An explanation of web hosting
As its name denotes, web hosting is a solution, which entails hosting web content. There are various forms and kinds of web hosting, based on the goals and on the usage. Still, they all entail hosting files, which, once hosted, are made available through the Internet. A host is in fact a web server that is linked to the Web and has its own personal IP address, which permits users to get access to it via the Internet. The hosting server's architecture and its resources are determined by the form of hosting solution it will be used for.
What are the various types of hosting?
Depending on the usage, the professional hosting solution may be:
File Storage Hosting - this form of web hosting enables the users to lodge their files on a certain server. With the ordinary file web hosting service, the files that are accommodated may only be accessed by the individual that's utilizing the service. This hosting service typically concerns backups of computers , documents, personal files and even other web servers. This solution may also contain given restrictions in relation to the server space and the root privileges. There may also be traffic limits, but that depends on the actual service provider.
Warez Hosting - the so-called warez web hosting solution is quite similar to the previous hosting service type. Yet, in contrast with the file storage hosting solution, the warez web hosting service is utilized for transmitting proprietary content without the blessing of the patent bearer. In brief - it appertains to the illegitimate transmission of files and documents. There are lots of methods for this to be completed, but the 2 principal ways are - through simple Hypertext Transfer Protocol downloading and through P2P connections. The first method entails either a given site, or, most commonly, simply a directory on a web hosting server that's been made available for everybody to access it and thus download copyrighted content free of cost. The second way entails a peer-to-peer connection, using the so-called Torrent web servers, through which users share files between each other. There are very few web page hosting distributors that permit such type of web hosting on their servers, mostly because of all the judicial complications that it involves. Usually 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 service is utilized with both shared web hosting and dedicated servers, based on the user's intention. If you would like to build your very own private SMTP electronic mail server, then you will require either a Virtual Private Server or a dedicated hosting server that offers the access level needed to perform such an operation. For regular e-mail web hosting ends, however, you can utilize a plain shared 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 hosting and the mail hosting services are being served by 2 separate servers, usually owned by different hosting providers.
Website Hosting - the most famous and commonly utilized hosting service nowadays. It's utilized for hosting web site files, whose kind depends on the OS the web server is making use of - Linux or Windows. Different types of files demand different web server OSs, or else they won't be exhibited correctly on the World Wide Web. This form of hosting may contain web storage space and traffic limits, server root access and CPU usage limits.
Based on the aims and on the usage, the customer should select the type of web hosting server that he demands for his work, and, of course, the hosting provider that's going to supply it. There are different types of web servers, depending on the configuration and the web hosting solutions that they provide. These are:
Shared Hosting Server - a shared web server offers a smaller quantity of system resources, which, of course, is manifested in the cost of the service. It can be used for hosting small size and middle size web sites, which do not require big quantities of disk storage and bandwidth.
Semi-Dedicated Servers Hosting - they perform on the same principle as the shared web space hosting servers. Nevertheless, there are much less customers accommodated on the same web hosting server. Hence, each of them will obtain a larger share of the web server's resources like RAM, server space, traffic and CPU. Ideal for hosting popular sites that do not require complete server root access.
Virtual Servers - the virtual web servers are perfect for middle size web pages, which do require root-level access to the server's configuration files. Usually, there are a number of VPS accounts sharing the same server. Nevertheless, each of them is isolated from the others and has its own OS.
Dedicated Server - a completely dedicated server configured and accessed by you and solely you. It ensures a gigantic quantity of system resources. It also includes full root-level access, which makes it a perfect platform for any sort of online portal that demands a web site hosting service.
The only question that remains is:
Which website hosting distributor should I select?
As already mentioned, there are not many hosts offering warez hosting services because of legal entanglements. Such web hosts are being shut down virtually every month. For that reason, if you wish to create such a service, you should do it on your very own PC. The shared web hosting service is the most popular type of hosting service. Hence, every web hosting vendor offers it. Not all of them, however, provide services such as Virtual Private Servers, semi-dedicated web hosting servers and dedicated hosting servers. Most of the small sized webspace hosting corporations do not have the means required for maintaining those solutions. Because of that it's always best to settle on a larger web hosting company that can provide its customers with all the solutions that they necessitate. You can quickly identify such web hosts by the types of services that they are making available and by the manner in which they present them to the clientele. For instance, certain providers permit you to commence with a small scale web hosting package and subsequently shift to a more powerful one, if you deem it compulsory to do so. This is very suitable, since you do not have to transfer sites between servers and there is no chance of experiencing network outages because of all the predicaments that may take place. Providers such as Webix Hosting - Your Affordable Web Solution! offer all sorts of services and possess the adequate web server resources and personnel to assure that their clients will not experience any problems when changing services, which is what a top hosting provider is actually all about.