Web Hosting Flavors: The Famous 4
Web Hosting Flavors: The Famous 4
Shared, virtual private server, dedicated, and co-located–which flavor of Web hosting is right for you? Find out the pros and cons of each, and whether you’re paying too much for what you really need.It might be easier to count the number of flavors one can find in ice creams than to count the different web hosting flavors. That may be a bit of an exaggeration, but going by the current trend it does not seem far from reality.
Just for starters, ”Free Hosting, Shared Hosting, Semi-Dedicated Hosting, Dedicated Hosting, Virtual Private Server(VPS) Hosting, Managed Hosting, Budget Hosting, Reseller Hosting, Custom Hosting” and so on is what we see upon doing a simple search for hosting on the Web. Though the search shows a number of results referring to different flavors of web hosting, in essence they all are variations of four main flavors: the famous four (Shared, VPS, Dedicated, and Co-located).
This article explains the concept behind the famous four as well as the benefits of selecting one over another.
Look inside the box – It’s all about packaging
Looking down at a hosting package from 1024 feet, all that is seen is a datacenter housing the servers that hosts your information. However, the difference is more visible when looked at from a closer range.
Not only do we see a difference in access speeds and server configurations, but we also see a difference in the way these two variables, along with other offerings are bundled and packaged.
Web Hosting Flavors: The Famous 4 – Shared Hosting
What is it?: Sometimes referred as Virtual Hosting, “Shared Hosting” offers the customer a fixed allocation of disk space (data storage capacity) on a server as well as fixed bandwidth (data transfer capacity). This type of service allows a customer to leverage all the features and services that a dedicated server offers at a fraction of cost, and does not involve any server administration overhead.
Pros: Freedom from maintaining the server hardware as well as managing the server security and administration. Complete technical support is usually included with these packages.
Cons: Does not offer root (administrative) access to the server and hence access to the core functions is limited. Resources are shared by multiple sites hosted on the same server. A technical problem in one of the sites owned by a different client on a shared server may cause a system wide crash, bringing down all the other sites. Note that in case of a shared hosting, a single client does not own the server.
For whom?: This is the choice for hosting low-key sites that do not hog up server resources. Can also be used by someone requiring just a personal email address like mail@CompanyorPersonalName.com
Web Hosting Flavors: The Famous 4 – VPS Hosting
What is it?: Another form of virtual hosting is Virtual Private Server(VPS) aka Virtual Dedicated Server (VDS), which creates several logical/virtual servers on a single physical server using software. The major difference in shared and VPS hosting is how the resources are shared. Each virtual server created this way performs as if it were an independent physical server and eliminates the disadvantages of shared hosting.
Pros: Unlike shared hosting, since each virtual server in VPS hosting is partitioned from other virtual servers, a technical problem in a site hosted in one partition does not bring down the entire server. Also, in most cases each VPS account receives a fixed allocation of CPU resources and disallows one account from hogging up the entire system resources. Each VPS account comes with a shell access and can also have its own security policies.
Cons: “Overhead.” Since each VPS account runs applications within its own allocated space and resources, extra memory is required to cover the overhead. Also, if the VPS service is not managed by the provider, the client is required to know how to configure and manage different applications and services.
For Whom?: Excellent choice for someone looking beyond a shared hosting package, but is not ready yet for a dedicated server.
Web Hosting Flavors: The Famous 4 – Dedicated Hosting
What is it?: A complete contrast from virtual/shared hosting, this hosting dedicates a server and all its resources for hosting the sites of choice by the customer. Though this type of service offers complete control over the the system and its resources, it usually requires the customer to undertake the administration on their own. The alternative to this is “Managed” dedicated hosting, wherein the provider “manages” the dedicated server on behalf of the customer.
Pros: Complete flexibility with respect to configuring the dedicated server. Dedicated resources and fewer sites implies low load on the server and hence fast loading sites.
Cons: “$$$.” It is all about cost. Dedicated packages usually cost more than shared hosting because the entire resources on the server are dedicated to one client. Unlike shared hosting, with dedicated hosting the customers are pretty much on their own with respect to system administration unless a “managed” service is purchased from the provider.
For Whom?: Good choice for hosting high traffic and high profile eCommerce sites. Also a good choice for clients looking to install third party applications since this package provides complete control over the server.
Web Hosting Flavors: The Famous 4 – Co-location
What is it?: “Ownership.” Colocation is all about placing something that you own (a server of your choice in this context) at a place where it can be hooked up to the Internet. (For example, with an ISP or at a data center (DC) multi-homed to the backbones.)
Pros: Ownership of the physical server. Also, it offers mobility. To switch providers, simply move the server to a different place; there’s no hassles with backups and restores.
Cons: Resposibility and accountability. In the case of colocated hosting, the provider is not responsible and cannot be accountable for any hardware failures. Server administration is the responsibility of the customer, and everything has a price.
For Whom?: Right choice for power and resource hungry sites requiring custom hardware or software configurations, clustering and load-balancing and other advanced functionality.
The Others
All other kinds of hosting simply differ in the way the above four flavors and mixed and matched to market and sell.
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Web Hosting Flavors: The Famous 4