| The reason we have a usable Internet at all is | | | | do not have to share enables you to run |
| because there are companies called hosting | | | | CPU-intensive programs. Your website |
| providers that give websites their virtual "homes" | | | | performance will neither affect other sites nor be |
| in cyberspace. There are many kinds of hosting | | | | disrupted by what others do. |
| services and solutions, with enough flexibility | | | | This type of dedicated hosting plan truly is the |
| among them for webmasters to customize | | | | ideal one for companies with large, complex, |
| approaches for their specific needs. Despite this | | | | media-rich and/or high-traffic sites. The "discrete |
| wide range of capabilities, however, hosting | | | | server" model provides them complete control |
| providers still offer three common package types | | | | over the structure, contents and operations of |
| - shared hosting, virtual hosting and dedicated | | | | the hosting environment. Not every individual or |
| hosting - although today leading hosting firms will | | | | company needs dedicated hosting, but the ones |
| also offer more personalized packages, often | | | | that do could not make it with lesser hosting |
| referred to as managed and semi-managed plans. | | | | packages. Past a certain point of bandwidth, there |
| Understanding the differences among these | | | | is no reason to have any other kind of hosting |
| approaches is just as important as comparing | | | | plan. |
| security, service, expertise and cost among the | | | | Managed hosting services |
| various providers you will consider. Understanding | | | | Larger and busier firms often need a more |
| the different types of web hosting packages, in | | | | advanced kind of dedicated hosting plan, one that |
| fact, can help you narrow the field of companies | | | | can give them additional technical support and |
| from which you will eventually pick a winner. This | | | | state-of-the-art equipment. These plans will also |
| article will educate you sufficiently (although more | | | | customize services in such a way as to transfer |
| study is always better than less) to choose the | | | | many important responsibilities to the hosting |
| right hosting package, and perhaps even the right | | | | company. However, IT expertise is still required |
| company to implement it for you. | | | | by the customer, who retains control of the |
| Shared hosting | | | | operating system(s), applications and hosting |
| Companies and individuals making their first foray | | | | environment. Managed hosting also involves a |
| into the World Wide Web often sign up for the | | | | rather more significant investment of time, effort, |
| least expensive groups of plans, which would be | | | | expertise, finances and human resources than |
| under the "shared hosting" category. As the name | | | | other hosting plans. |
| clearly indicates, your website will be "sharing" disk | | | | If you opt for managed hosting, you would |
| space on a server with 20 or 200 other sites. | | | | typically lease dedicated, pre-configured equipment |
| Part of your agreement includes a commitment | | | | and connectivity from a provider. As the owner |
| to stay within a certain, prescribed percentage of | | | | of the data center, the provider will maintain the |
| the server's CPU (Central Processing Unit) usage. | | | | server, the network and any other devices, and |
| For family sites, small companies and other limited | | | | is responsible for deploying, monitoring, managing |
| "rollouts," this is usually not a problem. | | | | and maintaining the hardware. With contractually |
| In fact, shared hosting schemes were originally | | | | defined, shared responsibilities, managed hosting |
| designed around certain assumptions about site | | | | far exceeds basic dedicated hosting in levels of |
| owners' behavior, many of which turned out to | | | | performance, security, scalability and up-time. |
| be right on the money. One of the many | | | | Semi-managed and reseller hosting |
| assumptions that has since become fact is that | | | | Another name for semi-managed hosting is root |
| customers simply do not use all the bandwidth | | | | server hosting, a kind of dedicated hosting that |
| (storage) that they've been allotted in their paid | | | | lets you control the server through access to the |
| plan. The fact is, many people and firms run small | | | | root. This approach produces a variety of |
| websites whose traffic volume only requires a | | | | benefits, such as improved security, more reliable |
| small fraction of that bandwidth. Every so often, a | | | | infrastructure and more proactive hardware |
| small site will experience a sudden surge of traffic | | | | maintenance. As it is a semi-managed hosting plan, |
| and data transfers, pushing the website use over | | | | a hosting provider will maintain and manage the |
| the set limit. You will want to plan ahead for this | | | | installation and the hardware, while you (the client) |
| kind of eventuality, as most agreement will give | | | | will manage the other aspects (backups, software |
| your hosting provider the right to "freeze or | | | | upgrades, etc.). With root access and |
| seize" the website, at least temporarily. | | | | administrator status, you can do virtually anything |
| Virtual private hosting | | | | on your assigned server. |
| As opposed to the shared hosting plans, a Virtual | | | | Reseller hosting is a way for businesses to host |
| Private Server (VPS) will set you up with a Virtual | | | | sites on behalf of their own customers. If you are |
| Dedicated Server (VDS). You will still share server | | | | reselling hosting services it means that you are |
| space with other sites, but will have your own | | | | making a contract with a hosting provider to sell |
| environment, or partition, on that server. Individual | | | | their services under your own name or brand. |
| servers are often divided into multiple, discrete | | | | There is ample incentive for web hosting firms to |
| (separate) partitions that run their own OS | | | | do this as it enables them to sell more dedicated |
| (Operating System) and can be booted up | | | | hosting space. There are as many different |
| individually. These can be very important features | | | | contracts, agreements and ways of doing this as |
| for many firms. Of course, you will still share | | | | there are hosting companies, and it is certainly not |
| space on a single physical server, be restricted to | | | | something to be undertaken without planning. |
| a certain proportion of the CPU usage and have a | | | | However, for some companies it is a powerful |
| limited amount of disk space and bandwidth | | | | addition to the business plan. |
| because of the other VPS users. | | | | The right plan for you |
| Dedicated hosting | | | | Depending on your needs, you may choose any |
| Dedicated hosting is a specialized service that | | | | of the foregoing hosting plans. Or, as many |
| offers the customer such important benefits such | | | | companies do, you may start small and grow into |
| as secure, high-quality infrastructure and | | | | the costlier but more powerful packages. When |
| high-speed connectivity. These costlier hosting | | | | you know how the hosting plans work, you can |
| packages can be tailored to the unique needs of a | | | | do a better job comparing services and costs |
| customer for bandwidth, storage space and | | | | when you are ready to set up (or expand) your |
| memory, and "renting" an entire server that you | | | | site. |