Virtual private server

A virtual private server (VPS, also referred to as Virtual Dedicated Server or VDS) is a method of partitioning a physical server computer into multiple servers such that each has the appearance and capabilities of running on its own dedicated machine. Each virtual server can run its own full-fledged operating system, and each server can be independently rebooted.

The practice of partitioning a single server so that it appears as multiple servers has long been common practice in mainframe computers, but has seen a resurgence lately with the development of virtualization software and technologies for other architectures.

The physical server boots normally. It then runs a program that boots each virtual server within a virtualization environment (similar to an emulator). The virtual servers have no direct access to hardware and are usually booted from a disk image.

There are two kinds of virtualizations: software based and hardware based. In a software based virtualization environment, the virtual machines share the same kernel and actually require the main node's resources. This kind of virtualization normally has many benefits in a web hosting environment because of quota incrementing and decrementing in real time with no need of restarting the node. The main examples are Xen, Virtuozzo, Vserver, and OpenVZ (which is the open source and development version of Parallels Virtuozzo Containers).

In a hardware based virtualization, the virtualization mechanism partitions the real hardware resources. In typical implementations, no burst and/or realtime quota modification is possible; the limits are hard and can only be modified by restarting a virtual machine instance^{[citation needed]}. This kind of environment is potentially more secure in the sense that it is less subject to "Quality of Service crosstalk" between VM instances^{[citation needed]}; on the other hand, its security is typically dependent on the correctness of a larger and more complicated Trusted Computing Base^{[citation needed]}. It is more commonly used in enterprise/commercial deployments^{[citation needed]}. Examples include Microsoft Virtual Server, VMware ESX Server, and Xen.

E-mail hosting service

An email hosting service is an Internet hosting service that runs email servers.

Email hosting services usually offer premium email at a cost as opposed to advertising supported free email or free webmail. Email hosting services thus differ from typical end-user email providers such as webmail sites. They cater mostly to demanding email users and Small and Mid Size (SME) businesses, while larger enterprises usually run their own email hosting service. Email hosting providers allow for premium email services along with custom configurations and large number of accounts. In addition, hosting providers manage user's own domain name, including any email authentication scheme that the domain owner wishes to enforce in order to convey the meaning that using a specific domain name identifies and qualifies email senders.

Most email hosting providers offer advanced premium email solutions hosted on dedicated custom email platforms. The technology and offerings of different email hosting providers can therefore vary with different needs. Email offered by most webhosting companies is usually more basic standardized POP3 based email and webmail based on open source webmail applications like Horde or Squirrelmail. Almost all webhosting providers offer standard basic email while not all email hosting providers offer webhosting.

Free DNS

A number of sites offer free DNS hosting, either for second level domains registered with registrars which do not offer free (or sufficiently flexible) DNS service, or as third level domains (selection.somedomain.com). These services generally also offer Dynamic DNS. Free DNS typically includes facilities to manage A, MX, CNAME, TXT and NS records of the domain zone.^{[citation needed]}In many cases the free services can be upgraded with various premium services.

Free DNS service providers can also make money through sponsorship. The majority of modern free DNS services are sponsored by large providers of a telecommunication services.^{[citation needed]}

DNS hosting service

A DNS hosting service is a service that runs Domain Name System servers. Most, but not all, domain name registrars include DNS hosting service with registration. Free DNS hosting services also exist. Many third-party DNS hosting services provide Dynamic DNS.

DNS hosting service is better when the provider has multiple servers in various geographic locations that minimize latency for clients around the world.

DNS can also be self-hosted by running DNS software on generic Internet hosting services.

Types of game servers

Game servers can be classified as listen servers and dedicated servers. Listen server refers to a situation in which the server typically runs in the same process as the game client, allowing a player to both host and participate in the game. As a side effect, the server is usually terminated when the client is. Listen servers are operated mostly by individuals, often in LAN Party situations rather than over the Internet, and usually with a lower number of players due to the increased processing and bandwidth requirements associated with operating both server and client simultaneously on the same machine. Dedicated servers are servers which run independently of the client. Such servers may be run by individuals, but are usually run on dedicated hardware located in data centers, providing more bandwidth and dedicated processing power. Dedicated servers are the preferred method of hosting game servers for most PC-based multiplayer games. Massively multiplayer online games run on dedicated servers usually hosted by the software company that owns the game title, allowing them to control and update content. In many cases they are run on clustered servers to allow huge environments and large player counts.

Dedicated game server

Most games use a dedicated server application. This program collects data from players and distributes it to other players. This is more efficient and effective than a peer-to-peer arrangement, but it requires a separate computer to host the server application. The additional computer is a server.

Network bandwidth, in particularly upstream bandwidth is often one of the major limitations in hosting game servers. Home broadband Internet connections rarely provide the necessary upstream bandwidth to host dedicated game servers with more than 4-10 clients.

