This article should help explain the basics of a web server as well as the most common types of web hosting available today.

What is a web server?
A web server is a computer, including software packages, that provides a specific kind of service to
client software running on other computers. More specifically, a server is a computer that manages
and shares web based applications and data accessible anytime from any computer connected to the
internet.

What are my options for hosting a web site?
When deciding how to host your website you generally have a few options.

1) Purchase a shared account hosting plan.

One of the most popular methods for hosting a website is to use
a shared hosting account available from one of the many web hosting
companies on the internet today.
Shared hosting means that your website will run on the same server
that many other websites are running on.
Usually the different levels of plans a company offers are directly
related to the number of other websites on the same server as well
as the amount of resources (CPU, memory, disk space, etc) allocated to each website

The main advantages to this method to this are

* Price
Because you are hosting you website on the same server as many other customers of the hosting company, the price for this type of hosting is dramatically lower than running a dedicated server.

* Server management
Because there are many customer’s websites running on a shared server the hosting company is the one responsible for the server administration tasks. This includes software updates, security, monitoring, etc.
*Note: these administration tasks only apply to the main server software running on the server. (eg. web server software, email server software, etc.)
When it comes to your specific website, you will almost always be responsible for the management, updates, backups, etc.

Shared hosting environments are a great option for anyone starting out with a small to medium size website.

2) Lease a dedicated server from a hosting company

Many people who run websites that generate a sizable amount of traffic choose to lease a dedicated server from an established web hosting company.
A dedicated server means that you lease an entire server (computer).
With this method you get to use the total resources available on the server instead of having to share them with other websites. Generally the hosting company leases you the hardware and the bandwidth.
Meaning that almost all administration tasks are your responsibility.

The main advantages to this method are that you get to take full advantage of the server’s resources, and you have more flexibility as to what software you can run on the server.
Also, some of these plans will already have much of the software needed to run a web server already installed.

3) Run your own server in a colocation facility
Running a server from a colocation facility is similar to leasing a dedicated server, except that you provide the hardware.
The primary services provided by a colocation factility are it’s very high end and redundant internet connections, redundant power (eg. diesel generators in case of power failure), and physical security (eg. locked cabinets, biometric security, 24 hour surveillance).

This method is usually only used by much more savy customers.
In fact, hosting from a colocation facility could actually enable you to
offer the services explained in the previous two methods if you chose to.

4) Run your own server from a private residence such as a home or office.
This method simply means that you run a server from your home or office. If you already have a spare computer laying around and are connected to the internet
with a decent broadband connection (eg. cable, dsl, t1, etc.) the you might want to consider running your own server, at least to start out.
You can always upgrade to a different type of hosting later on.

The main advantage to this method is price.If you already have the computer and the internet connection then there really aren’t any additional costs involved, assuming you are running
a free operating system (eg. Linux) and will be doing the server administration in house.

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