What Actually is Cloud Web Hosting?
What is cloud web hosting indeed? The term 'cloud' seems to be very trendy in today's computing, World Wide Web and hosting jargon. Yet, only a few in fact can tell what cloud hosting is. Perchance it is a good idea to educate yourself about cloud web hosting services. To render a quite lengthy tale concise, we will firstly describe to you what cloud hosting is not.
1. Cloud Web Hosting is Not Limited to a Remote File Storage Exclusively.
1. Providing a remote file storage solution, which comprises one data storage appliance for all customers, does not turn any particular hosting vendor into a genuine cloud web hosting firm.
The cPanel web hosting suppliers dub the ability to offer remote disk storage solutions a cloud web hosting service. So far there is nothing bad about the cloud classification, but... we are discussing hosting solutions, not remote file storage solutions for individual or business purposes. There's constantly one "but", isn't there? It's not sufficient to dub a shared web hosting service, powered by a single-server web hosting platform, precisely like cPanel, a "cloud web hosting" solution. This is so because the remaining fractions of the whole hosting platform must be operating in exactly the same way - this does not apply solely to the remote file storage. The remaining services involved in the whole web hosting procedure also have to be remote, separated and "clouded". And that's very tough. A very scanty number of service providers can actually accomplish it.
2. It Encompasses Domains, Email Boxes, Databases, File Transfer Protocols, Web Hosting CPs, etc.
Cloud web hosting is not confined to a remote file storage solely. We are discussing a web hosting solution, serving multiple domains, websites, emails, etc., are we not?
To dub a web hosting service a "cloud web hosting" one takes a lot more than supplying merely remote data storage mounts (or perhaps physical servers). The mail server(s) must be dedicated solely to the e-mail related services. Doing nothing different than these particular assignments. There might be just one single or perchance an entire array of mail servers, depending on the total server load generated. To have an actual cloud web hosting service, the remote database servers should be working as one, irrespective of their real quantity. Carrying out nothing different. The same is valid for the clients' hosting CPs, the File Transfer Protocol, etc.
3. There are Cloud Domain Name Servers (DNSs) too.
The DNSs (Domain Name Servers) of a true cloud web hosting corporation will support numerous datacenter locations on multiple continents.
Here's an illustration of a Domain Name Server of a real cloud web hosting vendor:
dns1.mnistrathosting.co.uk
dns2.mnistrathosting.co.uk
If such a Domain Name Server is offered by your web hosting vendor, it's not a guarantee that there is a cloud hosting platform in use, but you can definitely be sure when you notice a Domain Name Server like the one below:
dns658.hostgator.com
dns659.hostgator.com
that there isn't any cloud hosting service. This type of DNS simply demonstrates that the web hosting environment in use is one-server based. Perchance it's cPanel. cPanel is a one-single-server hosting solution and maintains a market share of more than 98%. In cPanel's case, one physical server deals with all web hosting services (web, electronic mail, DNS, databases, File Transfer Protocol, CP(s), web files, etc.).
Remote File Storage - The Warped Explanation of Cloud Web Hosting.
So, a cloud web hosting service is not confined exclusively to a remote file storage solution, as many service providers wish it was. Unfortunately for them, if that was the case, the majority of the file web hosting firms would have been categorized as cloud web hosting ones a long time back! They are not referred to as such, as they simply supply file hosting solutions, not cloud web hosting solutions. The file hosting platform is indeed very plain, when compared to the hosting platform. The remote file storage platform is not a cloud web hosting platform. It cannot be, as it's simply one simple fragment of the whole cloud web hosting platform. There's plenty more to be encountered in the cloud web hosting platform: the hosting CP cloud, the database clouds (MySQL, PostgreSQL), the DNS cloud, the FTP cloud, the electronic mail cloud and... in the not too distant future, perhaps a couple of brand new clouds we presently are not acquainted with will appear out of the blue.
| Enhanced | Premium | Ultimate | Standard |
| Unlimited storage | Unlimited storage | Unlimited storage | Unlimited storage |
| Unlimited bandwidth | Unlimited bandwidth | Unlimited bandwidth | Unlimited bandwidth |
| 5 websites hosted | Unlimited websites hosted | Unlimited websites hosted | 1 website hosted |
| 30-Day Free Trial | 30-Day Free Trial | 30-Day Free Trial | 30-Day Free Trial |
| £3.39 / month | £6.61 / month | £9.17 / month | £2.68 / month |