In the past, this is how the majority of game servers were hosted. This was the only option. The player would buy the game, and most households only had one computer, so the player would use this one machine host his or her server and play the game on, often simultaneously. The stress on the computer was enormous, and game performance was proportionately poor. Even if the bandwidth on the newest broadband Internet services could keep up with the load, the computer itself was still behind in computing the data needed. Process data for 3D graphics, game physics, sorting and distributing network data to the other players on one computer, places considerable demands on servers.

A professional server is a computer to read data and transmit vast amounts of data as fast as players need it. A handful of game hosting pioneers realized the need for such systems. They purchased rack mounted server machines and colocated them within datacenters to host their games. They paid between $200 and $700 a month for this luxury, and the teams that could foot such bills were few and far between, but these setups significantly improved the gameplay. Within a few years online multiplayer gaming became a huge success. Prices have lowered dramatically and subscribers increased 1000 fold.

Game server

A game server is a remotely or locally run server used by game clients to play multiplayer video games. Most video games played over the Internet operate via a connection to a game server.

Game server hosting

Game server providers (GSPs) are companies that lease game servers. Gaming clans will often lease one or more servers for their chosen game, with members of the clan contributing to the server rental fees. Game server providers often offer Web tools to control and configure the game servers; most allow those that rent or lease to modify the games being leased.

Managed vs. UnManaged Online Backup

Some services provide expert backup management services as part of the overall offering. These services typically include:

• Assistance configuring the initial backup
• Continuous monitoring of the backup processes on the client machines to ensure that backups actually happen
• Proactive alerting in the event that any backups fail to upload
• Assistance restoring and recovering data

Many times backups fail at the client because of configuration changes or updates to the data that is to be backed up. Quite often these changes can break backups if the actual backups are not monitored. This results in a dangerous situation where the backups seem to be working fine, but the data required to actually restore the system is not backed up. This issue resulted in the emergence of Managed Backup services.

Disadvantages of remote backup

Remote backup has some disadvantages:

• Depending on the available network bandwidth, the restoration of data can be slow. Because data is stored offsite, the data must be recovered either via the Internet or via tape or disk shipped from the online backup service provider.
• Some backup service providers have no guarantee that stored data will be kept private - for example, from employees. As such, most recommend that files be encrypted before storing or automating this process.
• It is possible that a remote backup service provider could go out of business or be purchased, which may affect the accessibility of one's data or the cost to continue using the service.
• If encryption password is lost, no more data recovery will be possible. However with managed services this should not be a problem.
• Residential broadband services often have monthly limits that preclude large backups. They are also usually asymmetric; the user-to-network link regularly used to store backups is much slower than the network-to-user link used only when data is restored.

Advantages of remote backup

Remote backup has advantages over traditional backup methods:

• Remote backup does not require user intervention. The user does not have to change tapes, label CDs or perform other manual steps.
• Remote backup maintains data offsite. Perhaps the most important aspect of backing up is that backups are stored in a different location from the original data. Traditional backup requires manually taking the backup media offsite.
• Unlimited data retentions
• Some remote backup services will work continuously, backing up files as they are changed.
• Most remote backup services will maintain a list of versions of your files.
• Most remote backup services will use a 128 - 448 bit encryption to send data over unsecured links (ie internet)
• A few remote backup services can reduce backup by only transmitting changed binary data bits

Remote backup service

A remote, online, or managed backup service is a service that provides users with an online system for backing up and storing computer files. Managed backup providers are companies that provide this type of service.

Online backup systems are typically built around a client software program that runs on a schedule, typically once a day. This program collects, compresses, encrypts, and transfers the data to the remote backup service provider's servers. Other types of product are also available in the market, such as remote continuous data protection (CDP).

Providers of this type of service frequently target specific market segments. High-end LAN-based backup systems may offer services such as near-realtime transaction-level replication or open file backups. Consumer online backup companies frequently have beta software offerings and/or free-trial backup services.

File hosting service

A file hosting service, online file storage service, or online media center is an Internet hosting service specifically designed to host static content, typically large files that are not web pages. Typically they allow web and FTP access. They can be optimized for serving many users (as is implied by the term "hosting") or be optimized for single-user storage (as is implied by the term "storage"). Related services are video sharing, virtual storage and remote backup.

Uses

[edit] Software file hosting

Authors of Shareware, Freeware and Open Source/Free software often use file hosting services to serve their software. The inherent problem with free downloads is the huge bandwidth cost. These hosts also offer additional services to the authors such as statistics or other marketing features.

[edit] Personal file storage

Personal file storage services are aimed at private individuals, offering a sort of "network storage" for personal backup, file access, or file distribution. Users can upload their files and share them publicly or keep them password-protected.

Prior to the advent of personal file storage services, off-site backup services were not typically affordable for individual and small office computer users.

