Cloud servers are the recent developments in the web hosting industry that everyone’s talking about. The chances are you’re using cloud servers for your business, if not, perhaps you’re considering it. Let’s delve deeper into cloud servers, find out what they are, and the advantages that could servers, coupled with what cloud hosting can bring.
What is a Cloud Server?
Simply put, a cloud server is a network of different servers in different places that interact with each other to enable the resources to host a site.
Cloud hosting is a type of web hosting where the power required to host your site is spread over a cloud server. When your site is hosted on one server, this is called a dedicated server.
How do Could Servers Work?
Every server in your cloud network of servers carries out certain functions in hosting your website. Resources are pulled in as and when they are needed. If one server goes down unexpectedly, the other servers are on hand to fill in the gap. They act as a backup, and you’ll likely never notice any issues.
Why is it Called “The Cloud”?
This process is called “the cloud“ because this array of servers forms a network invisible to the eye as if it’s in the air around us. Like a cloud.
Who uses Cloud Servers?
Today, anyone who is anyone in the internet age is using cloud servers for their sites’ hosting. Google, Amazon, Microsoft and more, all using cloud servers. Incidentally, these giants also sell their own cloud server space to businesses and consumers.
Types of Cloud Servers
Within the realm of the cloud, there are a number of different server options you can choose from.
Firstly, you have a choice whether to utilize the public cloud or go it alone with your own private cloud hosting solution. The public cloud is a network of virtual servers that anyone can access through a specialist hosting company. These servers are, of course, kept very secure from data breaches.
If you want to switch to hosting on a cloud server, but do not want to be on the public cloud, you have the option to build your own cloud hosting server network, which no one else can use. It can even be located on your premises. This is, obviously, quite an expensive option, however.
When it comes to hosting on cloud servers, you have a choice between the levels of infrastructure on offer. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) options provide you with all the virtual cloud hardware you need to run a site, but you get to install your own software on which you build a web application. This gives you total control over the functionality of your site.
The more popular option is Platform as a Service (PaaS), where as well as the virtual cloud server environment, your hosting company will provide you with the operating system, web server software, database and everything else you’ll need to run your site. This option is more popular as it makes it much easier to get up and running.
Advantages of Cloud Servers
If such big names are using could servers and cloud hosting to run their sites, it must be good, right?
There are many advantages to using cloud servers for your hosting, especially when you compare it to dedicated server hosting.
- Cloud servers are reliable – When you host your site on cloud servers, your site utilizes a number of servers, with the others stepping in as a backup if one goes down. Therefore, your uptime will be virtually constant. Put it this way. Have you ever known Google or Amazon to go down?
- Cloud servers are fast – If your site receives an unexpected spike in visitor numbers, the cloud will pull in resources from elsewhere to accommodate this, without any loss of speed.
- Cloud servers are scalable – As well as growth in visitor numbers, as your business grows you may want to add features to your site which with a dedicated server would suck away valuable resources. This is not a problem with cloud servers, as resources can always be found. Just add another server to your cloud.
- Cloud servers are economical – Many cloud hosts charge for what you actually use, rather than a package deal. You are not paying for bandwidth that you are not using.
- Cloud servers are secure – The actual servers are enclosed in data centers, heavily guarded.
Disadvantages of Cloud Servers
There are not many disadvantages to going with cloud servers for your hosting over a dedicated server system. In the past, cloud hosting was more expensive, but this gap is closing every year as cloud space becomes much less expensive.
There is also a view that using cloud servers do not give you the same level of control you would get from a dedicated server. If this is an issue, and you’re looking for a customized solution, make sure you go with the Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) option.
What’s the Future of Cloud Servers?
As cloud servers become even more efficient, and as prices plummet even lower, hosting on cloud servers will become the norm, the most popular option for web hosting.
It will become the go-to option for small and medium-sized businesses, as much as it is for the big brands.
At Web Hosting Sun, we’ll keep you informed of all the development. Stay with us.
