A web hosting service is a type of Internet hosting service that allows individuals and organizations

to make their own website accessible via the World Wide Web. Web hosts are companies that
provide space on a server they own or lease for use by their clients as well as providing Internet
connectivity, typically in a data center. Web hosts can also provide data center space and
connectivity to the Internet for servers they do not own to be located in their data center, called
colocation.

The scope of hosting services varies widely. The most basic is web page and small-scale file hosting,
where files can be uploaded via File Transfer Protocol (FTP) or a Web interface. The files are usually
delivered to the Web "as is" or with little processing. Many Internet service providers (ISPs) offer this
service free to their subscribers. People can also obtain Web page hosting from other, alternative
service providers. Personal web site hosting is typically free, advertisement-sponsored, or
inexpensive. Business web site hosting often has a higher expense.

Single page hosting is generally sufficient only for personal web pages. A complex site calls for a
more comprehensive package that provides database support and application development
platforms (e.g. PHP, Java, Ruby on Rails, ColdFusion, and ASP.NET). These facilities allow the
customers to write or install scripts for applications like forums and content management. For e-
commerce, SSL is also highly recommended.

The host may also provide an interface or control panel for managing the Web server and installing
scripts as well as other services like e-mail. Some hosts specialize in certain software or services (e.g.
e-commerce). They are commonly used by larger companies to outsource network infrastructure to
a hosting company.

Contents

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 1 Hosting reliability and uptime

 2 Types of hosting

 3 Obtaining hosting

 4 See also

 5 External links

[edit] Hosting reliability and uptime

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Multiple racks of servers.

Hosting uptime refers to the percentage of time the host is accessible via the internet. Many
providers state that they aim for at least 99.9% uptime (roughly equivalent to 45 minutes of
downtime a month, or less), but there may be server restarts and planned (or unplanned)
maintenance in any hosting environment, which may or may not be considered part of the official
uptime promise.

Many providers tie uptime and accessibility into their own service level agreement (SLA). SLAs
sometimes include refunds or reduced costs if performance goals are not met.

[edit] Types of hosting

A typical server "rack," commonly seen in colocation centres.

Internet hosting services can run Web servers; see Internet hosting services.
Many large companies who are not internet service providers also need a computer permanently
connected to the web so they can send email, files, etc. to other sites. They may also use the
computer as a website host so they can provide details of their goods and services to anyone
interested. Additionally these people may decide to place online orders.

 Free web hosting service: offered by different companies with limited services, sometimes
supported by advertisements, and often limited when compared to paid hosting.

 Shared web hosting service: one's website is placed on the same server as many other sites,
ranging from a few to hundreds or thousands. Typically, all domains may share a common
pool of server resources, such as RAM and the CPU. The features available with this type of
service can be quite extensive. A shared website may be hosted with a reseller.

 Reseller web hosting: allows clients to become web hosts themselves. Resellers could
function, for individual domains, under any combination of these listed types of hosting,
depending on who they are affiliated with as a provider. Resellers' accounts may vary
tremendously in size: they may have their own virtual dedicated server to a collocated
server. Many resellers provide a nearly identical service to their provider's shared hosting
plan and provide the technical support themselves.

 Virtual Dedicated Server: also known as a Virtual Private Server (VPS), divides server
resources into virtual servers, where resources can be allocated in a way that does not
directly reflect the underlying hardware. VPS will often be allocated resources based on a
one server to many VPSs relationship, however virtualisation may be done for a number of
reasons, including the ability to move a VPS container between servers. The users may have
root access to their own virtual space. Customers are sometimes responsible for patching
and maintaining the server.

 Dedicated hosting service: the user gets his or her own Web server and gains full control
over it (root access for Linux/administrator access for Windows); however, the user typically
does not own the server. Another type of Dedicated hosting is Self-Managed or Unmanaged.
This is usually the least expensive for Dedicated plans. The user has full administrative access
to the box, which means the client is responsible for the security and maintenance of his
own dedicated box.

 Managed hosting service: the user gets his or her own Web server but is not allowed full
control over it (root access for Linux/administrator access for Windows); however, they are
allowed to manage their data via FTP or other remote management tools. The user is
disallowed full control so that the provider can guarantee quality of service by not allowing
the user to modify the server or potentially create configuration problems. The user typically
does not own the server. The server is leased to the client.

 Colocation web hosting service: similar to the dedicated web hosting service, but the user
owns the colo server; the hosting company provides physical space that the server takes up
and takes care of the server. This is the most powerful and expensive type of web hosting
service. In most cases, the colocation provider may provide little to no support directly for
 their client's machine, providing only the electrical, Internet access, and storage facilities for
the server. In most cases for colo, the client would have his own administrator visit the data
center on site to do any hardware upgrades or changes.

