An explanation of web hosting
As its name hints, web hosting is a solution, which involves hosting web content. There are various forms and types of web hosting, based on the purpose and on the functions. However, they all entail hosting files, which, once hosted, are made available through the Internet. A host is actually a hosting server that is linked to the World Wide Web and has its very own IP address, which allows people to get access to it through the Web. The web hosting server's configuration and its limitations depend on the type of web hosting solution it will be used for.
What are the various forms of web hosting?
Depending on the function, the professional hosting solution may be:
File Storage Web Hosting - this type of web hosting allows the clients to host their files on a particular hosting server. With the traditional file hosting solution, the files that are kept may only be accessed by the individual that's using the service. This web hosting service mainly is connected with backups of computers , docs, personal files and even other web hosting servers. This solution may also contain certain restrictions in relation to the data storage space and the root privileges. There may also be traffic quota limitations, but that depends on the actual service provider.
Warez Hosting - the so-called warez web hosting service is resembling the previous hosting service form. However, unlike the file web hosting solution, the warez web hosting service is utilized for circulating patented work without being given the go-ahead by the license holder. To cut a long story short - it appertains to the unauthorized dissemination of files and documents. There are many methods for this to be completed, but the two essential approaches are - via simple HTTP downloading and through P2P connections. The first approach entails either a particular site, or, most typically, simply a directory on a web server that's been made available for everyone to access it and thus download patented documents free of charge. The second approach involves a peer-to-peer connection, using the so-called Torrent web servers, through which people exchange files between each other. There aren't many site hosting vendors that allow such type of hosting on their web hosting servers, chiefly due to all the judicial complications that it entails. Commonly such sites are hosted on personal dedicated hosting servers that are registered by third-party enterprises either in the Middle East or in Asia.
Email Web Hosting - this service is used with both shared website hosting and dedicated hosting servers, based on the client's wish. If you wish to set up your very own private SMTP mail server, then you will need either a VPS server or a dedicated hosting server that offers the access level required to perform such an assignment. For typical electronic mail web hosting purposes, though, you can use a normal shared web site hosting account, to which you can point the MX records of your domain name. This is not a service that's very popular, because the web site hosting and the e-mail hosting services are being served by 2 separate web servers, often owned by separate hosting providers.
Web Page Hosting - the most famous and frequently used hosting service now. It's used for hosting site files, whose sort is determined by the Operating System the server is running - Linux or Windows. Different sorts of files demand different web hosting server Operating Systems, otherwise they won't be shown correctly on the Internet. This kind of web hosting may include disk storage and traffic quota limitations, root access and CPU usage limitations.
Based on the goals and on the usage, the user should select the kind of server that he demands for his project, and, of course, the hosting firm that's going to supply it. There are various types of servers, depending on the specifications and the web site hosting solutions that they offer. These are:
Shared Web Hosting Server - a shared web page hosting server includes a smaller quantity of resources, which, of course, reflects on the cost of the service. It can be used for hosting small sized and middle size web pages, which do not need large quotas of server storage space and bandwidth.
Semi-Dedicated Servers Hosting - they function on the very same principle as the shared web hosting servers. Nevertheless, there are much fewer clients sharing the same web hosting server. For that reason, each of them will receive a larger quota of the server's resources like RAM, server storage, bandwidth and CPU. Perfect for hosting enormous online portals that do not require root-level access.
VPS hosting - the VPS servers are excellent for medium websites, which do demand root access to the hosting server's configuration files. Normally, there are a handful of private virtual server accounts situated on the same machine. In spite of that, each of them is autonomous from the other ones and has its own Operating System.
Dedicated Server Hosting - a completely dedicated physical machine configured and accessed by you and only you. It guarantees a huge amount of resources. It also includes full root-level access, which makes it an excellent platform for any type of web page that requires a web hosting solution.
The only question that remains is:
Which site hosting company should I pick?
As already mentioned, there are very few providers offering warez web hosting services due to legal predicaments. Such providers are being closed down virtually every month. For that reason, if you desire to provide such a service, you should do it on your own personal computer. The shared website hosting service is the most widely spread type of hosting service. That is why, every site hosting company provides it. Not all of them, however, offer solutions such as VPS hosting servers, semi-dedicated servers and dedicated web servers. Most of the small sized website hosting companies do not have the means needed for offering those solutions. Because of that it's always best to settle on a bigger web host that can provide its customers with all the services that they necessitate. You can quickly identify such hosting companies by the kinds of services that they are offering and by the way that they introduce them to the customers. For instance, some companies permit you to begin with a small sized web hosting package and afterwards shift to a more advanced one, if you deem it mandatory to do so. This is very suitable, because you do not have to migrate web portals between web servers and there is no possibility of experiencing service interruptions due to all the problems that may appear. Web hosting companies like EasyDomains.org provide all kinds of services and have the required web server resources and personnel to ensure that their customers will not encounter any problems when changing services, which is what a top hosting vendor is in fact all about.