What is VPS Hosting
VPS hosting is a practical but great way to get a dedicated server without spending a huge amount on internet hosting services. VPS hosting is an internet hosting service that provides full privacy and separate internet resources—meaning you don’t share server resources with other users.
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VPS offers users dedicated server resources such as CPU, RAM, storage disks, and bandwidth. It also allows the user full control over the server. This is unlike shared hosting where the users share one server and compete for its bandwidth and resources. In addition, VPS hosting gives users the freedom to customize the virtual server according to their own or their client’s needs. It hosts a secure and private environment for websites, databases, applications, and other online resources.
While there are different types of web hosting for various needs and reasons, VPS hosting is most useful and practical for the following scenarios:
- in running a huge and powerful application that needs lots of space in the central processing unit of your computer,
- when hosting a high-traffic website that requires more server resources than usual for optimum performance,
- in running websites with eCommerce platforms, which require efficient and smooth hosting operations,
- in running applications and software remotely, and
- if your business plans for future scalability and growth
VPS hosting companies offer basic server services, but they differ in one way or another. To help you decide which hosting provider is good for your business, these are the things to look for in the best VPS hosting providers:
- Reliable protection. Data are every business’ wealth; thus, they must be highly protected from cyberattacks. Remember that no one is safe from attacks; everyday cyber terrorists are discovering smart ways to hack into your website. Make sure that your provider cares about your data more than you do.
- Live backups. Unnecessarily losing your data is the worst scenario that can happen to your business. It is important that your VPS cloud server uses the best backup facility in case something unexpected occurs. It’s better to be safe than sorry.
- Flexible service plans. Flexibility is the name of the game. Different businesses have different hosting requirements and needs. A flexible plan that can be customized according to your needs is the one to go for.
- Unlimited traffic. If you want your business to get ahead of the competition, make sure that your website can handle high volumes of traffic. Your VPS hosting server should allow you to host services or applications that demand a lot of bandwidth. This way, you can provide your customers with an optimal browsing experience.
- The shortest possible latency period. Wasting time is wasting money, which is why it is critical that your VPS Hosting server responds quickly, has guaranteed hardware availability when needed, and provides consistent service.
Cloud VPS servers
VPS servers are cloud technologies, which means that data is stored in the cloud and accessed via the internet. Cloud hosting is a process that links several servers and draws resources from each in accordance with the demands of your website. Cloud hosting may be thought of as more “pay-as-you-go” because there is no predetermined price, and it relies on your use restrictions.
Combining cloud hosting and VPS yields several important benefits. It can provide a dynamic, scalable virtual environment. Most projects may be resourced within minutes, providing almost immediate access to a new server. The best part is that you can accomplish this without changing your server settings or migrating your data. The benefits of VPS cloud hosting are:
- Allocated server resources. Despite the fact that a cloud VPS server does not have a dedicated physical facility, it provides the same benefits. A user can also have access to a pool of cloud VPS, and exclusive access to the VPS company’s server’s CPU, RAM, and disk space.
- Strengthened security. Since you are the only user using a particular virtual machine, it makes your data more secure, just like its counterpart, a dedicated server. Unlike a shared hosting server, there is way more security with a cloud VPS. On shared servers, all users have access to a pool of the hosting provider’s resources, which may expose your site to security issues.
- Full control. Because you are the only user using the virtual partition server, you are entitled to full control of your resources. You can use resources at your discretion without ever worrying about insufficient resources for your site’s software application.
- Speed. Speed gives your business an edge over your competitors. Since you have full ownership of your virtual server’s RAM, CPU usage, and disk space, there are no other sites to affect your traffic or slow you down.
Independency and Security
A virtual private server (PVS) is a physical server that is divided into several smaller servers for every user. How does it work? Your hosting company installs a hypervisor—a virtual layer—to create virtual compartments. Each virtual compartment is a virtual server that is dedicated to a particular user and functions as a separate unit with its own bandwidth, CPU, and RAM.
Unlike shared servers, VPSes are independent, even though you are technically sharing resources with other users. To fully understand how the independence of VPS works, let us compare it with shared hosting and dedicated hosting.
- Shared hosting happens when multiple users share one physical server and all its resources, such as bandwidth, RAM, and CPU. Therefore, the performance of your website can be affected by other users.
- Dedicated hosting is when the hosting company provides the entire physical server and all its resources to one business or website alone. You get full control of everything, but it comes with a high price.
- On the other hand, VPS hosting enjoys the best of both worlds. It is shared, but each shared virtual server is independent. The user gets a flexible or defined allocation of resources depending on the user’s plan. Although it is shared, it functions as a dedicated server without high costs.
When it comes to security, VPS hosting is generally safe to use. It is one of the most secure options when it comes to hosting. Obviously, because it works in an independent virtualized environment. However, there are some hosting companies that offer extra security features for their VPS hosting services.
VPS vs. Semi-Dedicated Hosting
As has been discussed earlier in this article, a VPS is a shared but dedicated hosting server. It sits between a shared and dedicated server, but how does it compare with a semi-dedicated host? A semi-dedicated server is a physical server with dedicated resources that are subdivided among hosted products or sites; technically, it is also a shared server.
However, the difference between semi-dedicated and shared hosting is that shared hosting can accommodate over a thousand customers, while semi-dedicated hosting hosts only a smaller number of customers. Most hosting companies typically describe semi-dedicated hosting as a more stable and reliable version of shared hosting, a hybrid version of shared hosting and VPS, and a hybrid version of VPS and dedicated hosting.
Since the definition of “semi-dedicated hosting” is ambiguous and a bit confusing, it is important to define exactly their differences in functions. We will contrast VPS and dedicated hosting based on their functions and features.
- Resource Allocation. VPS has defined server resources allocated for each virtual server, but it has flexibility in using other websites’ resources on the user’s server, while dedicated hosting has a huge resource limit that is flexible according to the user’s needs.
- Security. In VPS, the user can install security software, but it is still vulnerable to possible attacks if other sites on the server have a security breach. On the other hand, in dedicated hosting, the user oversees their own security without relying on other sites.
- Performance. Depending on the hosting company, VPS generally has fast loading speeds, unless there is a traffic surge on the server’s multiple sites, whereas the speed of a dedicated server depends on the resources available, but it also has a fast-loading speed.
- Configuration and Customization. Both allow easy technical set-up with a managed plan, and both have allocations for customization depending on the hosting company’s flexible plans.
- Scalability. Given its flexibility features and resource availability, VPS is a great option for business scalability, whereas dedicated hosting scalability is limited because you are already using its maximum resources.
- Price. VPS is cheaper than dedicated hosting, with a price that ranges between $20 and $120 per month. On the other hand, dedicated hosting’s most affordable price is $100 per month, while the most expensive hosting can reach as high as $400 per month.
In conclusion, managing your business with VPS hosting is a walk in the park. As long as you know exactly what the perfect VPS hosting provider is for you, you can worry about other things.