Sometimes people prefer hosting their files on a publicly accessible HTTP server. In this case, they generally choose paid hosting, and use their hosting for this purpose. Many free hosting providers do not allow the storage of files for non-website-related use.

[edit] Content caching

Content providers who potentially encounter bandwidth congestion issues may use services specialized in distributing cached or static content. It is the case for companies with a major Internet presence.^[1]

[edit] Storage

Most online file storage services offer space on a per-gigabyte basis, and sometimes include a bandwidth cost component as well. Usually these will be charged monthly or yearly. Some companies do offer the service for free, relying on advertising revenue. Some hosting services do not place any limit on how much space your account can consume. Some services require a software download which makes files only available on computers which have that software installed, others allow users to retrieve files through any web browser. With the increased inbox space offered by webmail services, many users have started using their webmail service as an online drive. Some sites offer free unlimited file storage but have a limit on the file size.

Increasingly, organizations are recognizing the benefits of co-locating their mission-critical equipment within a data centre. Colocation is becoming increasingly popular because of the time and cost savings a company can realize as a result of using shared data centre infrastructure. Significant benefits of scale (large power and mechanical systems) result in large colocation facilities, typically 5,000-10,000 m² (50,000 to 100,000 square feet). With IT and communications facilities in safe, secure hands, telecommunications, Internet, ASP and content providers, as well as enterprises, enjoy less latency and the freedom to focus on their core business.

Additionally, customers reduce their traffic back-haul costs and free up their internal networks for other uses. Moreover, by outsourcing network traffic to a colocation service provider with greater bandwidth capacity, web site access speeds should improve considerably.

Major types of colocation customers are:

• Web commerce companies, who use the facilities for a safe environment and cost-effective, redundant connections to the Internet
• Major enterprises, who use the facility for disaster avoidance, offsite data backup and business continuity
• Telecommunication companies, who use the facilities to interexchange traffic with other telecommunications companies and access to potential clients

Most network access point facilities provide colocation.

[edit] Services offered

Most colocation centres offer different types of services to customers ranging from dedicated suites/rooms or cages to smaller racks or partial racks. Some colocation centres also offer some degree of service level agreements to support a wide range of computer and network related services, for example, server reboots, hardware replacements and software updates.

There are a few key differences between a dedicated server and colocation servers. Dedicated servers tend to be owned and rented out, while a colocation server is one that the client owns.

Some colocation centres feature a "meet-me-room" where the different carriers housed in the centre can efficiently exchange data. Most peering points sit in colocation centres. These sites are often used for web hosting. Most colocation centres have high levels of physical security and multiple redundant power and humidity/air-conditioning systems.

Confusingly, one company can operate a colocation centre, another can provide the bandwidth, whereas a third company would rent a cage inside the centre, renting out racks to hosting providers which would rent the servers themselves to actual clients. Any and all of those companies will claim ownership of the facility and will feature photos and descriptions of it on their web sites. At the actual physical location various ID cards with various logos will be present, including those of the company that built/rents/owns the actual building.

[edit] File mirroring

In 2006, Sharebee started a new type of file hosting site, known as a file mirror, file distribution or file spreading engine. These services allow users to upload their file to the hosting servers. The user's file is then distributed to multiple web hosts without using the user's bandwidth. For more information, see Mirror (computing).

[edit] One-click hosting

One-click hosting generally describes web services that allow internet users to easily upload one or more files from their hard drives (or from a remote location) onto the one-click host's server free of charge.

Most such services simply return a URL which can be given to other people, who can then fetch the file later on. As of 2005 these sites have drastically increased in popularity, and subsequently, many of the smaller, less efficient sites have failed. Many internet forums exist in order to share such links; this type of file sharing has, to a degree, taken over from P2P filesharing services^[2].

The sites make money through advertising or charging for premium services such as increased downloading capacity, removing any wait restrictions the site may have or prolonging how long uploaded files remain on the site. Some sites implement a CAPTCHA to prevent automated downloading.

Weblog software

Weblog software (also called blog software or blogware) is software designed to simplify the creation and maintenance of weblogs. As specialized content management systems, weblog applications support the authoring, editing, and publishing of blog posts and comments, with special functions for image management, web syndication, and moderation of posts and comments.

Server models

Many weblog applications can be downloaded and installed on user systems. Some of these are provided under free-software and open-source licenses, allowing them to be used, modified, and redistributed freely. Others are proprietary software which must be licensed.

Other weblog applications are offered only through their developers' hosts, either free of charge or for a fee. Services are typically limited to hosting of the blog itself, but some services offer the option of using the hosted software to update a blog published elsewhere.

[edit] Clients

Maintenance through the Internet is a nearly universal feature of weblog software. This is usually done through a browser-based interface, enabling authors to create and update content on the site. Most software also supports the use of external client software to update content using common APIs such as the MetaWeblog API and the Atom Publishing Protocol. Third party developers have created many such clients, allowing bloggers to publish entries using desktop software rather than the web-based interface. The WordPress website has an extensive list of clients that support most APIs (not just WordPress).^[1] Examples include ecto and MarsEdit.

