An explanation of web hosting
As its name implies, web hosting is a solution, which involves hosting online content. There are different forms and kinds of hosting, depending on the goals and on the usage. Yet, they all entail hosting files, which, once hosted, are made accessible through the World Wide Web. A host is in fact a hosting server that is connected to the Internet and has its own personal IP address, which enables people to have access to it through the Web. The server's configuration and its system resources are determined by the form of hosting service it will be used for.
What are the different forms of web hosting?
Based on the goal, the business hosting solution may be:
File Web Hosting - this form of web hosting permits the customers to store their files on a specific web hosting server. With the ordinary file storage hosting solution, the files that are accommodated may only be accessed by the person that's availing of the service. This web hosting service normally involves backups of personal computers , documents, personal files and even other hosting servers. This solution may also include given limits in terms of the disk storage space and the root privileges. There may also be traffic limitations, but that depends on the particular service provider.
Warez Hosting - the so-called warez web hosting service is resembling the previous hosting service type. Yet, unlike the file storage hosting service, the warez web hosting solution is used for distributing proprietary content without the approval of the patent keeper. To cut a long story short - it is associated with the unauthorized distribution of files and docs. There are many approaches for this to be achieved, but the 2 essential approaches are - through simple HTTP downloading and through peer-to-peer connections. The first one involves either a particular web portal, or, most typically, just a directory on a web server that's been made available for everybody to access it and thereby download patented content for free. The second way entails a peer-to-peer connection, utilizing the so-called Torrent servers, via which users exchange files between each other. There are just a few web site hosting distributors that allow such type of web hosting on their web servers, mostly because of all the legal entanglements that it involves. Commonly such websites are hosted on personal dedicated hosting servers that are registered by 3rd party firms either in the Middle East or in Asia.
Mail Web Hosting - this service is relevant with both shared web hosting and dedicated web servers, depending on the client's desire. If you wish to launch your very own personal SMTP email server, then you will require either a virtual hosting server or a dedicated web hosting server that provides the access level needed to execute such a task. For customary email hosting purposes, however, you can open a simple shared web site hosting account, to which you can point the mail exchanger records of your domain. This is not a service that's widely used, since the web site hosting and the electronic mail hosting services are being served by two different web servers, usually belonging to separate providers.
Web Page Hosting - the most widely spread and widely used hosting service today. It's used for hosting site files, whose kind depends on the OS the hosting server is running - Linux or Windows. Different types of files require concrete server Operating Systems, otherwise they won't be shown accurately on the World Wide Web. This form of hosting may include server space and web traffic quota limitations, server root access and CPU usage restrictions.
Based on the mission and on the functions, the customer should choose the kind of server that he demands for his project, and, of course, the web hosting supplier that's going to supply it. There are different kinds of servers, based on the specs and the site hosting services that they offer. These are:
Shared Website Hosting Server - a shared webspace hosting server provides a smaller amount of system resources, which, of course, is reflected on the cost of the service. It can be used for hosting small size and middle scale web pages, which do not need huge quotas of data storage space and web traffic.
Semi-Dedicated - they operate on the very same principle as the shared web servers. However, there are much fewer clients sharing the same hosting server. Because of that, each of them will have a larger quota of the server's resources like RAM, storage space, traffic and CPU. Perfect for hosting heavy sites that do not demand root-level access.
VPS hosting - the VPS web servers are perfect for medium sized sites, which do need root access to the web hosting server's configuration files. Normally, there are a bunch of virtual private web server accounts accommodated on the same server. Still, each of them is isolated from the other ones and runs its own Operating System.
Dedicated Server Hosting - a completely dedicated physical machine configured and accessed by you and only you. It guarantees a colossal amount of resources. It also provides complete root-level access, which renders it an excellent solution for any type of web site that demands a web space hosting solution.
The only question that remains is:
Which web space hosting supplier should I settle on?
As already mentioned, there are very few providers providing warez hosting services because of legal problems. Such hosts are being shut down virtually every month. Because of that, if you desire to launch such a service, you should do it on your own personal computer. The shared webspace hosting solution is the most widespread type of hosting service. That is why, every webspace hosting corporation provides it. Not all of them, though, provide solutions such as private virtual web servers, semi-dedicated servers and dedicated servers. Most of the small sized web space hosting distributors do not have the means required for maintaining those services. That's why it's always best to opt for a bigger web host that can furnish its clients with all the solutions that they request. You can quickly recognize such web hosts by the sorts of solutions that they are providing and by the manner in which they present them to the clientele. For example, certain web hosting providers allow you to kick off with a low-end web hosting plan and subsequently upgrade to a more advanced one, if you deem it compulsory to do so. This is very convenient, because you do not need to migrate sites between web servers and there is no risk of experiencing network downtime due to all the predicaments that may crop up. Web hosting companies like Lonex are offering all sorts of solutions and have the necessary web hosting server resources and staff to guarantee that their customers will not face any predicaments when swapping services, which is what a top hosting corporation is actually all about.