An explanation of web space hosting
As its name indicates, web hosting is a service, which entails hosting online content. There are various varieties and kinds of hosting, depending on the mission and on the objectives. However, they all pertain to hosting files, which, once hosted, are made available through the Web. A web host is actually a hosting server that is connected to the Web and has its very own Internet Protocol address, which allows people to access it through the Internet. The hosting server's configuration and its resources are subject to the form of web hosting solution it will be used for.
What are the various forms of web hosting?
Based on the objective, the hosting service may be:
File Storage Hosting - this type of web hosting allows the clients to store their files on a given web server. With the regular file storage hosting solution, the files that are kept may only be accessed by the individual that's utilizing the service. This web hosting solution usually includes backups of PCs , documents, private files and even other web servers. This solution may also involve certain limitations when it comes to the disk storage space and the root privileges. There may also be traffic restrictions, but that depends on the actual provider.
Warez Web Hosting - the so-called warez web hosting solution is quite similar to the previous web hosting service form. Nonetheless, in contrast with the file storage web hosting service, the warez hosting service is utilized for spreading licensed work without being given the go-ahead by the license owner. To put it briefly - it refers to the prohibited dissemination of files and documents. There are multiple methods for this to be accomplished, but the two main ways are - through plain Hypertext Transfer Protocol downloading and through P2P connections. The first way involves either a given web page, or, most often, simply a directory on a web server that's been made available for everyone to access it and thus download proprietary docs free of charge. The second method entails a peer-to-peer connection, making use of the so-called Torrent servers, through which users swap files between each other. There are a few web hosting firms that permit such type of web hosting on their servers, chiefly due to all the judicial problems that it entails. Commonly such web sites are hosted on private dedicated servers that are registered by third-party corporations either in the Middle East or in Asia.
Email Web Hosting - this solution is applicable with both shared website hosting and dedicated hosting servers, based on the customer's wish. If you would like to run your very own private SMTP server, then you will need either a private virtual hosting server or a dedicated server that offers the level of access needed to accomplish such a procedure. For traditional e-mail web hosting purposes, however, you can avail of an ordinary shared web page hosting account, to which you can point the mail exchanger records of your domain. This is not a solution that's widely used, because the site hosting and the email hosting services are being served by two different web servers, often belonging to different web hosts.
Website Hosting - the most widespread and widely utilized hosting service nowadays. It's utilized for hosting website files, whose kind is determined by the Operating System the hosting server is using - Linux or Windows. Different sorts of files require different web hosting server Operating Systems, or else they won't be shown properly on the Web. This kind of hosting may impose web storage space and traffic quota limitations, root-level access and central processing unit usage restrictions.
Based on the goals and on the usage, the customer should pick the type of hosting server that he demands for his work, and, of course, the site hosting vendor that's going to furnish it. There are several types of web servers, based on the specifications and the website hosting solutions that they offer. These are:
Shared Website Hosting Server - a shared web page hosting server provides a smaller quantity of resources, which, of course, is reflected on the price of the service. It can be used for hosting small and middle size sites, which do not demand immense quantities of disk storage space and bandwidth.
Semi-Dedicated Servers - they function on the same principle as the shared site hosting servers. Yet, there are much less users sharing the same web hosting server. That is why, each of them will get a bigger share of the web hosting server's resources like RAM, disk storage, web traffic and CPU. Perfect for hosting immense web pages that do not need full root-level access.
VPS - the Virtual Private Servers are perfect for medium scale online portals, which do demand root access to the server's configuration files. Generally, there are a bunch of VPS hosting server accounts placed on the same physical machine. Still, each of them is isolated from the rest and has its own Operating System.
Dedicated Servers Hosting - a completely dedicated web server set up and accessed by you and only you. It ensures a vast quantity of system resources. It also gives full root-level access, which renders it the optimal solution for any type of web portal that necessitates a web space hosting solution.
The sole question that remains is:
Which site hosting company should I choose?
As already stated, there aren't many hosting providers providing warez web hosting solutions because of judicial complications. Such web hosts are being shut down practically every month. For that reason, if you wish to provide such a service, you should do it on your very own PC. The shared site hosting service is the most widespread kind of web hosting service. Hence, each and every hosting supplier provides it. Not all of them, though, offer services such as VPS servers, semi-dedicated hosting servers and dedicated web servers. Most of the small sized web space hosting vendors do not have the resources needed for offering those solutions. That is the reason why it's invariably best to go with a bigger host that can furnish its clients with all the services that they seek. You can effortlessly recognize such web hosts by the kinds of solutions that they are making available and by the way that they present them to the clients. For example, certain web hosts permit you to kick off with a smaller website hosting plan and then upgrade to a more powerful one, if you find it necessary to do so. This is quite suitable, because you do not have to relocate sites between servers and there is no possibility of facing service outages due to all the complications that may occur. Hosting companies such as Key4Hosting.com offer all sorts of solutions and have the needed web hosting server resources and personnel to assure that their customers will not stumble upon any complications when swapping services, which is what a top hosting firm is actually all about.