What is cloud hosting?

Cloud hosting or cloud computing is the talk of the town now. But what does it really mean? Most people do not really understand what cloud hosting is all about. The concept behind this type of hosting dates back to the 1960s. The concept has been refined and developed through time. It evolved to what we now know as cloud hosting in its most advanced form.
Cloud Hosting Defined. The term cloud hosting or cloud computing does not only refer to technology or the application. Cloud hosting refers to the general principle or design concept by which it works.
What is the concept behind? In order for people to get a grasp of the cloud hosting they have to understand the underlying concept. With cloud hosting the application is separated from the server operating system which is also separated from the server hardware. Meaning, they are apart from each other.
How does it work? To further demonstrate how does this concept work take as an example the traditional hosting service. Before, running a website you should have a server placed in an office or database center. The server infrastructure includes the RAM, power supply, CPU and hard drives. On that server you will have to install server operating system. After installing the operating system you will have to install the software applications which you will be using to run your website. For example, you are running an e-commerce site and you have to have an application which stores contact information of your customers so you have to install a contact manager onto the operating system.
Now the problem arises when there is a problem in the operating system or in the hardware with which everything relies upon. If your operating system gets infected with virus or the hard drives have an error your contact manager will stop working. That means that you cannot access the contact information of your customers because the operating system has failed.
The same scenario will happen if the server hardware will not function properly, say for instance if your CPU fails that would halt the proper functioning of the operating system which will consequently affect the applications in your website. Taking this example, it would shut down the contact manager and everything else on your site.
Because all the services and or applications rely heavily on the operating system that relies on the server hardware then whatever happens to the hardware and operating system will definitely affect the performance of the application software which means that your services are affected.
This is the reason why the concept of cloud hosting came to life. Cloud hosting is different to traditional hosting because it disconnects the application from the operating system and the operating system is disconnected from the hardware.

How is it done?

Cloud hosting uses virtual computing. Through virtual computing service:

  •  The operating system is being placed in a container which allows the operating system to be able to move to other server.
  •  When the server bogs down the operating system can migrate to server hardware so that it can continue operating.

Using virtualization you can create virtual version of hardware which enables you to have a cluster of servers. When the first server fails the operating system and everything that comes along with it will be automatically transferred to the second server and so on and so on. So your services are uninterrupted through cloud hosting.

What are the different types of cloud hosting or cloud computing?

  •  Private cloud –it comprises with database center and information intended for a particular user. The information is protected using firewall. The information can be accessed only by people who are authorized by the hosting company.
  •  Public cloud – the information is put to a shared platform.

What are the benefits of cloud hosting?

  •  Anywhere in the world you can access your website and so does anyone from your pool of customers.
  •  It’s cheaper because it allows you to reduce spending on technology infrastructure.
  •  You can scale up the computing power of your website if need be. So when the demand for your site increases you can add more servers
  •  You can release the server back to the cloud when the traffics get bogged down.
  •  You only pay for what you used. You will be paying the cost of using the cloud but when it is disconnected the billing stops.
  •  It allows you to concentrate on your website and leave behind all the security issues or infrastructure concerns.

With cloud hosting you can stop worrying about your hardware and focus your time to other aspect of you business. Now that you have the basic concept of cloud hosting and how does it work it is time for you to contemplate if you want to shift your idea of data storage and hosting.