A description of site hosting
As its name hints, web hosting is a solution, which involves hosting web content. There are various forms and types of web hosting, based on the goals and on the functions. However, they all entail hosting files, which, once hosted, are made available through the Web. A host is actually a web hosting service that is linked to the Internet and has its own personal IP address, which enables users to access it through the Internet. The server's configuration and its limitations depend on the sort of hosting solution it will be utilized for.
What are the different types of hosting?
Based on the function, the business hosting service may be:
File Web Hosting - this form of web hosting allows the users to lodge their files on a given hosting server. With the typical file storage web hosting service, the files that are deposited may only be accessed by the user that's availing of the service. This hosting service traditionally applies to backups of computers , docs, private files and even other web hosting servers. This solution may also involve certain limitations when it comes to the server storage and the root-level access. There may also be traffic limitations, but that is dependent on the given hosting provider.
Warez Hosting - the so-called warez web hosting solution is resembling the previous hosting service type. Nonetheless, in contrast with the file storage web hosting solution, the warez hosting service is utilized for circulating patented materials without being given the green light by the licence keeper. In brief - it involves the illicit dissemination of files and docs. There are lots of methods for this to be fulfilled, but the 2 main methods are - via plain HTTP downloading and via P2P connections. The first one entails either a specific web site, or, most commonly, simply a directory on a hosting server that's been made available for everyone to access it and thereby download patented documents for free. The second method entails a P2P connection, making use of the so-called Torrent servers, through which people transfer files between each other. There aren't many web page hosting suppliers that permit such form of hosting on their web hosting servers, mainly due to all the legal predicaments that it entails. Usually such web portals are hosted on private dedicated web hosting servers that are registered by 3rd party corporations either in the Middle East or in Asia.
Electronic Mail Hosting - this service is relevant with both shared web site hosting and dedicated web hosting servers, depending on the customer's wish. If you wish to set up your own personal SMTP server, then you will need either a VPS or a dedicated web server that provides the level of access required to execute such a procedure. For standard mail hosting ends, though, you can open an ordinary shared web space hosting account, to which you can point the MX records of your domain. This is not a solution that's very famous, since the web page hosting and the email hosting services are being served by 2 separate servers, often owned by separate hosts.
Site Hosting - the most widely spread and frequently used hosting service today. It's used for hosting website files, whose sort depends on the Operating System the web server is using - Linux or Windows. Different sorts of files request different web hosting server OSs, otherwise they won't be exhibited properly on the Internet. This sort of hosting may have disk storage space and web traffic quota limitations, server root access and CPU usage restrictions.
Based on the aims and on the objectives, the client should select the type of server that he demands for his project, and, of course, the site hosting company that's going to furnish it. There are various kinds of web hosting servers, depending on the specs and the webspace hosting solutions that they provide. These are:
Shared Web Hosting Server - a shared web hosting server supplies a smaller amount of system resources, which, of course, reflects on the cost of the service. It can be utilized for hosting small and medium scale web portals, which do not demand enormous quantities of storage space and bandwidth.
Semi-Dedicated Hosting - they are based on the same principle as the shared webspace hosting servers. However, there are much fewer customers hosted on the same web server. That is why, each of them will have a greater quota of the server's resources like RAM, data storage space, web traffic and CPU. Perfect for hosting popular websites that do not require full server root privileges.
VPS hosting - the virtual hosting servers are excellent for middle size sites, which do require root-level access to the web hosting server's configuration files. Usually, there are a bunch of private virtual hosting server accounts placed on the same machine. However, each of them is insulated from the other ones and has its own Operating System.
Dedicated Servers - a completely dedicated hosting server configured and accessed by you and only you. It ensures a colossal quantity of resources. It also offers root privileges, which renders it the optimal environment for any sort of web site that necessitates a webspace hosting service.
The only question that remains is:
Which site hosting provider should I settle on?
As already mentioned, there aren't many companies providing warez hosting services due to judicial predicaments. Such hosts are being closed down virtually every month. Therefore, if you wish to provide such a service, you should do it on your very own computer. The shared website hosting service is the most famous type of hosting service. That is why, every web space hosting firm offers it. Not all of them, however, provide services such as virtual private web servers, semi-dedicated servers and dedicated web hosting servers. Most of the small scale webspace hosting providers do not have the resources needed for maintaining those solutions. Therefore it's always best to settle on a larger web hosting company that can furnish its clients with all the services that they require. You can easily identify such web hosts by the types of services that they are providing and by the way that they present them to the clientele. For instance, some web hosting providers allow you to begin with a small sized site hosting plan and then upgrade to a more powerful one, if you deem it obligatory to do so. This is extremely suitable, because you do not need to move web pages between hosting servers and there is no danger of suffering service interruptions due to all the complications that may arise. Web hosting providers like Get a Dot Name offer all kinds of services and have the necessary web server resources and personnel to ensure that their customers will not come across any troubles when swapping services, which is what a top hosting firm is actually all about.