What is cloud hosting? It is a form of web hosting that were once only used by the larger online companies like Google and Amazon to host their website, but now even small businesses are starting to make the move from traditional hosting services to cloud servers. Unlike a dedicated hosting plan where one client is given exclusive use of one server to host a website, in a cloud system, the load of hosting a website is spread across multiple servers that work together. This is the “cloud.”

The biggest benefit of using a cloud hosting service is that it is more reliable and less prone to crashing than dedicated server hosting. Because the workload is divided across multiple servers, if one of them crashes, the website they host will not go down. Using cloud servers your website will rarely go down, unless you take it down for maintenance works.

Cloud servers can also provide your website with large bandwidth allocations. So even if your website unexpectedly gains a very large level of internet traffic, instead of slowing down and even crashing (which usually happens with dedicated servers), a cloud server system another server will just provide your website with the resources it needs to stay online and function as normal. This is great for small businesses because as they expand their website will be able to keep up with them.

Another great benefit of using cloud hosting is that the servers are not located on site. Companies no longer need to own and maintain their servers, this leaves their IT team with more time to devote to other pressing matters in the company. Not having hulking computer servers also mean that you will be saving a lot of floor area in your offices and the total electric consumption will also be considerably lowered as a result, and lowering your company’s carbon footprint as a result.

The main reason why most small companies have not switched over to cloud hosting is that they have issues with the price, but the truth is that the costs of this kind of hosting service has considerably fallen the past couple of months. There are also some hosting companies that will only charge according to the amount of resources that the website uses, which means great savings for companies who know how to manage their resources properly so that they can get all the benefits of using cloud servers without the premium price.

Cloud hosting is poised to take over the web hosting landscape in the next couple of years because it can benefit companies large and small websites alike. With the costs continually going down, more companies are starting to migrate their websites to the more reliable cloud servers. If you use cloud servers, you no longer have to worry about downtime so you can focus most of your attention and resources in the other important aspects of your business. If you want your company to expand, then start by transferring your website onto the “cloud.”

Cloud Hosting: The Future Of Website Hosting Is Here is a post from: Brain Host Web Hosting

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The exponential increase in the number of Internet users over the past few years has caused a need for servers to evolve, becoming faster, bigger, and better in order to keep up with the pace of Internet growth. Below we’ll take a look at some of the biggest server breakthroughs in recent history and how they’ve helped revolutionize the web hosting and server administration industries.

#1: Data Security

Perhaps the biggest concern shared by today’s Internet users is the security of his/her personal information. It has been an issue of concern to so many that it lead to various privacy legislation and acts in US. The biggest breakthrough in data security has been data encryption. A well secured data transfer from a secure server ensures the highest level of encryption using public-private key cryptography and further encryption of public key using symmetric cryptography. The variety of cryptographic scheme ranges from 8-bit encryption to 256-bit encryption.

In addition to encryption, the development of Secure Socket Layer (SSL) prevents packet sniffing and data sniffing from a data transmission between two servers. This further enhances the security as the data being transferred is encrypted first and then sent through SSL transmission that blocks any unauthorized extraction of user data. Security has played a vital role in web hosting revolution, as it has allowed web hosting to become secure and reliable.

#2: Real-Time Data Analysis

Data warehousing, when combined with data mining and cloud computing, has revolutionized the way data is treated. The problem with data warehousing used to be that it only allowed analysis of data once it had been stored. Real-time data analysis, or the data manipulation of data ‘in motion,’ was a breakthrough that brought about a revolution within a revolution.

The ability to provide real time analysis has not only increased the effectiveness of high-level decision making, but it has also decreased the time needed to perform such tasks. And the advanced architecture used for the implementation of the software ensures minimum data loss, even in the worst case scenarios. This revolutionary breakthrough introduced a new level of data integrity and performance at the server end of the decision making process.

#3: Cloud Storage and Cloud Computing

Data analysis is a heavy task to perform that requires powerful machines that are far more robust and faster than typical PCs and laptops. For such tasks, powerful servers are required, and this has resulted in the development of cloud servers. Cloud servers are virtual servers that allow access to websites, data, and software as if they were stored locally. They also give users the ability to scale up or down the resources used by an application, dynamically making the whole process faster and more resource efficient.

The latter half of this decade saw new business startups being hosted by cloud servers, as they cater specifically to the requirements of developing business according to their fluctuating demands. The administration of software, data and file storage on cloud servers is not a daunting task, as it is on a local server or machine. Cloud servers also offer unlimited space, which eliminates the need to delete historical or old data.

The server breakthroughs we talked about in this article have already revolutionized the course of the web hosting industry. As the Internet continues to grow and evolve, so to will the server technology being used behind the scenes. Only the future knows what the next big server revolution will bring!

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Cloud service provider FiberCloud announced this week that it has added virtual firewall options to its cloud server solutions. These new firewall features will allow Windows and Linux Cloud customers to manage secure and custom connections across multiple cloud servers.

