Types of web hosting services

Shared - The most common service is shared hosting. This arrangement puts multiple websites on a single server. Each website is separate and distinct in its access by web surfers, but the websites share the use of the hardware, software, connection and administrative resources.

Dedicated Servers- This arrangement is like buying or renting a home in a managed housing development in that you share a piece of real estate, but you live separately from the neighbors. This arrangement allows the customer to rent or own their own server. The host furnishes the server, installs the software and maintains it. The website owner is responsible for managing the applications and the content of the website.

In-House - If you were to take the components of a hosting company; the hardware, software, Internet connection and administration and operate it on the premises of your business, you have in-house hosting.

You can get more details about Web Hosting and Dedicated servers on Web Hosting Forums

Introduction to Dedicated Hosting

While a shared web hosting costs much less than a dedicated server, the latter is the preferred web hosting service by many companies because of its reliability and control.

Dedicated hosting is emerging as a popular option for many midsized companies and businesses that put premium on control and flexibility of a single server. This setup requires minimal intervention for the hardware and software aspects as these are handled by the web hosting companies. This includes binding IP address, set up of firewall or filters, installation of Apache or DNS to the server.