Internet hosting service
Encyclopedia
An Internet hosting service is a service that runs Internet
servers, allowing organizations and individuals to serve content to the Internet. There are various levels of service and various kinds of services offered.
A common kind of hosting is web hosting
. Most hosting providers offer a combined variety of services. Web hosting services also offer e-mail hosting service
, for example. DNS hosting service
is usually bundled with domain name registration
.
Web hosting technology has been causing some controversy lately as Web.com
claims that it holds patent rights to some common hosting technologies, including the use of a web-based control panel to manage the hosting service, with its 19 patents. Hostopia, a large wholesale host, recently purchased a license to use that technology from web.com for 10% of retail revenues. Web.com recently sued Go Daddy
as well for similar patent infringement.
Generic, yet rather powerful, kinds of Internet hosting provide a server
where the clients can run anything they want (including web server
s and other server
s) and have Internet connections with good upstream
bandwidth
.
bandwidth.
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
servers, allowing organizations and individuals to serve content to the Internet. There are various levels of service and various kinds of services offered.
A common kind of hosting is web hosting
Web hosting service
A web hosting service is a type of Internet hosting service that allows individuals and organizations to make their own website accessible via the World Wide Web. Web hosts are companies that provide space on a server they own or lease for use by their clients as well as providing Internet...
. Most hosting providers offer a combined variety of services. Web hosting services also offer e-mail hosting service
E-mail hosting service
An email hosting service is an Internet hosting service that runs email servers.Email hosting services usually offer premium email at a cost as opposed to advertisement-supported free email or free webmail. Email hosting services thus differ from typical end-user email providers such as webmail sites...
, for example. DNS hosting service
DNS hosting service
A DNS hosting service is a service that runs Domain Name System servers. Most, but not all, domain name registrars include DNS hosting service with registration. Free DNS hosting services also exist...
is usually bundled with domain name registration
Domain name registrar
A domain name registrar is an organization or commercial entity, accredited by both ICANN and generic top-level domain registry to sell gTLDs and/or by a country code top-level domain registry to sell ccTLDs; to manage the reservation of Internet domain names in accordance with the guidelines of...
.
Web hosting technology has been causing some controversy lately as Web.com
Web.com
Web.com, Inc , formerly Interland , was a provider of websites and web services to small businesses and consumers, based in Atlanta, Georgia. Web.com's services included do-it-yourself and professional website design, web hosting, e-commerce, web marketing, and e-mail...
claims that it holds patent rights to some common hosting technologies, including the use of a web-based control panel to manage the hosting service, with its 19 patents. Hostopia, a large wholesale host, recently purchased a license to use that technology from web.com for 10% of retail revenues. Web.com recently sued Go Daddy
Go Daddy
Go Daddy is an Internet domain registrar and Web hosting company that also sells e-business related software and services. In 2010, it reached more than 45 million domain names under management. Go Daddy is currently the largest ICANN-accredited registrar in the world, and is four times the size of...
as well for similar patent infringement.
Generic, yet rather powerful, kinds of Internet hosting provide a server
Server (computing)
In the context of client-server architecture, a server is a computer program running to serve the requests of other programs, the "clients". Thus, the "server" performs some computational task on behalf of "clients"...
where the clients can run anything they want (including web server
Web server
Web server can refer to either the hardware or the software that helps to deliver content that can be accessed through the Internet....
s and other server
Server (computing)
In the context of client-server architecture, a server is a computer program running to serve the requests of other programs, the "clients". Thus, the "server" performs some computational task on behalf of "clients"...
s) and have Internet connections with good upstream
Upstream (networking)
In computer networking, upstream refers to the direction in which data can be transferred from the client to the server . This differs greatly from downstream not only in theory and usage, but also in that upstream speeds are usually at a premium...
bandwidth
Bandwidth (computing)
In computer networking and computer science, bandwidth, network bandwidth, data bandwidth, or digital bandwidth is a measure of available or consumed data communication resources expressed in bits/second or multiples of it .Note that in textbooks on wireless communications, modem data transmission,...
