What is Hosting?

The hosting is basically a storage space which host files and programs. It is similar to your computer and laptops. If you want to make some files and programs publicly available then you must have to host them in an online environment. Let us take an example of the website, a website is both a small program as well as it contains files such as images, videos, downloadable, documents, etc. In order to make a website publically available we need to put it on a computer storage that can be accessed online from anywhere in the world. This storage is basically the hosting, but the hosting doesn’t only have a storage it have bandwidth and computing power too. The bandwidth is the amount of data that can be transmitted to and from the storage space. Usually the bandwidth is limited and is renewed every month. The storage, bandwidth and the computing power of the computer at which you are storing your files and programs are called the resources. Each hosting plan offers limited resources and you have to pay for the amount of resources you are consuming or you want to consume. That is what hosting is and that is how it works.

What is the Difference between Hosting and Domain Name?

People usually don’t understand the difference between the hosting and the domain name and often take them as a same thing. However that is not the case. The hosting is the resources such as storage, bandwidth and computing resources, however the domain name is the address to that storage or computer which contains your files and programs. As in your computer when you navigate to a particular file you must have to know its address. If you notice when you try to open an image or a document, you have to go to its directory or folder and then you will have to click on it. That is how you open a file in your computer. While doing so, in the address bar there is an address written, which keeps expanding as you go deeper into the directories and folders, and it contains the name of all of the previous directories. That is basically the address of the file and the directory which contains it. That address resembles the domain name.

Think of your local network, you might have noticed there are certain directories and files which are only accessible form your office and you can’t access them from home or anywhere else. These files and software are hosted in a local area network. Which is exclusive for that particular organization only. However, the online hosting is also the same but it is accessible for anyone by the domain name. The domain name is actually the exact address of the file and also the computer storage that contains that file. When you enter a domain name in the browser, the browser convert that domain name in to the address and then pull the data from that address. This is how the domain name works.

What are the Types of Hosting?

As we discussed the hosting is technically a computer or a server which provide storage and resources for your website and programs. The servers are also computers but with higher computing powers. However, in terms of technicalities and commercials the hosting service providers and the entire industry is segregated in different sectors each one is designed to address a different set of audience/customers. Here are some most popular hosting types:

1. Shared Hosting

The shared hosting is basically an entry-level hosting plan, it is designed for startups, small businesses, and even personal blogs and websites. In shared hosting plan there a single physical server could host multiple websites depending upon its computing power and configurations. In some cases a single shared hosting server can host up to hundred websites. All of these websites are sharing the physical resources such as storage, RAM, processor and bandwidth of a single physical server, which makes it the most cost-effective hosting plan. All of the servers, their security, operating systems and everything is managed by the hosting service provider.

2. Virtual Private Servers (VPS Hosting)

The virtual private server or VPS Hosting provides dedicated resources for each website or application but the website or app will still share the actual physical resources with others. For example a server have 4 Cores of CPU, 32 GB of RAM and 4TB of storage space, all these resources are divided into 4 websites or applications and each one of them will get equal share, 1 Core of CPU, 8GB of RAM and 1TB of storage will be allotted to each website or application. It means a physical resource will be divided into 4 virtually to create 4 virtual computers however in actual there is only one physical computer or server. All of the services, resources, operating systems, physical hardware, and rest is managed by the hosting service provider and the customer will not have to worry about any of these.

3. Virtual Dedicated Servers (VDS Hosting)

The virtual dedicated servers or VDS hosting is for the customers who want more control over the server, its environment, security, operating system and resource management. It is a step up from the VPS Hosting, in fact a full leg up from it. The VDS hosting provides a dedicated server which is rented out for the customers and it also provide them to control and configure each and everything as per their own will. This also requires technical knowledge and understanding. In case of virtual dedicated servers hosting a physical server is usually divided between two customers, and it provide each of them more resources and more control over their server.

4. Dedicated Server Hosting

The dedicated server hosting is that the service provider allot a full physical server to the customers. This is the most expensive type of hosting plan. In the dedicated server hosting the customer have full control over the environment, operating system, security, and everything else. The physical server is dedicatedly allotted to a single customer and no one else is sharing resources. All the physical resources are available for the customer on a single physical server and the customer have full authority, control over it. As the customer have full root and admin control over the server so it requires a professional to maintain the server. Which is also additional cost. Businesses who have very high traffic usually go for the dedicated server hosting.

What is Cloud Hosting?

The Cloud is also a type of hosting. However in cloud rather than dividing a single physical server into virtual machines or even having a full dedicated server we have multiple servers with their resources combined to run a website or application. It means that behind the scene a single hosting package could be consuming resources from several physical computer servers. This allow the customers to consume computer resources such as a utility and mostly the cloud hosting plans are billed as a utility too. This also provide the user freedom to acquire as many resources as they want. The overall performance and load handling is much better than any other conventional hosting type. The customers are being allotted with computer resources such as Storage, RAM, CPU Cores, Backups, Security Profiles/Systems and much more. It is far more customizable than any other conventional hosting plan. The business don’t even have to worry about managing the physical servers or infrastructure, everything is done by the cloud service provider. The biggest advantage is that everything is on a virtual storage and the business will have to pay only for the consumed resources unlike conventional hosting in which business must have to pay for a fixed resource whether they consume it or not.

What are the Types of Cloud Hosting?

The cloud hosting is also like the traditional hosting and have different classification on the bases of resources and customer control/authority. However there are two major classification of the cloud which can be defined on the bases of ownership and on the bases of products/services.

