What characterizes cloud hosting?

Cloud hosting is characterized by the use of a network of virtual servers that offers scalability. This means that resources can be dynamically allocated and adjusted based on demand, allowing for greater flexibility in handling varying workloads. In a cloud hosting environment, multiple servers work together, which distributes the load and improves reliability and uptime. If one server goes down, others can take over, making cloud hosting a resilient option for running applications and services.

The concept of scalability is pivotal because it allows businesses to increase or decrease their resources in real-time as their needs change, often without downtime. This flexibility is particularly important for businesses that experience fluctuating traffic levels, as it enables them to only pay for what they use without the need for physical hardware adjustments.

This distinguishes it from dedicated server hosting, which relies on specific physical servers, and from static website hosting, which typically does not have the same level of dynamic resource management. Peer-to-peer hosting, on the other hand, involves distributed networks without centralized servers, which is fundamentally different from how cloud hosting operates. Thus, the key feature of cloud hosting lies in its network of virtual servers that provide the scalability essential for modern web applications.