.
Full-featured hosting
Full-featured hosting services include:- Dedicated hosting serviceDedicated hosting serviceA dedicated hosting service, dedicated server, or managed hosting service is a type of Internet hosting in which the client leases an entire server not shared with anyone. This is more flexible than shared hosting, as organizations have full control over the server, including choice of operating...
, also called managed hosting service, where the hosting service provider owns and manages the machine, leasing full control to the client. Management of the server can include monitoring to ensure the server continues to work effectively, backup services, installation of security patches and various levels of technical support. - Virtual private serverVirtual private serverVirtual private server is a term used by internet hosting services to refer to a virtual machine. The term is used for emphasizing that the virtual machine, although running in software on the same physical computer as other customers' virtual machines, is functionally equivalent to a separate...
, in which virtualization technology is employed in order to allow multiple logical servers to run on a single physical server - Colocation facilitiesColocation centreA colocation centre or colocation center , is a type of data centre where equipment space and bandwidth are available for rental to retail customers...
, which provide just the Internet connection, uninterruptible power and climate control, but let the client do his own system administration; the most expensive - Cloud hosting, which can also be termed time-share or on-demand hosting, in which the user only pays for the system time and space used, and capacity can be quickly scaled up or down as computing requirements change.
Other
Limited or application-specific hosting services include:- Web hosting serviceWeb hosting serviceA web hosting service is a type of Internet hosting service that allows individuals and organizations to make their own website accessible via the World Wide Web. Web hosts are companies that provide space on a server they own or lease for use by their clients as well as providing Internet...
- E-mail hosting serviceE-mail hosting serviceAn email hosting service is an Internet hosting service that runs email servers.Email hosting services usually offer premium email at a cost as opposed to advertisement-supported free email or free webmail. Email hosting services thus differ from typical end-user email providers such as webmail sites...
- DNS hosting serviceDNS hosting serviceA DNS hosting service is a service that runs Domain Name System servers. Most, but not all, domain name registrars include DNS hosting service with registration. Free DNS hosting services also exist...
- Game serverGame serverA game server is a remotely or locally run server used by game clients to play multiplayer video games. Most video games played over the Internet operate via a connection to a game server...
s - Wiki farmWiki farmA wiki hosting service or wiki farm is a server or an array of servers that offer users tools to simplify the creation and development of individual, independent wikis...
s
Bandwidth cost
Internet hosting services include the required Internet connection; they may charge a flat rate per month or charge per bandwidth used — a common payment plan is to charge for the 95th percentileBurstable billing
Burstable billing is a method of measuring bandwidth based on peak utilization. It also allows usage to exceed a specified threshold for brief periods of time without the financial penalty of purchasing a higher Committed Information Rate from an Internet service provider .Most ISPs use a five...
bandwidth.
See also
- Internet service providerInternet service providerAn Internet service provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers...
- Application service providerApplication service providerAn application service provider is a business that provides computer-based services to customers over a network. Software offered using an ASP model is also sometimes called On-demand software or software as a service ....
- Hosted service providerHosted service providerA Hosted Service Provider is a business that delivers a combination of traditional IT functions such as infrastructure, applications , security, monitoring, storage, Web development, website hosting and email, over the Internet or other wide area networks...
- Utility computingUtility computingUtility computing is the packaging of computing resources, such as computation, storage and services, as a metered service similar to a traditional public utility...
- Green hostingGreen hostingGreen hosting or eco-friendly hosting is Internet hosting which involve green technologies to reduce environmental impact.Green hosting include Carbon offsetting, planting trees, plants and grass around and over Data Centers and more day to day activities such as energy conservation and the use of...
- Cloud storageCloud storageCloud storage is a model of networked online storage where data is stored on virtualized pools of storage which are generally hosted by third parties. Hosting companies operate large data centers; and people who require their data to be hosted buy or lease storage capacity from them and use it for...