BellaOnline Forums Computers Web Design Basic definitions of Web hosting world

Hi guys,
The following information is for all of the novices in web hosting world. It's adapted from some website which i don't remember.

1.Difference between shared hosting and dedicated hosting-
The primary difference between dedicated and shared hosting is how the web server is used. With Shared web hosting, the web server is shared between many different websites. With dedicated web hosting, the web server is dedicated to your web site. Both services have their advantages and disadvantages.
Dedicated hosting is any day expensive than shared hosting.

2.What is disk space and bandwidth transfer?
The disk space that you contract for from your web hosting company is the disk space that you will use for your web site (and website logs if you have logging enabled). You can determine how much disk space you will need by looking at the amount of space that your website is using on your own machine.

If you got lots of pictures or other image files there will be a need of more disk space.

Bandwidth or data transfer, refers to the amount of data that has been transmitted by your web server to visitors of your website. For example, if you have one page on your web site that is 10kb large, and that page has one image on it that is 90kb large you will transfer 100kb of data for every user that views that website. So, 10 users would mean that you used 1,000KB of bandwidth.

Bandwidth and disk space needs vary tremendously based on the type of web site that you are hosting and the volume of visitors to your web site. Largely text web sites do just fine with several hundred megabytes of diskspace and bandwidth. We suggest that you speak with your web hosting company and have them help you select the right plan for you.

What's the difference between Managed hosting and colocation hosting?

Managed hosting is similar to dedicated hosting, but you get more service and support. Specifically, the web hosting company will watch over your server, troubleshoot problems, perform regular backups, install patches, etc. The specific services offered by managed hosting companies vary, so make sure you account for this difference as you compare prices.

Colocation is a form of dedicated hosting. If you collocate a server, you provide the hardware and the colocation provider installs it for you in their data center. They take care of making sure that you have a consistent Internet connection and ensure that you have power to your server. You handle everything else with the server. You usually pay for the rack space (the space that your server takes up) and the bandwidth that your server consumes. Colocation is a service that is generally used by more sophisticated users.

Thank You Priyanka,

Your informative posts are very useful to web designers, especially people new to the field.

All the best,

Why it is not possible to host website on computer at home?
You can host your web site at home, but it often sounds easier than it actually is and usally doesn't make the most sense.

There are several reasons why it isn't a great idea to host your web site at home:

Not allowed by most ISPs. Many consumer broadband ISPs do not legally allow you to host a web site unless you upgrade to their business ISP service. Some ISPs employ technology to prevent you from hosting a web site on your computer (such as port blocking). To upgrade to a business ISP may cost $20 to $50 a month additional.
Dynamic IP allocation Many broadband ISPs now employ dynamic IP allocation, so your computer gets a new IP address every time that it connects to the Internet. This makes web hosting challenging (although not impossible).
Slower upstream speeds. DSL (and sometimes cable modem service) provide different upstream and downstream bandwidths (since most users usually receive information, not send it)
Reliability. Web hosting companies work to make sure that your web server is always up and running, and that your web site is always connected to the Internet. Nearly all web hosting companies have backup power supplies, and backup Internet connections.

Hi guys,

When you want to publish your web site, the first question which comes in mind is How much disk space is required ?

If yours is a small or medium web site you might require 10 and 100MB of disk space. The average size of HTML pages is very small. But the size of the images used inside the pages is many times larger than the pages itself. Let us assume that each HTML page occupies between 5 and 50k of disk space on your web server, but it will vary on the use of images and other graphic elements. You might need much more disk space if you are planning to use lots of graphic elements. Make sure that you know your needs before you start looking for your web host.

The above information was just to give you a rough idea.

Yes,

Another consideration when choosing a web host is your degree of comfort in working with files and the type of user interface that suits you best. If you are fairly skilled with working with html files, you may be quite happy with a ftp transfer set up. But if you need help, prefer a visual interface, and are a novice: a host that offers a file manager and control panel set up (like the ones at the free hosting sites like geocities and angelfire) would probably meet your needs better.

Another consideration is what "extras" you will need. Do you want a "built-in" chatroom, bulletin board, mega emails, other java, cig or php scripts to produce interactive content, etc.

It's always good to shop around and ask others to share their experience.

My article The Right Neighborhood for Your Web Home describes this process in more detail.

Do you know the source of this great info you've been posting, Priyanka?

Hi June,
When I was new to web hosting, I used to search on net for all the basic definitions, and I compiled all those in my word documents. So it's really difficult to say from where I got those. But some of these are being taken from http://www.m6.net/articles .

After deciding the disk space the next question which arises is how to decide monthly traffic

Once again if the site is small or medium, it will consume between 1 and 5GB of data transfer per month. This can be calculated by multiplying the average page size with the number of expected page views per month. For instance, if the page size is 50k and the expected view is 60,000 page per month, then there will be a need of .05MB * 60,000=3.0 GB.

It is very much necessary that before signing a contract with a hosting company, you consider following things:

Can you expand the bandwidth later on
What will happen, when you exceed the volume
Is there any restriction on monthly transfer?If yes what are they

Have you noticed the copyright information at the bottom of every page on that web site? That means you're not allowed to take portions of their pages and post them elsewhere. If something is online anywhere it's copyrighted unless there is a disclaimer right on the web page you're looking at.

Hi,
I am really sorry about that.I will keep in mind that now.