Colocation centre

 

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For the methods for the solution of differential equations, see Collocation method. For the corpus linguistics notion, see collocation.

Types of Internet hosting service
Full-featured hosting
Virtual private server Dedicated hosting Colocation centre Cloud hosting
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Free hosting · Shared Clustered · Reseller · FFmpeg
Application-specific web hosting
Blog · Guild hosting · Image Video · Wiki farms · Application Social network
Other types
File · Remote backup Game server · DNS · E-mail
v • d • e

A colocation centre (also spelled collocation, colo, or coloc) or carrier hotel is a type of data centre where multiple customers locate network, server and storage gear and interconnect to a variety of telecommunications and other network service provider(s) with a minimum of cost and complexity. Most Internet exchange points provide colocation.

Contents [hide] 1 Benefits 2 Building features 3 Physical security 4 Power 5 Cooling 6 Internal connections 7 External connections 8 See also 9 References 10 External links

[edit] Benefits

The neutrality of this section is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved. (April 2010)

Increasingly, organizations are recognizing the benefits of colocating their mission-critical equipment within a data centre. Colocation is becoming popular because of the time and cost savings a company can realize as result of using shared data centre infrastructure. Significant benefits of scale (large power and mechanical systems) result in large colocation facilities, typically 4500 to 9500 square metres (roughly 50000 to 100000 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

[edit] Building features

Buildings with data centres inside them are often easy to recognize due to the amount of cooling equipment located outside or on the roof.^[1] There are a lot of other special characteristics to a colocation centre as well:

A room in the Telecity colocation centre in Aubervilliers, a suburb of Paris

A typical server rack, commonly seen in colocation

• Fire protection systems, including passive and active design elements, as well as implementation of fire prevention programmes in operations. Smoke detectors are usually installed to provide early warning of a developing fire by detecting particles generated by smouldering components prior to the development of flame. This allows investigation, interruption of power, and manual fire suppression using hand held fire extinguishers before the fire grows to a large size. A fire sprinkler system is often provided to control a full scale fire if it develops. Clean agent fire suppression gaseous systems are sometimes installed to suppress a fire earlier than the fire sprinkler system. Passive fire protection elements include the installation of fire walls around the space, so a fire can be restricted to a portion of the facility for a limited time in the event of the failure of the active fire protection systems, or if they are not installed.
• 19-inch racks for data equipment and servers, 23-inch racks for telecommunications equipment.
• Cabinets and cages for physical access control over tenants' equipment.
• Overhead cable rack (tray) and fibreguide, power cables usually on separate rack from data.
• Air conditioning is used to control the temperature and humidity in the space. ASHRAE recommends a temperature range and humidity range for optimal electronic equipment conditions versus environmental issues.^{[citation needed]} The electrical power used by the electronic equipment is converted to heat, which is rejected to the ambient air in the data centre space. Unless the heat is removed, the ambient temperature will rise, resulting in electronic equipment malfunction. By controlling the space air temperature, the server components at the board level are kept within the manufacturer's specified temperature/humidity range. Air conditioning systems help control space humidity within acceptable parameters by cooling the return space air below the dew point. Too much humidity and water may begin to condense on internal components. In case of a dry atmosphere, ancillary humidification systems may add water vapour to the space if the space humidity is too low, which can result in static electricity discharge problems which may damage components.
• Low-impedance electrical ground.
• Few, if any, windows.

Colocation data centres are often audited to prove that they live up to certain standards and levels of reliability, most common used is SAS 70 and the tier system by the Uptime Institute.

[edit] Physical security

Most colocation centres have high levels of physical security, and may be guarded continuously. They may employ CCTV.
Some colocation facilities require that employees escort customers, especially if there are not individual locked cages/cabinets for each customer. In other facilities, a PIN code or proximity card access system may allow customers access into the building, and individual cages /cabinets have locks. Biometric security measures, such as fingerprint recognition, voice recognition and "weight matching", are also becoming more commonplace in modern facilities.