Web hosting providers that are part of FiberCloud’s reseller program will be able to offer customers additional security through this offering.

According to FiberCloud, customers will have full control over network traffic with the virtual firewall feature. The virtual firewall allows customers to form secure connections when managing traffic and give people the ability to move data between their private network of cloud servers.

“We think that security and flexibility are crucial to our cloud server products,” Susan DeFlorio, COO at FiberCloud, said in a statement. “By adding this new Virtual Firewall option to our cloud servers, we’re empowering customers with greater choices and greater freedom to access and move information across multiple cloud servers.”

Virtual firewalls can be added to any FiberCloud cloud server without installing software on the server itself.

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Google officially announced this week that it has launched its new cloud storage service Google Drive. According to the Google blog, users will get 5GB of free storage and can upgrade for a monthly fee (25GB for $2.49/month, 100GB for $4.99/month, or 1TB for $49.99/month).

Web hosts that currently offer cloud storage don’t see Google Drive as much of a threat at the moment, as Google Drive is designed to work seamlessly with other Google products (like Gmail) as a way for Google to retain customers rather than acquire new ones. However, as Google Drive continues to evolve, web hosts may need to lower their cloud storage prices.

Web hosts may also want to take note of third-party app integration, since there are several free web hosting apps in the Google Chrome web store (like Yola, which includes a free website builder and hosting that can be integrated with Google Drive).

Google Drive offers all the features a consumer would want in a cloud storage product, including collaboration. Google Docs has been integrated into Google Drive to allow users to work with others in real time on documents, spreadsheets, and other items.

Currently, users can install Google drive on both Macs and PCs, as well as download the app on Android devices. iOS support is scheduled to be added soon.

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Cloud backup software provider BackupAgent launched its new WHMCS integration module this week, which allows the company’s web hosting partners to connect cloud backup into their control panel.

According to their press release, the module is available for all web hosts in the SPLA partner program “Powered by BackupAgent” that use the WHMCS control panel.

“We are incredibly excited with the launch of the integration module. We are always eager to keep up to date with the latest hosting technologies and we are proud to be the first cloud backup platform to integrate with WHMCS,” Robbert van Geldrop, CTO of BackupAgent said in a statement. “We have had a tremendous amount of requests for WHMCS and are delighted we can now satisfy these requests.”

WHMCS was created in 2005 as an all-in-one client management, billing and support solution. According to the press release, WHMCS is used by online businesses in more than 90 countries, and is a standard option for web hosts.

“A significant number of our customers, especially within the hosting sector, have requested a cloud backup service to be integrated in our control panel and billing platform,” Matt Pugh, president and CEO of WHMCS said in a statement. “BackupAgent has done a great job in building a module and we are confident it will be popular with our users.”

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Greenpeace published its “How Green Is Your Cloud?” report this week, giving Amazon.com a failing grade for not being transparent enough about its cloud infrastructure and its lack of clean energy.

In the report, Greenpeace assesses 14 of the biggest IT companies in the world for categories like energy transparency, energy efficiency, greenhouse-gas mitigation, renewables and advocacy, etc.

The report also looks at each company’s use of coal, nuclear energy, and clean energy. Amazon and Apple received the worst rankings in the clean energy category.

Greenpeace estimated the power usages of both Apple and Amazon, and while both companies stated the numbers were inaccurate, neither has publicized the actual figures.

Overall, Amazon got the worst report card ratings, with an F in transparency, an F in infrastructure siting, a D in efficiency, and an F in renewables and advocacy.

“AWS has seen tremendous growth over the past year, but fails to disclose information on its environmental footprint at either a company-wide or facility level,” Greenpeace wrote. “AWS is tight-lipped when it comes to the details of the energy sourcing for its data centers, [though] a recent analysis indicates that the vast majority – over two thirds – of the servers powering the AWS E2 Elastic Computing cloud computing platform are based in data centres in northern Virginia, an area where the grid is particularly coal-heavy.”

Amazon defended itself, citing the overall environmental benefits of cloud computing, which allows countless companies to consolidate their data center use.

Google was the only company to receive an A in the renewable energy and advocacy categories, and received the highest rating overall.

“Three of the largest IT companies building their business around the cloud — Amazon, Apple and Microsoft — are all rapidly expanding without adequate regard to source of electricity, and rely heavily on dirty energy to power their clouds,” Greenpeace said in its report. “Yahoo and Google both continue to lead the sector in prioritizing access to renewable energy in their cloud expansion, and both have become more active in supporting policies to drive greater renewable energy investment.”

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CDN and cloud provider OnApp released its OnApp Cloud 2.3.2 this week. OnApp Cloud 2.3.2 is a cloud platform for service providers and enterprises that includes free Anycast DNS service.

The DNS service provides low-latency, resilient global DNS service that’s fully managed and integrated with the OnApp Cloud platform, which means better application performance for users minus the hassle of managing a DNS infrastructure for the service provider.

