A description of web site hosting
As its name suggests, web hosting is a solution, which entails hosting online content. There are different varieties and types of web hosting, based on the mission and on the objectives. Nonetheless, they all are related to hosting files, which, once hosted, are made accessible throughout the World Wide Web. A web host is in fact a web hosting service that is linked to the World Wide Web and has its very own IP address, which permits people to gain access to it via the Internet. The server's architecture and its system resources depend on the type of hosting service it will be utilized for.
What are the different types of web hosting?
Based on the objective, the web hosting service may be:
File Storage Web Hosting - this form of hosting allows the users to lodge their files on a specific server. With the average file storage hosting solution, the files that are hosted may only be accessed by the client that's availing of the service. This web hosting solution traditionally includes backups of personal computers , documents, personal files and even other web hosting servers. This solution may also impose certain limits with regard to the server space and the root-level access. There may also be web traffic limits, but that is dependent on the given provider.
Warez Web Hosting - the so-called warez web hosting service is comparable with the previous web hosting service form. However, unlike the file storage hosting service, the warez web hosting service is used for propagating copyrighted materials without being given the go-ahead by the copyright bearer. In brief - it involves the forbidden dissemination of files and docs. There are lots of approaches for this to be brought about, but the two chief ways are - via plain HTTP downloading and via peer-to-peer connections. The first one entails either some web portal, or, most typically, simply a directory on a hosting server that's been made available for everybody to access it and thus download licensed documents free of cost. The second way involves a peer-to-peer connection, making use of the so-called Torrent web servers, through which people transfer files between each other. There are a few web hosting vendors that allow that type of hosting on their hosting servers, mostly because of all the judicial entanglements that it entails. Usually such web pages are hosted on private dedicated web hosting servers that are registered by third-party enterprises either in the Middle East or in Asia.
Mail Web Hosting - this service is utilized with both shared webspace hosting and dedicated web servers, based on the customer's intention. If you desire to launch your own personal SMTP mail server, then you will require either a private virtual hosting server or a dedicated web server that offers the access level needed to carry out such an assignment. For standard electronic mail web hosting ends, however, you can create a conventional shared website hosting account, to which you can point the MX records of your domain name. This is not a service that's very used, because the web hosting and the mail hosting services are being served by two separate web servers, often belonging to different hosting providers.
Website Hosting - the most widespread and immensely used hosting service these days. It's utilized for hosting website files, whose kind depends on the Operating System the web hosting server is making use of - Linux or Windows. Different kinds of files demand concrete web server OSs, otherwise they won't be exhibited correctly on the Web. This sort of web hosting may have web storage space and web traffic quota limits, root-level access and CPU usage restrictions.
Depending on the purpose and on the functions, the customer should select the kind of server that he requires for his work, and, of course, the site hosting distributor that's going to provide it. There are different kinds of web hosting servers, based on the specifications and the web hosting solutions that they provide. These are:
Shared Hosting Server - a shared web site hosting server supplies a smaller amount of system resources, which, of course, is manifested in the price of the service. It can be utilized for hosting small sized and middle size websites, which do not demand immense quotas of server storage space and traffic.
Semi-Dedicated Hosting - they perform on the same principle as the shared web hosting servers. However, there are much fewer users accommodated on the same hosting server. Therefore, each of them will have a bigger quota of the web hosting server's resources like RAM, web storage, web traffic and CPU. Ideal for hosting enormous websites that do not require root access.
Virtual Servers - the virtual servers are excellent for medium scale web pages, which do demand root access to the web hosting server's configuration files. Usually, there are a number of virtual private web server hosting accounts situated on the same physical server. However, each of them is isolated from the rest and runs its own OS.
Dedicated Server Hosting - a fully dedicated hosting server set up and accessed by you and only you. It ensures an immense quantity of system resources. It also provides full root access, which renders it an ideal environment for any kind of online portal that requires a web hosting solution.
The only question that's left is:
Which website hosting firm should I opt for?
As already stated, there aren't many providers providing warez web hosting solutions because of legal entanglements. Such hosts are being shut down practically every month. That is why, if you would like to provide such a service, you should do it on your very own PC. The shared hosting service is the most widely spread type of web hosting service. That is why, each and every hosting corporation offers it. Not all of them, though, provide solutions such as private virtual web servers, semi-dedicated web servers and dedicated web servers. Most of the small sized web space hosting firms do not have the means required for maintaining those solutions. That's why it's always best to go with a larger company that can provide its clients with all the services that they seek. You can easily identify such companies by the kinds of services that they are making available and by the way that they introduce them to the clientele. For instance, some web hosting companies allow you to begin with a small scale website hosting package and subsequently upgrade to a more advanced one, if you deem it necessary to do so. This is very convenient, since you do not need to transfer websites between servers and there is no danger of suffering service downtime because of all the complications that may occur. Hosting providers like The Claypoole Group offer all sorts of solutions and possess the adequate web hosting server resources and staff to guarantee that their customers will not run into any problems when swapping services, which is what a top hosting company is in fact all about.