[edit] Power

Colocation facilities generally have generators that start automatically when utility power fails, usually running on diesel fuel. These generators may have varying levels of redundancy, depending on how the facility is built.
Generators do not start instantaneously, so colocation facilities usually have battery backup systems. In many facilities, the operator of the facility provides large inverters to provide AC power from the batteries. In other cases, the customers may install smaller UPSes in their racks.
Some customers choose to use equipment that is powered directly by 48VDC (nominal) battery banks. This may provide better energy efficiency, and may reduce the number of parts that can fail.
An alternative to batteries is a motor generator connected to a flywheel and diesel engine.
Many colocation facilities can provide A and B power feeds to customer equipment, and high end servers and telecommunications equipment often can have two power supplies installed.
Colocation facilities are sometimes connected to multiple sections of the utility power grid for additional reliability.

[edit] Cooling

The operator of a colocation facility generally provides air conditioning for the computer and telecommunications equipment in the building. The cooling system generally includes some degree of redundancy
In older facilities, the cooling system capacity often limits the amount of equipment that can operate in the building, more so than the available square footage.

[edit] Internal connections

Colocation facility owners have differing rules regarding cross connects between their customers. These rules may allow customers to run such connections at no charge, or allow customers to order such connections for a significant monthly fee. They may allow customers to order cross connects to carriers, but not to other customers.
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.
Because of the high concentration of servers inside larger colocation centres, most carriers will be interested in bringing direct connections to such buildings.
In many cases there will be a larger Internet Exchange hosted inside a colocation centre, where customers can connect for peering.

[edit] External connections

Colocation facilities generally have multiple locations for fiber optic cables to enter the building, to provide redundancy so that communications can continue if one bundle of cables is damaged. Some also have wireless backup connections, for example via satellite.

[edit] See also

• Data center
• Internet exchange point

[edit] References

1. ^ Examples can be seen at http://www.datacentermap.com/blog/data-centers-from-the-sky-174.html

[edit]

 

                                            

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.

[edit] File hosting on free webhosts

Many free web hosting services discourage the use of their free web hosting services for file or image hosting only in which no web page is established or setup resulting in the use of bandwidth due to hot linking of files with no revenue gain to the service provider in the case of advertising supported services. As a result, hot linking or remote linking or inclusion of many image, media and download file formats is disabled or not permitted on many free web hosting services.
Other common limitations on file hosting limits on free hosts are limits on file size, for example no files over 5 MB or file types such as programs or large media files such as MP3.
This has resulted in the growth of free hosting services dedicated to image hosting, video hosting and general file hosting which permit remote hotlinking of files and larger file formats.

[edit] Co-branding and resellers

These let you brand fixed plans with your own company. Other services, offer WHM or panel reselling. This allows the client to develop his or her own web hosting plans and business.
Some customization commonly afforded to the co-branding or reseller owner would be the ability to set service quotas, to add, enable, disable or remove features of resold accounts, custom reseller or co-branded website, private label DNS and backend services among other items to differentiate the individual's service from the parent company of which they are a reseller or co-branded provider.
The key difference between co-branded and reseller services is the level of customization afforded to the individual setting up their own free hosting service and the level of autonomy afforded to the individual service owner.

                                                                      
                   

Application service provider

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Full-featured hosting
Virtual private server Dedicated hosting Colocation centre Cloud hosting
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Free hosting · Shared Clustered · Reseller · FFmpeg
Application-specific web hosting
Blog · Guild hosting · Image Video · Wiki farms · Application Social network
Other types
File · Remote backup Game server · DNS · E-mail
v • d • e

An application service provider (ASP) is a business that provides computer-based services to customers over a network. Software offered using an ASP model is also sometimes called On-demand software or software as a service (SaaS). The most limited sense of this business is that of providing access to a particular application program (such as customer relationship management) using a standard protocol such as HTTP.
The need for ASPs has evolved from the increasing costs of specialized software that have far exceeded the price range of small to medium sized businesses. As well, the growing complexities of software have led to huge costs in distributing the software to end-users. Through ASPs, the complexities and costs of such software can be cut down. In addition, the issues of upgrading have been eliminated from the end-firm by placing the onus on the ASP to maintain up-to-date services, 24 x 7 technical support, physical and electronic security and in-built support for business continuity and flexible working.
The importance of this marketplace is reflected by its size. As of early 2003^[update], estimates of the United States market range from 1.5 to 4 billion dollars. Clients for ASP services include businesses, government organizations, non-profits, and membership organizations.

