An interpretation of web hosting

As its name hints, web hosting is a service, which involves hosting web content. There are different forms and types of hosting, based on the aims and on the functions. Nonetheless, they all refer to hosting files, which, once hosted, are made accessible through the World Wide Web. A host is in fact a server that is connected to the Internet and has its very own IP address, which allows people to access it through the Internet. The web hosting server's architecture and its resources are dependent on the form of web hosting service it will be used for.

What are the various types of hosting?

Depending on the usage, the professional hosting service may be:

File Hosting - this form of web hosting allows the customers to stash their files on a certain hosting server. With the standard file storage web hosting solution, the files that are saved may only be accessed by the customer that's using the service. This hosting solution normally applies to backups of personal computers , docs, personal files and even other hosting servers. This service may also have certain limitations when it comes to the web storage and the root privileges. There may also be web traffic quota limits, but that depends on the actual hosting service provider.

Warez Web Hosting - the so-called warez hosting solution is comparable with the previous hosting service form. Nonetheless, in contrast with the file storage web hosting service, the warez hosting service is utilized for transmitting copyrighted materials without the approval of the patent proprietor. In brief - it is related to the criminal propagation of files and materials. There are multiple approaches for this to be done, but the 2 principal approaches are - via simple HTTP downloading and via peer-to-peer connections. The first one involves either a given web page, or, most typically, simply a directory on a hosting server that's been made available for everyone to access it and thereby download proprietary content free of charge. The second approach entails a peer-to-peer connection, using the so-called Torrent servers, through which users share files between each other. There are a few site hosting providers that allow such type of web hosting on their servers, chiefly owing to all the legal problems that it presupposes. Usually such web pages are hosted on private dedicated servers that are registered by 3rd party corporations either in the Middle East or in Asia.

E-mail Web Hosting - this solution is used with both shared site hosting and dedicated servers, based on the client's desire. If you wish to set up your very own personal SMTP email server, then you will need either a VPS web hosting server or a dedicated hosting server that provides the access level required to complete such a procedure. For standard e-mail web hosting ends, though, you can utilize a plain shared site hosting account, to which you can point the MX records of your domain. This is not a service that's very popular, since the web site hosting and the e-mail hosting services are being served by 2 different web servers, often belonging to different companies.

Website Hosting - the most widespread and frequently used hosting service as of now. It's used for hosting website files, whose type is dependent on the OS the server is availing of - Linux or Windows. Different types of files require concrete web server OSs, or else they won't be displayed accurately on the World Wide Web. This form of hosting may involve data storage and web traffic quota limitations, server root access and CPU usage restrictions.

Based on the mission and on the usage, the client should choose the kind of web hosting server that he requires for his project, and, of course, the web site hosting provider that's going to furnish it. There are various types of hosting servers, depending on the specs and the site hosting services that they provide. These are:

Shared Web 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 used for hosting small size and medium size web sites, which do not demand large amounts of data storage and bandwidth.

Semi-Dedicated Hosting - they are based on the same principle as the shared webspace hosting servers. However, there are much fewer clients sharing the same server. That is why, each of them will get a bigger share of the web hosting server's resources like RAM, storage space, traffic and CPU. Perfect for hosting big web pages that do not need full server root access.

VPS hosting - the VPS web hosting servers are perfect for medium size web pages, which do demand root access to the server's configuration files. Typically, there are a handful of VPS web server accounts situated on the same machine. Yet, each of them is independent from the rest and has its own Operating System.

Dedicated Servers - a fully dedicated hosting server configured and accessed by you and solely you. It ensures a large amount of system resources. It also gives root-level access, which makes it an ideal environment for any kind of website that necessitates a web site hosting solution.

The sole question that's left is:

Which web site hosting company should I opt for?

As mentioned above, there are just a few web hosts providing warez web hosting solutions because of legal entanglements. Such hosts are being closed down practically every month. That is why, if you desire to run such a service, you should do it on your own computer. The shared web site hosting solution is the most widespread type of hosting service. Because of that, each webspace hosting corporation offers it. Not all of them, however, offer services such as private virtual servers, semi-dedicated hosting servers and dedicated web servers. Most of the small scale hosting distributors do not have the means needed for maintaining those solutions. For that reason it's invariably best to select a larger web host that can supply its clients with all the solutions that they are looking for. You can effortlessly ID such web hosting companies by the sorts of services that they are providing and by the manner in which they introduce them to the clients. For instance, some companies permit you to commence with a small sized web space hosting package and afterwards shift to a more powerful one, if you find it compulsory to do so. This is quite convenient, because you do not have to migrate web sites between hosting servers and there is no possibility of suffering service downtime because of all the predicaments that may crop up. Web hosts such as Cheap Hosting provide all types of solutions and have the required hosting server resources and staff to ensure that their customers will not come across any predicaments when swapping services, which is what a top hosting supplier is actually all about.