OnApp clients can use the Anycast DNS service for their own domains as well as their customers’ domains at no charge.

OnApp’s Anycast DNS service is hosted at 14 data centers around the world. The service is available to clients running the full version of OnApp Cloud with CDN enables.

This latest version of OnApp Cloud includes more than 500 new features and enhancements, such as flexible licensing options for Windows virtual machines, backup server options, and new search tools.

You can view a full list of the features included in OnApp Cloud 2.3.2 on the OnApp website.

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Maybe you’ve heard of some of the problems that Cloud hosts are experiencing. Whether it’s issues of data loss or monitoring use, the cloud is going through its share of stormy weather. Here are four of our favorite products that make the cloud a little less dreary:

#1: Cloud Computing Insurance

Ever experience issues of liability due to data loss? Cloud insurance fills the gap between cloud provider and consumer, creating a safety net in case of data interruption. While cloud computing services assume many of the costs of hardware and software upkeep, they do not assume risk or liability for your data. Cloud insurance enables you to harness the power of the cloud, without sacrificing risk protection or profits.

Get it here: http://www.insuringtech.com/cloud-computing-insurance/

#2: Cloudyn

Is there a huge divide between the cloud hosting package you pay for and your actual use of the cloud? Cloudyn monitors your cloud-hosted website, seeking the optimal balance between your operational requirements and your budget. You’re still in control over your site, but Cloudyn provide cost and resizing recommendations that you can implement as you see fit. Cloudyn also predicts your cloud cost and capacity and gives recommendations for how to best use your existing cloud package. Actively monitoring tens of thousands of virtual instances, Cloudyn delivers an average of 40% cost reductions and 67% cost reduction at a highest. For those looking to reevaluate their cloud package, this could be a worthwhile investment.

Get it here: http://www.cloudyn.com/

#3: Corent’s Multi-Tenant Server™ (MTS™)

Having difficulty turning your applications into SaaS? MTS is a software “plug-in” that instantly transforms conventional software applications into multi-tenant SaaS (Software as a Service) solutions. The company helps clients avoid the time consuming and costly process of re-architecting their applications into SaaS. In addition, this service provides you with a turnkey environment to deploy, operate, and manage your newly transformed SaaS solutions on any public, private or hybrid cloud, all while ensuring the lowest cost of service delivery.

Get it here: http://www.corenttechnology.com/

#4: Layered Tech’s Colocation

Do you require a more secure location for your IT resources? Layered Tech’s Colocation services allow you to deploy critical IT resources in selected top-tier data centers. These data centers are designed to provide the highest levels of protection, power and network availability to information technology resources.

Get it here: http://www.layeredtech.com/

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Networking vendor Cisco announced yesterday that they have teamed up with EMC to offer a new series of educational courses about cloud architecture, virtualization, data science, storage, and date center networking.

There are a number of different certifications available for web hosting professionals, providing a good opportunity for web hosts that are looking to certify their employees.

The courses will include material from virtualization software provider VMware, and will be delivered in “learning paths,” which allows managers to assign specific material to their employees. For example, the systems administrator learning path includes courses about cloud infrastructure and VMware vSphere, whereas the data center network architect learning path focuses on other topics.

“Today’s data center is composed of heterogeneous technologies, with the cloud blurring the lines between technology silos. IT organizations must cultivate new cloud architecture skills, understand how to use big data and maintain deep domain expertise with a renewed understanding of virtualization and technology convergence,” said Jeanne Beliveau-Dunn, vice president and general manager of Learning@Cisco, Cisco’s certification and education arm. “With this offering Cisco and EMC are leading the way in transforming skills for the next generation of IT professionals.”

The courses are currently offered in bundles according to learning paths, as well as “a la carte,” allowing users to purchase courses individually. Bundles start at around $10,000.

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Cloud storage and backup service providers StorageCraft and Symform released a study this week indicating that more companies now use the cloud for data storage and backup.

The study surveyed almost 600 companies across a variety of industries about current data volumes, expected data growth, current data backup practices, and backup-related challenges.

Almost 40 percent of those surveyed currently use a cloud solution for their primary or secondary data backup, and 15 percent said they are very satisfied with their current data backup solution. Two-thirds named the costs of cloud backup systems as a problem.

For primary data backup, Network Attach Storage devices ranked highest at almost 50 percent, with external hard drives coming in a close second at 42 percent, followed by cloud backup at 35 percent. Only two percent of respondents do nothing for data backup.

“This research validates that small and medium businesses are turning to the cloud in increasing numbers to leverage the agility and ease of management; however, it’s clear there is room for improvement around overall costs and data restore capabilities,” said Margaret Dawson, vice president of marketing and product management at Symform. “These challenges are why nearly 25 percent of the companies are doing only single-tier backup, which puts their business at a huge risk if they were to have a local data loss event.”

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