FFmpeg hosting service

FFmpeg hosting is a term that is used to refer to any "assortment of software which is available free, which helps in recording, converting and streaming a digital video or an audio", and to those domain registrars and web hosting companies which provide the above assortment of software to video hosting services. It is known as FFmpeg hosting due to the usage by several video hosting services of the FFmpeg software library in the server-side conversion of files with variously-encoded video and audio formats into a single preferred video or audio format that is both playable from the video hosting service and embeddable into any offsite webpage. As of 2008, the preferred format for the presentation of converted video is the .flv format.

[edit] FFmpeg-friendly webhosting

While there are thousands of web hosting services on the World Wide Web, only a tiny, but growing minority of these webhosts are willing to allow or accommodate video and audio hosting services, due to the rapid takeup of both bandwidth and disk space by user-uploaded video . The creation of video hosting services which sprung up in the years since the 2005 founding of YouTube, however, has created a demand for video-hosting friendly web hosts.

[edit] Basic needs from FFmpeg hosts

Most video hosting services need a dedicated or semi-dedicated server from the FFmpeg host, with shared bandwidth and virtual servers being sub-optimal solutions.

Reseller web hosting

Reseller hosting is a form of web hosting wherein the account owner has the ability to use his/her allotted hard drive space and bandwidth to host websites on behalf of third parties. The reseller purchases the host's services wholesale and then sells them to customers for a profit. A certain portion of hard drive and bandwidth is allocated to the reseller account. The reseller may rent a dedicated server from a hosting company, or resell shared hosting services. In the latter case, the reseller is simply given the permission to sell a certain amount of disk space and bandwidth to his own customers without renting a server from a web hosting company he signed for a reseller account with.

The typical web hosting reseller might be a web design firm, web developer or systems integrator who offers web hosting as an add-on service. Reseller hosting is also an inexpensive way for web hosting entrepreneurs to start a company. Most reseller hosting plans allow resellers to create their own service plans and choose their own pricing structure. In many cases, resellers are able to establish their own branding via customized control panels and name servers.

Reseller hosting does not require extensive knowledge of the technical aspects of web hosting. Usually, the data center operator is responsible for maintaining network infrastructure and hardware, and the dedicated server owner configures, secures, and updates the server. A reseller is responsible for interfacing with his/her own customer base, but any hardware, software and connectivity problems are typically forwarded to the server provider from whom the reseller plan was purchased. It should be noted that being a profitable reseller firm usually involves extensive advertising to get customers. While the monthly fees with major hosts are only a few dollars a month, it's a low margin business, and resellers must devote large advertising budgets to compete with established competitors. However, web hosting is one of the biggest online businesses, because every website needs hosting.

Resellers can set up and manage customer accounts via a web interface, usually point and click "Control Panels."

Clustered hosting

Clustered hosting is a type of web hosting that spreads the load of hosting across multiple physical machines ("nodes"), increasing availability and decreasing the chances of one service (for example FTP, or email) affecting another - for example web or database (e.g. MySQL). Many large websites run on clustered hosting solutions, for example, large discussion forums will tend to run using multiple front-end webservers with multiple back-end database servers.

Typically, most hosting infrastructures are based on the paradigm of using a single physical machine to host multiple hosted services, including web, database, email, FTP and others. A single physical machine is not only a single point of failure, but also has finite capacity for traffic, that in practice can be troublesome for a busy website or for a website that is experiencing transient bursts in traffic.

By clustering services across multiple hardware machines, and using load balancing you can eliminate single points of failure increasing availability of your website and other web services beyond that of ordinary single server hosting. A single server can require periodic reboots for software upgrades and the like, whereas in a clustered platform you can stagger the restarts such that the service is still available whilst still upgrading all necessary machines in the cluster.

Clustered hosting is similar to cloud hosting, in that the resources of many machines are available for a website to utilize on demand, making scalability a large advantage to a clustered hosting solution.

Description

The hosting service must include system administration since it is shared by many users; this is a benefit for users who do not want to deal with it, but a hindrance to power users who want more control. In general shared hosting will be inappropriate for users who require extensive software development outside what the hosting provider supports. Almost all applications intended to be on a standard web server work fine with a shared web hosting service. But on the other hand, shared hosting is cheaper than other types of hosting such as dedicated server hosting. Shared hosting usually has usage limits and most hosting providers have extensive reliability features in place. ^[1]

Shared hosting typically uses a web-based control panel system, such as cPanel, Ensim, DirectAdmin, Plesk, InterWorx, H-Sphere or one of many other control panel products. Most of the large hosting companies use their own custom developed control panel. Control panels and web interfaces can cause controversy however, since web hosting companies sometimes sell the right to use their control panel system to others. Attempting to recreate the functionality of a specific control panel is common, which leads to many lawsuits over patent infringement.^[2]

In shared hosting, the provider is generally responsible for managing servers, installing server software, security updates, technical support, and other aspects of the service. Most servers are based on the Linux operating system and LAMP (software bundle), which is driven by the low cost of open source software. But some providers offer Microsoft Windows-based or FreeBSD-based solutions. For example, the Plesk and Ensim control panels are both available for two operating systems, Linux and Windows. Versions for either OS have very similar interfaces and functionality, with the exception of OS-specific differences (for example: ASP.NET, SQL Server and Access support under Windows; MySQL under Linux).

