A definition of web site hosting
As its name denotes, web hosting is a service, which entails hosting online content. There are different forms and kinds of hosting, based on the aims and on the usage. Nevertheless, they all involve hosting files, which, once hosted, are made available through the Web. A host is in fact a hosting server that is connected to the Internet and has its own personal Internet Protocol address, which permits people to have access to it via the Internet. The server's architecture and its system resources are subject to the form of hosting solution it will be used for.
What are the various types of web hosting?
Based on the mission, the web hosting service may be:
File Storage Web Hosting - this type of web hosting enables the customers to store their files on a specific web hosting server. With the routine file hosting service, the files that are accommodated may only be accessed by the user that's using the service. This hosting solution traditionally applies to backups of personal computers , docs, private files and even other web servers. This solution may also involve certain limitations in terms of the data space and the root access. There may also be bandwidth quota limitations, but that is dependent on the given hosting service provider.
Warez Hosting - the so-called warez web hosting service is quite similar to the previous hosting service type. In spite of that, in contrast with the file web hosting service, the warez web hosting service is used for spreading patented work without the approval of the licence possessor. In short - it refers to the forbidden transmission of files and docs. There are a lot of methods for this to be attained, but the two essential ways are - through simple HTTP downloading and via P2P connections. The first one involves either a given web page, or, most commonly, simply a directory on a hosting server that's been made available for everyone to access it and thus download licensed documents for free. The second way entails a peer-to-peer connection, making use of the so-called Torrent servers, through which users transfer files between each other. There are a few web hosting firms that allow that form of hosting on their servers, mainly due to all the judicial problems that it entails. Usually such web sites are hosted on personal dedicated servers that are registered by third-party firms either in the Middle East or in Asia.
Mail Hosting - this service is utilized with both shared web hosting and dedicated web hosting servers, based on the user's wish. If you want to have your very own personal SMTP server, then you will require either a private virtual server or a dedicated server that offers the level of access required to perform such a procedure. For ordinary email hosting ends, though, you can open a conventional shared web page hosting account, to which you can point the MX records of your domain name. This is not a solution that's very famous, since the web site hosting and the mail hosting services are being served by two different web servers, often owned by separate companies.
Web Page Hosting - the most famous and universally utilized hosting service nowadays. It's utilized for hosting web site files, whose kind depends on the Operating System the web hosting server is using - Linux or Windows. Different sorts of files need different server OSs, otherwise they won't be exhibited appropriately on the World Wide Web. This type of web hosting may involve web space and traffic quota limits, server root access and central processing unit usage limitations.
Based on the mission and on the functions, the user should pick the sort of web hosting server that he needs for his project, and, of course, the web space hosting firm that's going to supply it. There are different sorts of hosting servers, based on the configuration and the hosting solutions that they provide. These are:
Shared Web Hosting Server - a shared hosting server includes a smaller amount of resources, which, of course, is manifested in the cost of the service. It can be used for hosting small scale and middle scale sites, which do not demand considerable quotas of server space and web traffic.
Semi-Dedicated - they are based on the very same principle as the shared web space hosting servers. Even so, there are much less clients hosted on the same web server. Hence, each of them will obtain a bigger quota of the server's resources like RAM, data storage space, traffic and CPU. Perfect for hosting popular web pages that do not need server root access.
VPS hosting - the private virtual servers are perfect for middle sized web pages, which do demand root access to the web server's config files. Commonly, there are a few VPS web server accounts sharing the same physical server. Still, each of them is insulated from the rest and has its own Operating System.
Dedicated Server - a fully dedicated web server set up and accessed by you and only you. It guarantees a considerable amount of system resources. It also gives server root access, which makes it an excellent environment for any sort of online portal that requires a web space hosting service.
The sole question that remains is:
Which web space hosting firm should I choose?
As mentioned, there are not many web hosts providing warez hosting services due to legal troubles. Such companies are being closed down virtually every month. Because of that, if you want to provide such a service, you should do it on your very own PC. The shared web page hosting service is the most famous type of hosting service. So, each webspace hosting distributor offers it. Not all of them, though, offer services such as VPS web servers, semi-dedicated hosting servers and dedicated hosting servers. Most of the small sized web space hosting companies do not have the resources required for maintaining those solutions. Hence it's always best to opt for a bigger host that can furnish its clients with all the solutions that they are looking for. You can easily identify such hosts by the sorts of services that they are supplying and by the manner in which they present them to the customers. For instance, certain web hosting providers allow you to start with a small scale web space hosting package and afterwards move to a bigger one, if you consider it mandatory to do so. This is very convenient, since you do not need to migrate web pages between servers and there is no danger of experiencing service disturbances due to all the problems that may crop up. Web hosting providers such as WebHost-ing.com provide all kinds of services and have the necessary server resources and staff to assure that their clients will not face any troubles when swapping services, which is what a top hosting company is in fact all about.