Introduction to the World of Web hosting

The web hosting industry has spawned a broad range of niche markets over the years. Ranging from shared hosting to dedicated hosting, as well as all the hybrids in between, each type of web hosting presents its own set of pros and cons.

Shared Hosting - Cost Effective, Easy to Use and Feature Rich

Whether you call it conventional, regular or normal hosting, shared hosting is the most common web hosting service on the market. In fact, a large majority of the websites you encounter online are running on this type of platform.

As the name implies, shared hosting is a service arrangement where you share bandwidth, disk space capacity and various network resources with other paying customers. The structure of this model equates into a low-cost solution that is typically easy to maintain for even the most inexperienced of users. Although the price is usually reasonable, these packages do not slack on power, as they come loaded with an arsenal of useful features. The economic value, simplicity and hassle-free aspect makes shared hosting a viable option for most individuals and small companies.

Dedicated Hosting - The Utmost in Control, Flexibility, and Responsibility

Dedicated web hosting is the exact opposite of the shared variety. Instead of sharing the server with other customers, the hardware is dedicated exclusively to your website needs. Since you are not forced to share resources, dedicated hosting can provide you with a superior level of control, flexibility and performance. This is an arrangement wherein you can choose your own operating system, install your own software applications, and incorporate the security mechanisms you feel will provide the server with the best protection. It also a scenario that requires you to have a certain skill set in order to administer and maintain the server. Unlike shared web hosting, dedicated hosting is not recommended for the inexperienced user.

VPS Hosting - Immense Power and Great Performance

A virtual private server, or VPS, represents a technology that is rapidly emerging in the web hosting industry. A VPS is created by software that partitions a single physical server to establish multiple virtual servers within it. Known as virtualization, this process results in a number of isolated environments with the ability to perform many of the same functions as an individual machine.

A virtual private server tends to provide more guaranteed resources, better performance and security than your typical shared platform at a price that is notably less expensive than a dedicated server. With these factors in mind, many view a VPS as the perfect compromise between shared and dedicated web hosting.

Managed Hosting - Hassle-Free But Costly

In its most common application, managed hosting refers to the full servicing of a dedicated server. This service aims to alleviate the complexities and technical challenges of managing a web server. Though server management is the main feature, other options range from web application and database administration to monitoring and extensive support. Managed hosting services are geared towards customers who lack the technical abilities needed to handle a dedicated server, as well as those who do not have the time to fully immerse themselves in all the management aspects. Although cost efficient under the right circumstance, the biggest downside of managed hosting is its price tag, as it is considerably more expensive that other forms of web hosting.

Reseller Hosting - Substantial Profit Potential

Reseller hosting has emerged in recent times, providing entrepreneurs and small businesses with an opportunity to profit from the flourishing web hosting industry. As a reseller, you purchase a service plan from a hosting provider equipped with a certain amount of disk storage, bandwidth and features. This gives you the ammunition you need to sell web hosting plans to customers looking to build their presence online.

What makes this type of arrangement so attractive is that you pay a flat fee and have the potential generate substantial income from your investment. When selecting a respectable web hosting provider, a reseller account can run seamlessly and transparently enough to give you the presence of a large, established company.

Conclusion

Web hosting services are the key for any individual or business with aspirations of succeeding online. As you can see, there are many offerings to select from, and making a decision can be overwhelming. The good thing is that with so many companies on the market, you are almost certain to land a solution that adequately suits your needs.

