Hosting Definition

As its name implies, hosting is a service, which involves hosting web content. There are different forms and kinds of web hosting, depending on the mission and on the objectives. Yet, they all are associated with hosting files, which, once hosted, are made available throughout the Web. A web host is actually a web server that is linked to the Internet and has its own personal IP address, which allows users to gain access to it through the Web. The server's configuration and its resources depend on the sort of hosting service it will be utilized for.

What are the different forms of hosting?

Based on the application, the professional hosting service may be:

File Storage Web Hosting - this form of web hosting allows the clients to keep their files on a given hosting server. With the average file web hosting solution, the files that are stashed may only be accessed by the client that's utilizing the service. This hosting solution typically includes backups of PCs , documents, private files and even other hosting servers. This service may also contain certain limits when it comes to the disk storage space and the root access. There may also be web traffic quota limits, but that depends on the given hosting provider.

Warez Hosting - the so-called warez hosting service is quite similar to the previous web hosting service type. In spite of that, unlike the file web hosting solution, the warez hosting service is used for distributing copyrighted materials without being given the go-ahead by the patent keeper. In brief - it is related to the unlawful distribution of files and documents. There are multiple approaches for this to be brought about, but the two essential ways are - through plain HTTP downloading and through peer-to-peer connections. The first approach involves either some website, or, most often, just a directory on a server that's been made available for everybody to access it and thereby download copyrighted files for free. The second approach involves a peer-to-peer connection, availing of the so-called Torrent web servers, via which people swap files between each other. There are a few website hosting firms that allow that type of hosting on their servers, mostly owing to all the judicial problems that it entails. Usually such web sites are hosted on private dedicated servers that are registered by 3rd party firms either in the Middle East or in Asia.

Electronic Mail Web Hosting - this solution is used with both shared website hosting and dedicated hosting servers, depending on the client's intention. If you want to launch your very own personal SMTP e-mail server, then you will need either a virtual private web server or a dedicated web server that offers the access level required to accomplish such a procedure. For common email web hosting ends, though, you can create a regular shared web hosting account, to which you can point the MX records of your domain. This is not a service that's widely famous, since the web hosting and the electronic mail hosting services are being served by 2 different web servers, usually owned by different providers.

Hosting - the most famous and immensely utilized hosting service today. It's used for hosting web site files, whose kind is determined by the OS the web hosting server is making use of - Linux or Windows. Different kinds of files require specific web server Operating Systems, or else they won't be displayed accurately on the Web. This kind of hosting may involve web storage and web traffic limitations, root access and central processing unit usage restrictions.

Depending on the purpose and on the objectives, the client should pick the sort of server that he demands for his work, and, of course, the website hosting vendor that's going to provide it. There are different types of servers, based on the specs and the web hosting services that they provide. These are:

Shared Hosting Server - a shared hosting server supplies a smaller quantity of resources, which, of course, is manifested in the price of the service. It can be utilized for hosting small scale and middle sized websites, which do not require considerable quantities of server space and traffic.

Semi-dedicated Servers - they operate on the same principle as the shared website hosting servers. Still, there are much fewer clients hosted on the same hosting server. Therefore, each of them will have a bigger share of the server's resources like RAM, server storage space, bandwidth and CPU. Excellent for hosting popular web portals that do not need root privileges.

VPS are perfect for medium size web portals, which do require root access to the web server's configuration files. Typically, there are a bunch of VPS web server accounts located on the same server. Still, each of them is isolated from the others and runs its own OS.

Dedicated Server - a fully dedicated machine set up and accessed by you and only you. It guarantees a gigantic amount of resources. It also includes full root access, which makes it the optimal environment for any sort of web site that needs a website hosting service.

The sole question that's left is:

Which website hosting supplier should I select?

As already stated, there aren't many web hosting providers offering warez web hosting services due to judicial entanglements. Such providers are being shut down practically every month. That is why, if you wish to run such a service, you should do it on your very own PC. The shared web hosting solution is the most popular kind of hosting service. For that reason, each web hosting vendor provides it. Not all of them, though, offer services such as virtual private web hosting servers, Semi-dedicated Servers and dedicated web hosting servers. Most of the small scale web hosting distributors do not have the means demanded for offering those services. You can easily identify such companies by the kinds of solutions that they are supplying and by the manner in which they present them to the clientele. For instance, certain companies permit you to begin with a smaller web hosting account and then upgrade to a more advanced one, if you find it compulsory to do so. This is quite suitable, because you do not have to transfer web pages between web servers and there is no possibility of facing network downtime due to all the problems that may arise.

We, at AIDA Host offer all sorts of solutions and have the necessary hosting server resources and personnel to assure that their clients will not experience any problems when changing services, which is what a top hosting supplier is actually all about.