Cloud Web Hosting
Cloud Web Hosting
Cloud hosting is one of the newest forms of web hosting available and is designed to offer businesses and individuals a web hosting service that comes with a 100% uptime guarantee and a guarantee of a secure web hosting environment. The way in which a cloud hosting environment is constructed allows web hosting providers to guarantee higher levels of uptime; a cloud hosting environment generally uses multiple servers for a single task meaning that if one of the servers happens to fail there will always be at least one server available to take its load so that customers don’t notice any downtime. Shared hosting services are available in most cloud hosting environments for a low cost meaning that even cheap web hosting can be reliable these days, but on the other end of the scale you will also find VPS servers available in a cloud hosting environment which will benefit businesses further. Cloud web hosting services will be able to offer higher uptime rates meaning that for the most part businesses are able to justify the cost that is associated with your average cloud web hosting package; most businesses rely on their websites to provide them with a source of income in one way or another whether it be through the sales of goods and services or advertising, the result of downtime in such a situation being lost revenue for the website’s owner.
The high costs of setting up cloud web hosting services mean that only larger web hosting companies can provide cloud hosting services at this time; cloud hosting environments require large numbers of servers if they are going to offer the levels of reliability that are expected of them. As an individual you are only going to benefit from cloud web hosting services if you run a particularly busy website – if you are only running a small scale website then you may wish to consider a simple shared web hosting solution as this will probably be more cost effective for you. When choosing a cloud VPS server you will find that VPS server hosting plans that are hosted in cloud hosting environments can offer you greater resource assignments than VPS server hosting packages hosted in a single node hosting environment; cloud VPS servers can offer good value for money due to the resource assignments that will accompany your average cloud VPS server, a good measure of this is the fact that the resource assignments for your average cloud VPS server are equal to those offered by a low end dedicated server.
Advantages of Cloud Hosting
Using a cloud web hosting service can provide you with good value for money, granted you purchase your cloud web hosting services from a reputable web hosting providers; there are also several other advantages to using cloud hosting. The reliability of cloud hosting has to be the main advantage to using a cloud web hosting service since lower forms of web hosting are never going to be able to meet the levels of uptime that have been set by cloud web hosting services, and the clustered hosting setup ensures that web hosting providers can guarantee 100% uptime; businesses are more likely to take service reliability seriously than individual users and it is for this reason that cloud hosting services are aimed mainly at business users, although the price does have influence this to an extent. The resource assignments provided with cloud hosting packages are also very attractive to most people as they are similar to those offered by low specification dedicated servers in some cases, just at a much lower price which is where the benefit is; VPS servers hosted in a cloud hosting environment are far more powerful than those hosted in a single node hosting environment, although this does come at an added cost. The security offered by cloud hosting services will also be of added benefit to businesses that are going to be using their website for the processing of personal data in one way or another as they will want to be sure that whilst the data is being handled or stored in a database, it is safe and away from prying eyes; the number of servers used in cloud hosting environments has led many web hosting providers to use several layers of security. The main advantages of using cloud hosting include:
- Reliable web hosting – in this day and age it is important for web hosting providers to offer reliable web hosting services to all customers in any way they can, and many web hosting providers are now offering cloud hosting as by doing so they can guarantee 100% customer satisfaction for their cloud hosting customers – the structure of a cloud hosting environment helps to ensure that 100% guaranteed uptime at a reasonable price of now a reality for many web hosting customers and ultimately all forms of virtual web hosting (i.e. every form of web hosting except dedicated server hosting) will eventually be available in a cloud hosting environment as this is the only way in which web hosting providers will be able to satisfy customers for the long term
- Resource allocations - this is a benefit that is more applicable to cloud VPS servers since the resources that are provided with your average cloud VPS server are generally close to what you would receive if you were to purchase a low end dedicated server – your cloud VPS server isn’t going to be hosted on a single node but is going to be spread across a cluster of servers meaning that there are a lot more resources to be shared amongst the VPS servers that are hosted in that cluster – however, increased resource allocations doesn’t have to mean a huge rise in price allowing you to choose a VPS server that will provide you with much better value for money in the short term and long term, but just don’t overspend on a VPS server that will provide you with resources that you are never going to be able to make the most of
- Secure web hosting – coupled with reliability, security is the second most important factor for most businesses and individuals when looking for a web hosting service that will be capable of meeting their requirements – web hosting providers tend to implement high levels of security in their cloud hosting environments due to the number of servers that are involved in the cluster and if one server becomes infected with a virus or is hacked then it isn’t too much effort to take that server offline and repair it as there will always be another one available to its place within the cluster – this helps to make cloud hosting ideal for business users that wish to use their websites to process or store the personal details of others.
