An explanation of web hosting
As its name suggests, web hosting is a solution, which involves hosting web content. There are various varieties and kinds of hosting, based on the mission and on the usage. Yet, they all are associated with hosting files, which, once hosted, are made accessible through the Web. A host is in fact a server that is linked to the World Wide Web and has its own Internet Protocol address, which enables users to have access to it through the Internet. The web hosting server's configuration and its resources are determined by the sort of hosting solution it's going to be utilized for.
What are the different forms of web hosting?
Depending on the goal, the business hosting service may be:
File Hosting - this type of hosting allows the users to save their files on a specific web hosting server. With the typical file hosting service, the files that are kept may only be accessed by the client that's utilizing the service. This web hosting service typically includes backups of computers , documents, personal files and even other servers. This service may also contain given limitations with regard to the disk storage space and the root access. There may also be web traffic quota limits, but that depends on the particular host.
Warez Hosting - the so-called warez hosting solution is very similar to the previous hosting service form. Nonetheless, in contrast with the file storage hosting service, the warez hosting solution is used for spreading proprietary materials without the permission of the copyright holder. In brief - it is related to the illegitimate dissemination of files and materials. There are a lot of approaches for this to be carried out, but the two essential ways are - via simple HTTP downloading and through peer-to-peer connections. The first way entails either a particular site, or, most often, simply a directory on a web hosting server that's been made available for everyone to access it and thereby download patented files free of cost. The second way involves a P2P connection, using the so-called Torrent web servers, via which people exchange files between each other. There are just a few web space hosting vendors that permit such form of hosting on their hosting servers, mostly due to all the judicial complications that it presupposes. Generally such websites are hosted on private dedicated servers that are registered by 3rd party firms either in the Middle East or in Asia.
E-mail Web Hosting - this solution is utilized with both shared web site hosting and dedicated hosting servers, based on the customer's wish. If you desire to create your own personal SMTP email server, then you will need either a VPS or a dedicated web hosting server that provides the level of access needed to complete such a task. For regular email hosting purposes, however, you can set up a standard shared web site hosting account, to which you can point the mail exchanger records of your domain. This is not a solution that's widely famous, since the web page hosting and the e-mail hosting services are being served by two separate web servers, often belonging to different hosting providers.
Web Site Hosting - the most widely spread and immensely used hosting service at present. It's used for hosting site files, whose type is dependent on the OS the server is using - Linux or Windows. Different types of files need concrete web hosting server OSs, otherwise they won't be exhibited properly on the Web. This kind of hosting may include web space and traffic limits, root access and CPU usage limitations.
Based on the aims and on the functions, the user should pick the sort of web hosting server that he needs for his project, and, of course, the webspace hosting company that's going to supply it. There are various kinds of web servers, depending on the configuration and the web space hosting solutions that they offer. These are:
Shared Web Hosting Server - a shared web hosting server offers a smaller quantity of resources, which, of course, is manifested in the cost of the service. It can be utilized for hosting small scale and middle size web pages, which do not need large quantities of web storage space and web traffic.
Semi-Dedicated Servers - they work on the very same principle as the shared webspace hosting servers. Nevertheless, there are much less clients hosted on the same web hosting server. Because of that, each of them will have a greater share of the server's resources like RAM, server space, traffic and CPU. Perfect for hosting big websites that do not demand complete server root access.
Virtual Servers - the VPS web servers are excellent for medium sized web portals, which do require root-level access to the web server's config files. Generally, there are a number of Virtual Private Server web hosting accounts located on the same machine. Nevertheless, each of them is independent from the rest and runs its own Operating System.
Dedicated Server - a fully dedicated hosting server set up and accessed by you and only you. It guarantees a considerable amount of system resources. It also gives complete server root access, which makes it a perfect platform for any kind of web site that necessitates a web hosting solution.
The only question that remains is:
Which web hosting corporation should I choose?
As already mentioned, there aren't many companies offering warez hosting services due to judicial entanglements. Such hosting companies are being shut down almost every month. Therefore, if you would like to offer such a service, you should do it on your own computer. The shared hosting solution is the most popular kind of web hosting service. For that reason, every web hosting firm offers it. Not all of them, though, provide services such as private virtual servers, semi-dedicated servers and dedicated web servers. Most of the small scale webspace hosting distributors do not have the means required for maintaining those services. That's why it's invariably best to pick a larger company that can furnish its customers with all the services that they seek. You can easily ID such hosting companies by the sorts of solutions that they are making available and by the way that they present them to the clientele. For example, certain providers permit you to commence with a small sized site hosting account and then upgrade to a more powerful one, if you deem it compulsory to do so. This is very suitable, since you do not need to transmit web pages between hosting servers and there is no possibility of facing service interruptions because of all the problems that may appear. Hosting providers such as Exon Hosting provide all types of solutions and have the adequate web hosting server resources and personnel to guarantee that their customers will not chance upon any predicaments when swapping services, which is what a top hosting vendor is in fact all about.