Traditionally, websites are hosted on just one server within the data centre of a business. High traffic sites are normally hosted on a dedicated server and smaller sites are hosted on a server with other websites (i.e. those with a VPS or shared hosting account).
There is an alternative means to host a website which is becoming more and more popular: cloud hosting.
What's Cloud Hosting?
The idea of cloud computing has existed since the 1950s. It was founded upon a principle of sharing resources.
Consider a big firm. A company could install the application in a single centralized infrastructure and the application could be accessed by workers from the network instead of install an application on a large number of computers. This removes the need of installing and updating applications a large number of times.
Cloud computing is used by many internet companies that were large. Email services for example Outlook and Gmail (once Hotmail) use cloud computing. As do Facebook, Skype, YouTube, Twitter, your bank, and major news websites.
Due to the rise in popularity of back-up services such as Dropbox and Google Drive, most net users have an overall understanding of the term "The Cloud."
But what does cloud hosting refer to?
Like the original idea of cloud computing, cloud hosting is really all about pooling resources.
In a cloud hosting setup, customers don't possess a particular server assigned to them. Instead, the business that is hosting creates a cloud infrastructure across multiple servers. Virtualization software is then used to break up these physical servers into multiple virtual servers aka "The Cloud." Each virtual server would be set up with its own distinctive software and programs. From an administration (i.e customer) point of view, you will not notice any difference in hosting your website on a cloud server than a dedicated server.
There will likely be a particular CPU, 4GB of RAM, along with constraints put on the server such as 50GB of storage if you host your website on a dedicated server. When you outgrow your package, the hosting company needs to either perform a physical upgrade to the server (e.g. more RAM) or transfer your websites to a brand-new server.
Since cloud servers are crossed across multiple real servers, no such physical constraints are placed on the client. Your cloud hosting package might be raised and decreased as and when necessary.
While some cloud hosting companies offer pay as you go rates, most still offer pre-packaged plans to customers that allocate a certain number of resources to them. However, the crucial thing to notice is the fact that increasing (or decreasing) the allocation of resources of a customer just takes seconds in cloud hosting as resources are changed using software. In contrast, when there is a website stored on an individual server, replacing or fixing an element results in downtime.
Cloud hosting is a practical option for the two parties.
Hosting companies won't have small websites hosted on powerful servers that are only using at 10% capacity, so they could run a more efficient data centre (which is, in addition, great for the environment).
Website owners do not have to worry about traffic surges as the cloud is configured to support it. A cloud hosting set up additionally reduces downtime , too, since sites are hosted from the other side of the cloud.
Let us look at the best cloud hosting firms online.
Digital Ocean
Pricing: From $5 per month
Digital Ocean supply affordable SSD cloud servers that are based. They've data centers in New York, San Francisco, London, Amsterdam, and Singapore.
They have an easy interface that permits you to easily create and manage your virtual servers. Linux distributions and applications may be installed at the tap of a button. Digital Ocean promote the fact these installations can be live in just 55 seconds and are proud of this.
Their cheapest strategy offers 20GB storage and 512MB RAM and retails at just $5 per month. While the most expensive pre-defined bundle retails at $640.
VPS.net
Pricing: From $15 per month
VPS.net are a revered hosting business that have an uptime guarantee of 99.9%. Companies support 12 different operating systems and offer over 100 pre-built configurations for your virtual service.
Their services can be found in 18 servers places, which span 4 continents.
Their cheapest plan retails at. They also have a WordPress cloud hosting plan for the exact same cost that provides infinite bandwidth in the event that you don't transcend 5GB of disk space.
Media TemplePricing: From $20 per month
Grid is a public cloud hosting package offered by Media Temple. Their two data centers are both located in the USA: Virginia and California. SSD is used by all of their servers to ensure a faster user experience.
Their service boasts that it's "Reddit Ready" and prepared to handle traffic spikes from Twitter, Reddit, Facebook, and other social media sites.