Shared web hosting service

A shared web hosting service or virtual hosting service or derive host refers to a web hosting service where many websites reside on one web server connected to the Internet. Each site "sits" on its own partition, or section/place on the server to keep it separate from other sites. This is generally the most economical option for hosting as many people share the overall cost of server maintenance.

Methods of giving out web hosting

A few methods of giving out Free Webhosting to people by Webhosts

[edit] Instant Activation

Due to the risks of illegal, inappropriate, and abusive website, hosts with instant activation usually give very little storage space and monthly bandwidth. Other restrictions will likely also be in effect. The webhosts usually either require the users' web pages to display their banner ads, textlink ads, or popups; or else the users' files to be uploaded through a web-based file manager that display ads to the user uploading files.

Hosts with instant activation are often abused, such as link spamming.

[edit] Post for Hosting

Some free hosts require posting in a forum. Forum-based free hosting requires users to either reach a certain amount of posts before getting a free hosting account, or be an active contributor in the forum. Forum-based free hosting often work on a system of points where posts give points to a user and can be used as credits toward getting a hosting account or more resources. Typically, the forum where users have to post contains advertising as the hosts way of making a profit.

[edit] Forum applications

This method is popular, as the hosts can decide which applications to deny and allow. This is common when a popular forum has free hosting as an add-on service, rather than the other way around.

Profitting from free webhosting

The majority of the hosting companies use free hosting to introduce their services, and as an entry point to their more expensive offerings. Generally they recoup their costs in one of a few ways:

• Advertising - Selling online advertising on the customer sites is generally considered a fair trade - the reasoning is that high traffic sites are more expensive to host, but the additional traffic allows for additional ad impressions therefore covering the cost. For the web master, it can be a good trade if the advertising is of good quality and non-competitive. This is one of the main reasons that businesses do not use free hosting for their website. The majority of free hosting companies use this method.

• Referrals - Using a simple form of viral marketing, these providers rely on the users to spread the offer. The ratio of free to paid accounts is known, and by having each free user refer a number of friends, the hosting provider is able to get enough paid accounts to cover the cost.

• Resell Hosting - This is where someone starts up a hosting company, attracts lots of visitors, then sells the hosting company to someone else once it can no longer support itself. Once sold, this individual uses the money to start up multiple hosting ventures and sells each in turn.

Some hosting companies are using hybrid approaches that mix these tactics.

Free web hosting service

A free web hosting service is a web hosting service that is free, usually advertisement-supported. Free web hosts will usually provide a subdomain (yoursite.example.com) or a directory (www.example.com/~yourname). In contrast, paid web hosts will usually provide a second-level domain along with the hosting (www.yourname.com). Many free hosts do allow use of separately-purchased domains. Rarely, a free host may also operate as a domain name registrar.

Obtaining hosting

Web hosting is often provided as part of a general Internet access plan; there are many free and paid providers offering these services.

A customer needs to evaluate the requirements of the application to choose what kind of hosting to use. Such considerations include database server software, scripting software, and operating system. Most hosting providers provide Linux-based web hosting which offers a wide range of different software. A typical configuration for a Linux server is the LAMP platform: Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP/Perl/Python. The webhosting client may want to have other services, such as email for their business domain, databases or multi-media services for streaming media. A customer may also choose Windows as the hosting platform. The customer still can choose from PHP, Perl, and Python but may also use ASP .Net or Classic ASP.

Web hosting packages often include a Web Content Management System, so the end-user doesn't have to worry about the more technical aspects. These Web Content Management systems are great for the average user, but for those who want more control over their website design, this feature may not be adequate.

Most modern desktop operating systems (Windows, Linux, Mac OS X) are also capable of running web server software, and thus can be used to host basic websites.

One may also search the Internet to find active webhosting message boards and forums that may provide feedback on what type of webhosting company may suit his/her needs. However some of these message boards and forums will require not only registration, but a paid subscription to be able to access the sections and sub forums with such information.

Types of hosting

Internet hosting services can run Web servers; see Internet hosting services.

Hosting services limited to the Web:

Many large companies who are not internet service providers also need a computer permanently connected to the web so they can send email, files, etc. to other sites. They may also use the computer as a website host so they can provide details of their goods and services to anyone interested. Additionally these people may decide to place online orders.

