An explanation of web hosting
As its name suggests, web hosting is a service, which involves hosting online content. There are various varieties and kinds of web hosting, based on the mission and on the objectives. Yet, they all are associated with hosting files, which, once hosted, are made accessible throughout the World Wide Web. A web host is actually a web server that is linked to the Web and has its very own Internet Protocol address, which enables people to have access to it via the Web. The web server's architecture and its limitations are dependent on the kind of web hosting service it will be used for.
What are the different forms of web hosting?
Depending on the mission, the professional web hosting solution may be:
File Web Hosting - this type of web hosting enables the customers to deposit their files on a certain server. With the normal file web hosting solution, the files that are accommodated may only be accessed by the user that's utilizing the service. This web hosting solution typically concerns backups of personal computers , documents, private files and even other web hosting servers. This solution may also impose certain limitations with regard to the web space and the root-level access. There may also be web traffic quota limitations, but that depends on the particular host.
Warez Hosting - the so-called warez web hosting service is comparable with the previous web hosting service type. Even so, unlike the file storage hosting solution, the warez hosting solution is used for circulating patented materials without being given the okay to do so by the patent holder. To put it briefly - it appertains to the unauthorized circulation of files and documents. There are many methods for this to be performed, but the two essential ways are - through plain HTTP downloading and via P2P connections. The first one entails either a certain website, or, most typically, simply a directory on a web server that's been made available for everybody to access it and thereby download licensed docs free of charge. The second method entails a P2P connection, using the so-called Torrent web servers, through which users transmit files between each other. There are not many web site hosting companies that permit such type of hosting on their web servers, mostly due to all the legal complications that it presupposes. Typically such sites are hosted on personal dedicated web servers that are registered by 3rd party firms either in the Middle East or in Asia.
Mail Web Hosting - this solution is used with both shared web page hosting and dedicated servers, depending on the customer's wish. If you would like to set up your very own private SMTP mail server, then you will need either a virtual private hosting server or a dedicated hosting server that offers the level of access required to execute such an operation. For standard electronic mail web hosting purposes, however, you can use an average shared website hosting account, to which you can point the MX records of your domain. This is not a service that's widely famous, because the web site hosting and the e-mail hosting services are being served by 2 separate servers, usually belonging to separate hosts.
Web Site Hosting - the most widespread and largely utilized hosting service now. It's used for hosting web site files, whose kind is dependent on the Operating System the hosting server is utilizing - Linux or Windows. Different kinds of files need different server OSs, otherwise they won't be displayed correctly on the Web. This kind of hosting may include data space and traffic limitations, root access and CPU usage restrictions.
Based on the aims and on the functions, the user should select the sort of hosting server that he requires for his work, and, of course, the hosting corporation that's going to supply it. There are different sorts of web servers, depending on the specifications and the site 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, reflects on the cost of the service. It can be used for hosting small and medium size websites, which do not require huge quotas of disk storage space and traffic.
Semi-Dedicated Hosting - they are based on the very same principle as the shared web hosting servers. Even so, there are much fewer customers sharing the same hosting server. Therefore, each of them will enjoy a larger quota of the web server's resources like RAM, disk space, bandwidth and CPU. Excellent for hosting bulky websites that do not need complete root-level access.
Virtual Private Server - the virtual hosting servers are excellent for middle size sites, which do require root access to the web server's configuration files. Usually, there are a bunch of private virtual server web hosting accounts accommodated on the same server. In spite of that, each of them is insulated from the rest and has its own OS.
Dedicated Hosting - a fully dedicated hosting server set up and accessed by you and only you. It ensures a mammoth quantity of system resources. It also provides complete root access, which makes it an ideal solution for any kind of web page that demands a hosting service.
The sole question that's left is:
Which webspace hosting corporation should I pick?
As stated above, there are very few hosting providers offering warez web hosting services due to legal predicaments. Such hosting providers are being closed down almost every month. For that reason, if you want to provide such a service, you should do it on your own computer. The shared site hosting solution is the most popular kind of web hosting service. Hence, every site hosting company provides it. Not all of them, though, offer services such as VPS hosting servers, semi-dedicated hosting servers and dedicated servers. Most of the smaller web site hosting corporations do not have the resources needed for offering those services. Hence it's invariably best to opt for a bigger hosting company that can furnish its customers with all the solutions that they are searching for. You can quickly identify such web hosting companies by the sorts of solutions that they are supplying and by the manner in which they present them to the clients. For example, some web hosts permit you to start with a small sized hosting package and afterwards shift to a bigger one, if you find it necessary to do so. This is very suitable, because you do not need to migrate web sites between web servers and there is no risk of experiencing service disturbances due to all the complications that may show up. Companies such as Exclusive Hosting are offering all kinds of services and have the necessary server resources and staff to ensure that their clients will not run into any hassles when swapping services, which is what a top hosting vendor is actually all about.