What is Cloud Hosting?

What is cloud web hosting really? The term 'cloud' appears to be quite trendy in today's IT, World Wide Web and hosting jargon. However, only a few really can say what cloud hosting is. Perchance it is a good idea to educate yourself about cloud web hosting services. To make a very lengthy story succinct, we will first enlighten you on what cloud hosting is not.

1. Cloud Web Hosting is Not Limited to a Remote Data Storage Only.

1. Supplying a remote disk storage solution, which comprises one data storage appliance for all clients, does not transform any particular hosting vendor into an authentic cloud web hosting plans provider.

The cPanel hosting firms dub the ability to provide remote disk storage services a cloud web hosting service. Up till now there is nothing wrong with the cloud designation, but... we are talking about hosting services, not remote data storage solutions for private or corporate purposes. There's invariably one "but", isn't there? It's not sufficient to dub a shared web hosting service, powered by a single-server hosting platform, exactly like cPanel, a "cloud web hosting" solution. This is so because the other components of the whole hosting platform must be functioning in precisely the same way - this does not relate only to the remote disk storage. The other services entailed in the entire hosting process also have to be remote, separated and "clouded". And that's extremely hard. A very small number of web hosting suppliers can truly make it.

2. It Includes Domains, E-mails, Databases, FTPs, Hosting Control Panels, etc.

Cloud web hosting is not restricted to a remote data storage only. We are talking about a hosting service, serving plenty of domains, web pages, mailbox accounts, and so on, are we not?

To dub a web hosting service a "cloud web hosting" one calls for a lot more than providing merely remote disk storage mounts (or perhaps physical servers). The mail server(s) must be dedicated solely to the e-mail connected services. Executing nothing different than these specific tasks. There might be only one or possibly an entire group of email servers, depending on the overall load created. To have a true cloud web hosting service, the remote database servers should be working as one, regardless of their real quantity. Executing nothing different. The same goes for the customers' web hosting CPs, the FTP, etc.

3. There are Cloud Domain Name Servers (DNSs) too.

The DNSs (Domain Name Servers) of a real cloud web hosting accounts provider will support multiple server farm locations on multiple continents.

Here's an instance of a Domain Name Server of an actual cloud web hosting services provider:

dns1.ng.f7en.biz

dns2.ng.f7en.biz

If such a Domain Name Server is offered by your hosting company, it's not a guarantee that there is a cloud web hosting environment in use, but you can absolutely be convinced when you discern a Domain Name Server such as the one below:

dns658.hostgator.com

dns659.hostgator.com

that there isn't any cloud hosting service. This kind of DNS only illustrates that the web hosting environment in use is one-server based. Possibly it's cPanel. cPanel is a one-single-server hosting solution and holds a market share of more than 98%. In cPanel's case, a single physical machine deals with all hosting services (web, e-mail, DNS, databases, File Transfer Protocol, hosting Control Panel(s), website files, etc.).

Remote File Storage - The Distorted Description of Cloud Web Hosting.

So, a cloud web hosting solution is not restricted exclusively to a remote file storage service, as many web hosting firms wish it was. Sadly for them, if that was the case, most of the file web hosting service providers would have been categorized as cloud hosting ones long ago! They are not categorized as such, as they merely distribute file web hosting solutions, not cloud web hosting services. The file hosting platform seems indeed very plain, in comparison with the hosting platform. The remote disk storage platform is not a cloud hosting platform. It cannot be, because it's simply one simple constituent of the entire cloud web hosting platform. There's a lot more to be discovered in the cloud hosting platform: the web hosting Control Panel cloud, the database clouds (MySQL, PostgreSQL), the Domain Name Server cloud, the FTP cloud, the electronic mail cloud and... in the foreseeable future, maybe a few brand new clouds we currently are not acquainted with will turn up out of the blue.