A definition of hosting

As its name hints, web hosting is a service, which entails hosting web content. There are various varieties and types of hosting, based on the purpose and on the usage. Still, they all entail hosting files, which, once hosted, are made available through the Internet. A host is in fact a hosting server that is linked to the Web and has its own IP address, which enables users to have access to it through the Internet. The web server's configuration and its resources are determined by the sort of hosting solution it will be utilized for.

What are the various forms of hosting?

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

File Storage Hosting - this form of hosting enables the users to deposit their files on a given hosting server. With the average file hosting solution, the files that are kept may only be accessed by the user that's using the service. This hosting service generally involves backups of PCs , docs, personal files and even other servers. This service may also impose given limits when it comes to the web storage and the root privileges. There may also be bandwidth restrictions, but that is dependent on the particular hosting service provider.

Warez Web Hosting - the so-called warez web hosting service is resembling the previous hosting service type. Even so, in contrast with the file web hosting solution, the warez web hosting solution is utilized for circulating licensed materials without being green-lighted by the license holder. In short - it is associated with the illicit dissemination of files and documents. There are multiple ways for this to be done, but the 2 chief approaches are - via plain Hypertext Transfer Protocol downloading and through P2P connections. The first method involves either a particular web page, or, most typically, simply a directory on a server that's been made available for everyone to access it and thus download proprietary files free of charge. The second method entails a P2P connection, using the so-called Torrent servers, through which users share files between each other. There are a few webspace hosting suppliers that permit that form of hosting on their hosting servers, mainly owing to all the judicial problems that it involves. Generally such web portals are hosted on private dedicated servers that are registered by 3rd party firms either in the Middle East or in Asia.

Electronic Mail Hosting - this service is relevant with both shared website hosting and dedicated web servers, based on the user's wish. If you want to run your own private SMTP e-mail server, then you will need either a private virtual web server or a dedicated server that offers the access level required to execute such an assignment. For customary mail web hosting ends, however, you can utilize an average shared hosting account, to which you can point the MX records of your domain. This is not a solution that's very popular, because the web hosting and the e-mail hosting services are being served by 2 separate web servers, usually belonging to different hosts.

Website Hosting - the most widespread and regularly used hosting service nowadays. It's utilized for hosting web site files, whose type depends on the Operating System the web hosting server is using - Linux or Windows. Different types of files require different web server OSs, otherwise they won't be displayed correctly on the Internet. This type of web hosting may involve web space and bandwidth limits, root-level access and CPU usage restrictions.

Depending on the goals and on the functions, the customer should pick the sort of web server that he needs for his project, and, of course, the website hosting distributor that's going to furnish it. There are various types of web servers, depending on the specifications and the web site hosting services that they offer. These are:

Shared Web Hosting Server - a shared site hosting server supplies a smaller quantity of resources, which, of course, is reflected on the price of the service. It can be used for hosting small scale and middle scale online portals, which do not require vast amounts of data space and bandwidth.

Semi-Dedicated - they are based on the same principle as the shared web servers. However, there are much fewer clients sharing the same web hosting server. That is why, each of them will obtain a larger quota of the server's resources like RAM, web storage, traffic and CPU. Excellent for hosting heavy sites that do not require root access.

VPS hosting - the private virtual web servers are excellent for middle sized websites, which do need root access to the server's configuration files. Generally, there are a bunch of virtual web hosting server accounts situated on the same machine. However, each of them is autonomous from the other ones and runs its own Operating System.

Dedicated Server Hosting - a completely dedicated web hosting server set up and accessed by you and only you. It ensures a big quantity of system resources. It also gives complete root access, which makes it a perfect platform for any type of web site that demands a web hosting solution.

The sole question that's left is:

Which web site hosting company should I choose?

As mentioned, there aren't many providers offering warez hosting solutions because of legal problems. Such hosts are being closed down virtually every month. That is why, if you wish to create such a service, you should do it on your own computer. The shared web page hosting solution is the most popular kind of hosting service. That is why, each and every web site hosting corporation offers it. Not all of them, though, provide services such as virtual private hosting servers, semi-dedicated web hosting servers and dedicated web hosting servers. Most of the small scale website hosting distributors do not have the resources required for offering those services. For that reason it's invariably best to settle on a larger web host that can provide its customers with all the solutions that they seek. You can easily ID such companies by the kinds of services that they are making available and by the manner in which they introduce them to the customers. For instance, some providers permit you to commence with a smaller web space hosting package and subsequently move to a more advanced one, if you find it necessary to do so. This is very convenient, since you do not have to move web pages between servers and there is no chance of experiencing outages because of all the problems that may crop up. Web hosting companies such as Exclusive Hosting offer all kinds of solutions and have the adequate web hosting server resources and personnel to ensure that their clients will not chance upon any complications when changing services, which is what a top hosting supplier is actually all about.