Which Type of Account Do You Need?
If you don’t, it is important to know the difference between different account types, and to get a preference in mind. As stated earlier, price is usually the last thing to consider. But different types of accounts have different prices. Obviously, you probably think that you want the best possible type, but there really is no such thing. What is best for some sites isn’t necessarily what is best for other sites – or for your pocket book – when it comes to web hosting. Different types of web hosting include free web hosting, shared hosting, clustered hosting, virtual dedicated servers, reseller hosting, dedicated servers, grid hosting, co-location servers, and virtual private servers. Let’s take a look at each type.
• Shared Web Hosting: Shared hosting may also be referred to as virtual hosting. What this means is that you share the server with other customers of the web hosting service. The server is not dedicated to your website. This is an option, but you should be aware that the actions of the other website owners that are on that shared server can impact the performance of your website. If you hear that this isn’t so, think about it. If someone else on your server has a ton of files that are being accessed by a ton of traffic, it can bog the whole server down – affecting your site. • Clustered Hosting: Clustered hosting means that there are several different servers, all hosting identical content. It may also entail hosting different content for the same domain. Clustered hosting is designed for sites that have an incredibly large number of files, and a high amount of traffic – like YouTube or Google. This is out of the scope of what most businesses will require, and of course, it is one of the costliest options. • Virtual Dedicated Servers: A virtual dedicated server is also referred to as a virtual private server. This is a server that is actually uses the same principle as the shared hosting service. The difference is that the server is partitioned, and each partition, known as a virtual dedicated server, actually acts as a dedicated server. It can have a separate or different operating system than the other sites on the server. One of the nice things about a virtual dedicated server is that it can be rebooted, separate from the other virtual servers on the shared server. You basically get most of the benefits of a dedicated server, at a much lower price. • Dedicated Servers: With this type of server, the server is fully dedicated to your site or sites. This means that you are not sharing the server or resources with other site owners. Sometimes, a dedicated server acts as a shared server, but this is typically when the leaser or owner of that server hosts other sites that he owns on that server, or hosts other people’s sites for a fee. Typically, however, a dedicated server is needed for large sites that have a high volume of traffic. • Reseller Hosting: This type of service allows you to start your own web hosting service, or to host an unlimited number of domains on one server. The server could be dedicated, or it could be shared. People who need to host a number of domains, such as niche marketers that market in an untold number of niches, will usually go with this option. • Co-Location Servers: This is the most expensive type of web hosting. It is essentially an uber dedicated server, where the server is housed in its own physical location, with its own dedicated team of technical support. Obviously, this is usually the most dependable type of server. • Home Servers: A home server is a server that you run yourself. This means that you must allow access to the server from the world wide web. Operating and maintaining such a server isn’t cheap, and in many cases, it is unreliable because of having to settle for a less powerful server due to costs. This is seldom a good option unless you really already know a great deal about running a server.
• Windows Server – - You do not need to host on a Windows server just because you are running Windows on your own system. That is a common misconception. - Windows servers are often more expensive than Linux servers, although this isn’t because Windows is better…it is because Linux is open source, while Windows has a high licensing fee, which the web hosting company passes on to the consumer. - A Windows server is needed if you plan to use ASP pages. - Many claim that Windows isn’t as secure as Linux, although many others claim that the security level is about the same. - Windows does not offer SSH access, but does offer FTP access, as does Linux. - Windows can be used with Microsoft Front Page, as can Linux. • Linux Server – - Linux is typically cheaper than Windows. - Linux is just as secure as Windows, and some claim that it is even more secure. - ASP pages cannot be used with Linux. However, Linux can handle PHP, Python, XML, and MySQL databases. - Linux offers FTP access, as well as SSH access. - Microsoft Front Page can be used with Linux. Finally, you must consider the different types of control panels that are used for your web hosting account. Cpanel is the most common, and many believe the easiest to use. Cpanel is used on Linux servers. Linux Only Control
Panels: Windows Only Control
Panels: Both Linux and
Windows:
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