Contents [hide] 1 Provider types 2 The ASP model 3 History 4 See also 5 External links

[edit] Provider types

There are several forms of ASP business. These are:

• A specialist or functional ASP delivers a single application, such as credit card payment processing or timesheet services;
• A vertical market ASP delivers a solution package for a specific customer type, such as a dental practice;
• An enterprise ASP delivers broad spectrum solutions;
• A local ASP delivers small business services within a limited area.

Some analysts identify a volume ASP as a fifth type. This is basically a specialist ASP that offers a low cost packaged solution via their own website. PayPal was an instance of this type, and their volume was one way to lower the unit cost of each transaction.
In addition to these types, some large multi-line companies (such as IBM), use ASP concepts as a particular business model that supports some specific customers.

[edit] The ASP model

The application software resides on the vendor's system and is accessed by users through a web browser using HTML or by special purpose client software provided by the vendor. Custom client software can also interface to these systems through XML APIs. These APIs can also be used where integration with in-house systems is required. ASPs may or may not use multi-tenancy in the deployment of software to clients; some ASPs offer an instance or license to each customer (for example using Virtualization), some deploy in a single instance multi-tenant access mode, now more frequently referred to as "SaaS".
Common features associated with ASPs include:

• ASP fully owns and operates the software application(s)- ALJO-IN
• ASP owns, operates and maintains the servers that support the software
• ASP makes information available to customers via the Internet or a "thin client"
• ASP bills on a "per-use" basis or on a monthly/annual fee

The advantages to this approach include:

• Software integration issues are eliminated from the client site
• Software costs for the application are spread over a number of clients
• Vendors can build more application experience than the in-house staff
• Key software systems are kept up to date, available, and managed for performance by experts
• Improved reliability, availability, scalability and security of internal IT systems
• A provider's service level agreement guarantees a certain level of service
• Access to product and technology experts dedicated to available products
• Reduction of internal IT costs to a predictable monthly fee.
• Redeploying IT staff and tools to focus on strategic technology projects that impact the enterprise's bottom line

Some inherent disadvantages include:

• The client must generally accept the application as provided since ASPs can only afford a customized solution for the largest clients
• The client may rely on the provider to provide a critical business function, thus limiting their control of that function and instead relying on the provider
• Changes in the ASP market may result in changes in the type or level of service available to clients
• Integration with the client's non-ASP systems may be problematic

Evaluating an Application Service Provider security when moving to an ASP infrastructure can come at a high cost, as such a firm must assess the level of risk associated with the ASP itself. Failure to properly account for such risk can lead to:

• Loss of control of corporate data
• Loss of control of corporate image
• Insufficient ASP security to counter risks
• Exposure of corporate data to other ASP customers
• Compromise of corporate data

Some other risks include failure to account for the financial future of the ASP in general, i.e. how stable a company is and if it has the resources to continue business into the foreseeable future. For these reasons Cisco Systems has developed a comprehensive evaluation guideline. This guideline includes evaluating the scope of the ASP's service, the security of the program and the ASP's maturity with regard to security awareness. Finally the guidelines indicate the importance of performing audits on the ASP with respect to:

• Port/Network service
• Application vulnerability
• ASP Personnel

Physical visits to the ASP to assess the formality of the organization will provide invaluable insight into the awareness of the firm.

[edit] History

In terms of their common goal of enabling customers to outsource specific computer applications so they can focus on their core competencies, ASPs may be regarded as the indirect descendants of the service bureaus of the 1960s and 1970s. In turn, those bureaus were trying to fulfill the vision of computing as a utility, which was first proposed by John McCarthy in a speech at MIT in 1961.

