Introduction
All information that can be accessed over the internet is stored somewhere in a computer, and this computer is configured in such a way that it is always connected to the internet. To make this possible, there are a lot of hurdles that need to be overcome, and this is where the Internet Hosting services comes in.
What challenges would one face if you want to share something on your computer? Consider even a simple task of directly sharing a file between two computers. There are several ways to do it:
• Find a memory stick to share the files
• Use Bluetooth, or any other link that can connect the two computers together.
• Share via email, which means sending the file to a computer somewhere online, then the second computer connects to the online computer to access the file. (cheating)
Similar challenges are encountered in sharing content online. The biggest such challenges include:
• Geographical distances
• Incompatibility in hardware and software
• Different time zones
• Too many users (traffic) looking for few resources, leading to congestion and overload.
• Internet connection disruption
• Power disruption
To solve all these problem, Internet Hosting services comes in.
What is internet hosting?
Internet hosting is a service that runs computers that are provide and keep content that is accessed from the internet. This allows organizations and individuals to place any type of content online, or even access content from the internet.
How it works
There are several components that are involved. These are:
1. Data Centers
2. Servers
3. Associated software
Data Centers
A Data Center is a facility that is used to house computers and associated hardware, storage devices, and communication access systems. It is a highly controlled environment with climate control, security, redundant power supply and back up systems. Think of a data center as a human body, which needs to have a heart pumping all the time, or a hospital nursery which needs power all the time. These are the conditions that data centers try to recreate.
Servers
The word server can be used to refer to either computing hardware, or software.
We are all used to PCs, and mobile phones with screens and good keyboards, meant to offer great user experience. When it comes to computers that are meant to be accessed from the internet, they do not need to be accessed physically, and they are a bit modified to look like the one shown below.
The features of these servers include:
• Minimized user interface
• Compacted to save space
• High performance computer
• Special operating systems
• Multi user access.
These are the servers that offer web hosting services, and they are ‘partitioned’ either as dedicated hosting, virtual private hosting, or shared hosting. Shared hosting is the most popular for hosting websites, blogs and providing webmail email service.
