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Virtual Private Servers (VPS) Explained

Web Hosting nowadays is more than just an Apache web server on a linux box serving static web pages (HTML). With the introduction of dynamic web sites utilizing PHP and ASP the needs for server resources like RAM and CPU power rose significantly.

Even though the resources needed to provide fast and reliably the web site to the end user raised, there is no guarantee of a web hosting provider that will reserve the resources needed for your web site. And there is where virtual private servers or VPS in short come to use.

A VPS is basically a part of the physical server, separated from the rest and reserved for the needs of the web site that it will host. By picking a VPS as your solution in web hosting you will get guaranteed RAM, Disk Space and CPU share that will be reserved for your use and will not be accessible by anyone else.

Several technologies can provide a VPS solution like Virtuozzo, OpenVZ, VMware ESX and Hyper-V. All of those technologies have advantages and disadvantages, making me unable to point to the overall best one. What can be considered true is that if your main use of a VPS is to host a web site then virtuozzo is the best solution as it is much faster than the other technologies regarding web site hosting and can provide better response rates almost identical as hosting the web site in a standalone physical server. Another major advantage of virtuozzo is the excellent integration with Plesk Panel which is a control panel used by most webmasters in order to manage their web site.

Finally since the cost of maintaining a physical server just for hosting a web site might be higher than the budget available, VPS’es are an excellent way to get what you want and save a significant amount of money.

Virtual private servers in general can do anything that a physical server can do, ranging from game servers, irc servers and online storage to mail servers.

What is VPS Hosting

A Virtual Private Server (VPS) is a dedicated section of a Web server which is divided or partitioned into several parts to operate like multiple Web servers. Virtual Private Servers (VPS) are considered the next step up from Shared Hosting, and a step below Dedicated Hosting.

Virtual Private Servers (VPS) gives the user complete control over the dedicated section of the machine, which acts as its own operating system.

Advantages of Virtual Private Servers (VPS) are:

• Users have full administrative access (root access) to their section.

• Accounts are isolated (to some extent) from other accounts on the same Web Server.

• Hardware and network infrastructures are maintained by the Virtual Private Servers (VPS) hosting provider.

• Virtual Private Servers (VPS) hosting is less expensive than Dedicated Server hosting plans.

Disadvantages of Virtual Private Servers (VPS) are:

• Virtual Private Servers (VPS) hosting is more expensive than Shared Hosting plans, meaning VPS is cost-effective only if the allotted space is used.

• Users are responsible for some of the server-side administration, such as application installation and maintenance.
• Users who don’t have the necessary skills may have to hire someone to administer their Virtual Private Servers (VPS).
• Hardware assets such as CPU, RAM, and Disk I/O are still shared.

If you don’t secure your Virtual Private Servers (VPS) properly, it may be open to hackers.

Types of VPS Solutions

• HyperV

• OpenVZ

• VMware

• Xen

• VDSmanager

• Parallels Virtuozzo