A description of hosting

As its name implies, web hosting is a solution, which entails hosting online content. There are different forms and types of hosting, based on the goals and on the usage. Nevertheless, they all are associated with hosting files, which, once hosted, are made accessible through the Web. A web host is in fact a hosting server that is connected to the Internet and has its own personal Internet Protocol address, which permits users to access it through the Internet. The web hosting server's architecture and its limitations depend on the sort of web hosting service it's going to be utilized for.

What are the various types of hosting?

Based on the purpose, the hosting service may be:

File Storage Web Hosting - this form of web hosting permits the customers to accommodate their files on a given hosting server. With the customary file hosting service, the files that are accommodated may only be accessed by the customer that's using the service. This hosting service typically refers to backups of computers , documents, personal files and even other web hosting servers. This solution may also have given limits with regard to the storage space and the root-level access. There may also be web traffic restrictions, but that is dependent on the particular hosting provider.

Warez Hosting - the so-called warez web hosting service is quite similar to the previous hosting service type. In spite of that, unlike the file storage hosting solution, the warez web hosting service is used for disseminating patented materials without being given the green light by the patent holder. In brief - it is associated with the unlawful transmission of files and materials. There are lots of approaches for this to be carried out, but the 2 chief approaches are - via simple Hypertext Transfer Protocol downloading and via peer-to-peer connections. The first one involves either a particular web page, or, most often, just a directory on a server that's been made available for everybody to access it and thus download patented content for free. The second approach entails a P2P connection, making use of the so-called Torrent servers, through which users share files between each other. There aren't many web hosting vendors that permit that type of web hosting on their hosting servers, mostly because of all the legal complications that it involves. Usually such web pages are hosted on private dedicated web servers that are registered by 3rd party companies either in the Middle East or in Asia.

Electronic Mail Hosting - this solution is relevant with both shared hosting and dedicated web servers, based on the client's desire. If you want to build your own personal SMTP email server, then you will need either a private virtual web server or a dedicated web hosting server that offers the level of access needed to complete such a task. For customary email web hosting ends, however, you can open a normal shared website hosting account, to which you can point the MX records of your domain name. This is not a solution that's very famous, because the site hosting and the electronic mail hosting services are being served by two separate servers, usually belonging to different companies.

Website Hosting - the most widely spread and frequently used hosting service now. It's utilized for hosting web site files, whose type depends on the OS the web hosting server is making use of - Linux or Windows. Different kinds of files demand specific web server Operating Systems, otherwise they won't be displayed accurately on the World Wide Web. This sort of hosting may have disk storage space and web traffic limitations, server root access and CPU usage restrictions.

Based on the mission and on the usage, the client should select the kind of hosting server that he demands for his project, and, of course, the site hosting supplier that's going to furnish it. There are different types of servers, depending on the specifications and the webspace hosting services that they provide. These are:

Shared Hosting Server - a shared web hosting server supplies a smaller amount of resources, which, of course, is reflected on the price of the service. It can be used for hosting small scale and medium websites, which do not require considerable quotas of disk space and traffic.

Semi-Dedicated Servers - they perform on the same principle as the shared web space hosting servers. Nonetheless, there are much fewer clients accommodated on the same web server. Hence, each of them will enjoy a larger quota of the web hosting server's resources like RAM, disk storage, web traffic and CPU. Perfect for hosting heavy online portals that do not require full server root privileges.

Virtual Servers - the private virtual web servers are excellent for middle sized web sites, which do require root-level access to the hosting server's config files. Traditionally, there are a few virtual web server accounts accommodated on the same physical server. Nevertheless, each of them is isolated from the other ones and has its own OS.

Dedicated Server - a fully dedicated web hosting server configured and accessed by you and solely you. It guarantees an immense quantity of system resources. It also includes full root access, which renders it an excellent environment for any sort of web portal that requires a hosting service.

The only question that remains is:

Which web space hosting vendor should I select?

As already stated, there aren't many web hosts offering warez hosting solutions because of judicial predicaments. Such web hosting providers are being closed down almost every month. That is why, if you would like to offer such a service, you should do it on your own personal computer. The shared web site hosting solution is the most widespread type of web hosting service. Therefore, each and every site hosting company provides it. Not all of them, however, provide services such as private virtual web hosting servers, semi-dedicated web servers and dedicated web servers. Most of the small scale web hosting firms do not have the means demanded for offering those solutions. Therefore it's invariably best to opt for a larger host that can furnish its customers with all the services that they want. You can easily ID such web hosts by the kinds of services that they are offering and by the manner in which they introduce them to the clients. For instance, some hosting companies allow you to kick off with a low-end web site hosting package and then move to a more advanced one, if you deem it necessary to do so. This is quite suitable, because you do not need to transfer web pages between servers and there is no risk of suffering service outages because of all the complications that may appear. Companies such as Exclusive Hosting are offering all types of solutions and possess the required web server resources and staff to guarantee that their customers will not encounter any predicaments when changing services, which is what a top hosting firm is in fact all about.