DynDNS

Self-Hosting - "DIY"

Self-hosting is the use of your own existing resources to provide web services. If you have a spare computer and an always-on Internet connection, you can easily host your own services - websites, FTP, remote desktop, etc. - without spending anything above your monthly utility bills. With free server software packages such as XAMPP and free DNS services such as our own Dynamic DNS, you can get your own site up and running in a matter of minutes. From there, you can provide anything you like to the world at large: sharing your ideas on your Wordpress blog, hosting websites for area businesses or community events with Apache, remote access to office files and computers using OpenVPN, and much more.

There are a couple of potential downsides to self-hosting. First, if you are using a residential connection, your ISP may restrict your ability to host a server: they may block inbound ports, throttle traffic, or prohibit server hosting in their TOS. You will also need to be aware of potential security issues with your network by ensuring your operating systems and server applications have the latest patches, properly configuring your firewalls and router, and preventing users from executing malicious code or exploiting vulnerabilities in your software. Finally, bandwidth consumed by your visitors will directly impact local users on the network; if you decide to host a Flash-heavy business page or a personal vlog, you will certainly notice the resource drain when you begin receiving consistent traffic.

Recommended for: Personal blogs, low-traffic small business sites, game servers, remote file access (FTP, VPN, remote desktop), Do-It-Yourself enthusiasts

Shared Hosting - "Many users, one box"

Shared Hosting providers represent your typical webhosting and mail hosting companies. Shared Hosting is extremely cheap, starting at as little as $5 a month for webhosting packages, and may offer better stability and bandwidth than most home connections. Shared Hosting is a managed hosting solution, meaning the providers handle the hardware, software, security and configuration, freeing less tech-savvy users to focus on content creation instead of installation and upkeep. This trade-off usually limits the customer's ability to install preferred software packages (e.g. Perl versus PHP), and may limit customers to little more than FTP access to a folder on the Internet; however, it is easy enough to find one or more providers whose offerings are tailored to your requirements.

One disadvantage to Shared Hosting is oversubscription. Despite subscription plans that offer "unlimited" bandwidth and storage space, there is only a finite amount of resources available. Because most customers only utilize a small amount of their allocated resources - for example, a user offered 512MB of RAM may use only use 50MB most of the time - Shared Hosting providers subscribe multiple users to the same resources (hence the term "shared"). While users with low-traffic sites will likely be satisfied with their services, customers with higher traffic or more resource-intensive services may find themselves competing for bandwidth and clock cycles.

Recommended for: "I just need to have a website," email hosting, small businesses, professionals

Virtual Private Server - "Few users, one box"

Virtual Private Server (VPS) hosting offers a full virtual operating system over which you have complete control. Unlike Shared Hosting, there are far fewer subscribers per box, a finite number of subscriptions (preventing oversubscription), and each customer's resources are reserved: if the package you purchase allocates 2.0 GHz, that processing power is always available to you, and no one else can "borrow" the resources you aren't using. Customers may purchase additional servers at any time, expanding their resources on the fly by provisioning new virtual machines at will. This provides a far higher quality of service than Shared Hosting while offering complete customization of your applications and production environment.

VPS services have a number of clear advantages over Shared Hosting, and therefore comes at a higher price. When compared to cloud computing, VPS services are less scalable, with the tradeoff that VPS provides better value "pound for pound" for the same amount of resources offered by cloud computing. (VPS is like purchasing a full meal, while cloud computing is a la carte; the first may be more than you need but cheaper than buying individual dishes, and the latter is pricier dish-for-dish but ensures you pay for only what you need.)

Note: The majority of VPS providers use hosting platforms such as Xen® and VMware®, which do not allow oversubscription. For example, DynDNS.com's own Spring Server℠ VPS instances utilize Xen to ensure reserved resource allocation. However, some providers utilize VPS software such as Virtuozzo, which does allow oversubscription; these providers typically offer packages at lower rates, but customers may experience the same problems with oversubscription as Shared Hosting. When selecting a service provider, it is important to investigate the VPS platform that the provider has chosen to ensure your resources are properly guaranteed.

Recommended for: General-purpose web services and economical scaling

Cloud Computing - "Many users, many boxes"

There is some confusion about the definition of cloud computing and how it differs from VPS hosting, as both utilize the same technologies for slightly different ends. When we talk about cloud computing, we consider specific examples such as Amazon's EC2 service.

Cloud computing allows customers to utilize a given amount of processing power, bandwidth, RAM and storage from a cluster of linked machines. Cloud computing is fluid, as opposed to the more or less static VPS instances; since each of the components are delinked, a customer can request double the RAM and half the storage at any time based on the current requirements, without affecting the processing power, then spawn or remove a dozen more instances of their server image at will. This provides a nimble, flexible system in which the customer can request and pre-schedule exactly the right amount of power for the job.

This primary difference between cloud computing and VPS is almost a matter of billing: the former is a scaling, hourly fee while the latter is a flat monthly fee. Cloud computing's a la carte billing method allows for a more finely-tuned usage; if you need twenty servers to handle mid-day traffic but only two around midnight, you can schedule exactly the right amount of resources for the right time - and only pay for what you use. Cloud computing is ideal for customers whose needs spike rapidly over small periods of time, ensuring you aren't paying for unnecessary resources. On the other hand, for customers whose requirements are more stable and who are looking for an "always-on" solution, VPS or Dedicated Servers may be better choices.

Recommended for: Mid- to large-volume applications with highly variable resource requirements

Dedicated Server - "One user, one box"

Dedicated Servers are an investment; while the other services mentioned in this article talk about virtualization and instancing, a Dedicated Server is an actual, physical machine, one you lease (managed hosting) or even own yourself (colocation). The resources afforded to you by a single Dedicated Server can easily host dozens of virtualized machines, depending on how you divide the resources, or you can commit a single Dedicated Server to one powerful task.

Fittingly, the only other choice in this article that affords as much control is Self-Hosting, since you choose not only the software and operating system but the hardware itself. This gives you the ability to tweak the physical machine as you see fit, tuning the performance at a level far below the virtual options to ensure the absolute best performance possible. Unlike Self-Hosting, Dedicated Server providers are usually colocated in facilities adjacent to the very backbone of the Internet, placing vast amounts of bandwidth at your personal disposal.

As one may expect, Dedicated Server hosting is the most powerful and most expensive of the types of hosting. There are two types of Dedicated Server hosting: managed hosting and colocation. With colocation, the customer purchases the hardware and personally visits the colocation facility to install it. Should a problem occur, the customer is expected to send his or her own personnel to handle any potential problems. With managed hosting, the provider takes care of the physical installation and maintenance of the hardware, though naturally the price will be that much higher for the customer support; additionally, some managed hosting providers use consumer-grade hardware, which may be less efficient or reliable than servers typically selected for colocation.

If you require the raw power of a Dedicated Server and have a solid forecast of your needs in the foreseeable future, it is the best choice as a long-term business investment - the difference between renting an apartment and purchasing a house.

Recommended for: Long-term investment, developers, web service providers