The advantages of cloud hosting show that it is an ideal form of web hosting for business users who require stability and security. A cloud hosting service can offer excellent value for money with the resources that are delivered at a highly attractive price point.
Disadvantages of Cloud Hosting
There can also be disadvantages to using cloud hosting and when you are purchasing a web hosting service on the merits of the reliability and security that it can offer you, it is a good idea to be aware of any potential disadvantages. The main downside to using cloud hosting is the price that you have to pay for most cloud hosting services, and since cloud web hosting is generally a more exclusive form of web hosting the prices are high at this moment in time – shared hosting packages and VPS servers hosted in a cloud hosting environment are going to be more expensive than services of a similar specification hosted on a single node; if the price of cloud hosting is too daunting for you then web hosting services hosted on a single node may be more appropriate for your budget and requirements. Cloud hosting services may in some cases be fairly restrictive due to the security measures that are in place and for some users that are running custom web or server applications this could cause some problems since flexibility is of key importance for some and if there are limitations restricting what you are able to use your web hosting service for then this could cause issues; such security limitations are common in web hosting environments where security is priority, but if it is going to cause problems with the functionality of your website then you should consider a more flexible form of web hosting. The overselling of web hosting services in a cloud hosting environment is also a real possibility due to the amount of server resources that are available to be assigned to particular web hosting accounts, but for the most part there are so many serves in use that any overselling is unlikely to be noticeable to the general user; overselling occurs when a web hosting provider sells web hosting accounts totalling more resources than it is actually able to offer in reality. The main disadvantages of using cloud hosting include:
- Price – as there is always going to be a large number of servers involved in any cloud hosting setup, web hosting providers are going to have to charge high prices so that they are able to claw back the money that they have spent and make a decent profit out of their cloud hosting packages – cloud hosting services are mainly aimed at businesses meaning that the target audience for cloud VPS hosting and cloud shared hosting should be able to justify the cost of a cloud web hosting package, and the advantages of cloud web hosting are designed to benefit the target audience the most meaning that if the advantages bare no benefit to you and you aren’t able to justify the cost then cloud web hosting probably isn’t the right form of web hosting for you
- Security limitations - although web hosting providers are trying to benefit their shared hosting customers by putting many different security measures in place, in the case of cloud shared hosting this could cause problems for some users by restricting how their web applications are able to function – if you feel that the security measures put in by your web hosting provider could affect how your website or web application is able to function then you may want to consider cloud VPS server hosting for your requirements as you will still be able to make the most of the benefits that come with using a cloud hosting service but as well as this you will also have your own dedicated web hosting environment meaning that you won’t be limited by any particular security measures
- Overselling – overselling occurs when web hosting providers sell too many hosting accounts on a single server and are unable to meet the demands of each individual web hosting account as they don’t have the resources to provide them with what they have purchased – overselling is unlikely to occur in a cloud web hosting environment due to the number of servers hosted in the cluster and the large amounts of particular server resources that there are to play around with mean that the chances of you not being able to make the most of the web hosting account that you have purchased are low – however, it is still a good idea to avoid cloud web hosting services that advertise unlimited resource assignments as such claims are always going to be bogus.
You should only use a cloud hosting package if you have a distinct need for reliability and security from your web hosting package. Cloud hosting services can offer both security and reliability but both of these do come at an added cost.
In conclusion, cloud hosting services are ideal for those seeking a secure web hosting environment that can offer near on 100% guaranteed uptime. Although only large web hosting providers are able to offer cloud hosting services at this time, it does mean that you are guaranteed good value for money and will receive reliable and knowledgeable support.
