What are the various forms of web hosting?
Based on the goal, the hosting solution may be:
File Storage Hosting - this form of web hosting enables the users to deposit their files on a particular server. With the traditional file web hosting solution, the files that are accommodated may only be accessed by the user that's utilizing the service. This hosting solution normally refers to backups of personal computers , documents, private files and even other web servers. This service may also contain given limitations when it comes to the server space and the root-level access. There may also be traffic quota limits, but that is dependent on the given web hosting provider.
Warez Web Hosting - the so-called warez web hosting solution is quite similar to the previous hosting service form. In spite of that, in contrast with the file hosting solution, the warez web hosting service is used for transmitting copyrighted content without the authorization of the patent keeper. In brief - it is associated with the illicit distribution of files and documents. There are lots of approaches for this to be carried out, but the two essential ways are - via simple HTTP downloading and through peer-to-peer connections. The first one entails either some web site, or, most often, just a directory on a web server that's been made available for everyone to access it and thus download patented documents for free. The second approach entails a P2P connection, using the so-called Torrent servers, via which users exchange files between each other. There are just a few web site hosting distributors that allow such form of hosting on their web servers, chiefly because of all the judicial complications that it presupposes. Usually such websites are hosted on private dedicated servers that are registered by 3rd party companies either in the Middle East or in Asia.
Electronic Mail Web Hosting - this solution is applicable with both shared web page hosting and dedicated hosting, depending on the client's desire. If you would like to build your own private SMTP email server, then you will need either a virtual server or a dedicated web hosting server that provides the access level required to execute such an assignment. For standard mail hosting purposes, however, you can create a conventional shared web page hosting account, to which you can point the MX records of your domain. This is not a service that's widely popular, since the website hosting and the electronic mail hosting services are being served by 2 separate web servers, often belonging to different hosting providers.
Web Site Hosting - the most widely spread and vastly utilized hosting service at the moment. It's used for hosting site files, whose sort is determined by the Operating System the hosting server is using - Linux or Windows. Different sorts of files require specific web server Operating Systems, or else they won't be displayed properly on the World Wide Web. This form of web hosting may have server storage space and web traffic quota limitations, server root access and CPU usage limits.
Based on the mission and on the functions, the client should choose the kind of hosting server that he needs for his project, and, of course, the web space hosting company that's going to supply it. There are various kinds of servers, based on the specs and the hosting solutions that they provide. These are:
Shared Web Hosting Servers - a shared web site hosting server includes a smaller quantity of system resources, which, of course, is reflected on the cost of the service. It can be utilized for hosting small sized and medium size websites, which do not need considerable quantities of server space and web traffic.
Semi-dedicated Servers - they are based on the same principle as the shared site hosting servers. However, there are much less customers sharing the same web server. Because of that, each of them will obtain a bigger share of the hosting server's resources like RAM, data storage, traffic and CPU. Perfect for hosting heavy websites that do not require full root-level access.
VPS Hosting - the virtual web servers are perfect for medium size websites, which do demand root-level access to the hosting server's config files. Traditionally, there are a bunch of VPS server accounts situated on the same physical machine. However, each of them is autonomous from the others and has its own Operating System.
Dedicated Servers Hosting - a completely dedicated physical server set up and accessed by you and only you. It ensures a big quantity of resources. It also includes full root-level access, which renders it an ideal environment for any sort of online portal that demands a site hosting solution.
The only question that remains is:
Which site hosting provider should I select?
As stated above, there aren't many hosting providers providing warez web hosting solutions because of legal complications. Such hosting companies are being shut down practically every month. Therefore, if you want to run such a service, you should do it on your own PC. The shared web space hosting service is the most widespread kind of web hosting service. Hence, each and every web space hosting vendor offers it. Not all of them, however, offer solutions such as Virtual Private Servers, semi-dedicated web servers and dedicated hosting servers. Most of the small scale web space hosting vendors do not have the means needed for maintaining those services. For that reason it's invariably best to choose a larger company that can provide its clients with all the services that they need. You can effortlessly recognize such web hosting companies by the sorts of solutions that they are providing and by the way that they present them to the clientele. For example, certain providers permit you to begin with a small scale site hosting package and afterwards move to a more powerful one, if you deem it compulsory to do so. This is very convenient, since you do not have to migrate sites between servers and there is no risk of facing service interruptions due to all the problems that may appear. Web hosting companies like 'Freehostia' are offering all sorts of solutions and have the needed web server resources and personnel to guarantee that their customers will not suffer any troubles when changing services, which is what a top hosting company is actually all about.