A definition of site hosting
As its name denotes, web hosting is a solution, which involves hosting web content. There are various forms and kinds of hosting, depending on the aims and on the objectives. Still, they all refer to hosting files, which, once hosted, are made available throughout the Web. A host is actually a web server that is linked to the Internet and has its own personal IP address, which permits people to access it via the World Wide Web. The server's architecture and its limitations are dependent on the form of hosting service it will be used for.
What are the various forms of hosting?
Depending on the goal, the hosting solution may be:
File Hosting - this type of hosting enables the clients to keep their files on a specific web server. With the normal file storage web hosting solution, the files that are stashed may only be accessed by the client that's using the service. This hosting service generally is associated with backups of personal computers , docs, personal files and even other hosting servers. This solution may also contain certain limits with regard to the server storage and the root-level access. There may also be traffic restrictions, but that is dependent on the particular web hosting service provider.
Warez Web Hosting - the so-called warez web hosting service is very similar to the previous hosting service form. Yet, unlike the file storage hosting service, the warez hosting solution is used for circulating licensed materials without being given the OK to do so by the copyright proprietor. In brief - it pertains to the illegitimate dissemination of files and docs. There are numerous ways for this to be carried out, but the two chief methods are - through simple Hypertext Transfer Protocol downloading and via peer-to-peer connections. The first approach entails either a specific website, or, most typically, just a directory on a hosting server that's been made available for everybody to access it and thus download proprietary documents free of charge. The second approach entails a peer-to-peer connection, making use of the so-called Torrent web servers, through which users swap files between each other. There are not many web hosting vendors that permit such type of hosting on their hosting servers, chiefly due to all the judicial problems that it involves. Generally such web pages are hosted on private dedicated hosting servers that are registered by 3rd party firms either in the Middle East or in Asia.
Electronic Mail Web Hosting - this solution is applicable with both shared web site hosting and dedicated hosting servers, based on the customer's intention. If you want to create your own private SMTP email server, then you will need either a VPS or a dedicated hosting server that offers the access level needed to execute such a task. For customary electronic mail web hosting purposes, however, you can create a plain shared web page hosting account, to which you can point the mail exchanger records of your domain name. This is not a solution that's widely popular, since the web site hosting and the e-mail hosting services are being served by two different servers, often belonging to different providers.
Site Hosting - the most widely spread and regularly utilized hosting service as of now. It's utilized for hosting web site files, whose sort is determined by the Operating System the server is utilizing - Linux or Windows. Different sorts of files require concrete hosting server OSs, otherwise they won't be displayed accurately on the Web. This type of web hosting may include disk storage space and web traffic restrictions, root-level access and central processing unit usage limitations.
Depending on the goals and on the objectives, the user should select the kind of hosting server that he demands for his project, and, of course, the web hosting company that's going to provide it. There are various kinds of hosting servers, based on the specifications and the web hosting services that they provide. These are:
Shared Website Hosting Server - a shared web site hosting server includes a smaller quantity of system resources, which, of course, is manifested in the cost of the service. It can be utilized for hosting small and middle size web portals, which do not demand considerable quotas of data storage space and web traffic.
Semi-Dedicated Servers Hosting - they operate on the same principle as the shared site hosting servers. Still, there are much fewer users sharing the same web server. Therefore, each of them will enjoy a bigger share of the hosting server's resources like RAM, disk storage space, traffic and CPU. Excellent for hosting enormous sites that do not demand full server root privileges.
Virtual Servers - the virtual private hosting servers are excellent for middle scale web portals, which do require root-level access to the server's configuration files. Normally, there are a number of private virtual server accounts placed on the same physical machine. However, each of them is autonomous from the rest and runs its own Operating System.
Dedicated Hosting - a fully dedicated web hosting server configured and accessed by you and only you. It guarantees a considerable quantity of system resources. It also offers root access, which renders it an ideal environment for any kind of web site that demands a hosting solution.
The sole question that remains is:
Which web space hosting supplier should I select?
As already mentioned, there are just a few web hosts offering warez hosting solutions because of legal complications. Such companies are being shut down practically every month. That is why, if you wish to establish such a service, you should do it on your own personal computer. The shared web space hosting service is the most popular type of web hosting service. Because of that, every hosting vendor offers it. Not all of them, though, provide solutions such as virtual servers, semi-dedicated web hosting servers and dedicated servers. Most of the small scale web site hosting suppliers do not have the means needed for maintaining those services. Therefore it's always best to choose a larger host that can furnish its customers with all the solutions that they seek. You can easily ID such companies by the kinds of services that they are providing and by the manner in which they present them to the clientele. For instance, some hosting companies allow you to start with a small sized webspace hosting account and subsequently shift to a more powerful one, if you find it mandatory to do so. This is quite convenient, since you do not need to migrate websites between web hosting servers and there is no chance of facing downtime due to all the predicaments that may appear. Companies like Mark Brewer - Website Hosting offer all types of solutions and have the required web hosting server resources and staff to guarantee that their customers will not encounter any troubles when swapping services, which is what a top hosting provider is in fact all about.