• Free web hosting service: Free web hosting is offered by different companies with limited services, sometimes advertisement-supported web hosting, and is often limited when compared to paid hosting.
• Shared web hosting service: one's Web site is placed on the same server as many other sites, ranging from a few to hundreds or thousands. Typically, all domains may share a common pool of server resources, such as RAM and the CPU. The features available with this type of service can be quite extensive. A shared website may be hosted with a reseller.
• Reseller web hosting: allows clients to become web hosts themselves. Resellers could function, for individual domains, under any combination of these listed types of hosting, depending on who they are affiliated with as a provider. Resellers' accounts may vary tremendously in size: they may have their own virtual dedicated server to a collocated server. Many resellers provide a nearly identical service to their provider's shared hosting plan and provide the technical support themselves.
• Virtual Dedicated Server: also known as a Virtual Private Server (VPS for short) divides server resources into virtual servers, where resources can be allocated in a way that does not directly reflect the underlying hardware. VPS will often be allocated resources based on a one server to many VPSs relationship, however virtualisation may be done for a number of reasons, including the ability to move a VPS container between servers. The users may have root access to their own virtual space. This is also known as a virtual private server or VPS. Customers are sometimes responsible for patching and maintaining the server.
• Dedicated hosting service: the user gets his or her own Web server and gains full control over it (root access for Linux/administrator access for Windows); however, the user typically does not own the server. Another type of Dedicated hosting is Self-Managed or Unmanaged. This is usually the least expensive for Dedicated plans. The user has full administrative access to the box, which means the client is responsible for the security and maintenance of his own dedicated box.
• Managed hosting service: the user gets his or her own Web server but is not allowed full control over it (root access for Linux/administrator access for Windows); however, they are allowed to manage their data via FTP or other remote management tools. The user is disallowed full control so that the provider can guarantee quality of service by not allowing the user to modify the server or potentially create configuration problems. The user typically does not own the server. The server is leased to the client.
• Colocation web hosting service: similar to the dedicated web hosting service, but the user owns the colo server; the hosting company provides physical space that the server takes up and takes care of the server. This is the most powerful and expensive type of the web hosting service. In most cases, the colocation provider may provide little to no support directly for their client's machine, providing only the electrical, Internet access, and storage facilities for the server. In most cases for colo, the client would have his own administrator visit the data center on site to do any hardware upgrades or changes.
• Cloud hosting: is a new type of hosting platform that allows customers powerful, scalable and reliable hosting based on clustered load-balanced servers and utility billing. Removing single-point of failures and allowing customers to pay for only what they use versus what they could use.
• Clustered hosting: having multiple servers hosting the same content for better resource utilization. Clustered Servers are a perfect solution for high-availability dedicated hosting, or creating a scalable web hosting solution. A cluster may separate web serving from database hosting capability.
• Grid hosting: this form of distributed hosting is when a server cluster acts like a grid and is composed of multiple nodes.
• Home server: usually a single machine placed in a private residence can be used to host one or more web sites from a usually consumer-grade broadband connection. These can be purpose-built machines or more commonly old PCs. Some ISPs actively attempt to block home servers by disallowing incoming requests to TCP port 80 of the user's connection and by refusing to provide static IP addresses. A common way to attain a reliable DNS hostname is by creating an account with a dynamic DNS service. A dynamic DNS service will automatically change the IP address that a URL points to when the IP address changes.

Some specific types of hosting provided by web host service providers:

• File hosting service: hosts files, not web pages
• Image hosting service
• Video hosting service
• Blog hosting service
• One-click hosting
• Pastebin Hosts text snippets
• Shopping cart software

Hosting reliability and uptime

Hosting uptime refers to the percentage of time the host is accessible via the internet. Many providers state that they aim for at least 99.9% uptime (roughly equivalent to 45 minutes of downtime a month, or less), but there may be server restarts and planned (or unplanned) maintenance in any hosting environment, which may or may not be considered part of the official uptime promise.

Many providers tie uptime and accessibility into their own service level agreement (SLA). SLAs sometimes include refunds or reduced costs if performance goals are not met.

Service scope

The scope of hosting services varies widely. The most basic is web page and small-scale file hosting, where files can be uploaded via File Transfer Protocol (FTP) or a Web interface. The files are usually delivered to the Web "as is" or with little processing. Many Internet service providers (ISPs) offer this service free to their subscribers. People can also obtain Web page hosting from other, alternative service providers. Personal web site hosting is typically free, advertisement-sponsored, or cheap. Business web site hosting often has a higher expense.

Single page hosting is generally sufficient only for personal web pages. A complex site calls for a more comprehensive package that provides database support and application development platforms (e.g. PHP, Java, Ruby on Rails, ColdFusion, and ASP.NET). These facilities allow the customers to write or install scripts for applications like forums and content management. For e-commerce, SSL is also highly recommended.

