What is Web Hosting?
Web hosting (also known as Web site hosting, website and Webhosting), is the business of housing, serving, and maintaining files for a number of internet sites. More important than the PC space that is provided for internet site files is the fast connection to the Internet. Most hosting services offer connections on T-carrier system lines. Usually , an individual business hosting its own site would require a corresponding connection and it would be pricey. Employing a web hosting service lets many corporations share the cost of a fast Net connection for serving files.
A number of Internet access suppliers, for example America Online, offer customers free space for a little site that is hosted by one of their computers. Geocities is a Web site that offers registered visitors similar free space for an internet site. While these services are free, they are extremely basic.
A number of website hosting companies describe their services as virtual hosting. Virtual hosting often implies that their services will be clear and that each internet site will have its own domain name and set of email addresses. In most usages, hosting and virtual hosting are synonyms. Some hosting firms let you have your own virtual server, the appearance that you are controlling a server that is dedicated wholly to your site.
Dedicated hosting is the provision of a dedicated server machine that is dedicated to the traffic to your site. Only really busy sites need dedicated hosting. Many companies purchase their own servers and place them on a site that provides fast access to the Internet. This practice is called colocation.