When we consider the clouds that sometimes cover our skies, we visualize the sky filled with many fluffy objects. During a storm or shower, the rain drops often come from a number of clouds. This creates a continuous flow of rain drops for a lengthy period of time. This period would have been much shorter if a single cloud had to operate in isolation. This kind of concept can be used to explain what is cloud hosting.
Traditionally servers worked in isolation and a single machine would be responsible for providing all the resources required to provide services to all the connected computers. In the case of a web host, the web server would be the machine that the connected computers connect to in order to view a particular web-page.
In the case of cloud hosting, the web server will be replaced by a web cloud. This would be the point at which all connecting computers will interface with the web host. To these connecting computers it would seem as if they are connecting to single web server in the usual way. In fact they will be using services provided by a whole group of computers working together in perfect synergy.
A number of separate web servers together form this imaginary cloud. They are found at a higher level and will not be accessed individually. Each of them will be assigned specific tasks. The overall result is that the workload which was usually carried by a single server is now spread between all the servers in the cloud. It leads to more effective management of resources. As a result, there will be a powerful cloud of services provided by a number of machines. Each machine will be operating well within its technical capacity and will not be over-burdened.
As we move through different periods of the day, the amount of traffic on the Internet varies considerably. This influences the amount physical volatile memory or bandwidth which is available. Peak times are often characterized by the slow speed that web-pages are able to download and viewed on connecting computers. When the supplying host is a cloud, the machines can work together to deal with the increased load. If they have been setup optimally, the end user might not even be aware of the increase traffic strain on the Internet.
When servers work in isolation, a total breakdown in functionality could be a total disaster. If there are no adequate contingency plans, this could result in a total loss in services while the web server is being tended to. In the case of cloud hosting, such a scenario is much easier to deal with. When a member of the cloud becomes dysfunctional, the other machines will be able to stand in while the affected machine is being fixed.
Cloud hosting is web hosting where a single server is replaced by a number of web servers working together. They share resources, reducing the workload on individual machines. As a result, they are able to provide a superior service when compared to individual web servers.
