An explanation of website hosting
As its name hints, web hosting is a solution, which involves hosting web content. There are different forms and kinds of web hosting, depending on the aims and on the usage. However, they all are related to hosting files, which, once hosted, are made available through the Web. A web host is in fact a web hosting service that is linked to the World Wide Web and has its own personal IP address, which allows people to gain access to it via the Internet. The server's architecture and its system resources are dependent on the type of hosting service it's going to be utilized for.
What are the different types of web hosting?
Based on the usage, the professional web hosting service may be:
File Storage Hosting - this type of hosting allows the clients to store their files on a specific web server. With the customary file storage web hosting service, the files that are stashed may only be accessed by the person that's availing of the service. This hosting service typically is associated with backups of PCs , docs, personal files and even other web hosting servers. This solution may also impose given restrictions in relation to the web space and the root-level access. There may also be traffic limitations, but that is dependent on the actual hosting provider.
Warez Web Hosting - the so-called warez hosting service is very similar to the previous web hosting service type. However, unlike the file web hosting solution, the warez web hosting solution is used for circulating patented content without being given the OK to do so by the licence bearer. In short - it is associated with the illegal transmission of files and docs. There are lots of approaches for this to be realized, but the 2 essential ways are - through plain HTTP downloading and through peer-to-peer connections. The first method entails either a specific web page, or, most commonly, just a directory on a web server that's been made available for everyone to access it and thereby download licensed content free of charge. The second approach involves a P2P connection, availing of the so-called Torrent servers, via which users transfer files between each other. There are just a few site hosting corporations that permit such type of web hosting on their web servers, mainly owing to all the judicial complications that it involves. Usually such sites are hosted on private dedicated web servers that are registered by third-party corporations either in the Middle East or in Asia.
Electronic Mail Hosting - this service is relevant with both shared site hosting and dedicated web servers, based on the user's intention. If you wish to run your own personal SMTP server, then you will require either a VPS server or a dedicated web hosting server that provides the access level needed to perform such a task. For typical electronic mail hosting ends, though, you can avail of an average shared web page hosting account, to which you can point the MX records of your domain name. This is not a service that's widely famous, since the web hosting and the electronic mail hosting services are being served by 2 separate web servers, usually owned by separate hosts.
Web Site Hosting - the most famous and commonly used hosting service at present. It's used for hosting site files, whose kind is dependent on the OS the web hosting server is running - Linux or Windows. Different sorts of files demand concrete web server Operating Systems, otherwise they won't be exhibited accurately on the World Wide Web. This type of web hosting may include server storage and traffic limitations, server root access and central processing unit usage restrictions.
Based on the aims and on the objectives, the user should pick the type of server that he requires for his project, and, of course, the web hosting distributor that's going to supply it. There are various types of servers, depending on the specifications and the web space hosting services that they offer. These are:
Shared Web Hosting Server - a shared web space hosting server offers a smaller amount of system resources, which, of course, is manifested in the price of the service. It can be utilized for hosting small sized and middle size sites, which do not need immense quotas of data storage space and traffic.
Semi-Dedicated Servers - they operate on the same principle as the shared webspace hosting servers. In spite of that, there are much fewer customers accommodated on the same hosting server. Therefore, each of them will have a bigger quota of the web hosting server's resources like RAM, data storage space, web traffic and CPU. Ideal for hosting big sites that do not need complete root access.
Virtual Private Server - the virtual servers are excellent for medium web portals, which do require root-level access to the hosting server's config files. Typically, there are several VPS server hosting accounts accommodated on the same machine. However, each of them is autonomous from the rest and has its own OS.
Dedicated Server Hosting - a completely dedicated web hosting server set up and accessed by you and solely you. It ensures a considerable quantity of resources. It also includes complete server root access, which renders it a perfect environment for any type of web site that needs a web hosting service.
The sole question that remains is:
Which site hosting distributor should I choose?
As already stated, there are just a few hosting providers offering warez web hosting solutions due to legal complications. Such web hosting providers are being closed down virtually every month. Therefore, if you desire to start such a service, you should do it on your very own computer. The shared web page hosting solution is the most popular kind of web hosting service. Hence, each hosting distributor provides it. Not all of them, however, provide solutions such as VPS hosting servers, semi-dedicated hosting servers and dedicated servers. Most of the smaller website hosting providers do not have the resources needed for offering those solutions. For that reason it's always best to opt for a bigger host that can provide its customers with all the solutions that they are looking for. You can easily ID such web hosts by the sorts of solutions that they are making available and by the manner in which they present them to the clientele. For example, certain hosting companies allow you to begin with a small sized web site hosting plan and subsequently move to a more advanced one, if you find it necessary to do so. This is quite convenient, since you do not need to transmit web sites between web servers and there is no possibility of suffering outages because of all the predicaments that may arise. Companies such as The Wizard Hosting offer all types of solutions and possess the needed hosting server resources and personnel to assure that their clients will not run into any hassles when swapping services, which is what a top hosting distributor is actually all about.