A lot of people have their heads in the clouds these days, and it turns out that a great number of them are web developers and site owners. We’re talking cloud hosting here, and how it is starting to make its presence known after long anticipation. So just what is cloud hosting, and how will it affect the web hosting industry in general and your sites in particular? Let’s take a look.
To properly understand cloud hosting we need at least a basic understanding of just how cloud computing works. The best thumbnail definition I can give you is from Gartner Research who says that cloud computing is “a style of computing whose massively scalable and elastic, IT-related capabilities are provided ‘as a service’ to external customers using Internet technologies.”
Very often people cite the examples of Amazon and Google, both of whom essentially rent the resources of their various data centers to customers. Google Apps are a good example of the cloud in action, allowing app developers to upload to the cloud, while Google takes care of the management of the virtual server. In fact, you may have found this article in the clouds: as Google Search and some of their other, more prominent apps run on a cloud infrastructure.
So how does web hosting fit in here? Very nicely, as it turns out. One of the most attractive aspects of cloud hosting, at least in theory, is the ability to manage resources better. This is done by having a number of sites clustered on a cloud that is not tied down to any one server. The host is able to handle the resources virtually, including load balancing, security issues, and hardware, enabling websites to draw upon as much processing power as it may need, generated by more than one server.
This type of technology is very scalable, and the opportunities for expansion and growth should your company suddenly require more resources is a breeze, compared to the horror story of website crashes, server migration, and site downtime common to when these things play out in today’s hosting environment. With Cloud hosting, it will not be a problem.
Since this type of service is billed like any other utility, you simply are charged for the power you use.
Some of the questions about cloud hosting involve security, as is always the case with new technology like this, which features a shared platform. Suffice to say for now, that security in the cloud hosting environment is certainly no worse than traditional web hosting, and should be better as hosts will have more time and money to pour into security issues.
Still in its infancy, cloud hosting will be a major player in the very near future. As of this moment, there are some hosting companies offering cloud hosting solutions, the best known of these being Mosso, an outgrowth of RackSpace. There will be more coming along shortly as the kinks are worked out.
