A definition of web hosting

As its name implies, web hosting is a service, which involves hosting web content. There are various forms and types of hosting, based on the goals and on the objectives. Nonetheless, they all are related to hosting files, which, once hosted, are made available throughout the World Wide Web. A web host is in fact a web server that is linked to the World Wide Web and has its own personal IP address, which enables users to access it through the Web. The web hosting server's architecture and its resources are dependent on the sort of web hosting solution it's going to be used for.

What are the different types of hosting?

Depending on the objective, the professional hosting solution may be:

File Web Hosting - this form of hosting enables the clients to keep their files on a specific web server. With the typical file web hosting service, the files that are deposited may only be accessed by the person that's utilizing the service. This hosting service usually includes backups of PCs , documents, private files and even other servers. This service may also contain given limitations in relation to the web space and the root-level access. There may also be web traffic quota limitations, but that is dependent on the given hosting service provider.

Warez Web Hosting - the so-called warez hosting service is comparable with the previous web hosting service form. Yet, in contrast with the file hosting service, the warez web hosting solution is used for circulating copyrighted work without being given the green light by the license proprietor. In short - it is related to the illegal distribution of files and docs. There are a lot of ways for this to be brought about, but the 2 chief approaches are - via plain HTTP downloading and through peer-to-peer connections. The first way entails either some website, or, most typically, simply a directory on a server that's been made available for everyone to access it and thus download patented materials for free. The second approach involves a P2P connection, using the so-called Torrent servers, through which users transfer files between each other. There are just a few site hosting distributors that permit such type of web hosting on their web servers, mostly because of all the legal troubles that it entails. Generally such sites are hosted on personal dedicated hosting servers that are registered by third-party companies either in the Middle East or in Asia.

Email Hosting - this service is relevant with both shared site hosting and dedicated web hosting servers, based on the user's intention. If you wish to establish your own private SMTP e-mail server, then you will require either a VPS web hosting server or a dedicated hosting server that provides the level of access required to execute such an operation. For typical mail web hosting purposes, though, you can utilize a normal shared website hosting account, to which you can point the MX records of your domain. This is not a service that's very popular, since the web hosting and the electronic mail hosting services are being served by two separate web servers, often owned by different firms.

Web Site Hosting - the most widespread and frequently used hosting service as of today. It's used for hosting website files, whose sort is dependent on the Operating System the hosting server is making use of - Linux or Windows. Different types of files demand concrete web server Operating Systems, otherwise they won't be exhibited accurately on the Internet. This sort of web hosting may involve web storage and bandwidth restrictions, server root access and CPU usage limits.

Based on the mission and on the functions, the customer should select the type of hosting server that he demands for his project, and, of course, the site hosting firm that's going to supply it. There are different kinds of hosting servers, based on the specs and the webspace hosting services that they provide. These are:

Shared Website Hosting Server - a shared hosting server includes a smaller amount of resources, which, of course, is manifested in the cost of the service. It can be utilized for hosting small scale and middle sized websites, which do not require immense quantities of data storage space and web traffic.

Semi-Dedicated Servers - they are based on the very same principle as the shared website hosting servers. Yet, there are much fewer users sharing the same hosting server. For that reason, each of them will get a greater quota of the hosting server's resources like RAM, server storage, bandwidth and CPU. Excellent for hosting heavy sites that do not need full root access.

Virtual Servers - the private virtual servers are ideal for middle sized web portals, which do need root-level access to the web hosting server's config files. Traditionally, there are several VPS hosting accounts placed on the same physical machine. Even so, each of them is independent from the rest and has its own Operating System.

Dedicated Server - a fully dedicated web hosting server configured and accessed by you and only you. It guarantees a vast amount of resources. It also gives full root-level access, which makes it an excellent solution for any kind of web site that requires a web space hosting solution.

The only question that's left is:

Which site hosting distributor should I select?

As mentioned above, there are very few companies offering warez hosting solutions due to judicial predicaments. Such web hosting companies are being closed down almost every month. Because of that, if you desire to create such a service, you should do it on your own personal computer. The shared site hosting service is the most widespread type of web hosting service. Because of that, each and every web hosting provider provides it. Not all of them, however, provide solutions such as virtual private web hosting servers, semi-dedicated web hosting servers and dedicated servers. Most of the small sized site hosting providers do not have the means required for offering those services. That is the reason why it's always best to go with a larger company that can supply its clients with all the services that they necessitate. You can quickly ID such hosts by the types of services that they are making available and by the way that they introduce them to the clients. For instance, some web hosts allow you to commence with a small scale web site hosting package and then move to a more powerful one, if you find it mandatory to do so. This is very convenient, because you do not have to relocate web portals between web hosting servers and there is no danger of facing network downtime due to all the complications that may show up. Hosting providers like SynNetHost are offering all sorts of services and have the adequate hosting server resources and staff to ensure that their clients will not stumble upon any problems when swapping services, which is what a top hosting corporation is actually all about.