A definition of web hosting

As its name suggests, web hosting is a service, which involves hosting online content. There are different varieties and kinds of web hosting, based on the purpose and on the functions. Yet, they all involve hosting files, which, once hosted, are made available through the World Wide Web. A web host is actually a web hosting service that is connected to the World Wide Web and has its own personal Internet Protocol address, which permits users to get access to it via the Web. The web server's architecture and its limitations are determined by the type of web hosting service it's going to be utilized for.

What are the different forms of web hosting?

Based on the purpose, the business hosting service may be:

File Storage Hosting - this type of hosting permits the users to accommodate their files on a specific server. With the typical file storage web hosting solution, the files that are accommodated may only be accessed by the user that's utilizing the service. This web hosting service normally concerns backups of PCs , docs, personal files and even other hosting servers. This service may also contain given restrictions with regard to the disk storage and the root privileges. There may also be bandwidth restrictions, but that is dependent on the particular host.

Warez Hosting - the so-called warez web hosting solution is very similar to the previous hosting service type. Even so, in contrast with the file hosting solution, the warez web hosting service is utilized for disseminating patented work without being green-lighted by the patent proprietor. In short - it involves the unauthorized circulation of files and materials. There are multiple approaches for this to be accomplished, but the 2 main methods are - via simple HTTP downloading and via P2P connections. The first way involves either a specific website, or, most typically, simply a directory on a web server that's been made available for everybody to access it and thus download proprietary content free of charge. The second way entails a P2P connection, availing of the so-called Torrent web servers, through which people swap files between each other. There aren't many site hosting suppliers that permit that type of web hosting on their servers, chiefly due to all the judicial entanglements that it involves. Commonly such sites are hosted on private dedicated web hosting servers that are registered by third-party enterprises either in the Middle East or in Asia.

E-mail Hosting - this solution is relevant with both shared web hosting and dedicated hosting servers, depending on the client's wish. If you would like to launch your own private SMTP server, then you will require either a VPS server or a dedicated web hosting server that provides the access level needed to carry out such an assignment. For regular email web hosting purposes, however, you can avail of an ordinary shared web space hosting account, to which you can point the MX records of your domain name. This is not a service that's very used, since the web page hosting and the email hosting services are being served by two separate web servers, often owned by separate providers.

Website Hosting - the most widely spread and vastly used hosting service today. It's utilized for hosting site files, whose type depends on the Operating System the hosting server is running - Linux or Windows. Different types of files request specific hosting server Operating Systems, otherwise they won't be shown appropriately on the Web. This type of hosting may have disk space and bandwidth quota limits, server root access and CPU usage limitations.

Depending on the goals and on the usage, the client should select the sort of hosting server that he requires for his project, and, of course, the web site hosting company that's going to provide it. There are different types of web servers, depending on the specs and the hosting solutions that they provide. These are:

Shared Website Hosting Server - a shared web space hosting server includes a smaller amount of resources, which, of course, reflects on the price of the service. It can be utilized for hosting small scale and medium sized web sites, which do not demand big quotas of server space and bandwidth.

Semi-Dedicated Servers Hosting - they function on the very same principle as the shared web space hosting servers. In spite of that, there are much fewer clients accommodated on the same server. Because of that, each of them will enjoy a greater quota of the hosting server's resources like RAM, data storage space, bandwidth and CPU. Excellent for hosting immense online portals that do not need full server root access.

VPS - the virtual web servers are excellent for medium sized sites, which do need root-level access to the web hosting server's configuration files. Generally, there are a number of private virtual server hosting accounts situated on the same server. In spite of that, each of them is independent from the other ones and runs its own OS.

Dedicated Servers - a completely dedicated hosting server configured and accessed by you and solely you. It ensures a big quantity of resources. It also offers full server root access, which renders it a perfect solution for any kind of online portal that demands a web site hosting service.

The only question that remains is:

Which webspace hosting provider should I settle on?

As mentioned, there are not many hosts providing warez web hosting solutions because of judicial predicaments. Such web hosting providers are being closed down virtually every month. That is why, if you want to run such a service, you should do it on your very own personal computer. The shared web space hosting service is the most widespread type of web hosting service. For that reason, each and every site hosting vendor provides it. Not all of them, however, offer services such as VPS hosting servers, semi-dedicated hosting servers and dedicated servers. Most of the small scale website hosting suppliers do not have the resources needed for offering those solutions. For that reason it's always best to pick a larger company that can supply its customers with all the solutions that they seek. You can easily recognize such hosts by the sorts of solutions that they are making available and by the manner in which they present them to the clientele. For instance, certain web hosting companies permit you to start with a smaller hosting plan and then move to a more powerful one, if you find it necessary to do so. This is extremely convenient, because you do not need to transfer websites between web hosting servers and there is no chance of suffering service outages due to all the problems that may crop up. Web hosting providers like iClick and Host - Reliable webhosting at lowest prices are offering all types of solutions and have the necessary web hosting server resources and staff to ensure that their clients will not run into any predicaments when swapping services, which is what a top hosting provider is actually all about.