Hosting systems enable the creation of web sites by providing a specialized backend computing infrastructure and enabling website content to be uploaded through source code. Websites can be accessed by users via domain names that connect to the infrastructure. Hosting providers can provide a variety of kinds of hosting environments including shared, VPS, and cloud hosting.
There are various hosting options that can meet the needs and budgets of users. Shared hosting is a cheap and common option that allows multiple websites to be managed by the same server. It is ideal for novices who need simple websites with limited requirements for resources. VPS hosting is the next level of multi-tenant environments, in which each tenant has a specific portion of their hardware resources. It’s a great choice for e-commerce systems and other applications with moderate to high traffic.
Other kinds of hosting include dedicated servers, which provide an entire web server to one user and are a great option for businesses with heavy or specialized hardware needs. Another type of hosting is managed services where the provider manages website setup, CMS software and administration. This is a very popular option among small business owners that want the convenience of a managed service but still maintain control over their IT systems and data. Other options, like Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Application Hosting and Infrastructure as a service (IaaS), provide customers with hardware and software that is virtualized as a cloud-based service. This gives customers the ability to increase or decrease their capacity according to their needs for enhanced performance and capacity.