On the bases of ownership there are three major types:

1. Public Cloud
2. Private Cloud
3. Hybrid Cloud

Here are different types of the cloud on the bases of the application or service type:

1. IaaS
2. PaaS
3. SaaS

Public Cloud

Usually the public cloud are off-premises and not owned by the businesses/customers. The entire IT infrastructure is created and owned by the vendor or service provider. Any cloud infrastructure can be defined as a public cloud when it is distributed among different tenants. The Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Alibaba and IBM are the world renowned cloud service providers.

Private Cloud

Usually the private cloud are owned by a single user or business, any cloud become private when it is exclusively accessed by a single business or group and work behind their firewall. Now a days the trend is changing and even for the private cloud the businesses are acquiring service providers however the basic rule remains the same and the private cloud will remain accessible only for a particular business or owner.

Hybrid Cloud

The hybrid cloud is not a single IT infrastructure or environment but it is a network of multiple clouds. It can have both public and private clouds connected to a network. The network could be LAN, WAN or VPNs or a combination of all of these. The hybrid clouds are complex and the entire infrastructure depends upon the needs and the requirements of the business. The entire cloud is managed by a single platform and the businesses must have to have a technical team or service provider to manage this type of cloud.

IaaS

The IaaS is also knows as Infrastructure as a Service. For this cloud type the entire IT infrastructure, the servers, networks, storage hardware and software are managed by the service provider. The business have full control over the managed environment and configure/install their application on it. The business can access the cloud using online dashboards, interfaces and APIs. This provide more control over the IT environment and the businesses must have technical resource or either they will have to outsource it to a third party vendor or distributor who will manage the technical details for them.

PaaS

The PaaS or Product as a Service cloud hosting means the network, storage, servers, and the entire IT infrastructure is managed by the cloud service provider, the software the security, the load balancing, backups and everything is managed by the cloud service provider. The business doesn’t have to worry about the maintenance or updates or any such thing. They can get the access to the cloud by online dashboard, control panels and APIs to install their website or application on it and everything else will be managed by the cloud service provider.

SaaS

The SaaS or Software as a Service is a very popular cloud type. The cloud service providers not only manages the entire IT infrastructure and the software, platforms, maintenance and everything but they also manages and provide the software application. The SaaS are usually a web-based software application or a mobile application which is completely managed by the service provider and the businesses doesn’t have to worry about anything. Usually business need SaaS for software and application such as ERP, Sales Systems, or Intranet Solutions.

What is a Data Center?

The data center or in-house hosting is a combination of physical servers and networks forming a complete IT infrastructure which is placed in-house. The business completely own the entire IT infrastructure including the servers, network, storage devices, and the entire facility. The business must have to hire the IT team as well as to acquire the required tools such as power management and cooling for the servers and the other devices. In case of a data center the entire IT infrastructure is owned and managed by the business itself. Usually the businesses who need more control over their environment and require high level of data security used to choose in-house data centers. The data centers provide more security and control over the hardware and software though the expansion and scalability is difficult comparing to the cloud, but business can always add new hardware and expand their facility, which is costly but there is no limitation to it.

When you need fairly large size or resources and very specific requirements for the services you might end up going with multiple vendors, which increases cost, however in case of a local data center the business can easily achieve all types of customization and can avail any service they want and as they want. This is one of the biggest advantage of managing in-house data center. If you only need to host a small corporate website, obviously the in-house data center is not a logical option, but if you are a bank or a hospital or a big retail chain, then the in-house data centers are much cheaper and more customer friendly than comparing to the clouds.

The data centers can be have both public and private servers as per the needs. Some of the applications and software might need to be hosted for public or customers and some can be hosted for the employees. The data center provide 100% full authority and control over everything so businesses can fulfill any need from their in-house data center. Websites and Mobile apps can also be hosted at the in-house data centers and the ERPs and Intranet applications can also be hosted at the same time. The security, firewall, network, load balancing and bandwidth or any other parameter can be fully controlled and customized for better resource management and ultimate performance. The biggest advantage of the in-house data center is the fixed running expense. There will be no additional fee each time business would need to re-configure or re-purpose a server or any such thing.

Conclusion

The online hosting, cloud, in-house data center all are the IT infrastructure managed and used for different application and scenarios. If a business wants to host a small website or mobile app, the online hosting is enough. The startups and small local businesses can start with a shared hosting plan as well. If a business have medium level of traffic and can expect high loads, then the VPS or VDS is a better choice. If the traffic and the size of the files and application is big then the dedicated server would be a better choice. All other hosting types are fully managed services, however the dedicated servers can be managed or unmanaged. If a business needs more control over their IT infrastructure and its environment then the unmanaged dedicated server is a good choice. The cloud is totally different than the online hosting IT infrastructure. However at the very core every IT infrastructure is the same which consists computer servers with hardware resources such as Processors, RAMs, and Storage devices. But it is how the environment operates which makes the difference. In cloud the entire IT infrastructure which consists of multiple servers and devices can act as a single environment where multiple servers can share their resources to form a single IT environment and vice versa. The cloud have further distinctive types such as IaaS, PaaS and SaaS which are suitable for different usage and requirements.

The in-house data centers are also the same IT infrastructure but since they are in-house it means the entire IT infrastructure including the physical servers, network and storage devices are physically accessible for the business. The business can easily customize the resources for its requirements. The in-house data centers can also be public, private or both, depends upon the requirements. The data centers provide ultimate level of control over security, load management, resources, and access. The business can have full control and allow only to certain employees to access the in-house data centers. RSI Concepts is a leading IT solution and service provider. If you need consultation on your hosting requirements, feel free to reach us out through our Contact Us page or leave a comment in the comment box below and we will get in touch with you soon.

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