Web Hosting Guide

Looking for and buying a reliable web hosting solution is an imperative decision. Whether you are doing online business, providing important information or sharing views online on a common interest, you need a reliable web hosting service that will allow online visitors to browse through your site effortlessly. It is only powerful web hosting that allows your website to be downloaded, browsed and updated in minimal time.
Trying to identify a web host can be a very daunting task especially when there are so many available nowadays and all of them promise one thing or another. Hence, it is crucial that before you jump in, you do your own homework or research for selecting the most appropriate web hosting company for your website.
With the changing trend of technology, web hosts are also changing. Most of them provide various services in addition to their basic ones. Say if you are running an e-commerce website, then of course you need high end security and a medium through which you can manage your web content efficiently. There are many tools that facilitate this, however if your web hosting service is not reliable then you can miss out on serious revenues and prospective clients.
Once you have determined and identified what web hosting services you require for your online business, it is then time to enlist certain web hosting features and options you must consider. You can find below some of the most important aspects of web hosting:
Disk space and bandwidth
You should know how much space your website would need and approximate data it will generate. When we talk about disk space, well, it's actually the amount of storage assigned to you by the web hosting provider. The bandwidth is the amount of traffic that is allowed to access and leave your website. In case your website has a lot of graphics then you would require higher storage area and greater bandwidth.
Programming tools and the OS
You need to be sure that your website is uploaded through secure servers using the latest Operating System. Most web hosts run on a UNIX based operating system, usually Linux or BSD. For the running of various web applications you would require ASP, .NET, MS SQL, SBS and for these you need a Window based host.
Pricing Aspect
You need to compare pricing before you finalize a web hosting service. Some may provide you better services but at low pricing. It's not always true that the best hosting services are always the most expensive. Do your research and then finalize.
Support, Security, Guaranteed uptime and Backups
Security and backups are two very important aspects that you need to consider. You should always choose a web hosting service with reliable telephone support. Some also offer 24/7 support through local or toll-free numbers. In case you are running an e commerce website then security is one aspect that you just cannot discard. Your web hosting service provider should be such that they can monitor things round the clock and ensure no unwanted intruder can hack your site. After all it's your website and it is really worth looking into this aspect of web hosting.

DOMAIN NAME SYSTEM (DNS)

The Domain Name System (DNS) helps users to reach different sites on the Internet. Every computer on the Internet has an exclusive address that consists of series of complex numbers. It is called its "IP address". IP stands for "Internet Protocol". Remembering everyone's IP address is difficult. The DNS helps users to remember the address with help of group of letters i.e. the "domain name" to be used instead. So instead of typing 192.0.34.65, you can type www.icann.org. This is like a memory aid that helps in remembering the addresses. Converting the name into the IP address is called "resolving the domain name." The aim of the DNS is for any Internet user worldwide to log on to a specific website by entering its domain name. Domain names are also used for reaching e-mail addresses and for other Internet applications.

"Universal resolvability" and its significance

The DNS works just like a telephone number that is unique in itself. Domain names being exclusive can be accessed globally, and everyone wanting to connect to that domain name will be able to reach it. Thus it is exclusive and reliable like any phone number. "Universal resolvability" is ensuring predictable results from any place on the Internet. This significant design feature of the DNS makes the Internet resourceful and very useful. The DNS helps you send an email to the right person. Each IP address will have its own distinctive domain name.

What is ICANN?

ICANN is the global, non-profit, private-sector coordinating body performing on behalf of public interest.It makes sure that the DNS continues to work efficiently - by supervising the distribution of unique numeric IP addresses and domain names. ICANN also manages the processes and systems that ensure that each domain name maps to the correct IP address. ICANN is responsible for managing and coordinating the DNS to ensure universal resolvability.

Workings behind the scenes

In an Internet address - such as icann.org - the .org part is called the Top Level Domain, or TLD; the "TLD registry" organizations contain online databases with information about the domain names in that TLD. The .org registery database, for instance, contains the Internet whereabouts - or IP address - of icann.org. So in trying to find the Internet address of icann.org your computer has to first search the .org registry database.
The center of the DNS contains 13 special computers, called root servers. ICANN coordinates them and are distributed around the world. All 13 contain the same important information - this is to spread the workload and back each other up. The root servers have the IP addresses of all the TLD registries - the global registries such as .com, .org, etc. and the 244 country-specific registries such as .fr (France), .cn (China), etc. This is critical information. If the information is not 100% correct or if it is unclear, it might not be possible to locate a key registry on the Internet. In DNS jargon, the information must be unique and authentic.