[edit]

Internet hosting service

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Number of internet hosts by country, 2005

An Internet hosting service is a service that runs Internet servers, allowing organizations and individuals to serve content to the Internet. There are various levels of service and various kinds of services offered.
A common kind of hosting is web hosting. Most hosting providers offer a combined variety of services. Web hosting services also offer e-mail hosting service, for example. DNS hosting service is usually bundled with domain name registration.
Web hosting technology has been causing some controversy lately as Web.com claims that it holds patent rights to some common hosting technologies, including the use of a web-based control panel to manage the hosting service, with its 19 patents. Hostopia, a large wholesale host, recently purchased a license to use that technology from web.com for 10% of retail revenues. Web.com recently sued Go Daddy as well for similar patent infringement.^[1]
Generic, yet rather powerful, kinds of Internet hosting provide a server where the clients can run anything they want (including web servers and other servers) and have Internet connections with good upstream bandwidth.

Contents [hide] 1 Types 1.1 Full-featured hosting 1.2 Other 2 Bandwidth cost 3 References 4 See also

[edit] Types

Types of Internet hosting service
Full-featured hosting
Virtual private server Dedicated hosting Colocation centre Cloud hosting
Web hosting
Free hosting · Shared Clustered · Reseller · FFmpeg
Application-specific web hosting
Blog · Guild hosting · Image Video · Wiki farms · Application Social network
Other types
File · Remote backup Game server · DNS · E-mail
v • d • e

[edit] Full-featured hosting

Full-featured hosting services include:

• Dedicated hosting service, also called managed hosting service, where the hosting service provider owns and manages the machine, leasing full control to the client. Management of the server can include monitoring to ensure the server continues to work effectively, backup services, installation of security patches and various levels of technical support.
• Virtual private server, in which virtualization technology is employed in order to allow multiple logical servers to run on a single physical server
• Colocation facilities, which provide just the Internet connection, uninterruptible power and climate control, but let the client do his own system administration; the most expensive
• Cloud hosting, in which the user only pays for the system time and space used, and capacity can be quickly scaled up or down as computing requirements change.

[edit] Other

Limited or application-specific hosting services include:

• Web hosting service
• E-mail hosting service
• DNS hosting service
• Game servers
• Wiki farms

[edit] Bandwidth cost

Internet hosting services include the required Internet connection; they may charge a flat rate per month or charge per bandwidth used—a common payment plan is to charge for the 95th percentile bandwidth.

[edit] References

1. ^ Berr, Jonathan (2006-06-21). "Go Daddy Gets Sued". thestreet.com. http://www.thestreet.com/_mktw/tech/internet/10293025.html. Retrieved 2010-05-21. 

[edit]

Virtual private server

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Types of Internet hosting service
Full-featured hosting
Virtual private server Dedicated hosting Colocation centre Cloud hosting
Web hosting
Free hosting · Shared Clustered · Reseller · FFmpeg
Application-specific web hosting
Blog · Guild hosting · Image Video · Wiki farms · Application Social network
Other types
File · Remote backup Game server · DNS · E-mail
v • d • e

Virtual private server (VPS) is a marketing term used by Internet hosting services to refer to a virtual machine for use exclusively by an individual customer of the service. The term is used to emphasize that the virtual machine, although running in software on the same physical computer as other customers' virtual machines, is functionally equivalent to a separate physical computer, is dedicated to the individual customer's needs, has the privacy of a separate physical computer, and can be configured to run as a server computer (i.e. to run server software). The term Virtual Dedicated Server or VDS is used less often for the same concept.
Each virtual server can run its own full-fledged operating system and can be independently rebooted.
The practice of partitioning a single server so that it appears as multiple servers has long been common practice on mainframe computers and mid-range computers such as the IBM AS/400. It has become more prevalent with the development of virtualization software and technologies for microcomputers.

Contents [hide] 1 Overview 2 Uses 3 Virtual private server hosting 3.1 Unmanaged Hosting 3.2 Unmetered Hosting 4 Virtualization software 5 See also

[edit] Overview

This section requires expansion.

