Posted on Oct 14 2010
The term Cloud hosting origins from Cloud computing, where two and more computers are connected in a system. The servers included in this system are not simply bundled, processing different tasks, they are collaboratively processing redundant tasks and storing data parallel, which guarantees the security of your data and the flawless experience for your users or website visitors. Connected together they share resources and thus can act as a supercomputer. Cloud hosting today is based on the most innovative hosting technologies available right now and allows your files stored and your websites to be hosted on unlimited number of machines that act as one system.
The infrastructure is not limited to a singe server or data center as in the traditional hosting. In Cloud hosting the web hosting services like files storage, ftp, mail services run on many different servers. This separation ensures that if there is a failure in one device this will not cause a failure in the entire service.
In the Cloud there is an option to integrate additional resources if needed. RAM, disc space or bandwidth etc. can be added with few clicks and dismissed when no longer needed without financial loss. Thus Cloud hosting can be defined as a web hosting solution that provides resources on demand. It is dynamically scalable and customizable according to the needs of the customer. No large investments are required. Unnecessary resources can be removed without any cancellation or further fees.
Posted on Sep 23 2010
Cloud Hosting is a very reliable, easily scalable and affordable hosting solution that differs from the traditional hosting solutions in several aspects. Here is a short comparison that will make the differentiation more clear for you.
Cloud vs. Shared Hosting
Shared hosting is the most popular hosting solution that can suit even the most tight budget. But using a shared hosting solution also means that the user has to share the server resources with other users. If your website is hosted on a shared hosting server, all your data and the application you are using, will be hosted with the applications of all other users on one and the same server. Your website will share the same server resources as all other websites on the server such as CPU, Memory, disc space, bandwidth etc. The servers running shared hosting accounts are almost always fully loaded. If one website overloads the server, all users will suffer from low speed or downtime.
On the cloud your website is hosted not only on one but on several servers connected to work as one. You don’t depend on only one machine – even if one machine is broken, the others will backup its data and processes and no downtime will appear.
Cloud vs. VPS Hosting
The virtual private server, called VPS, is a hosting solution that also uses virtualization technology just like Cloud hosting does. The VPS allows multiple servers to function as one physical server for a higher utilization of the available resources. It is also known as Dedicated virtualization or Private Cloud. Unfortunately the VPS servers are less efficient since they allocate a guaranteed amount of resources to each client that can never be rerouted to others. This means that one client could have multiple free resources, while another is overloaded.
Cloud vs. Grid Hosting
Grid hosting has emerged before Cloud hosting. It combines the resources of several physical machines into one computing Grid. On Grid based servers the Webmasters can easily increase the physical resources if necessary.
In Grid hosting computers are also coupled as in Cloud hosting. The difference is, that all machines process different parts of a larger task.
Cloud vs. Dedicated Hosting
Dedicated Servers are combined with managed hosting services. The web hosting provider leases out the full control to the client. But he still owns the machines and has to monitor the performance of the server ensuring the uninterrupted work flow of the server. This service also includes technical support, backup services, installation of security patches etc. and thus are more expensive than Cloud hosting.
Another difference between the two hosting solutions, is that the resources of a dedicated server are usually used below 60%, so it never runs at full capacity. A fully loaded cloud can save a lot of electricity and money since it can replace 5 times of the dedicated servers.
Posted on Aug 19 2010
Cloud hosting has many features that are to the benefit of the end user.
- Cloud hosting is flexible when your website grows or there are picks in the usage – users can easily add CPU, disc space and other resources if needed
- With cloud hosting you can avoid high investments, you can use the resources efficiently
- and pay only for what you use. The user can be sure to get these resources without having to pay for new servers and later one having servers without using them.
- Cloud Hosting has redundancy of the stored data and of the services – data is stored on more than one hard disc and tasks are processed on more than one machine. If there is a failure of one of the discs, the data is still available on other discs and the processes doesn’t stop. Performance guaranteed by multiple machines
- Dedicated resources – RAM and CPU resources are only for your needs and not shared with other customers.
- Customer is free to modify the server software and configurations
- Cloud hosting offers a secure environment – it is isolated from other customers’ websites