A definition of website hosting
As its name suggests, web hosting is a solution, which entails hosting online content. There are various varieties and types of hosting, depending on the goals and on the usage. In spite of that, they all are related to hosting files, which, once hosted, are made available throughout the Web. A host is in fact a web hosting service that is linked to the Web and has its own personal Internet Protocol address, which permits people to gain access to it via the World Wide Web. The hosting server's configuration and its resources are dependent on the sort of hosting solution it's going to be utilized for.
What are the various forms of web hosting?
Depending on the function, the hosting service may be:
File Storage Web Hosting - this type of hosting permits the customers to save their files on a particular web server. With the ordinary file storage web hosting solution, the files that are deposited may only be accessed by the customer that's using the service. This web hosting solution usually appertains to backups of personal computers , docs, private files and even other hosting servers. This service may also have certain limitations when it comes to the data storage space and the root-level access. There may also be traffic quota limitations, but that is dependent on the actual hosting service provider.
Warez Hosting - the so-called warez web hosting solution is resembling the previous web hosting service type. Nevertheless, in contrast with the file web hosting service, the warez web hosting solution is used for circulating licensed content without the sanction of the copyright keeper. In brief - it involves the illegitimate distribution of files and materials. There are many ways for this to be executed, but the 2 principal methods are - through plain HTTP downloading and through peer-to-peer connections. The first way entails either a given web portal, or, most typically, just a directory on a server that's been made available for everybody to access it and thus download licensed files free of cost. The second method involves a P2P connection, making use of the so-called Torrent servers, through which people transmit files between each other. There are not many website hosting providers that allow such type of web hosting on their hosting servers, mainly owing to all the legal predicaments that it presupposes. Typically such websites are hosted on private dedicated web hosting servers that are registered by 3rd party enterprises either in the Middle East or in Asia.
E-mail Hosting - this solution is applicable with both shared web page hosting and dedicated servers, depending on the user's wish. If you wish to create your very own private SMTP server, then you will require either a virtual web server or a dedicated hosting server that provides the level of access required to perform such a task. For common mail hosting purposes, though, you can create a conventional shared web page hosting account, to which you can point the MX records of your domain. This is not a service that's widely used, because the web page hosting and the e-mail hosting services are being served by two different servers, often owned by different companies.
Website Hosting - the most popular and vastly used hosting service at the moment. It's used for hosting site files, whose kind is dependent on the OS the hosting server is availing of - Linux or Windows. Different types of files necessitate specific web hosting server OSs, otherwise they won't be shown properly on the World Wide Web. This form of web hosting may involve disk storage space and traffic quota limits, server root access and central processing unit usage limits.
Depending on the purpose and on the functions, the client should pick the kind of server that he needs for his work, and, of course, the hosting distributor that's going to furnish it. There are different sorts of hosting servers, depending on the specs and the web site hosting services that they provide. These are:
Shared Website Hosting Server - a shared hosting server supplies a smaller quantity of system resources, which, of course, is reflected on the cost of the service. It can be utilized for hosting small scale and medium scale web sites, which do not need enormous quantities of disk storage and bandwidth.
Semi-Dedicated Servers Hosting - they function on the same principle as the shared web page hosting servers. Nonetheless, there are much less clients accommodated on the same hosting server. Hence, each of them will enjoy a greater quota of the web server's resources like RAM, data space, bandwidth and CPU. Perfect for hosting heavy websites that do not require complete root access.
Virtual Private Server - the virtual private web hosting servers are excellent for medium scale web portals, which do require root-level access to the hosting server's config files. Traditionally, there are several private virtual server accounts hosted on the same physical server. Nonetheless, each of them is insulated from the other ones and runs its own OS.
Dedicated Server - a fully dedicated web hosting server set up and accessed by you and solely you. It ensures a colossal amount of system resources. It also gives full root-level access, which renders it the optimal solution for any kind of online portal that necessitates a hosting solution.
The sole question that remains is:
Which web hosting corporation should I select?
As stated above, there are just a few providers providing warez hosting services because of judicial complications. Such web hosting companies are being shut down almost every month. That is why, if you desire to set up such a service, you should do it on your own PC. The shared web hosting solution is the most widespread type of web hosting service. Because of that, every website hosting corporation offers it. Not all of them, however, provide solutions such as Virtual Private Servers, semi-dedicated servers and dedicated hosting servers. Most of the smaller webspace hosting suppliers do not have the resources required for offering those solutions. That's why it's invariably best to settle on a bigger web host that can supply its customers with all the services that they require. You can effortlessly recognize such hosts by the kinds of services that they are offering and by the manner in which they present them to the customers. For example, certain web hosts permit you to commence with a smaller 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 need to transmit web pages between servers and there is no chance of suffering service disturbances due to all the predicaments that may arise. Companies like Exclusive Hosting offer all types of services and have the adequate web hosting server resources and personnel to ensure that their clients will not encounter any troubles when changing services, which is what a top hosting supplier is actually all about.