A description of web hosting
As its name denotes, web hosting is a solution, which involves hosting web content. There are different varieties and types of web hosting, depending on the purpose and on the usage. Nevertheless, they all entail hosting files, which, once hosted, are made available throughout the Internet. A web host is actually a web server that is connected to the World Wide Web and has its own IP address, which permits people to get access to it via the Internet. The server's configuration and its system resources are dependent on the sort of hosting service it's going to be utilized for.
What are the different forms of web hosting?
Based on the usage, the business hosting service may be:
File Hosting - this form of web hosting allows the users to keep their files on a particular server. With the classic file web hosting solution, the files that are deposited may only be accessed by the client that's availing of the service. This web hosting service generally includes backups of computers , docs, private files and even other web hosting servers. This service may also have certain restrictions when it comes to the disk storage space and the root-level access. There may also be web traffic limits, but that depends on the particular service provider.
Warez Web Hosting - the so-called warez web hosting service is quite similar to the previous hosting service type. Nonetheless, unlike the file storage hosting solution, the warez hosting solution is utilized for transmitting patented materials without being given the green light by the patent proprietor. In brief - it appertains to the criminal distribution of files and documents. There are many methods for this to be carried out, but the 2 chief methods are - via simple Hypertext Transfer Protocol downloading and via peer-to-peer connections. The first approach entails either a specific web site, or, most often, just a directory on a web server that's been made available for everybody to access it and thereby download copyrighted files free of charge. The second approach involves a P2P connection, availing of the so-called Torrent web servers, through which users transfer files between each other. There are a few web hosting suppliers that permit such form of web hosting on their hosting servers, mostly because of all the legal problems that it presupposes. Commonly such web portals are hosted on private dedicated web hosting servers that are registered by 3rd party enterprises either in the Middle East or in Asia.
Electronic Mail Web Hosting - this solution is applicable with both shared web space hosting and dedicated web servers, depending on the customer's desire. If you want to create your own personal SMTP email server, then you will need either a virtual private web server or a dedicated hosting server that offers the access level needed to accomplish such an operation. For customary e-mail hosting ends, though, you can set up a plain shared web space hosting account, to which you can point the MX records of your domain name. This is not a solution that's very used, because the site hosting and the mail hosting services are being served by 2 separate web servers, usually owned by separate firms.
Web Page Hosting - the most widely spread and widely utilized hosting service at present. It's used for hosting site files, whose sort is determined by the OS the server is availing of - Linux or Windows. Different types of files request specific web server OSs, or else they won't be shown appropriately on the World Wide Web. This form of hosting may contain server storage space and traffic restrictions, root access and CPU usage limits.
Based on the aims and on the functions, the user should select the kind of hosting server that he demands for his work, and, of course, the webspace hosting company that's going to provide it. There are various kinds of hosting servers, depending on the specs and the site hosting services that they provide. These are:
Shared Hosting Server - a shared web hosting server supplies a smaller quantity of system resources, which, of course, is manifested in the cost of the service. It can be utilized for hosting small size and middle sized sites, which do not need vast quotas of web space and traffic.
Semi-Dedicated - they function on the same principle as the shared webspace hosting servers. Nonetheless, there are much less clients hosted on the same web hosting server. Because of that, each of them will get a greater share of the web hosting server's resources like RAM, web space, traffic and CPU. Ideal for hosting enormous web portals that do not demand root access.
VPS hosting - the virtual web hosting servers are perfect for medium size web portals, which do demand root access to the server's config files. Traditionally, there are several virtual private hosting server accounts sharing the same physical server. Yet, each of them is autonomous from the other ones and has its own Operating System.
Dedicated Hosting - a fully dedicated web hosting server configured and accessed by you and solely you. It ensures an immense amount of system resources. It also gives root privileges, which renders it a perfect environment for any type of site that requires a hosting solution.
The sole question that remains is:
Which hosting supplier should I choose?
As mentioned above, there are just a few web hosts providing warez hosting solutions due to judicial troubles. Such companies are being shut down virtually every month. For that reason, if you desire to start such a service, you should do it on your own computer. The shared site hosting service is the most widely spread type of hosting service. Because of that, each web hosting firm provides it. Not all of them, though, provide solutions such as virtual private hosting servers, semi-dedicated servers and dedicated web hosting servers. Most of the smaller web hosting firms do not have the resources required for maintaining those services. Hence it's invariably best to opt for a bigger host that can provide its clients with all the solutions that they require. You can easily recognize such hosting companies by the sorts of services that they are providing and by the way that they introduce them to the customers. For example, certain hosting providers allow you to start with a small sized web site hosting plan and afterwards upgrade to a bigger one, if you find it mandatory to do so. This is very convenient, since you do not need to migrate web portals between web hosting servers and there is no chance of experiencing network outages due to all the complications that may crop up. Web hosts such as Blue Point Host are offering all kinds of solutions and possess the needed hosting server resources and staff to assure that their customers will not run into any problems when changing services, which is what a top hosting distributor is actually all about.