A description of hosting
As its name signifies, web hosting is a service, which entails hosting web content. There are various varieties and kinds of hosting, depending on the aims and on the usage. Nonetheless, they all pertain to hosting files, which, once hosted, are made available through the Web. A web host is in fact a web hosting service that is connected to the Web and has its own IP address, which enables users to get access to it via the Internet. The server's configuration and its limitations are dependent on the kind of web hosting service it will be used for.
What are the different types of hosting?
Depending on the application, the business hosting solution may be:
File Storage Hosting - this form of hosting permits the customers to lodge their files on a particular hosting server. With the regular file storage web hosting solution, the files that are stored may only be accessed by the user that's availing of the service. This hosting solution generally includes backups of personal computers , documents, personal files and even other web hosting servers. This solution may also have certain restrictions with regard to the server storage and the root privileges. There may also be bandwidth quota limitations, but that is dependent on the actual hosting service provider.
Warez Web Hosting - the so-called warez hosting solution is very similar to the previous hosting service type. Still, unlike the file storage web hosting solution, the warez web hosting solution is utilized for circulating proprietary content without the blessing of the licence proprietor. In brief - it is related to the criminal dissemination of files and docs. There are many approaches for this to be carried out, but the 2 essential methods are - via plain HTTP downloading and via peer-to-peer connections. The first approach entails either a certain web portal, or, most commonly, simply a directory on a hosting server that's been made available for everybody to access it and thus download proprietary content free of cost. The second approach entails a P2P connection, using the so-called Torrent servers, through which people share files between each other. There are not many web hosting corporations that allow that form of web hosting on their web servers, chiefly because of all the legal problems that it involves. Commonly such web sites are hosted on private dedicated web hosting servers that are registered by third-party companies either in the Middle East or in Asia.
Mail Hosting - this solution is applicable with both shared site hosting and dedicated hosting servers, depending on the user's intention. If you want to run your very own private SMTP electronic mail server, then you will require either a VPS web server or a dedicated server that offers the access level required to perform such an operation. For regular mail web hosting purposes, however, you can open an ordinary shared site hosting account, to which you can point the MX records of your domain. This is not a service that's very used, since the website hosting and the electronic mail hosting services are being served by two separate web servers, usually belonging to separate providers.
Web Page Hosting - the most popular and extensively utilized hosting service as of now. It's utilized for hosting web site files, whose sort is determined by the OS the web hosting server is using - Linux or Windows. Different types of files request concrete web hosting server Operating Systems, or else they won't be shown accurately on the World Wide Web. This sort of web hosting may involve server space and web traffic limits, root access and CPU usage limitations.
Based on the aims and on the objectives, the client should select the sort of server that he requires for his work, and, of course, the site hosting firm that's going to supply it. There are different kinds of web servers, based on the specs and the web space hosting solutions that they provide. These are:
Shared Hosting Server - a shared web space hosting server supplies a smaller quantity of system resources, which, of course, is manifested in the cost of the service. It can be utilized for hosting small sized and medium size web pages, which do not require big amounts of web storage space and traffic.
Semi-Dedicated Hosting - they are based on the very same principle as the shared web space hosting servers. Yet, there are much less users hosted on the same hosting server. For that reason, each of them will enjoy a larger quota of the server's resources like RAM, web storage, bandwidth and CPU. Excellent for hosting big web portals that do not demand full server root privileges.
VPS hosting - the virtual private hosting servers are excellent for medium scale web pages, which do demand root-level access to the server's configuration files. Normally, there are a bunch of VPS hosting server accounts hosted on the same server. Nevertheless, each of them is autonomous from the rest and has its own OS.
Dedicated Server - a fully dedicated server set up and accessed by you and solely you. It guarantees a big amount of resources. It also offers full server root privileges, which renders it an ideal solution for any kind of web site that necessitates a web space hosting service.
The sole question that remains is:
Which website hosting provider should I pick?
As already stated, there are just a few providers providing warez web hosting solutions due to legal entanglements. Such web hosts are being closed down virtually every month. That is why, if you wish to launch such a service, you should do it on your own computer. The shared hosting service is the most famous kind of hosting service. For that reason, each hosting corporation provides it. Not all of them, though, provide solutions such as private virtual hosting servers, semi-dedicated web servers and dedicated hosting servers. Most of the small sized web site hosting firms do not have the means needed for offering those services. That is the reason why it's always best to choose a larger hosting company that can supply its customers with all the solutions that they are looking for. You can easily ID such web hosts by the types of solutions that they are supplying and by the manner in which they present them to the clientele. For example, some web hosts permit you to start with a smaller website hosting account and subsequently upgrade to a more advanced one, if you find it mandatory to do so. This is extremely convenient, since you do not have to migrate sites between hosting servers and there is no danger of suffering service disturbances due to all the complications that may show up. Web hosting providers like Infoseek software systems provide all sorts of solutions and have the needed web hosting server resources and personnel to ensure that their clients will not come across any problems when changing services, which is what a top hosting corporation is actually all about.