What is cloud hosting and what are its advantages and disadvantages?

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Understanding the cloud

Let's start at the beginning remembering what web hosting is: a service offered to the owners of a website so they can store all kinds of files (like images or videos) over the internet.

That is, we pay a hosting provider (such as Bluehost) to accommodate our website. Until very recently, hosting was hosted on physical servers, and they still do, but new technologies have taken a step forward with the emergence of "the cloud," what we know as the cloud.

"The cloud" is still a storage space, but in this case virtual. With cloud computing, or cloud storage, we no longer need an extension of our hard drive, as was the case before. Cloud computing allows us to store our files on virtual servers without having to depend on a physical location.

And we can also use applications, programs and other tools from any computer. This new technology is a true digital revolution for many companies, which migrate their files to the cloud reducing expenses by not having to occupy a certain physical space.

What is cloud hosting?

Cloud hosting refers to servers based on cloud computing technology. In simple words it is the hosting of websites on virtual servers, so you no longer have to rely on a computer or a physical server.

The good news is that the user, or customer, only has to pay for what they actually use because it is not necessary to invest in hardware.

Memory, storage and processing resources work differently than traditional hosting with cloud hosting. With this new technology your space on the Internet does not depend on a server, but on a network of "nodes," that is, servers connected to "the cloud."

Is a cloud server the same as a virtual private server (VPS)?

No, although it can be confusing. Virtual private servers correspond to pre-cloud or "cloud" technology. The VPS is used when a shared server has outgrown us, for example by the large number of visitors we receive.

Unlike the shared server, the VPS server allocates resources exclusively to a user or company , apart from other installations on the server. By not sharing resources, we will not be affected in performance if there is a problem.

The problem with a VPS server is that it can cause hardware failures, among others, while the cloud hosting or cloud server is independent of the hardware and if there were any failures, the user could always migrate their data to another node.

The cloud hosting uses a large number of servers whose distribution is distributed among various data centers located in different places. Another disadvantage of the VPS server is that technical knowledge is necessary, which is not the case with a shared server.

Advantages of cloud hosting

Let us list the main advantages:

1. Saving money. The best thing about a cloud server is the tremendous savings it provides, since we only pay for what we use and we will be aware when we see the income statement. On the other hand, if we opt for a traditional hosting we will have to pay a fixed amount, whether or not we use all the resources.
   
   Unlike the shared server, the VPS server allocates resources exclusively to a user or company , apart from other installations on the server. By not sharing resources, we will not be affected in performance if there is a problem.
   
   
2. More availability. Cloud servers offer the possibility to access the number of servers we need quickly and efficiently . We can, for example, expand storage capacity automatically, without having to change plans or be required to consult with the technical support of a hosting service.
   
   
3. Flexibility or scalability of resources. We do not need to make new purchases of equipment , for example. We can increase or decrease the resources we need at a given time and unnecessary waiting is not necessary. As we pay only for what we use, we save on costs.
   
   
4. Easy to use control panel. Most cloud hosting service providers offer easy-to-use administration or control panels. We can schedule backups with just one click, when it is not the service company that is responsible for maintenance and updates. The management of our panel, in any case, is very simple and similar to that of a traditional hosting, such as the cPanel.
   
   
5. More stability. As we do not have to fear hardware failures by not relying on a physical server, we have greater availability, a fundamental aspect for many companies. This guarantees us a constant online presence, what we call uptime.
   
   Traditional hosting services offer an average of 99% because there are necessary server interruptions, such as maintenance or updating a hard disk, but with a cloud hosting we will have an uptime of 99.9%. This advantage is because the operating system automatically creates a replica of the failed server.
   
   

Disadvantages of cloud hosting

Here are the disadvantages:

1. Importance of a trusted provider. Not all are advantages when acquiring a cloud hosting service, so we will have to study whether it is necessary or not for our project. It is a very recent technology and the reality is that we do not know where the applications are running from.
   
   Therefore, it is important to have a provider that has a lot of experience and that generates total confidence when depositing all our information in your hands.
   
   
2. Security. It is important to stop to reflect on the aspects related to security, since data such as bank accounts, our company expansion projects, its strengths or weaknesses, are in the hands of a supplier that could have a technical problem.
   
   Nobody would like that data to be filtered on the network, therefore, and again, our service provider has to offer us great confidence.
   
   
3. Flexibility or scalability of resources. We do not need to make new purchases of equipment , for example. We can increase or decrease the resources we need at a given time and unnecessary waiting is not necessary. As we pay only for what we use, we save on costs.
   
   
4. Other problems. Important consultants in the technological field, such as Gartner, emphasize that cloud hosting must comply with regulatory compliance, that is, that the providers of this service are open to audits that ensure that we can entrust our data to them.
   
   Another issue that affects Gartner is that suppliers must abide by the data protection law in each country, in the case of Spain, the LOPD, that is, the Organic Law on Data Protection.
   
   We also have to take into account the economic cost of transferring all our infrastructure to the cloud and, finally, in case of resorting to a cloud hosting we may have to spend a little more and make sure that our data is free of the cybercriminals that swarm by Internet.