The physical server typically runs a hypervisor which is tasked with creating, destroying, and managing the resources of "guest" operating systems, or virtual machines. These guest operating systems are allocated a share of resources of the physical server, typically in a manner in which the guest is not aware of any other physical resources save for those allocated to it by the hypervisor.
The Guest system may be fully virtualized, paravirtualized, or a hybrid of the two.
In a fully virtualized environment, the guest is presented with an emulated or virtualized set of hardware and is unaware that this hardware is not strictly physical. The hypervisor in this case must translate, map, and convert requests from the guest system into the appropriate resource requests on the host, resulting in significant overhead. Almost all systems can be virtualized using this method, as it requires no modification of the operating system, however a CPU supporting virtualization is required for most hypervisors that perform full virtualization.
In a paravirtualized environment, the guest is aware of the hypervisor and interfaces directly with the host system's resources, with the hypervisor implementing real-time access control and resource allocation. This results in near-native performance since the guest sees the same hardware as the host and can thus communicate with it natively. UNIX-like systems, such as Linux, some variants of BSD, Plan9, and OpenSolaris are currently known to support this method of virtualization. However, installing operating systems as paravirtualized guests tends to require more knowledge about the operating system in order to have it use special hypervisor-aware kernels and devices.
Some examples of paravirtualization-capable hypervisors are Xen, Virtuozzo, Vserver, and OpenVZ (which is the open source and development version of Parallels Virtuozzo Containers).
Hybrid or partial paravirtualization, is full virtualization, but in which the guest uses paravirtualized drivers for key components such as Networking and Disk I/O, resulting in greatly increased I/O performance. As such, it is a common solution for operating systems which cannot be modified (for various reasons) to support paravirtualiztion.
One example of a hybrid hypervisor is Kernel-based Virtual Machine.

[edit] Uses

Virtual private servers bridge the gap between shared web hosting services and dedicated hosting services, giving independence from other customers of the VPS service in software terms but at less cost than a physical dedicated server. As a VPS runs its own copy of its operating system, customers have superuser-level access to that operating system instance, and can install almost any software that runs on the OS. Certain software does not run well in a virtualized environment, including firewalls, anti-virus clients, and indeed virtualizers themselves; some VPS providers place further restrictions, but they are generally lax compared to those in shared hosting environments. Due to the number of virtualization clients typically running on a single machine, a VPS generally has limited processor time, RAM, and disk space.

[edit] Virtual private server hosting

A growing number of companies offer virtual private server hosting, or virtual dedicated server hosting as an extension for web hosting services. Some web hosting companies call a Virtual Private Server a Virtual Dedicated Server/Dynamic Dedicated Server or the other way around. There are several challenges to consider when licensing proprietary software in multi-tenant virtual environments.

[edit] Unmanaged Hosting

The customer is left to monitor and administer their own server.

[edit] Unmetered Hosting

This type of service is generally offered with no limit on the amount of data-transferred on a fixed bandwidth line. Usually, unmetered hosting is offered with 10 Mbit/s, 100 Mbit/s or 1000 Mbit/s. The customer is theoretically able to use 3.33~ TB on 10 Mbit/s, 33~ TB on 100 Mbit/s and 333~ TB on a 1000 Mbit/s line.

[edit] Virtualization software

For some of the software packages commonly used to provide platform virtualization, see comparison of platform virtual machines.

Web hosting service

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Types of Internet hosting service
Full-featured hosting
Virtual private server Dedicated hosting Colocation centre Cloud hosting
Web hosting
Free hosting · Shared Clustered · Reseller · FFmpeg
Application-specific web hosting
Blog · Guild hosting · Image Video · Wiki farms · Application Social network
Other types
File · Remote backup Game server · DNS · E-mail
v · d · e

An example of "rack mounted" servers.

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 or Housing as it is commonly called in latinamerica or France.
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 inexpensive. 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.

Contents [hide] 1 Hosting reliability and uptime 2 Types of hosting 3 Obtaining hosting 4 See also 5 External links

[edit] Hosting reliability and uptime

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2009)

Multiple racks of servers.

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.

[edit] Types of hosting

A typical server "rack," commonly seen in colocation centres.

Internet hosting services can run Web servers; see Internet hosting services.
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: offered by different companies with limited services, sometimes supported by advertisements, and often limited when compared to paid hosting.
• Shared web hosting service: one's website 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 reseller. 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), 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. 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 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
• E-mail hosting service

[edit] Obtaining hosting

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