If you need to get pages online that are run by a few people, virtual web hosting may be the answer for you. Computers that are linked can offer thousands of users the opportunity to form groups of varying numbers to create websites hosted by the linked computers. The host computers have a virtual web hosting program that can allow literally hundreds of user to be running websites concurrently.
Virtual web hosting is a simple concept. One central host computer will manage several websites created by a few different online servers. A program that acts as a virtual DNS resolution program enables this hosting to be provided. In this way, each user can then have their own user and domain name particular to their personal site. These websites are then able to be linked with ease, as the host computer recognises each online address and the individual or group that operates the site.
IP hosting is the primary type of web hosting. This virtual web hosting allows provides each site that is linked to the host computer its own IP address. The HTTP GET orders instructions sent to the host computer identify which website they relate to, and the action to be performed will be recognised by the IP number connected to the instructions. It is then simply a matter of the host computer following the directions given and the IP numbers will direct where the commands must go to. This is helpful for sites that require added security for their material.
A second style of virtual web hosting is one that uses the name of the site to organise the sites being hosted. This type of web hosting links numerous sites that share the same IP address to the one host computer, rather than having individual IP addresses. With this web hosting platform the websites are ordered and identified by site domain name names. The HTTP GET orders sent to the host are then sorted by the domain name of the originating website. For computers that have no great requirement of high security, this is a common hosting format. It can also be used for individuals’ websites that have many various domain names. If the website offers an online shopping service or a service that requires extra security, then secure socket layers (SSL) will be required. SSL protocols allow a number of people to access and use the site, but provides anonymous FTP server usage, utilising separate security certificates when accessing various parts of the website.
The issue with virtual web hosting is that host computers may only have a limited number of IP addresses or domain names that clients can make use of. As well as this, the online browsers that are needed for this are HTTP 1.0 enabled, and if they are incompatible with this they may require name based requests to navigate the website.