 Cloud Hosting: is a new type of hosting platform that allows customers powerful, scalable
and reliable hosting based on clustered load-balanced servers and utility billing. Removing
single-point of failures and allowing customers to pay for only what they use versus what
they could use.

 Clustered hosting: having multiple servers hosting the same content for better resource
utilization. Clustered Servers are a perfect solution for high-availability dedicated hosting, or
creating a scalable web hosting solution. A cluster may separate web serving from database
hosting capability.

 Grid hosting: this form of distributed hosting is when a server cluster acts like a grid and is
composed of multiple nodes.

 Home server: usually a single machine placed in a private residence can be used to host one
or more web sites from a usually consumer-grade broadband connection. These can be
purpose-built machines or more commonly old PCs. Some ISPs actively attempt to block
home servers by disallowing incoming requests to TCP port 80 of the user's connection and
by refusing to provide static IP addresses. A common way to attain a reliable DNS hostname
is by creating an account with a dynamic DNS service. A dynamic DNS service will
automatically change the IP address that a URL points to when the IP address changes.

  Some specific types of hosting provided by web host service providers:

 File hosting service: hosts files, not web pages

 Image hosting service

 Video hosting service

 Blog hosting service

 One-click hosting

 Pastebin Hosts text snippets

 Shopping cart software

 E-mail hosting service

[edit] Obtaining hosting

Web hosting is often provided as part of a general Internet access plan; there are many free and paid
providers offering these services.

A customer needs to evaluate the requirements of the application to choose what kind of hosting to
use. Such considerations include database server software, scripting software, and operating system.
Most hosting providers provide Linux-based web hosting which offers a wide range of different
software. A typical configuration for a Linux server is the LAMP platform: Linux, Apache, MySQL, and
PHP/Perl/Python. The webhosting client may want to have other services, such as email for their
business domain, databases or multi-media services for streaming media. A customer may also
choose Windows as the hosting platform. The customer still can choose from PHP, Perl, and Python
but may also use ASP .Net or Classic ASP. Web hosting packages often include a Web Content
Management System, so the end-user doesn't have to worry about the more technical aspects.

[edit] See also

 Dedicated hosting service

 Overselling

[edit] External links

web hosting

web host

dedicated server

dedicated hosting

shared hosting

managed hosting

reseller hosting

virtual private server

unix hosting

windows hosting

co-location

Web Hosting Instructions

Web domains. Hosting. Content. These are the three top priorities for any webmaster,
regardless of how experienced they are. Unfortunately, these three essentials often leave
people in the dark, as there are dozens of companies offering the “same” packages for
different prices. With an overflow of routes you could take, it can get mind boggling to figure
out the appropriate steps. For this reason, instructions are essential if you are looking for a
smooth path.
The first thing you should do is make a list of what your current goals are. If you are making
a professional site, you'll need a secure and reliable host. For instance, if you know that your
website will reach thousands of people within a few months, perhaps you should find a web
hosting package that includes extra bandwidth. You need additional space, especially if
visitors are constantly going to be accessing your website. On the other hand, if you are just
experimenting, you should stick to the free hosting packages. Geocities or Angel Fire
certainly provides a basic package, which will leave you satisfied. After all, you do not need
bells and whistles if you aren't serious about the website in the long run. If you do end up
changing your mind, you can always switch services and transfer your website.

Once you have made your decision, you need to find a reputable service. While searching for
hosting companies on Google may seem appropriate, it often stems bad results. It is important
to remember that just because it is listed on a search engine, doesn't mean it is 100% safe and
legit. Therefore, if you do find a potential company, you should get a second opinion. It is
usually smart to join a webmaster related forum like SitePoint to discuss such matters. This
way you can hear about other people's experiences and what companies to avoid. Additional
references from friends or family would also be ideal.

After picking a host, you will need to provide your credit card information. For many users,
3ix.org is a favorite, as it rarely charges you much. Surprisingly, there are discount coupon
codes you can acquire through the internet, to also help you with your initial fee. Due to the
fact that you have to include your private information, it is absolutely crucial to make sure
you find a legit business. The last thing you want is to lose any money. Therefore, you should
google their name and check out the reviews from fellow users. This will most definitely
make all of the difference, especially if you find out that they are a fraud.

For website beginners, web hosting doesn't have to be difficult or even too time consuming.
As long as you find reputable sources, second opinions, and a great easy to use package, you
are well on your way to website success. With these instructions in mind, there should be no
frustrations or year long debates on what company to use. It is quite simple, once you get in
the webmaster's frame of mind.

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