A definition of hosting
As its name hints, web hosting is a solution, which entails hosting online content. There are different varieties and types of hosting, depending on the purpose and on the usage. Yet, they all refer to hosting files, which, once hosted, are made accessible through the World Wide Web. A web host is actually a web server that is connected to the Internet and has its own IP address, which permits users to have access to it through the Internet. The web hosting server's architecture and its resources depend on the kind of hosting solution it will be used for.
What are the various forms of hosting?
Based on the function, the business hosting solution may be:
File Web Hosting - this type of hosting enables the users to lodge their files on a particular server. With the regular file storage hosting service, the files that are stored may only be accessed by the client that's availing of the service. This web hosting solution typically pertains to backups of personal computers , documents, private files and even other web hosting servers. This service may also impose given limits in terms of the storage space and the root privileges. There may also be web traffic restrictions, but that is dependent on the actual service provider.
Warez Hosting - the so-called warez hosting service is comparable with the previous hosting service type. Nevertheless, in contrast with the file storage hosting service, the warez hosting service is utilized for distributing copyrighted materials without being green-lighted by the patent owner. In brief - it pertains to the unauthorized distribution of files and documents. There are many approaches for this to be carried out, but the 2 essential approaches are - through simple Hypertext Transfer Protocol downloading and via P2P connections. The first way entails either a particular website, or, most typically, simply a directory on a hosting server that's been made available for everybody to access it and thereby download copyrighted documents for free. The second approach entails a P2P connection, availing of the so-called Torrent servers, via which people transfer files between each other. There aren't many web space hosting distributors that allow that form of web hosting on their web servers, mostly owing to all the judicial entanglements that it entails. Commonly such web portals are hosted on private dedicated web servers that are registered by 3rd party corporations either in the Middle East or in Asia.
E-mail Web Hosting - this solution is utilized with both shared webspace hosting and dedicated web servers, based on the customer's desire. If you would like to set up your own private SMTP email server, then you will need either a private virtual hosting server or a dedicated server that offers the access level required to execute such a procedure. For customary email web hosting purposes, however, you can create a regular shared web page hosting account, to which you can point the mail exchanger records of your domain. This is not a service that's very famous, because the website hosting and the email hosting services are being served by 2 different web servers, often belonging to separate hosts.
Web Site Hosting - the most popular and universally used hosting service today. It's utilized for hosting site files, whose kind depends on the Operating System the web server is running - Linux or Windows. Different types of files necessitate specific server Operating Systems, otherwise they won't be shown accurately on the World Wide Web. This form of hosting may have disk space and web traffic quota limits, root-level access and central processing unit usage limits.
Based on the goals and on the functions, the user should pick the type of server that he requires for his work, and, of course, the web space hosting firm that's going to supply it. There are different kinds of web servers, based on the specs and the site hosting services that they provide. These are:
Shared Web Hosting Server - a shared web page hosting server offers a smaller amount of system resources, which, of course, is manifested in the price of the service. It can be utilized for hosting small sized and middle size web pages, which do not need enormous quotas of server space and web traffic.
Semi-Dedicated - they are based on the same principle as the shared website hosting servers. Still, there are much fewer customers accommodated on the same web server. Hence, each of them will get a greater quota of the web server's resources like RAM, disk storage, traffic and CPU. Ideal for hosting enormous online portals that do not demand full server root privileges.
VPS - the VPS web servers are perfect for medium scale online portals, which do require root-level access to the web server's configuration files. Usually, there are a few VPS hosting accounts located on the same server. Yet, each of them is isolated from the rest and runs its own OS.
Dedicated Server Hosting - a fully dedicated machine configured and accessed by you and only you. It ensures a vast quantity of resources. It also includes full root access, which renders it an excellent solution for any sort of web site that needs a hosting service.
The only question that remains is:
Which web space hosting firm should I opt for?
As already stated, there are not many providers providing warez hosting solutions due to legal complications. Such hosting companies are being closed down almost every month. That is why, if you want to establish such a service, you should do it on your own computer. The shared hosting service is the most popular type of hosting service. Hence, each web hosting vendor provides it. Not all of them, though, offer solutions such as VPS hosting servers, semi-dedicated servers and dedicated hosting servers. Most of the smaller webspace hosting corporations do not have the resources demanded for offering those solutions. That is the reason why it's always best to select a bigger web host that can furnish its clients with all the solutions that they need. You can easily ID such hosting companies by the sorts of services that they are making available and by the manner in which they present them to the clientele. For instance, some hosting companies permit you to kick off with a smaller webspace hosting plan and subsequently move to a more advanced one, if you consider it compulsory to do so. This is very convenient, since you do not have to transfer web portals between hosting servers and there is no chance of experiencing service downtime due to all the problems that may appear. Web hosts such as WebHost-ing.com offer all sorts of solutions and possess the necessary web hosting server resources and personnel to assure that their clients will not come across any hassles when changing services, which is what a top hosting provider is actually all about.