back end of the site was rendered unusable. Specifically the image loading gallery. Part of the gallery was damaged . It was discovered via the statistical diagnosis that there was some unusual activity and that the likely entry point of the malicious visitor was a contact form, which had not been validated. This form has since been replaced and no more unusual activity exists to date.

Reference list

http://docstore.mik.ua/orelly/linux/apache/ch13_01.htm

https://www.easternit.com.au:2083/

http://highscalability.com/

http://www.siteground.com/tutorials/cpanel/logs.htm

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/winserverNIS/thread/7318f712-76ea-4fe7-902e-d71e7273f665