An explanation of web hosting

As its name denotes, web hosting is a service, which entails hosting web content. There are various forms and types of web hosting, based on the mission and on the usage. Nonetheless, they all are associated with hosting files, which, once hosted, are made accessible through the Internet. A host is in fact a web hosting service that is connected to the World Wide Web and has its very own Internet Protocol address, which enables people to gain access to it via the Web. The hosting server's architecture and its resources are determined by the kind of hosting solution it will be utilized for.

What are the different forms of web hosting?

Based on the mission, the hosting service may be:

File Storage Hosting - this type of web hosting allows the users to host their files on a specific server. With the ordinary file hosting solution, the files that are saved may only be accessed by the user that's utilizing the service. This web hosting service usually pertains to backups of PCs , docs, private files and even other web hosting servers. This service may also have certain restrictions with regard to the server storage space and the root-level access. There may also be bandwidth limits, but that depends on the given host.

Warez Hosting - the so-called warez web hosting solution is resembling the previous hosting service type. Nevertheless, in contrast with the file storage hosting solution, the warez hosting service is utilized for disseminating copyrighted materials without the authorization of the copyright holder. In short - it is connected with the illegitimate propagation of files and materials. There are multiple ways for this to be attained, but the two essential ways are - via plain HTTP downloading and via P2P connections. The first method entails either a particular site, or, most often, simply a directory on a hosting server that's been made available for everyone to access it and thereby download patented docs free of cost. The second approach entails a peer-to-peer connection, utilizing the so-called Torrent web servers, via which people transfer files between each other. There aren't many hosting firms that permit that type of hosting on their web hosting servers, mostly due to all the legal troubles that it entails. Generally such websites are hosted on private dedicated web hosting servers that are registered by 3rd party enterprises either in the Middle East or in Asia.

Email Web Hosting - this service is applicable with both shared webspace hosting and dedicated web servers, depending on the customer's intention. If you desire to have your very own private SMTP mail server, then you will require either a virtual web hosting server or a dedicated web server that provides the level of access required to complete such a task. For ordinary email hosting ends, though, you can use a simple shared hosting account, to which you can point the MX records of your domain name. This is not a service that's very famous, since the web site hosting and the e-mail hosting services are being served by two different servers, often owned by different providers.

Web Site Hosting - the most famous and immensely utilized hosting service at the moment. It's utilized for hosting web site files, whose sort depends on the OS the web hosting server is making use of - Linux or Windows. Different sorts of files demand concrete hosting server Operating Systems, or else they won't be shown appropriately on the Web. This sort of web hosting may contain data storage space and traffic limitations, server root access and CPU usage restrictions.

Depending on the purpose and on the usage, the user should pick the kind of server that he requires for his project, and, of course, the hosting vendor that's going to provide it. There are different kinds of web hosting servers, depending on the specifications and the site hosting solutions that they provide. These are:

Shared Hosting Server - a shared site hosting 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 and medium online portals, which do not demand big amounts of disk space and bandwidth.

Semi-Dedicated - they perform on the very same principle as the shared web hosting servers. Yet, there are much less clients sharing the same server. For that reason, each of them will receive a greater share of the web hosting server's resources like RAM, web storage, bandwidth and CPU. Perfect for hosting immense web portals that do not require complete root access.

Virtual Servers - the VPSs are perfect for medium sized web portals, which do require root-level access to the hosting server's config files. Usually, there are a few virtual server hosting accounts located on the same physical server. Nonetheless, each of them is autonomous from the others and runs its own Operating System.

Dedicated Server Hosting - a completely dedicated physical machine set up and accessed by you and solely you. It ensures a large amount of resources. It also offers complete root-level access, which makes it the optimal platform for any type of web page that requires a hosting service.

The sole question that's left is:

Which web site hosting provider should I settle on?

As mentioned, there aren't many web hosting companies offering warez hosting solutions because of judicial troubles. Such web hosting companies are being closed down practically every month. Because of that, if you wish to establish such a service, you should do it on your own PC. The shared webspace hosting service is the most popular type of web hosting service. So, each web site hosting provider provides it. Not all of them, however, offer services such as Virtual Private Servers, semi-dedicated hosting servers and dedicated hosting servers. Most of the smaller web site hosting firms do not have the resources needed for maintaining those services. Therefore it's invariably best to select a larger hosting company that can supply its clients with all the services that they necessitate. You can easily recognize such web hosts by the kinds of services that they are making available and by the manner in which they introduce them to the customers. For instance, certain web hosts permit you to start with a smaller web hosting account and subsequently upgrade to a more advanced one, if you deem it mandatory to do so. This is very convenient, since you do not need to transmit sites between hosting servers and there is no chance of facing network downtime due to all the predicaments that may occur. Web hosting providers such as LiquidNet Ltd Hosting are offering all kinds of solutions and possess the required web hosting server resources and staff to ensure that their customers will not come across any complications when swapping services, which is what a top hosting firm is in fact all about.