For a long time the sole platform option in hosting was between low-
price shared servers or higher- cost dedicated servers. Now there is a sensible
third choice – mid- priced Virtual Private Servers or VPS.
Virtual is the key description here. A VPS offers most of the advantages of a
dedicated server whilst actually running on shared hardware. It is achieved with
the aid of modern clever virtualization software that creates and manages a
number of ‘virtual servers’ on a single box.
Each ‘virtual server’ appears to the customer’s applications, databases and so
forth as if it really is a dedicated server, which includes a predetermined
memory size, disk size and network data transfer. It even allows the customer to
fully configure the environment for their specific application and
The computer software then protects that ‘virtual server’ from the activities of
all other ‘virtual servers’ which are operating on the same physical hardware.
So, should another customer’s application go rogue because of a coding error or
get swamped with internet transactions or be in any way compromised, other
‘virtual servers’ would carry on as normal. Even a significant crash within one
virtual server won’t affect the rest. Each partition is autonomous and to both
inside and outside visitors the server partition appears to be is a stand alone
server to all intents and purposes.
The software that makes VPS viable is becoming very advanced indeed and
recent times have seen the entry of companies like Microsoft into the
marketplace with what they dub their Hyper-V product. That is strong evidence
that the concept of VPS is swiftly becoming mainstream, not merely for
hosting companies but also for large IT users trying to optimize the
effectiveness of their hardware utilization.
There are multiple advantages of VPS compared to shared servers, some
clearer than others. The greatest disadvantage to using a shared environment for
your websites or applications is the possible impact on your system’s efficiency
and stability of those that you share space with.
All you need is one of the other user’s applications to crash badly and the
whole of the shared server is likely to quit and need re- booting or even
repair. In addition another user’s website becoming very popular might slow the
system down for your programs as they would use up a disproportionate amount of
the shared system resources.
If you have a breach in
You will have less responsibility for your server’s
Under the VPS approach these shared hosting issues just go away. It’s as
simple as that.
The software protects each ‘virtual server’ from the others and isolates the key
resources which have been configured. So if one VPS has been configured with
512Mb of RAM, then it always has that level of memory available to it
irrespective of what other ‘virtual servers’ are asking for(despite the fact
that the total pool of RAM is shared amongst all ‘virtual servers’). It is this
protection and isolation that justifies the use of the word “private” in the VPS
label.
What are the benefits of VPS over dedicated servers? Consider that before
the latest VPS software became available the only alternative to the
performance ‘lucky dip’ of shared servers was a dedicated box, a server that you
owned/leased exclusively for your own use.
This required the hosting provider to purchase and configure new hardware for
each buyer. This in turn meant a significant capital investment upfront from the
hosting company and the swift usage of their data center space, power, network
connections and so on. Thus the fee for dedicated servers is usually pretty
high.
The VPS process adjusts the web host’s costs significantly. Now, they can
provide a near- dedicated server quality of service and features using shared
hardware, which reduces the consumption of their data center racking, power and
network connections. This cost reduction may then be passed onto their clients
by way of reduced fees.
One other cost- associated matter that using VPS technology changes noticeably
only comes into play after several years of use … hardware renewal. In the
traditional dedicated server setup, when the server hardware attained a certain
age, typically around three years, it made sense to lessen the risk of failure
whilst also allowing the customer to obtain developments on processors speeds
and so on, to renew or “refresh” the hardware.
The idea of renewing the hardware after a cycle of continuous use still holds
true for a VPS, but the big distinction is in who pays for the new equipment.
For a dedicated server, the full cost of the replacement hardware was borne by
the client through the fee levels, sometimes including a new set- up fee too.
With the VPS model, the price is distributed across a number of customers and as
a consequence the fees can stay low throughout multi- year plans even when
hardware refresh is involved.
Virtualization is being quickly embraced by both hosting companies and large IT
using organizations because it makes strong financial and technical sense. There
will, obviously, still be complex computing needs for which true dedicated
servers are a requirement but for many commercial computing demands,
virtualization offers considerable resilience and performance improvements over
using shared servers with no technical disadvantages. VPS has certainly come of
age.
As a VPS hosting customer you will effectively be allocated a partition within a
server that’s exclusive to you. That partition is a self contained server where
you can run all your applications as well as your own operating system, all
customized to your requirements and wishes. It offers you the efficiency of a
dedicated server at a more affordable price but the VPS option usually includes
more technical and financial responsibility than a shared hosting plan.
One of the key advantages of leasing a VPS is the ability to have more resources
allotted to your web pages. With shared hosting you’re restricted with resources
and must share it with many other websites. All of these websites compete with
each other for the resources of the server. When you lease a VPS, you’ve got the
peace of mind that a set volume of memory, and hard drive space is allocated to
you. This will be significant if you are running websites which are resource-
intensive or that have particularly high visitor traffic. Not only do you have
those set resources, but you can customize the VPS to match your demands.
The customization feature of VPS is perhaps the best selling point. The
ability to run your own operating system and software as you wish, setup your
own version of PHP, and MYSQL, and having full root access to your partition
gives you an invaluable edge on shared hosting and a degree of autonomy and
control that rivals those on a truly dedicated box.
Another great benefit of VPS hosting is the ability to handle growth. Most
websites begin small, and then grow with time. By using a virtual private
server, you’ll have the resources available to handle your growth. This is due
to the fact that you are not on a shared web hosting environment. With shared
hosting when you reach a certain point, the web host may request you upgrade to
another plan since your site is using too much of the server’s resources. Always
keep in mind that with shared web hosting you are literally sharing resources.
With your VPS, you can grow as needed.