How is this information used?

Spread across the Internet are thousands of computers - called "Domain Name Resolvers" or just plain "resolvers" - that routinely store the information they receive from queries to the root servers. These resolvers are strategically located with Internet Service Providers (ISPs) or institutional networks. They are used to respond to a user's request to find the corresponding IP address.

What happens to a user's request to reach at icann.org?

The request is first sent to a local resolver. The resolver splits the request into its component parts. It finds the .org registry and forwards the request over to the .org registry to find the IP address of icann.org. This answer is forwarded back to the user's computer.
Why do we need the resolvers? There is a reason why we can't we use the root servers directly even though they contain almost all of the same information. Performance is the reason why. The root servers will not be able to handle billions of requests coming its way every day and thus would slow users down.
Now we will talk about the remaining part of the complicated name… www.icann.org. To begin with the DNS is a hierarchical system. First, the resolver finds the IP address for the .org registry, then asks that registry to find the IP address for icann.org and lastly goes on to a local computer at that address to find the final IP address for www.icann.org. The root servers play an important role storing information about the unique root. There would be much confusion if there were multiple TLDs with the same name. How would we know which the user intends to use. However, the beautiful architecture of the Internet ensures that is a unique and authoritative root to avoid confusion.

What can ICANN do?

ICANN's mission is to protect and preserve the stability, integrity and utility of the global Internet community, the DNS and the authoritative root ICANN was actually established to manage. ICANN truly has no responsibility towards the alternate roots as long as to do not destabilize the DNS or harm the strength of the authoritative root. However, what ICANN does do is educate and inform us about threats to the Internet's reliability and stability. ICANN is therefore a unanimous development body for the global Internet community. It's focus is the development of consesus policies relating to the single authoritative root and the DNS as well those that allow the systematic introduction of new TLDs.

Domain Registrars Vs. Web Hosts!

Up until the late 90s domain registration was limited to one online source, NSI. Controlling and selling TLD's like .com, .org and .net NSI had monopoly over the domain registrar market for a long time. But as more and more commercial standalone domain registration companies emerged SRS, Shared Registration System, was a fact.

Domain Registration

As the market has been opened there are hundreds of ICANN accredited domain registrars online. The essence of these businesses is the main service they offer; domain registration. By sticking to this service only or including all inclusive packages domain registrars can be categorized as either solely domain registrars or web hosts. Which one to use depends on how much the customer knows about DNS and his intentions.
Domain registration is often included in a web hosting package. On the quest of creating a website people find themselves in need of the following. A domain name and storage space. That's why most web hosts offer both. In this process the web host customer can search for available domain names directly on the web hosting site. The domain and web hotel is then automatically set up and ready to go within a day or two. The customer need no prior knowledge and can focus on building a good website.

100 % dedicated to domains

For the more advanced user a 100 % dedicated domain registrar might be a good idea. With more emphasis on domain registration and maintenance customers can separate their storage space services from the domains. This can be a good idea if the ambition is to build a big domain portfolio which most domain registrar are fully equipped and built for.

Redirecting

Separating space and name is not for the newbie but can be done manually and quite easily by redirecting your domains to content hosted servers. This service is offered by web hosts as well as domain registrars but requires some know-how to execute. Since redirecting of domains is so common, customer service gladly assist their customers.

Domain registrars or Web hosts?

Domain registrars can often offer lower prices for their domains and using different services for domain name registration and server space acquirement can be a good idea. But if you're looking for a easy-to-handle option and don't want to spend more time on the content of your website there are many web hosts that offer easy TDL registration. If your focus is on getting many domains at a low price and need a platform to do it domain registrar businesses are perfect.

Most Expensive Domain Name

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