Types of Web Hosting
Types of Web Hosting
Web hosting is a widely growing service in the Internet world as companies are hunting for options to highlight themselves. This service allows companies and organizations to present themselves in the new media so that people get to known about their services and objectives. Staying ahead and popular in audio visual and print media won’t suffice in the age of globalization. Internet has to be used as an effective medium for the purpose. But what kind of web hosting is right for your business?
Web hosts are there to create a niche for such companies and organizations in the World Wide Web. The services rendered by them incorporate hosting of websites, blogs and forums that can be used to store and share information. This information can be stored as video, image and in writing. Web hosts are companies who can be hired for arranging space on a server which they own for selling or lending purposes. Web hosting can also include services like, providing space in data center and connectivity with Internet for other servers, which they do not own personally.
These web hosting services offered by several companies can also be categorized according to the client requirements or according to the services available. The selection of the nature and type of web hosting would depend on the size of the firm and their objective of launching the website or websites. Clients of web hosting companies will have to be very particular in making their selection.
Types of web hosting include:
1. Free Web Hosting: Free web hosting services are free of cost and can come in a packages offered by the web hosts. These web hosting services have large number of limitations but are often beneficial for hosting new websites and small businesses from the economic perspective. Some of the features of Free hosting are:
• Web hosts use such hosting for advertisements
• Free web hosting provide sub domains and not second-level domain or dedicated domain as that of paid services.
• There functionalities are also limited to a large extent.
2. Cheap / Budget Web Hosting: This kind of hosting is different from free hosting as website owners or client need to pay a very nominal fee to the web hosts. These are also cheaper than the standard hosting services. This type pf hosting classified on the basis of cost.
Features of cheap web hosting services:
• Within the customer’s budget
• Limited data transfer and support services
• Email accounts available
• Domain names can also be used
• Scope to use site building tools
3. Shared Web Hosting: The basic idea behind shared web hosting is distributing the web server among multiple websites. These kind of shared services often offer large number of services like email, database and more. Round the clock technical supports are also available. The web host is responsible for managing the server in order to upgrading hardware, ensure uptime and software.
Features of shared web hosting
• Multiple feature option
• Reasonable expenses
• Limited database support
• Limited security
• Own domain name can be used
4. Dedicated Web Hosting: The website is hosted in a single server dedicated for that client only. This server is not shared with any one else all the benefits of the server can be experience by the single owner.
Features of dedicated server:
• Beneficial for large business
• Multiple domain names can be added
• Email solutions
• Good database support
• Software related support
• Increased backup responsibility and
• Expensive
5. Colocated Web Hosting: Colocation refers to “co-location”. This is a solution which enables a user to place (locate) his/her own web server within the premises of a web hosting service provider.
Features of colocated web hosting:
• High bandwidth
• Better security
• Expensive
• Harder to configures and
• Unlimited software configuration
6. Managed web hosting: Managed hosting is just a step ahead than the dedicated hosting. This managed web hosting service includes additional features which are not available with the dedicated web hosting.
Features included are:
• Monitoring
• Load balancing
• Security
• Setup
• System administration and
• Software updates.
7. Reseller Web Hosting.
The account owner can make use of his/her allotted bandwidth and hard drive space to host their websites on behalf of third parties. This is beneficial for those who want to go for an ecommerce business.
Features of reseller web hosting
• One can earn in this process
• Multiple domain hosting services
• User-friendly control panels
• Does not require much technical knowledge
8. Grid hosting
This type of hosting is essential when the server cluster behaves in the form of a grid and consists of several nodes. Data grids help in controlled sharing and also enable the users to have ample amounts of data that has been distributed. These are often used along with computational grids.
9. Virtual Dedicated Server or virtual private server hosting:
A virtual dedicated server is a private server that the user can use to experience a flexible performance. This provides all the features that are obtained in a dedicated server but it is meant for multiple web hosting clients. This type of server acts more as a partition between the physical server computer and multiple servers. Each of the virtual servers can function independently using a full-fledged operating system and each of the servers is separately rebooted.
Features of virtual dedicated server:
• Flexible
• This server provides complete control on virtual server coupled with its resources
• These servers are also cheaper than dedicated servers.
• Web applications can be run in it without any negative effects
10. Home server
If any one is planning for a home network connection for a small business then this kind of web hosting can be beneficial. Home server is a typical device that can be used for a personal computer connected to a home network. Such a server provides services to different devices at home. Such services incorporates media center serving, file and/or printer serving, account authentication, domain control and web serving.