A definition of web hosting

As its name hints, web hosting is a solution, which entails hosting online content. There are various varieties and kinds of hosting, based on the goals and on the objectives. However, they all involve hosting files, which, once hosted, are made available through the Internet. A host is in fact a server that is connected to the World Wide Web and has its very own Internet Protocol address, which allows users to access it via the Web. The server's architecture and its system resources depend on the type of web hosting service it's going to be used for.

What are the different types of web hosting?

Depending on the purpose, the professional hosting service may be:

File Hosting - this form of hosting enables the users to save their files on a particular web hosting server. With the average file storage web hosting solution, the files that are stored may only be accessed by the user that's using the service. This web hosting service mainly refers to backups of personal computers , documents, personal files and even other servers. This solution may also impose certain limitations when it comes to the storage space and the root-level access. There may also be traffic limitations, but that is dependent on the particular provider.

Warez Web Hosting - the so-called warez hosting service is comparable with the previous hosting service form. Yet, in contrast with the file hosting service, the warez hosting solution is used for disseminating patented work without the approval of the license keeper. In brief - it is related to the illegitimate propagation of files and docs. There are lots of approaches for this to be carried out, but the two essential methods are - via simple HTTP downloading and via peer-to-peer connections. The first way involves either a given site, or, most often, simply a directory on a web server that's been made available for everybody to access it and thus download proprietary documents free of cost. The second method involves a P2P connection, utilizing the so-called Torrent servers, through which people transfer files between each other. There are a few web space hosting firms that allow that type of web hosting on their hosting servers, chiefly due to all the judicial complications that it involves. Generally such web sites are hosted on personal dedicated web servers that are registered by third-party companies either in the Middle East or in Asia.

E-mail Hosting - this solution is applicable with both shared web page hosting and dedicated servers, depending on the customer's desire. If you wish to build your own personal SMTP server, then you will require either a VPS web hosting server or a dedicated server that provides the access level needed to execute such an operation. For conventional mail web hosting ends, however, you can use a regular shared website hosting account, to which you can point the mail exchanger records of your domain name. This is not a service that's very famous, because the site hosting and the electronic mail hosting services are being served by two separate web servers, usually owned by separate web hosting providers.

Web Site Hosting - the most widespread and largely utilized hosting service at present. It's utilized for hosting website files, whose kind depends on the OS the web hosting server is running - Linux or Windows. Different kinds of files require specific web server Operating Systems, otherwise they won't be displayed appropriately on the World Wide Web. This kind of web hosting may involve web space and bandwidth limitations, root-level access and central processing unit usage limits.

Depending on the purpose and on the functions, the client should select the type of web hosting server that he needs for his project, and, of course, the website hosting supplier that's going to supply it. There are various kinds of web hosting servers, depending on the configuration and the hosting solutions that they offer. These are:

Shared Hosting Server - a shared web server supplies a smaller quantity of system resources, which, of course, is manifested in the price of the service. It can be utilized for hosting small sized and medium size web portals, which do not need enormous quantities of disk space and traffic.

Semi-Dedicated Servers - they function on the very same principle as the shared site hosting servers. Nevertheless, there are much less clients hosted on the same hosting server. That is why, each of them will enjoy a bigger quota of the server's resources like RAM, web space, bandwidth and CPU. Perfect for hosting immense online portals that do not require full server root access.

Virtual Private Server - the VPS web servers are perfect for middle size sites, which do demand root-level access to the hosting server's config files. Generally, there are a number of virtual server accounts located on the same physical machine. Nonetheless, each of them is insulated from the rest and runs its own Operating System.

Dedicated Servers - a completely dedicated web hosting server configured and accessed by you and solely you. It guarantees a considerable quantity of resources. It also includes server root access, which makes it an excellent environment for any type of web page that demands a website hosting solution.

The sole question that remains is:

Which web hosting distributor should I opt for?

As mentioned, there aren't many web hosts providing warez hosting services due to legal troubles. Such companies are being closed down virtually every month. For that reason, if you would like to establish such a service, you should do it on your very own PC. The shared site hosting solution is the most famous kind of web hosting service. So, each and every site hosting vendor provides it. Not all of them, however, provide solutions such as VPSs, semi-dedicated servers and dedicated hosting servers. Most of the small scale website hosting providers do not have the resources needed for maintaining those services. Because of that it's invariably best to choose a bigger web hosting company that can supply its clients with all the services that they want. You can effortlessly recognize such hosting companies by the kinds of services that they are offering and by the way that they present them to the clientele. For example, certain providers permit you to begin with a low-end web site hosting plan and then shift to a more powerful one, if you find it necessary to do so. This is quite convenient, because you do not need to relocate sites between servers and there is no risk of facing service disturbances because of all the predicaments that may show up. Hosting companies like Heartland Web Hosting are offering all types of solutions and have the needed server resources and personnel to ensure that their customers will not chance upon any predicaments when changing services, which is what a top hosting vendor is in fact all about.