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I’ve written this explainer to help you understand what cloud really is and whether you need it.
This can help you pick thebest web hostingfor you.
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What is cloud hosting?
To understand cloud hosting, we first need to understand traditional hosting.
In traditional web hosting you rent a server that contains resources.
Resources are the things your website needs to run.
The three main resources are CPU, RAM, and storage.
You either share these resources throughshared hosting.
Share them virtually through through VPS hosting or, don’t share them at all with dedicated hosting.
With cloud hosting the resources don’t belong to individual servers.
Instead the resources exist in a pool and websites can use what they need when they need it.
You don’t have your own plate everyone just grabs from what’s available.
If there is a greedy eater at the table.
You’re going to get less, and you might end up hungry.
VPS hostingis the same scenario but you have your own plate.
At the beginning of the meal everyone takes what they want and puts it on their plate.
Dedicatedis the same scenario but you’re sitting at the table by yourself.
Great if you have a big appetite but can be very wasteful.
Ask for something on the menu whenever you want it and the waiter will bring it immediately.
Benefits of cloud hosting
Scalability
The main benefit of cloud hosting is scalability.
Redundancy
Redundancy is another word for duplication.
Your site was never offline because there was another copy in another datacenter.
The cost effectiveness is only there at scale though.
Unless you will benefit from scalability and redundancy, there is no need to pay extra for cloud.
Who needs cloud hosting?
Opting for cloud hosting at the beginning can save you hassle and money in the long run.
Online stores also get higher fluctuations in traffic from things like promotions or festivals.
Types of cloud hosting
You might see cloud hosting packaged in many different forms.
Some is just fancy marketing.
To help you navigate the market I’ve broken down some of the key cloud packages.
So, what is shared cloud?
Shared cloud is essentially a virtual server with many websites sharing that virtual server.
An amount of cloud resources are allocated to that space and the websites have to share whats there.
If shared servers are managed properly then from a users perspective it’s essentially the same.
Are there offs-site backups?
If not, then it’s not worth the extra price tag.
Cloud VPS
Cloud VPS is the same as above.
A virtual environment is created and resources are reserved for it.
Cloud hosting adopts traditional hosting methodology but brings with it scalability and redundancy that traditional hosting cannot provide.
