An explanation of hosting
As its name hints, web hosting is a solution, which involves hosting web content. There are various varieties and types of hosting, based on the goals and on the functions. However, they all are associated with hosting files, which, once hosted, are made available throughout the Web. A web host is actually a web server that is linked to the Internet and has its very own Internet Protocol address, which enables users to access it via the World Wide Web. The web server's configuration and its limitations are determined by the type of web hosting solution it will be utilized for.
What are the different types of web hosting?
Based on the function, the business hosting solution may be:
File Storage Hosting - this type of web hosting permits the users to deposit their files on a given server. With the standard file web hosting solution, the files that are stashed may only be accessed by the person that's utilizing the service. This hosting service generally is associated with backups of PCs , documents, private files and even other servers. This service may also contain certain restrictions in terms of the server storage and the root-level access. There may also be web traffic quota limits, but that depends on the given web hosting service provider.
Warez Hosting - the so-called warez hosting solution is comparable with the previous hosting service type. Nonetheless, in contrast with the file storage hosting solution, the warez hosting service is used for spreading licensed work without the sanction of the copyright possessor. In brief - it entails the unauthorized distribution of files and documents. There are many ways for this to be completed, but the two main ways are - through plain Hypertext Transfer Protocol downloading and via peer-to-peer connections. The first approach involves either a particular site, or, most typically, just a directory on a server that's been made available for everybody to access it and thus download copyrighted materials free of cost. The second approach involves a P2P connection, utilizing the so-called Torrent web servers, through which users transmit files between each other. There are not many web hosting providers that permit such form of web hosting on their web hosting servers, mostly owing to all the judicial troubles that it entails. Usually such web portals are hosted on personal dedicated servers that are registered by third-party corporations either in the Middle East or in Asia.
Mail Hosting - this solution is utilized with both shared web site hosting and dedicated web hosting servers, depending on the client's intention. If you desire to set up your own private SMTP electronic mail server, then you will need either a virtual private hosting server or a dedicated web hosting server that provides the access level needed to execute such a task. For traditional mail hosting ends, though, you can create a normal shared webspace hosting account, to which you can point the MX records of your domain. This is not a service that's very popular, since the web site hosting and the email hosting services are being served by two separate servers, usually owned by different firms.
Web Site Hosting - the most famous and vastly utilized hosting service at present. It's utilized for hosting web site files, whose kind is dependent on the OS the web hosting server is availing of - Linux or Windows. Different kinds of files request different server OSs, or else they won't be shown appropriately on the Web. This form of web hosting may have server space and traffic limitations, root access and central processing unit usage limits.
Depending on the aims and on the usage, the customer should select the sort of web server that he requires for his work, and, of course, the web site hosting distributor that's going to furnish it. There are various sorts of web servers, depending on the configuration and the webspace hosting services that they provide. These are:
Shared Web Hosting Server - a shared webspace hosting server supplies a smaller amount of resources, which, of course, is manifested in the cost of the service. It can be utilized for hosting small sized and medium sized websites, which do not demand considerable quotas of disk storage space and bandwidth.
Semi-Dedicated Servers Hosting - they perform on the same principle as the shared web site hosting servers. Yet, there are much fewer customers sharing the same hosting server. Therefore, each of them will obtain a bigger quota of the web server's resources like RAM, data storage space, bandwidth and CPU. Perfect for hosting enormous sites that do not require full root-level access.
Virtual Private Server - the private virtual servers are perfect for medium sites, which do require root-level access to the web hosting server's config files. Commonly, there are several virtual web server accounts hosted on the same physical machine. Nevertheless, each of them is insulated from the others and runs its own Operating System.
Dedicated Server Hosting - a completely dedicated physical server configured and accessed by you and only you. It guarantees a large quantity of system resources. It also includes full root-level access, which renders it an ideal platform for any type of website that needs a web site hosting solution.
The only question that remains is:
Which web site hosting firm should I pick?
As already stated, there aren't many web hosting companies providing warez hosting services due to judicial predicaments. Such web hosting providers are being shut down almost every month. For that reason, if you wish to provide such a service, you should do it on your very own personal computer. The shared web hosting solution is the most famous type of hosting service. Hence, every webspace hosting company provides it. Not all of them, however, offer services such as VPS web hosting servers, semi-dedicated hosting servers and dedicated hosting servers. Most of the small scale webspace hosting distributors do not have the means needed for offering those services. Therefore it's invariably best to settle on a larger host that can supply its customers with all the solutions that they necessitate. You can easily recognize such hosting companies by the sorts of services that they are providing and by the way that they present them to the customers. For instance, certain web hosting companies permit you to begin with a small sized webspace hosting account and then upgrade to a more powerful one, if you find it obligatory to do so. This is extremely convenient, because you do not have to relocate sites between web hosting servers and there is no possibility of facing service downtime because of all the complications that may crop up. Web hosts like AutomatedWebhost.net provide all kinds of services and have the necessary hosting server resources and personnel to guarantee that their clients will not stumble upon any problems when changing services, which is what a top hosting provider is actually all about.