A definition of web site hosting

As its name denotes, web hosting is a service, which entails hosting web content. There are different forms and kinds of web hosting, based on the purpose and on the functions. Still, they all pertain to hosting files, which, once hosted, are made available through the Web. A host is in fact a web hosting service that is connected to the Internet and has its own Internet Protocol address, which permits users to have access to it via the Internet. The hosting server's architecture and its resources are subject to the sort of web hosting service it will be used for.

What are the different types of hosting?

Based on the goal, the business hosting solution may be:

File Hosting - this form of web hosting enables the customers to save their files on a particular web hosting server. With the customary file hosting solution, the files that are deposited may only be accessed by the user that's availing of the service. This web hosting service typically appertains to backups of personal computers , docs, private files and even other hosting servers. This solution may also impose given limits in terms of the disk space and the root access. There may also be web traffic restrictions, but that is dependent on the actual host.

Warez Web Hosting - the so-called warez web hosting service is resembling the previous web hosting service form. Yet, unlike the file hosting solution, the warez web hosting solution is used for propagating patented work without being given the green light by the license keeper. To put it briefly - it entails the unlawful distribution of files and documents. There are a lot of methods for this to be achieved, but the two main methods are - via simple HTTP downloading and through peer-to-peer connections. The first way involves either a specific web page, or, most commonly, simply a directory on a web hosting server that's been made available for everybody to access it and thus download licensed documents free of cost. The second method entails a P2P connection, availing of the so-called Torrent web servers, through which people exchange files between each other. There are just a few web site hosting distributors that allow that form of hosting on their web servers, chiefly because of all the judicial troubles that it presupposes. Commonly such web sites are hosted on personal dedicated servers that are registered by third-party firms either in the Middle East or in Asia.

Electronic Mail Web Hosting - this solution is relevant with both shared web hosting and dedicated hosting servers, based on the user's wish. If you would like to set up your own private SMTP mail server, then you will need either a VPS hosting server or a dedicated web server that provides the access level needed to carry out such an assignment. For regular e-mail hosting ends, however, you can avail of an ordinary shared web 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 web page hosting and the mail hosting services are being served by 2 different servers, usually belonging to separate web hosts.

Web Site Hosting - the most widely spread and extensively used hosting service now. It's utilized for hosting web site files, whose type is dependent on the Operating System the web hosting server is utilizing - Linux or Windows. Different kinds of files demand different hosting server OSs, otherwise they won't be shown correctly on the Internet. This sort of web hosting may involve data storage space and web traffic limits, server root access and central processing unit usage limitations.

Based on the goals and on the functions, the client should select the kind of web server that he needs for his work, and, of course, the webspace hosting corporation that's going to provide it. There are different sorts of web servers, based on the specs and the web site hosting solutions that they offer. These are:

Shared Web Hosting Server - a shared web page hosting server supplies a smaller amount of system resources, which, of course, is reflected on the cost of the service. It can be utilized for hosting small and medium size web portals, which do not require huge quotas of storage space and bandwidth.

Semi-Dedicated - they operate on the same principle as the shared web servers. However, there are much less customers hosted on the same web server. That is why, each of them will receive a bigger share of the server's resources like RAM, disk storage, traffic and CPU. Ideal for hosting huge web portals that do not demand root-level access.

VPS - the virtual private web hosting servers are ideal for medium sized sites, which do demand root access to the web hosting server's configuration files. Traditionally, there are a handful of Virtual Private Server web hosting accounts accommodated on the same server. Nevertheless, each of them is autonomous from the others and runs its own Operating System.

Dedicated Hosting - a completely dedicated physical server set up and accessed by you and solely you. It guarantees a mammoth quantity of system resources. It also includes server root access, which renders it a perfect platform for any kind of web portal that needs a hosting solution.

The sole question that's left is:

Which webspace hosting vendor should I pick?

As already mentioned, there are very few hosting companies providing warez hosting solutions due to judicial troubles. Such hosting providers are being shut down almost every month. That is why, if you desire to create such a service, you should do it on your very own computer. The shared webspace hosting service is the most famous type of hosting service. That is why, each and every hosting company offers it. Not all of them, however, provide services such as virtual servers, semi-dedicated web servers and dedicated web servers. Most of the small scale website hosting companies do not have the means demanded for maintaining those services. Because of that it's always best to select a larger web host that can supply its clients with all the solutions that they are searching for. You can easily ID such web hosting companies by the types of solutions that they are making available and by the way that they introduce them to the customers. For instance, certain web hosting companies permit you to begin with a small scale web hosting plan and then shift to a more advanced one, if you deem it compulsory to do so. This is extremely suitable, because you do not have to relocate websites between hosting servers and there is no danger of suffering service disturbances because of all the complications that may occur. Web hosting companies such as Heartland Web Hosting are offering all sorts of solutions and possess the needed hosting server resources and personnel to assure that their customers will not suffer any troubles when swapping services, which is what a top hosting provider is in fact all about.