The host may also provide an interface or control panel for managing the Web server and installing scripts as well as other services like e-mail. Some hosts specialize in certain software or services (e.g. e-commerce). They are commonly used by larger companies to outsource network infrastructure to a hosting company.

Web hosting service

A web hosting service is a type of Internet hosting service that allows individuals and organizations to make their own website accessible via the World Wide Web. Web hosts are companies that provide space on a server they own or lease for use by their clients as well as providing Internet connectivity, typically in a data center. Web hosts can also provide data center space and connectivity to the Internet for servers they do not own to be located in their data center, called colocation.

.biz

biz is a generic top-level domain (gTLD) in the Domain Name System of the Internet. It is intended for registration of domains to be used by businesses. The name is a phonetic spelling of the first syllable of business.

The biz TLD was created to relieve some of the demand for domain names in the com top-level domain, and to provide an alternative for businesses whose preferred domain name in com had already been registered by another party. There are no specific legal or geographic qualifications to register a biz domain name, except that it must be for "bona fide business or commercial use". It was created in 2001 along with several other domains as the first batch of new gTLDs approved by ICANN in the expansion of the Domain Name System following the increased interest in Internet commerce in the late 1990s. The TLD is administered by NeuStar and registrations are processed via accredited registrars.

In contrast to other newly installed top-level domains, the biz registry did not implement a sunrise period to grant trademark owners first chance at registration, but instead used a procedure whereby they could file intellectual property claims in advance and then challenge any eventual registrant through a policy named Startup Trademark Opposition Policy (STOP). A number of domains were successfully obtained by trademark owners from other registrants through this policy; some of the more controversial cases, where generic words were taken over based on trademark claims in a process deemed "reverse hijacking" by critics^[who?], included that of paint.biz^[1] and canadien.biz,^[2] the latter being reversed by a court decision.

Search for a Domain Name

If you are on the lookout for available domain names you do not have to look any further. With the web being more popular than ever many domains are already taken. It is however not impossible to find a real gem. Use our search box to find out which domain names are up for grabs. You can either search by using keywords or type in the exact domain name you want.

Step 1: Search for a domain name

Step 2: Select the domain you prefer

Step 3: Select Host and register the domain

Green dots means that the top-domain is available. Click the one you feel is the most appropriate for your website and you will get a list of different hosts and the hosting plans that you are able to combine with the domain name.

Do you want even more info? Simply choose the plans you are interested in and click the compare plans button and you will get detailed information on what is included.

Domain tasting

Domain tasting is the practice of a domain name registrant using the five-day "grace period" (the Add Grace Period or AGP) at the beginning of the registration of an ICANN-regulated second-level domain to test the marketability of the domain. During this period, when a registration must be fully refunded by the domain name registry, a cost-benefit analysis is conducted by the registrant on the viability of deriving income from advertisements being placed on the domain's website.

Domains that are deemed "successes" and retained in registrant's portfolio often represent domains that were previously used and have since expired, misspellings of other popular sites, or generic terms that may receive type-in traffic. These domains are usually still active in search engines and other hyperlinks and therefore receive enough traffic such that advertising revenue exceeds the cost of the registration. The registrant may also derive revenue from eventual sale of the domain, at a premium, to a third party.

In January 2008, ICANN proposed several possible solutions, including that the exemption on transaction costs (US$ 0.20) during the five-day grace period be abandoned, which would effectively make the practice of domain tasting not viable.^[1] The ICANN operating plan and budget for Fiscal Year 2009 included a section intended to deal with the problem of Domain tasting. The transaction fee of $0.20 will be applied to domains deleted in the Add Grace Period where the number of such domains exceeds 10% of the net new registrations or 50 domains, whichever is greater. The "net new registrations" is defined as the number of new registrations less the number of domains deleted in the Add Grace Period. The ICANN operating plan and budget was approved at the ICANN board meeting in Paris, France on 26 June 2008.

Starting in April 2009, many top level domains (TLDs) began transitioning from the $0.20 fee for excess domains deleted to implementing a policy resulting in a fee equal to registering the domain, generally several dollars in cost.^{[2] [3]}

ICANN reported in August 2009, that prior to implementing excess domain deletion charges, the peak month for domain tastings was over 15 million domain names. After the $0.20 fee was implemented, this dropped to around 2 million domain names per month. As a result of the further increase in charges for excess domain deletions, implemented starting April 2009, the number of domain tastings dropped to below 60 thousand per month.^[2]

Domain tasting should not be confused with domain kiting, which is the process of deleting a domain name during the five-day grace period and immediately re-registering it for another five-day period. This process is repeated any number of times with the end result of having the domain registered without ever actually paying for it.

Domain name warehousing

Domain name warehousing is the common practice of registrars obtaining control of domain names with the intent to hold or “warehouse” names for their use and/or profit. Also see domain name front running and domain tasting, related business practices employed by registrants.

