EP2 Cloud Hosting Network in San Diego

You've probably heard of Cloud Hosting or Cloud Computing by now and the impact it will have on computing in the next several years. It's impact on your website hosting is no different. At EPhost we've recently launched the EP2 Cloud Hosting Network enabling us to deploy scalable on-demand servers for our customers... but you are probably asking what is cloud hosting in the first place and how can it help my business?

The Cloud Network

Cloud Hosting is a network of physical computers not unlike today's standard networks. The primary difference being that the physical servers serve as a "host" system to multiple "virtual servers" which can roam across the physical servers. You can think of a virtual server as a server within a server. Or in other terms, multiple software-based servers running on an actual physical server. In this case, the physical being replaced by software (a.k.a. virtual). This setup is very similar to how the Internet is today and the "cloud" is analogous to the "web". The ability of a host system to run multiple virtual servers provides for greater efficiency through consolidation-- both in the amount of servers, and in the actual amount of electricity needed power them. In the case of a server outage the virtual servers living on a host will migrate to a different server in the cloud while the other is being repaired. This is made possible by redundant centralized data storage systems that all hosts and virtual servers can access directly.

Virtual Server Service

In the world of web hosting we provide entire virtual servers for customers to use to host their websites. Virtual servers operate exactly the same as a physical dedicated server. For the end-user there is really no difference. You can still remote to the machine and manage it. It doesn't look any different either, but ultimately it's much better. A virtual server is a much more flexible computing environment than a dedicated physical server. A virtual server is hosted on a physical server that is generally many times greater than a typical dedicated server. Virtual servers not only have guaranteed server resources but are allowed to use the additional resources equally with other virtual servers. This, combined with the ease of migrating virtual servers to less-used physical systems, gives virtual servers a huge advantage over traditional physical dedicated servers. Additionally, since service providers are actually saving money through consolidation, they can offer virtual servers less expensively than a typical physical server. This gives more people access to the benefits of an isolated and secure system in which to host their website. A typical example of isolation is to simply have the ability to install your own software. This is not possible in traditional shared web hosting and expensive considering the cost of a dedicated server. In the case of security, you can choose to lock down your virtual server in any way you want without the expense of a physical dedicated server.

Opportunities and Uses

It's not hard to find many ways to make good use of a virtual server. They include development machines, load balancing and failover servers, software testing and production web servers. In fact, there is little you can't do with an EPhost Virtual Server. Our servers come in both managed and unmanaged servioce levels and ala-cart resources so that you only pay for what you need and still get all the help you need.

Summary

There are several clouds, both private like the EP2 cloud and public ones. Perhaps someday there will just one giant cloud made up of many service providers. In the meantime, a private cloud is likely to be the choice for businesses for the foreseeable future for guaranteed service and support. Cloud hosting benefits everyone in providing better web hosting system (security, performance, redundancy, and flexibility), cost savings through consolidation for the service provider, and of course the benefits to the environment.