Cloud Web Hosting Uncovered

What is cloud hosting actually? The word 'cloud' seems to be quite trendy in today's IT, Internet and hosting terminology. However, just a few in fact can say what cloud hosting is. Possibly it is a fine idea to inform yourself about cloud hosting services. To render a very long tale short, we will first enlighten you on what cloud hosting is not.

1. Cloud Hosting is Not Restricted to a Remote Data Storage Exclusively.

1. Delivering a remote data storage service, which involves one single disk storage device for all customers, does not transform any specific web hosting firm into a real cloud hosting provider.

The cPanel hosting vendors name the ability to furnish remote disk storage solutions a cloud hosting service. Up until now there is nothing wrong with the cloud labeling, but... we are discussing website hosting services, not remote data storage solutions for personal or corporate needs. There's invariably one "but", isn't there? It's not enough to dub a shared hosting service, powered by a single-server hosting platform, exactly like cPanel, a "cloud hosting" solution. This is so because the remaining parts of the whole web hosting platform must be functioning in precisely the same manner - this does not relate only to the remote disk storage. The remaining services entailed in the entire web hosting process also need to be remote, separated and "clouded". And that's very hard. A very meager number of hosting service providers can actually attain it.

2. It Encompasses Domain Names, Mail Addresses, Databases, File Transfer Protocols, Web Hosting CPs, etc.

Cloud hosting is not limited to a remote file storage solely. We are talking about a hosting service, serving countless domain names, sites, email mailboxes, etc., aren't we?

To call a hosting service a "cloud hosting" one requires a lot more than delivering simply remote disk storage mounts (or probably physical servers). The e-mail server(s) must be dedicated exclusively to the e-mail linked services. Performing nothing different than these concrete tasks. There might be just one single or possibly an entire bundle of electronic mail servers, based on the overall load generated. To have a true cloud hosting service, the remote database servers should be working as one, regardless of their actual amount. Carrying out nothing different. The same goes for the users' web hosting Control Panels, the FTP, and so on.

3. There are Cloud Domain Servers (DNSs) as well.

The DNSs (Domain Name Servers) of an actual cloud hosting plans provider will support multiple datacenter facility locations on multiple continents.

Here's an example of a Domain Name Server of an actual cloud hosting vendor:

dns1.southportcommunications.net

dns2.southportcommunications.net

If such a Domain Name Server is furnished by your web hosting solutions provider, it's not a guarantee that there is a cloud hosting environment in use, but you can definitely be confident when you notice a DNS like the one underneath:

dns658.hostgator.com

dns659.hostgator.com

that there isn't any cloud web hosting platform. This sort of DNS simply reveals that the web hosting environment in use is one-single-server based. Perchance it's cPanel. cPanel is a one-single-server web hosting platform and holds a market share of more than 98%. In cPanel's case, a single physical server takes care of all hosting services (web, e-mail, DNS, databases, File Transfer Protocol, web hosting Control Panel(s), website files, etc.).

Remote File Storage - The Twisted Explanation of Cloud Hosting.

So, a cloud hosting solution is not limited simply to a remote data storage service, as plenty of hosting providers wish it was. Unluckily for them, if that was the case, the majority of the file hosting providers would have been referred to as cloud web hosting ones a long time back! They are not referred to as such, as they plainly distribute file hosting solutions, not cloud web hosting services. The file web hosting platform looks indeed quite simple, in comparison with the hosting platform. The remote file storage platform is not a cloud hosting platform. It cannot be, as it's only one tiny part of the entire cloud hosting platform. There's a lot more to be discovered in the cloud hosting platform: the hosting CP cloud, the database clouds (MySQL, PostgreSQL), the DNS cloud, the File Transfer Protocol cloud, the email cloud and... in the foreseeable future, probably a number of brand new clouds we presently are not aware of will come up unexpectedly.