A description of web site hosting
As its name hints, web hosting is a service, which entails hosting web content. There are different forms and types of web hosting, depending on the goals and on the usage. Yet, they all are associated with hosting files, which, once hosted, are made available throughout the Internet. A host is in fact a web server that is connected to the Web and has its very own Internet Protocol address, which enables users to have access to it through the Web. The web hosting server's architecture and its resources depend on the form of web hosting service it's going to be used for.
What are the various forms of hosting?
Depending on the goal, the business hosting solution may be:
File Storage Web Hosting - this type of hosting permits the clients to store their files on a specific server. With the conventional file storage web hosting solution, the files that are stored may only be accessed by the individual that's using the service. This web hosting solution usually entails backups of computers , documents, personal files and even other web hosting servers. This solution may also contain given limitations with regard to the server storage and the root access. There may also be traffic quota limits, but that is dependent on the actual provider.
Warez Web Hosting - the so-called warez hosting solution is very similar to the previous hosting service form. In spite of that, in contrast with the file hosting service, the warez web hosting solution is utilized for distributing patented work without being okayed by the copyright keeper. To cut a long story short - it involves the illegitimate distribution of files and docs. There are many methods for this to be realized, but the two chief ways are - through plain HTTP downloading and via P2P connections. The first method involves either some web page, or, most typically, just a directory on a web hosting server that's been made available for everyone to access it and thus download patented materials free of cost. The second method entails a P2P connection, using the so-called Torrent servers, via which people transfer files between each other. There are just a few web page hosting corporations that allow such type of web hosting on their hosting servers, mostly due to all the legal complications that it entails. Commonly such web portals are hosted on private dedicated servers that are registered by 3rd party enterprises either in the Middle East or in Asia.
Electronic Mail Web Hosting - this solution is applicable with both shared web space hosting and dedicated hosting servers, based on the client's intention. If you desire to establish your very own personal SMTP email server, then you will require either a virtual private web server or a dedicated server that provides the access level needed to carry out such an operation. For common mail web hosting ends, however, you can utilize a regular shared web space hosting account, to which you can point the MX records of your domain name. This is not a solution that's very popular, because the web site hosting and the electronic mail hosting services are being served by two different servers, often owned by different companies.
Site Hosting - the most popular and vastly utilized hosting service nowadays. It's used for hosting web site files, whose kind is determined by the Operating System the web server is making use of - Linux or Windows. Different types of files require specific web server OSs, otherwise they won't be exhibited correctly on the Web. This kind of hosting may include disk storage space and web traffic limitations, root-level access and central processing unit usage limitations.
Depending on the purpose and on the functions, the user should select the sort of web server that he needs for his project, and, of course, the webspace hosting supplier that's going to furnish it. There are different types of web hosting servers, depending on the configuration and the web hosting services that they provide. These are:
Shared Website Hosting Server - a shared website hosting server provides a smaller amount of system resources, which, of course, is reflected on the cost of the service. It can be utilized for hosting small size and middle scale web portals, which do not need enormous quantities of web space and traffic.
Semi-Dedicated Servers Hosting - they are based on the very same principle as the shared web site hosting servers. Nevertheless, there are much fewer clients sharing the same web hosting server. That is why, each of them will get a larger share of the server's resources like RAM, web storage space, web traffic and CPU. Perfect for hosting popular web sites that do not require full root privileges.
Virtual Servers - the private virtual web servers are perfect for medium size web pages, which do demand root-level access to the web server's configuration files. Usually, there are a few VPS web server hosting accounts situated on the same physical server. In spite of that, each of them is autonomous from the rest and runs its own OS.
Dedicated Server - a completely dedicated machine set up and accessed by you and solely you. It ensures a great quantity of resources. It also includes server root access, which makes it a perfect solution for any sort of web site that necessitates a web hosting solution.
The only question that remains is:
Which hosting supplier should I select?
As stated above, there are just a few providers providing warez web hosting solutions due to judicial problems. Such companies are being shut down practically every month. For that reason, if you would like to launch such a service, you should do it on your own personal computer. The shared site hosting solution is the most popular type of hosting service. So, every web site hosting provider provides it. Not all of them, however, offer services such as virtual web hosting servers, semi-dedicated servers and dedicated web hosting servers. Most of the small sized site hosting distributors do not have the means required for offering those solutions. For that reason it's invariably best to settle on a bigger hosting company that can furnish its clients with all the solutions that they require. You can quickly recognize such hosting companies by the sorts of services that they are making available and by the way that they introduce them to the clientele. For example, certain web hosting companies allow you to start with a small sized site hosting account and afterwards upgrade to a bigger one, if you deem it compulsory to do so. This is extremely convenient, because you do not have to transmit web sites between hosting servers and there is no possibility of suffering network outages because of all the problems that may appear. Companies like Exclusive Hosting provide all types of solutions and possess the necessary server resources and staff to guarantee that their customers will not stumble upon any complications when changing services, which is what a top hosting distributor is actually all about.