Web hosting service: Difference between revisions

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{{Internet hosting}}

A '''web hosting service''' is a type of [[Internet hosting service]] that allows individuals and organizations to make their [[website]] accessible via the [[World Wide Web]]. Web hoststypedssadstdsds are companies thatth sadaat provide space on a [[server (computing)|server]] owned or leased forforadasdasd use by clients, as well as providing [[Internet]] connectivityconnectivitsdy, typically in a [[data center]]. Web hosts cancansasd also provide data center space andansdsd connectivity to the Internet for other servers located in their data center, called [[colocation centre|colocation]], also known asasds ''Housing'' in Latin America or France.

The scope of web hosting servicesserviceasds varies greatly. The most basic is [[web page]] and small-scale file hosting, where files can be [[upload]]ed via [[File Transfer Protocol]] (FTP) or a Web interface. TheThesd files are usually delivered to the Web "as is" or with minimal processing. Many [[Internet service provider]]s (ISPs) offer this service free to subscribers. Individuals and organizations may also obtain Web page hosting from alternative service providersprovideasdrs. Personal web site hosting is typically free, advertisementadvertisemesdsant-sponsored, or inexpensive. BusinessBudasdsdsiness web site hosting often has a higher expense depending upon the size and type of the site.

Single page hosting is generally sufficientsufficienxjkst for [[personal web page]]s. A complex site calls for a more comprehensive package that provides [[database]] supportsupsdsdport and application development platforms (e.g. [[PHP]], [[Java platform|Java]], [[Ruby on Rails]], [[ColdFusion]], or [[ASP.NET]]). These facilities allow customers to write or install scriptsscrcipts for applicationsapplicationssd like [[Internet forum|forums]] and [[content management]]. Also, [[Secure Sockets Layer]] (SSL) is typically used for websites that wish to keep the data transmitted more secure.

The host may also provide an interface or [[Control panel (Web hosting)|control panel]] for managing the [[Web server]] and installing scripts, as well as other modules and service applications like e-mailmasdsdasdil. A web server that does not use a [[Control panel (Web hosting)|control panel]] for managing the hosting account, is often referred to as a "headless" server. Some hosts specialize in certain software or services (e.g. e-commerce, blogs, etc.).

== Reliability and uptime ==

[[File:Floridaserversfront1.jpg|thumb|Multiple racks of servers]]

The [[High availability|availability]] of a website is measured by the percentage of a year in which the website is publicly accessible and reachable via the Internet. This is different from measuring the [[uptime]] of a system. Uptime refers to the system itself being online. Uptime does not take into account being able to reach it as in the event of a network outage.{{citation needed|date=October 2014}} A hosting provider’s [[Service-level agreement|Service Level Agreement]] (SLA) may include a certain amount of scheduled [[downtime]] per year in order to perform maintenance on the systems. This scheduled downtime is often excludedexcludessssssssssssssssssssssd from the SLA timeframe, and needs to be subtracted from the Total Time when availability is calculated. Depending on the wording of an SLA, if the availability of a system drops below that in the signed SLA, a hosting provider often will provide a partial refund for time lost. How downtime is determined changes from provider to provider, therefore reading the SLA is imperative.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Dawson|first1=Christian|title=Why Uptime Guarantees are Ridiculous|url=http://blog.servint.net/2013/05/03/why-uptime-guarantees-are-ridiculous/|publisher=Servint|accessdate=7 October 2014|quote=a good SLA will clearly state how uptime is defined and what you’ll receive if the “uptime promise” is not met.}}</ref> Not all providers release uptime statistics.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Vanvleet|first1=Derek|title=Google Apps vs. Office 365: What Does 99.9% Uptime Really Mean?|url=http://www.cloudsherpas.com/partner-google/google-apps-vs-office-365-what-does-99-9-uptime-really-mean/|publisher=Cloud Sherpas|accessdate=7 October 2014}}</ref> Most hosting providers will guarantee at least 99.9% uptime which will allow for 43m of downtime per month, or 8h 45m of downtime per year.

== Types of hosting ==

[[File:KN-Servers2.JPG|thumb|A typical server "rack" commonly seen in [[colocation centre]]s]]

Internet hosting servicesseasdsadrvices can run [[Web servers|Wdsadadaeb servers]].

Many large companiescompasdnies that are not Internet service providers need to be permanently connected to the web to send email, files, etc. to other sites. The company may use the computer as a websitewebsssssssssssssssssite host to provide details of their goods and services and facilities for 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.

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* [[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 reseller. Resellers' accounts may vary tremendously in size: they may have their own virtual dedicated server to a colocated server. Many resellers provide a nearly identical service to their provider's shared hosting plan and provide the technical support themselves.

* [[Virtual private server#Hosting|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 (unmanaged server) or the VPS provider may provide server admin tasks for the customer (managed server).

* [[Dedicated hosting service]]: the user gets his or her own Web serversssssssssssssserver and gains full control over it (user has [[Superuser|root access]] for Linux/administrator access for Windows); however, the user typically does not own the server. One 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 server, which means the client is responsible for the security and maintenance of his own dedicated server.

* [[Managed hosting service]]: the user gets his or her own Web server but is not allowed full control over it (user is denied 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 center|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 onsdsdon site to do any hardware upgrades or changes. Formerly, many colocation providers would accept any system configuration for hosting, even ones housed in desktop-style [[minitower]] cases, but most hosts now require [[rack mount]] enclosures and standard system configurations.

* [[Cloud computing|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. A cloud hosted website may be more reliable than alternatives since other computers in the cloud can compensate when a single piece of hardware goes down. Also, local power disruptions or even natural disasters are less problematic for cloud hosted sites, as cloud hosting is decentralized. Cloud hosting also allows providers to charge users only for resources consumed by the user, rather than a flat fee for the amount the user expects they will use, or a fixed cost upfront hardware investment. Alternatively, the lack of centralization may give users less control on where theirthssssssssssseir data is located which could be a problem for users with [[data security]] or [[privacy policy|privacy]] concerns.

* [[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. (Usually web hosts use clustered hosting for their shared hosting plans, as there are multiple benefits to the mass managing of clients).<ref>{{Cite journal|title = Market-Oriented Cloud Computing: Vision, Hype, and Reality for Delivering IT Services as Computing Utilities|url = http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/lpdocs/epic03/wrapper.htm?arnumber=4637675|journal = 10th IEEE International Conference on High Performance Computing and Communications, 2008. HPCC '08|date = September 2008|pages = 5–13|doi = 10.1109/HPCC.2008.172|first = R.|last = Buyya|first2 = Chee Shin|last2 = Yeo|first3 = S.|last3 = Venugopal}}</ref>

* [[Grid computing|Grid hosting]]: this form of distributed hosting is when a server clusterclustssssssssssssssssser 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 [[Transmission Control Protocol|TCP]] port 80 of the user's connection and by refusing to providepdsdrovide [[static IP address]]es. A common way to attain a reliable DNS host name 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.<ref>{{Cite journal|title = An integrated home server for communication, broadcast reception, and home automation|url = http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/lpdocs/epic03/wrapper.htm?arnumber=1605033|journal = IEEE Transactions on Consumer Electronics|date = February 2006|issn = 0098-3063|pages = 104–109|volume = 52|issue = 1|doi = 10.1109/TCE.2006.1605033|first = I.|last = Han|first2 = Hong-Shik|last2 = Park|first3 = Youn-Kwae|last3 = Jeong|first4 = Kwang-Roh|last4 = Park}}</ref>

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