Typically this practice occurs after a domain name has expired and the previous owner (registrant) has not exercised his/her right to renew that name within the allotted time frame (approximately 45 days following expiration). Domain's expiration date and time are easily calculated based on the expiration date in the whois and the redemption process.

According to GNSO Council Deletes Task Force Report (2003), a council organized under the Internet Corporation For Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), three specific modes of warehousing were identified:

1. The registrant allows the domain name to lapse, but registrar fails to delete the domain name during the grace period, resulting in a paid renewal to the registry. The registrar subsequently assumes registration of the domain name.
2. The registrant purchases the domain name through fraud and the registrar assumes registration of the name to resell in order to minimize losses.
3. The registrar registers the domain in its own name outright.

When the phrase "Domain Warehousing" was coined in the late 1990s, ICANN registrars were two dimensional entities that served registrants of domain names. The concern at that time was that a registrar would register available domain names and then offer to re-sell those registrations at a "higher than registration" price to potential registrants. By 2006 the name space had clearly matured and the line between registrars, media companies such as AOL.com (who operate ICANN accredited registrars to manage their name portfolios) and large scale commercial registrants (who operate ICANN accredited registrars as security measures) had blurred. It has been hypothesized that by 2010 many large corporations or commercial registrants of domain names will operate an ICANN accredited registrar as a security measure to protect and manage valuable name and trademark inventory.

The primary concern today when one speaks of Domain Warehousing is that a retail registrar, which has historically focused on serving its individual and small business registrants, will make the domain name renewal process difficult, convoluted, or price prohibitive in an effort to unseat exasperated registrants and usurp their registration rights for a profit greater than the potential renewal fee they could earn.

An additional concern is that companies pooling scores of drop registrars for additional registry connections will stand at the expiring domain spigot conducting domain tasting without paying, and then warehouse those which meet traffic criteria while denying the broader community a fair opportunity to compete for those expiring names.

As of this writing the governing body over domain name registration, ICANN, has yet to address those potential inequities. Registrars are in a unique position to impact domain name pricing by introducing competitive bidding or auctions for expired domain names. Circumstances are further impacted when registrars opt not to market the domains in the near term, thereby excluding the recycling of warehoused names indefinitely.

Fully qualified domain name

A fully qualified domain name (FQDN), sometimes referred to as an absolute domain name, is a domain name that specifies its exact location in the tree hierarchy of the Domain Name System (DNS). It specifies all domain levels, including the top-level domain, relative to the root domain. A fully qualified domain name is distinguished by its unambiguity; it can only be interpreted one way.

For example, given a device with a local hostname myhost and a parent domain name example.com, the fully qualified domain name is myhost.example.com. The FQDN therefore uniquely identifies the device — while there may be many hosts in the world called myhost, there can only be one myhost.example.com.

In the DNS, and most notably, in DNS zone files, a FQDN is specified with a trailing dot, for example, "somehost.example.com.". The trailing dot denotes the root domain. Most DNS resolvers will process a domain name that contains a dot as being an FQDN^[1] or add the final dot needed for the root of the DNS tree. Resolvers will process a domain name without a dot as unqualified and automatically append the system's default domain name and the final dot.

Some applications, such as web browsers will try to qualify the domain name part of a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) if the resolver cannot find the specified domain. Some applications, however, never use trailing dots to indicate absoluteness, because the underlying protocols require the use of FQDNs, such as e-mail.^[2]

Branding with a domain name

Brands are greatly affected by the ability of the company to obtain the matching domain name. If a company builds a brand around a name to which it does not own the domain name, it can end up directing traffic to another domain owner's site. If it is a competitor, this would be a problem.

Today's advertising development of a great brand is strictly confined to the availability to synchronize the brand with a domain name. Any confusion might result in a competitor gaining valuable internet traffic and possible customers.

Domain aftermarket prices and trends

Domain name sales occurring in the aftermarket are frequently submitted to the DN journal. The sales are listed weekly and include the top aftermarket resellers which include but are not limited to Sedo, Traffic (auctions), Afternic, NameJet, Moniker and private sales.

To date, and according to Guinness World Records and MSNBC, the most expensive domain name sales on record as of 2004 were^[9]:

• Business.com for $7.5 million in December 1999
• AsSeenOnTv.com for $5.1 million in January 2000
• Altavista.com for $3.3 million in August 1998
• Wine.com for $2.9 million in September 1999
• CreditCards.com for $2.75 million in July 2004
• Autos.com for $2.2 million in December 1999

The week ending January 27, 2008, DNJournal reported that CNN, a cable news channel purchased iReport.com for $750,000. The high price for iReport.com, as in "I Report," was because it was branded by CNN as CNN's news crowdsourcing prior to the purchase of the domain name. Likewise, AltaVista was branded as a search engine prior to the high purchase price of the domain name.

Resale of domain names

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