A description of site hosting
As its name denotes, web hosting is a service, which involves hosting web content. There are various forms and types of hosting, based on the purpose and on the usage. Nonetheless, they all refer to hosting files, which, once hosted, are made accessible through the Web. A web host is in fact a server that is connected to the Web and has its own IP address, which permits people to gain access to it through the Internet. The hosting server's architecture and its limitations are subject to the type of web hosting service it will be utilized for.
What are the different types of hosting?
Based on the goal, the hosting solution may be:
File Storage Web Hosting - this type of hosting permits the customers to host their files on a specific web hosting server. With the routine file storage web hosting solution, the files that are accommodated may only be accessed by the client that's utilizing the service. This web hosting solution mainly pertains to backups of personal computers , documents, private files and even other web servers. This solution may also involve certain limitations in terms of the data storage and the root-level access. There may also be traffic quota limitations, but that is dependent on the actual web hosting service provider.
Warez Web Hosting - the so-called warez web hosting solution is very similar to the previous web hosting service type. Yet, in contrast with the file storage web hosting solution, the warez hosting service is utilized for propagating copyrighted materials without the authorization of the licence holder. To put it briefly - it pertains to the illegitimate propagation of files and materials. There are a lot of methods for this to be performed, but the two chief methods are - through plain HTTP downloading and via P2P connections. The first method entails either some web portal, or, most commonly, simply a directory on a hosting server that's been made available for everybody to access it and thus download copyrighted content free of charge. The second way entails a peer-to-peer connection, using the so-called Torrent web servers, through which people swap files between each other. There are very few site hosting providers that permit that form of hosting on their servers, mainly due to all the judicial problems that it entails. Usually such web pages are hosted on private dedicated web servers that are registered by 3rd party corporations either in the Middle East or in Asia.
Mail Hosting - this solution is used with both shared web space hosting and dedicated web hosting servers, based on the client's intention. If you would like to have your own private SMTP electronic mail server, then you will require either a virtual private web server or a dedicated web hosting server that offers the level of access required to carry out such a task. For customary electronic mail web hosting purposes, though, you can set up an average shared site hosting account, to which you can point the mail exchanger records of your domain name. This is not a service that's widely used, because the website hosting and the mail hosting services are being served by two separate web servers, often owned by different hosts.
Website Hosting - the most popular and largely utilized hosting service nowadays. It's used for hosting web site files, whose kind is dependent on the OS the server is availing of - Linux or Windows. Different types of files require concrete hosting server Operating Systems, otherwise they won't be shown correctly on the World Wide Web. This type of web hosting may impose server storage and web traffic limitations, server root access and CPU usage limitations.
Based on the purpose and on the objectives, the customer should pick the type of server that he needs for his work, and, of course, the webspace hosting distributor that's going to supply it. There are different sorts of web hosting servers, based on the specs and the site hosting solutions that they provide. These are:
Shared Web Hosting Server - a shared web page hosting server provides a smaller quantity of resources, which, of course, is reflected on the price of the service. It can be used for hosting small and middle scale web pages, which do not require large amounts of web storage and traffic.
Semi-Dedicated - they operate on the same principle as the shared web page hosting servers. However, there are much fewer clients hosted on the same hosting server. Therefore, each of them will get a larger quota of the server's resources like RAM, disk storage, web traffic and CPU. Ideal for hosting immense web sites that do not demand full server root access.
Virtual Private Server - the VPS servers are excellent for medium size web portals, which do require root access to the web hosting server's config files. Generally, there are a handful of virtual server hosting accounts accommodated on the same physical machine. In spite of that, each of them is isolated from the rest and runs its own OS.
Dedicated Servers Hosting - a completely dedicated web server set up and accessed by you and only you. It guarantees a large quantity of system resources. It also provides complete root access, which renders it the optimal environment for any sort of web portal that necessitates a hosting service.
The only question that's left is:
Which web space hosting distributor should I choose?
As already stated, there are not many web hosting companies providing warez hosting solutions because of judicial problems. Such hosts are being closed down practically every month. Because of that, if you wish to establish such a service, you should do it on your own PC. The shared site hosting service is the most popular type of hosting service. So, each and every webspace hosting company provides it. Not all of them, however, provide services such as VPS web servers, semi-dedicated hosting servers and dedicated web hosting servers. Most of the smaller website hosting suppliers do not have the means demanded for offering those services. Hence it's invariably best to pick a bigger hosting company that can furnish its customers with all the services that they seek. You can quickly identify such hosts by the kinds of services that they are providing and by the manner in which they introduce them to the customers. For instance, some companies allow you to start with a small scale hosting account and subsequently move to a more powerful one, if you deem it obligatory to do so. This is extremely convenient, because you do not need to transmit web pages between web servers and there is no danger of suffering service downtime due to all the complications that may arise. Providers like DotMonster.ca provide all sorts of services and have the necessary web hosting server resources and staff to guarantee that their customers will not stumble upon any complications when swapping services, which is what a top hosting provider is actually all about.