A definition of website hosting
As its name indicates, web hosting is a service, which involves hosting web content. There are different forms and types of web hosting, based on the goals and on the functions. However, they all entail hosting files, which, once hosted, are made accessible through the Internet. A web host is in fact a web server that is connected to the World Wide Web and has its own personal Internet Protocol address, which permits people to have access to it via the World Wide Web. The hosting server's architecture and its limitations are subject to the kind of hosting solution it's going to be used for.
What are the various forms of web hosting?
Based on the purpose, the professional web hosting solution may be:
File Hosting - this type of web hosting permits the customers to lodge their files on a given web server. With the ordinary file hosting service, the files that are saved may only be accessed by the individual that's availing of the service. This web hosting solution traditionally entails backups of computers , docs, private files and even other web servers. This service may also contain given limits with regard to the server storage space and the root-level access. There may also be traffic quota limitations, but that depends on the given hosting provider.
Warez Hosting - the so-called warez hosting service is very similar to the previous web hosting service type. Yet, in contrast with the file hosting service, the warez hosting service is used for distributing copyrighted content without the permission of the licence holder. In brief - it pertains to the unauthorized transmission of files and documents. There are lots of ways for this to be executed, but the 2 main approaches are - through plain Hypertext Transfer Protocol downloading and via P2P connections. The first way entails either a particular web page, or, most typically, simply a directory on a web server that's been made available for everyone to access it and thereby download copyrighted files for free. The second way entails a peer-to-peer connection, making use of the so-called Torrent servers, via which people transfer files between each other. There are a few site hosting corporations that permit that type of web hosting on their web hosting servers, chiefly due to all the judicial problems that it presupposes. Typically such web portals are hosted on personal dedicated web hosting servers that are registered by 3rd party enterprises either in the Middle East or in Asia.
E-mail Hosting - this solution is applicable with both shared web site hosting and dedicated hosting servers, depending on the customer's intention. If you wish to run your own private SMTP mail server, then you will require either a Virtual Private Server or a dedicated web server that offers the level of access required to accomplish such an assignment. For typical mail web hosting purposes, though, you can avail of a regular shared hosting account, to which you can point the MX records of your domain. This is not a solution that's very used, because the website hosting and the mail hosting services are being served by 2 separate servers, often belonging to different web hosts.
Web Site Hosting - the most widely spread and widely used hosting service nowadays. It's used for hosting site files, whose sort is determined by the OS the web hosting server is using - Linux or Windows. Different types of files need different web hosting server OSs, otherwise they won't be shown properly on the World Wide Web. This form of web hosting may include disk storage space and traffic restrictions, server root access and central processing unit usage restrictions.
Based on the mission and on the functions, the client should select the type of server that he demands for his work, and, of course, the site hosting vendor that's going to supply it. There are several types of hosting servers, depending on the specifications and the hosting solutions that they provide. These are:
Shared Hosting Server - a shared website hosting server offers a smaller amount of system resources, which, of course, is reflected on the price of the service. It can be utilized for hosting small size and medium scale online portals, which do not require immense quantities of web space and traffic.
Semi-Dedicated - they operate on the very same principle as the shared web site hosting servers. Yet, there are much fewer customers sharing the same server. Therefore, each of them will get a bigger quota of the web hosting server's resources like RAM, storage space, web traffic and CPU. Perfect for hosting popular sites that do not require full server root access.
Virtual Private Server - the private virtual hosting servers are perfect for medium web pages, which do require root-level access to the web server's config files. Usually, there are several VPS hosting accounts placed on the same physical machine. Yet, each of them is independent from the others and has its own Operating System.
Dedicated Server Hosting - a fully dedicated hosting server configured and accessed by you and only you. It ensures an immense quantity of system resources. It also gives server root access, which makes it the optimal solution for any type of web portal that requires a website hosting service.
The only question that remains is:
Which webspace hosting provider should I settle on?
As already stated, there are just a few web hosting companies providing warez hosting solutions because of judicial predicaments. Such hosting providers are being closed down virtually every month. Because of that, if you wish to offer such a service, you should do it on your own PC. The shared web page hosting service is the most popular kind of hosting service. So, each and every hosting distributor provides it. Not all of them, however, offer solutions such as VPS servers, semi-dedicated hosting servers and dedicated hosting servers. Most of the smaller web space hosting providers do not have the means needed for maintaining those solutions. For that reason it's always best to opt for a bigger web hosting company that can supply its customers with all the services that they necessitate. You can effortlessly recognize such companies by the kinds of services that they are offering and by the manner in which they introduce them to the clientele. For example, some hosting companies allow you to start with a small scale web site hosting package and afterwards shift to a more advanced one, if you deem it obligatory to do so. This is quite suitable, because you do not need to transmit web pages between hosting servers and there is no risk of facing service outages because of all the complications that may show up. Web hosting companies like Anas Hosting provide all types of solutions and possess the adequate web hosting server resources and personnel to ensure that their customers will not chance upon any complications when changing services, which is what a top hosting company is in fact all about.