Among different types of hosting, cloud hosting has been gaining popularity in recent years. While web hosting has been present since the early days of the internet, it’s since the last decade that cloud hosting has emerged as an alternative hosting solution.
However, choosing or switching to cloud hosting from traditional hosting only because of its growing popularity might not be the right decision. Understanding in detail about cloud hosting and its working is essential. So, to help you understand cloud hosting, we will be going through in detail about what is cloud hosting & how does it work. Let’s begin
What is Cloud Hosting? Explained
Cloud hosting is a type of hosting that uses virtual servers in the cloud to run applications or websites. It uses a network of physical and virtual servers that spans over diverse geographical locations.
Unlike traditional hosting where data and files are stored in a single server at a data center, cloud hosting utilizes a network of interconnected servers. This makes cloud hosting effectively distribute resources and ensure uptime and reliability.
Server resources in cloud hosting are available virtually. This means that users of cloud hosting can access and manage server resources such as CPU, RAM, and storage over the internet without any access to physical servers.
How Does Cloud Hosting Work?
The working of cloud hosting begins with the splitting of a physical server into multiple virtual servers. Hypervisor which is also known as a virtual machine monitor or virtualizer is a type of computer software that helps to divide physical servers into multiple virtual servers.
Each of the virtual servers has its operating system, resources, and configurations and can be accessed and managed over the Internet. Also, the virtual resources in the servers can be automated and delivered over the cloud for use.
The virtual servers are isolated and can run different applications on them. In addition, if one of the virtual servers experiences a spike in traffic, it can pull resources from the pool of physical servers. This helps to stabilize the performance of the virtual server and ensures that it can handle the increased workload effectively.
Cloud Hosting Benefits: Is It Right for You?
Now after going through what is cloud hosting & how does it work, let’s move toward the benefits of cloud hosting. In this section, we will be discussing the benefits of cloud hosting so that you can figure out whether it is the right choice for your business or not.
Scalability and Flexibility
Unlike traditional hosting which is based on a single server, cloud hosting runs on a network of interconnected servers. The availability of multiple virtual servers in cloud hosting ensures scalability and flexibility.
In cloud hosting, you can scale up or down your server resources such as CPU, RAM, and storage based on your needs. On the other hand, you can also customize server resources that suit your needs.
Security
Cloud hosting providers often implement robust security measures offering the highest level of security for all customers. From firewalls to data encryption cloud hosting providers use up-to-date security frameworks for data protection.
On the other hand, some cloud hosting providers also have additional data backup and recovery mechanisms. All of this provides your data with an additional level of security from data loss.
Performance
As we have already discussed earlier, cloud hosting takes advantage of multiple servers that are spread across the cloud networks. This ultimately helps in improving the performance and load time of websites and applications hosted on it in comparison to traditional hosting.
Reliability and Availability
Unlike web hosting where your site is dependent on a single physical server, cloud hosting uses a network of servers. This makes cloud hosting more reliable because in case of failure of one server your site and application can switch to another server.
On the other hand, this also minimizes downtime and ensures higher availability.
Cost Efficiency
In the case of traditional hosting, scaling up the cloud resources requires you to invest in additional infrastructures. Whether you use it or not you still need to pay for the resources along with the upfront investment in infrastructures.
But as most of the cloud hosting service involves a pay-as-you-go model, you’ll be only paying for what you use. Also, there are no upfront infrastructure and maintenance costs.
Types of Cloud Hosting
Moving ahead in our what is cloud hosting & how does it work blog, let’s now discuss the types of cloud hosting. Cloud hosting can be categorized into two different ways, by deployment model and by service model.
Types of Cloud Hosting Based on Deployment Model
Public Cloud Hosting
A public cloud hosting is one in which the cloud hosting services are provided by third-party providers over the public internet. The public cloud hosting services are shared by multiple organizations and users.
Private Cloud Hosting
When a cloud hosting service is dedicated to a single organization and not shared with multiple organizations and users it is known as private cloud hosting. It can be hosted on-premises by the organization itself or by a third-party service provider.
Hybrid Cloud Hosting
Hybrid cloud hosting involves a combination of both public and private cloud environments allowing organizations to use both of them. The use of a hybrid cloud allows organizations to use features of both clouds.
Are you willing to learn about Public, Private, and Hybrid clouds in depth? Make sure you go through Public vs Private vs Hybrid clouds to get in-depth information about each of the clouds in detail.
Types of Cloud Hosting Based on Service Model
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
In Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), an organization is provided with basic virtual cloud resources such as virtual servers and storage. In addition, they will also need to manage the infrastructure.
Platform as a Service (PaaS)
Platform as a Service (PaaS) involves providing organizations with a platform for developing, deploying, and managing applications. However, in PaaS, an organization does not need to manage the underlying infrastructure.
Software as a Service (SaaS)
Software as a Service (SaaS) offers the use of software applications to organizations on a subscription model. You can easily use hosted software on the cloud without installing it or managing it.
Conclusion
Cloud hosting is a type of hosting that uses a network of interrelated virtual servers in the cloud to run websites and applications. These virtual servers are part of a larger network infrastructure that spans multiple physical servers across different geographical locations.
Hypervisor is a computer software that makes cloud hosting possible by dividing physical service into multiple virtual servers. Each of the virtual servers in the cloud hosting is isolated and has its own server resources such as CPU, RAM, and storage.
Cloud hosting has several benefits that include higher scalability and flexibility, enhanced performance and security, reliability, availability, and also cost efficiency. Based on the deployment model and service model, cloud hosting can be divided into two categories.
If you are looking for a reliable cloud service provider make sure you visit DataHub. Datahub is Nepal’s leading and most trusted data center and cloud service provider for all of your data storage and cloud hosting-related services.