Media Temple's Grid hosting platform is one of the very most economical options available. For $20 per month you can host up to 100 websites and create up to 1,000 e-mail accounts.
GoGridPricing: From $16 per month
GoGrid is a well-known cloud hosting business that gives customers handled back-ups. In addition they offer security services and server monitoring.
They own three data centers in America and one in Amsterdam. Data is backed up by a guarantee of a 30 minute response time for crises.
GoGrid sell four distinct kinds of cloud hosting server strategies: SSD, dedicated disc, high RAM, and standard.
Site5Pricing: From $20 per month
Site5 is an affordable website hosting company which has data centers in 22 places across the world.
The back this up with a 99.99% guarantee.
Their most affordable cloud hosting plan retails at $20 per month for 10GB of storage.
RackspacePricing: From $27 per month
Rackspace have a good standing in the cloud hosting world. Their Public Cloud service might be used to host sites or applications and offers scalability and high performance.
They've three date centers in America, and one in Hong Kong, London, and Sydney. Excluding planned care and crises, they promise 100% uptime.
Their most high-priced hosting plans cost a huge number of dollars.
SingleHop
Pricing: From $45 per month
SingleHop are a seasoned hosting business that have one data center in Amsterdam and three in the United States. Their cloud servers use VMware's vCloud Suite and could be utilized with Linux or Windows.
Their most economical cloud hosting plan costs $45.39 per month. This will provide you 25GB of storage and 1GB of RAM.
Hyve
Pricing: From GBP75 per month
Hyve are a UK based hosting company that also have two in China and twi data centers in the USA. VMWare's SecureCloud platform is used by them and supply security features such as IPS and DDoS shield.
They specialise in providing cloud hosting for WordPress websites. Large databases can be spread across multiple servers and static files could be served through a CDN.
You can get exact pricing for your project by requesting a quote directly on the Hyve site.
Firehost
Pricing: From $350 per month
Firehost is a safe cloud hosting business that has data centers in Phoenix, Dallas, London, Amsterdam, and Singapore.
Two of their biggest selling points is their handled support and security features (which costs $250 per month). They offer 24 hour support via telephone, ticket, and internet chat.
They also provide program tracking, malware protection, layered network security, boundless firewall zones, daily back-ups, and much more.
With such an emphasis on security, it's not surprising that Firehost is used to host important sites in high profile public figures, banking, and the health business.
Amazon EC2
Pricing: No minimal fee. Price depends on usage.
Amazon's EC2 service is a cloud hosting service which provides you with complete control over your hosting. New server examples booted and can be produced in minutes, which allows you to scale your capacity up and down when needed. There are lots of security features that are amazing also.
The service puts a large emphasis on reliability; with their deal promising 99.95% uptime for each of their Amazon EC2 regions.
Amazon only cost for what you use. Their pricing calculator helps you estimate how much your entire hosting price will be. Amazon EC2 is not known for being an affordable alternative, though it's an excellent reputation for providing a reliable hosting service.
Final Thoughts
Cloud hosting has become a popular way of hosting sites that are medium, small, and big. They specialise in handling traffic spikes and providing high levels of uptime.
Generally, cloud hosting is more costly than hosting a website on a dedicated server, and those of you who run large companies may prefer having the total control that a dedicated server offers.
If you're looking to host an individual WordPress site, my personal taste would be Media Temple's Grid hosting bundle as they provide a lot of storage and bandwidth for just $20 per month and have an excellent reputation. Digital Ocean is worth considering if you only have to host a site that is fundamental as their strategies begin from only $5.
FireHost seem to be a respected hosting company within the cloud hosting niche; nevertheless their managed support and security options do come at a price. If you need additional resources, you might need to think about alternatives like HP Cloud, Microsoft Azure and Verizon Cloud and Amazon. They give you more control over your server, however the technical knowledge will be needed by someone from your business to operate it.