A description of web hosting

As its name denotes, web hosting is a solution, which entails hosting web content. There are different varieties and types of hosting, depending on the aims and on the objectives. Still, they all are related to hosting files, which, once hosted, are made accessible through the Internet. A web host is actually a server that is connected to the Web and has its own personal IP address, which enables users to have access to it via the Internet. The server's configuration and its resources are dependent on the kind of web hosting service it's going to be used for.

What are the various forms of web hosting?

Depending on the usage, the professional web hosting solution may be:

File Hosting - this type of hosting allows the customers to store their files on a specific server. With the standard file web hosting service, the files that are accommodated may only be accessed by the client that's using the service. This hosting solution generally is associated with backups of PCs , docs, personal files and even other web hosting servers. This solution may also include given limits with regard to the data storage and the root privileges. There may also be web traffic limitations, 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. Yet, unlike the file storage hosting service, the warez web hosting service is used for propagating patented materials without being given the green light by the copyright proprietor. In short - it is connected with the illegitimate circulation of files and materials. There are lots of methods for this to be carried out, but the 2 chief approaches are - through simple HTTP downloading and through peer-to-peer connections. The first method involves either some web portal, or, most commonly, just a directory on a web server that's been made available for everybody to access it and thus download patented content free of charge. The second way involves a P2P connection, making use of the so-called Torrent web servers, via which people swap files between each other. There aren't many site hosting vendors that permit such type of hosting on their servers, mainly due to all the judicial problems that it involves. Usually such websites are hosted on private dedicated web servers that are registered by 3rd party companies either in the Middle East or in Asia.

E-mail Hosting - this service is utilized with both shared web hosting and dedicated hosting servers, depending on the client's intention. If you want to build your very own private SMTP e-mail server, then you will require either a private virtual server or a dedicated hosting server that provides the level of access needed to carry out such an assignment. For ordinary e-mail hosting ends, however, you can create an average shared site hosting account, to which you can point the mail exchanger records of your domain name. This is not a service that's very used, since the site hosting and the electronic mail hosting services are being served by 2 different web servers, usually belonging to separate hosting providers.

Website Hosting - the most widely spread and regularly used hosting service as of now. It's utilized for hosting web site files, whose sort depends on the OS the web hosting server is using - Linux or Windows. Different sorts of files demand different server OSs, or else they won't be exhibited properly on the World Wide Web. This sort of web hosting may have disk storage and bandwidth quota limitations, root-level access and CPU usage limitations.

Based on the aims and on the usage, the customer should select the type of server that he needs for his work, and, of course, the web hosting supplier that's going to furnish it. There are several types of web hosting servers, depending on the specs and the web hosting services that they offer. These are:

Shared Web Hosting Server - a shared web site hosting server offers a smaller amount of resources, which, of course, is reflected on the price of the service. It can be utilized for hosting small and medium size websites, which do not demand huge quantities of disk space and bandwidth.

Semi-Dedicated - they are based on the very same principle as the shared web servers. In spite of that, there are much fewer clients sharing the same web hosting server. That is why, each of them will receive a greater quota of the hosting server's resources like RAM, server storage space, bandwidth and CPU. Ideal for hosting heavy web portals that do not demand full root-level access.

VPS - the Virtual Private Servers are ideal for middle size web pages, which do need root-level access to the web hosting server's config files. Traditionally, there are a number of VPS server accounts hosted on the same physical server. Still, each of them is isolated from the rest and has its own OS.

Dedicated Servers Hosting - a fully dedicated physical machine set up and accessed by you and only you. It ensures an enormous quantity of resources. It also provides root-level access, which makes it a perfect environment for any type of online portal that demands a website hosting service.

The sole question that's left is:

Which web site hosting provider should I choose?

As mentioned above, there are just a few web hosts providing warez hosting services because of judicial complications. Such web hosting companies are being closed down virtually every month. That is why, if you wish to create such a service, you should do it on your very own personal computer. The shared web page hosting solution is the most popular kind of hosting service. Therefore, each and every webspace hosting corporation offers it. Not all of them, though, provide services such as private virtual web hosting servers, semi-dedicated web hosting servers and dedicated servers. Most of the small scale webspace hosting firms do not have the means needed for maintaining those services. That's why it's always best to opt for a bigger hosting company that can supply its clients with all the services that they want. You can effortlessly recognize such web hosting companies by the types of solutions that they are offering and by the way that they introduce them to the customers. For example, certain web hosts allow you to begin with a small sized web hosting plan and then upgrade to a more powerful one, if you find it compulsory to do so. This is quite suitable, since you do not need to transfer web sites between web hosting servers and there is no possibility of suffering outages due to all the complications that may appear. Hosting companies like Maine Power Hosting provide all kinds of solutions and possess the needed hosting server resources and personnel to assure that their clients will not stumble upon any hassles when changing services, which is what a top hosting distributor is in fact all about.