All about web hosting:

The key responsibilities of a web hosting company are to provide server space, web services and maintenance of servers which host websites owned or controlled by individuals and companies. Check below the web hosting information and know about different web hosting types.

Various Web Hosting
Free web hosting
It is best suited for small sites with low traffic, like personal sites. It is not recommended for high traffic or for real business. Technical support is often limited, and technical options are few. Very often you cannot use your own domain name at a free site

Advantages:
Low cost.
It's free.
Good for family, hobby or personal sites.

Disadvantages
No domain names.
Few, limited, or no software options.
Limited security options.
Limited or no database support.
Limited technical support.

Shared (Virtual) Hosting
Another name for shared hosting is virtual hosting or mass hosting. It works as follows: your content and applications are placed on a server which is shared with other customers who also use that web host. The equipment and server are owned and managed by the web host provider, with technicians on hand to monitor and manage the servers.

Companies opt to go the shared hosting route because it is much cheaper and it works well. In other words it’s affordable and efficient.

With shared hosting, your web site gets its own domain name, and is hosted on a powerful server along with other web sites.

Advantages:
Low cost.
Own domain name.
Good support
Multiple software options.

Disadvantage
Reduced security due to many sites on one server.
Restricted software support.
Restricted database support.
Restrictions on traffic volume

Good for small business and average traffic.

Dedicated Hosting
With dedicated hosting, your web site is hosted on a dedicated server. You should expect dedicated hosting to be very powerful and secure, with almost unlimited software solutions.

Dedicated server hosting solution is top of the hosting for any site or a blog with high traffic. This way, you actually own the specific physical server – where your sites are hosted on ONLY – not shared with other ones.

Advantages:
Good for large business.
Good for high traffic.
Powerful email solutions.
Powerful database support.
Multiple domain names.
Strong (unlimited) software support.

Disadvantages:
Expensive.
Requires higher skills.

Other web hosting types are:

Collocated Hosting
Collocation means "co-location". Collocated hosting lets you place your own web server on the premises (locations) of a service provider. This is pretty much the same as running your own server in your own office, only that it is located at a place better designed for it.

Most likely an ISP will have dedicated resources like high-security against fire and vandalism, regulated backup power, dedicated Internet connections and more.

Advantages:
High bandwidth.
High security.
Unlimited software options.

Disadvantages:
Expensive.
Requires higher skills.
Harder to configure and debug.

Root Server (Semi-managed)hosting
Another name for Root Server hosting is Semi-managed hosting. This is a form of dedicated hosting which allows you control over your server by access to the root, while providing various benefits, such as reliable infrastructure, security and maintenance of hardware. Root Server hosting gives redundant (uninterrupted) internet connectivity and flexibility for you to choose operations systems and hardware specifications most suitable for your needs.

Since a Root Server is a semi managed server, the hosting provider will manage the installation and hardware, but you, the client, manage all other aspects of it, including backups and software upgrades. As the client you will also have root access or administrator access, enabling you to do virtually anything on that server.

Root Server hosting is intended for people who need more flexibility and customization than a managed Dedicated server.

Reseller Hosting
This type of hosting is ideal for entrepreneurs and businesses who wish to host on behalf of their own customers. Reselling web hosting services means that you can take out a contract with a web hosting provider and then sell their services on under your own brand. Different hosting companies offer different contracts and agreements.

Cloud Hosting
Cloud (or Clustered) Hosting is a relatively new hosting solution for websites and blogs around the internet. Refers to a web hosting service where sites works with a multiple servers (not just one) and take the resources once they need them from other servers – connected one to another to get better performances and stability.
Cloud hosting solution is good for the low-mid trafficked sites

Above mentioned are various web hosting type , hope this will help you to decide what web hosting type you must choose for your site .

Your Checklist
Before you choose for what web hosting is suited for you, make sure that:

* The hosting type suits your needs
* The hosting type is cost effective
* Upgrading to a better server is possible
* If needed, upgrading to a dedicated server is possible

Recommended Reading:
Difference between window and linux hosting
Know about Free Vs Professional Web Hosting
Input from Rahul, content contributer to this blog

2 comments:

  1. Anonymous9/26/2011

    There are many types of web hosting are there but describing it is a very difficult job. Now only I have got it. Thanks for sharing.
    Domain name India

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great post and creative ideas. I am happy to visit and read useful articles here. I hope you continue to do the sharing through the post to the reader. and good luck for the visitors site thanx..

    ReplyDelete