What is it?
How does it work?
Compared to
dedicated servers
Who should use it?
What's it used for?
What will it
do for you?
Cloud hosting is a service that offers server resources over the Internet. We provide this service from a network of physical servers - known as a cloud - by splitting it into lots of virtual private servers (VPS), which customers can lease. These virtual private servers take from a pool of processing power, memory and storage to give customers dedicated resources they can adapt to their needs.
Want to get started with cloud hosting? Take a look at our award-winning virtual private servers.
Back to top
We divide a cluster of physical servers into virtual private servers (VPS) with virtualisation software.
We run multiple virtual private servers on physical servers in our cloud thanks to Microsoft Hyper-V virtualisation software. In fact, we won the Microsoft Hyper V Cloud Partner award in 2011 for our work helping businesses move to the Cloud.
Virtual private servers run separate operating systems and applications from each other. As a result, users can choose the operating systems they want to run on their VPS. Customers that use our virtual private servers manage them through a web interface or API.
Find out more about different types of virtual private servers.
Back to top
Cloud hosting is different from dedicated-server hosting because cloud-hosting customers don't get specific hardware. Consequently, they're not limited by the capacity of that hardware. With virtual private servers, customers have access to a pool of processing power, memory and storage. They can expand their VPS' quickly by allocating more resources to them. However, virtual private servers are similar to dedicated servers in the sense that they give customers a dedicated, rather than shared, resource.
Find out more about dedicated servers.
Back to top
Businesses from any sector that want to:
Reduced IT costs
Businesses that use cloud hosting avoid the high upfront costs of new hardware and the subsequent costs of refreshing that hardware. Instead, they get a predictable monthly/annual cost based on the resources they've used. In addition, cloud-hosting customers aren't responsible for the cost of the data center, power, cooling, connectivity and maintenance associated with on-premise IT because hosting companies take care of these costs.
Improved performance
Cloud-hosting customers don't have to worry about hardware renewals and refreshes because we ensure they always have the latest hardware, which gives them high levels of performance. In addition, dynamic server-load balancing distributes workloads across physical machines to give customers the best performance from their virtual private servers (VPS).
Increased business agility
Cloud-hosting customers can easily alter the capacity of their servers to meet the changing needs of their businesses. For instance, businesses with websites on virtual private servers can schedule upgrades to cope with peaks in traffic. This ensures sites don't go down or suffer from poor performance when they're busy.
Improved business continuity
Cloud hosting can reduce the amount of downtime customers' experience. It ensures their systems are always up and running. If hardware fails, they don't have to wait for repairs because their virtual private servers fail over instantly. This means they automatically switch from failed components to working components in that cloud and their servers operate without losing data or server availability.
Reduced carbon footprint
Businesses can reduce their carbon footprint by moving their IT to the Cloud. Instead of supporting a room of underutilised servers, cloud-hosting customers get the capacity they need on virtual private servers (VPS). This means they consume less energy and have a smaller carbon footprint. Cloud hosts can offer this thanks to virtualisation technology, which allows them to use more of their servers' capacity. According to analysts Gartner, virtualisation can reduce the energy consumed by servers by 82 per cent. All Fasthosts data centres are supplied by energy produced from renewable sources.
Back to top
Flexible payment options - including monthly contracts
Automatic deployment - get your VPS online fast
or call our sales team on 0808 1686 777
Are you interested in Cloud Computing but unsure of the next steps?
In order to provide you with the best online experience this website uses cookies. By using our website, you agree to our use of cookies. Find out more
Our services are so reliable that over 90% of our customers never need to contact us.
© 1999-2013 Fasthosts Internet ltd. All rights reserved.
Fasthosts is the trading name of Fasthosts Internet Limited. Company registration No. 3656438. Registered in England and Wales.
VAT No. 720821857. Registered office: Discovery House, 154 Southgate Street, Gloucester, GL1 2EX, United Kingdom.
Prices exclude VAT (Charged at 20%) unless otherwise stated. Privacy policy Terms of service Cookie Law