Monday

What is VPS Hosting?

By Matt Ewing


VPS, or Virtual Private Server, means hosting of different entities for various customers, but all in one server. It enables the service provider to make a partition of a single server into many virtual servers. The customers would then share the server as a whole, which includes both the connection and the hardware. They would actually enjoy the same benefits as they would get in case of dedicated hosting like a file system and a private operating system, which gives them the freedom of safe access. So this kind of a configuration means a combination of a dedicated and a shared hosting. In all, an enhanced performance with privacy will accrue to the company at a much lower cost than it would have to pay for dedicated hosting.

The added benefits of the service are also quite attractive. For example, alongwith the service at low cost and full security customers can also access certain options which will help them control certain features of the service. For instance customers can change the server configurations to suit their needs, install software whenever needed, reboot server whenever necessary etc. Therefore it can be very well understood that this service is actually providing all the benefits of a shared hosting as well as that of any dedicated hosting. Thus any one who would like to switch over from shared hosting to dedicated service due to security reasons or any other reasons then they might very well opt for VPS hosting as it would serve all their needs. In fact it would only cost about $10/month and is thought to be the best for all online business men and women. The reason that it is called the best is simply due to the uniqueness of operating and file system for every single customer.

Another plus point of the hosting service is that even if you plan to sell the service off then too you are in advantage since the added services that your hosting will be able to offer to the customers gives you an edge over other hosting services. If you now reconsider selling and want to use the service to develop any social networking group or site then too VPS is your best shot. All of you out there who feel more at home using a shared hosting rather than a dedicated one but at the same time want privacy for their identity, for them too VPS is the best. You could install applications and even change applications of the server at will, whenever you want to. Further security is guaranteed since VPS environment software is unique for every single user and moreover this system has features which reduce interception possibilities significantly.

VPS hosting bridges the gaps between the initial and the entry level web hosting plans and the co-location. While the former offers specified services like PHP/MySQL, etc., with limited disk space on a shared server, the latter lets you fully own and control the hardware, and just rent an internet connection and a rack space from the data center. A VPS would be the best option for you if you want to have a shared hosting plan, but your finances don't permit you to opt for a co-location web hosting plan.

A dedicated web hosting plan is another alternative which you can consider, and it is pretty less costly than co-locating. It is also becoming very competitively priced as compared to other web hosting plans. Though it certainly costs more than a VPS web hosting plan, a dedicated plan can be reasonably affordable to you as well. As the name implies, a dedicated host gives a dedicated server to you. It actually means renting the server from the host company, and not renting the rack space for the server, as is the case in co-location.

Some of the advantages of a VPS web hosting plan are listed below:

It provides you with a root access which enables you to install and even configure any program that you wish to

Provides features which enables hosting of multiple sites by using virtual hosts that are provided by Apache.

Added to this, you also get an FTP server, a mail server, and any other server that you are in need of.

The servers provided can be used by the customer in any way he would want to.

However just like all good things VPS too has its negative qualities and these are associated with its advantages just like side-effects of any medicated drug. These are mentioned below:

In this format, you live up to the task of controlling the server and it means that you are solely responsible for your deeds-be it installation or security factor or anything else. So, this is positively suggested that being devoid of any experience about a Linux Server, you can't proceed swiftly.

The VPS web hosting enables you to work with the entire server; however you have to share hardware with the other users of the same host. This will pose as a problem for you if your work requires use of a bulk of the RAM since you are allotted only a segment of it. Therefore if it does not suffice then it may pose as a great disadvantage for you in which case switching over to a co-location or dedicated server would be a wise choice.

The manner in which it works:

This is truly a complicated process. Actually, an incorporation of technologies like Virtual PC by Microsoft, the User Mode Linux by Open Source, XEN and some others do make the process of VPS possible. The combination of XEN (receiving rave reviews from the media) with the approaching Linux distribution seems to be possible. This is going to be of paramount significance for the web developers endowing them with more freedom at lower cost.

You may ask what you will get if you use a VPS account. Firstly, you will get the access to core areas of your server. As said earlier, if you are good at working on a Linux server, you can have full access and control over everything that you wish to do. But since it gives you the liberty of unlimited control, you will be liable for anything that you do. So if you are not comfortable with Linux, VPS is not meant for you.

However, this does not mean that you will have to build the whole operating system from the beginning. Almost all the VPS plans have many disk images to make a selection from, and they have various distributions in the default configurations. You just need to specify the disk image that you need, and the configuration will be done on the VPS in a couple of minutes. On setting up an account, you will be assigned the root access via SSH, where you can perform any activity that you want to.

Like in any other aspect, the cost factor is very significant. VPS prices vary within the range of a monthly amount of $20 to $100. Price doesn't necessarily exhibit the quality and it is always wise to begin with lower range providing 64MB RAM and a 2GB disk space if you are devoid of a profound knowledge of VPS web host functioning. Don't worry because you can always go on to the upper range. Let's assume that you have a small budget but brilliant ideas for your business, don't hesitate to go for the higher price band.




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