Monday, August 8, 2011

Is VPS hosting right for you?

By Matt Ewing


VPS, in other words Virtual Private Server is a service which helps any service provider to transform their single server into multiple virtual servers. By this service any service provider would be able to host a variety of entities but all of that using entirely one server. Thus it enables the sharing of a single server by multiple customers at the same time and that too using the same hardware as well as the same connection. But there are no drawbacks of this service even if it is allowing the sharing of one server by multiple users. In fact you will be astounded to know that it provides quality service just like any other single server hosting and at the same time gives you the opportunity to access the service in all safety. Thus this is the best that you can get; privacy and performance all at the same time and all of this at a much lower price than any dedicated hosting service.

Not only the above-mentioned aspects, some other relevant features are also delivered to the customers- be it the installation of software or rebooting the server or altering the configuration of the server. Well, this is simply stated that if you want to shift from a shared hosting to a dedicated hosting keeping the cost same and if safety and accessibility are the salient features needed for you, this is ideal. It goes almost without saying that for the online business owners, this might prove to be a helpful idea to invest in a VPS hosting because the cost is even as cheap as $10/month with some service providers. This is well known that the operating system and the file system of all customers are utterly different and it is possible for the customers to avail a healthy portion of the server if it is all about the CPU, network and the disk input and output.

It doesn't end here. What it adds to your credit is that in case of reselling of the hosting, you possess a good grip over your offered services and make yourself perfect amongst the competitors. Also, VPS hosting is undoubtedly a bright option in order to build up a social networking site or a blog having enriched functions from the viewpoint of such web developers. Well, if you are a Webmaster and satisfied with a shared hosting provided you do have the opportunity of improving your technical expertise, go for a VPS hosting. It is perfect for you, as it doesn't prompt you to expose to a dedicated server. Adding to its tally, this endows the webmasters with the option of installing some custom applications and they can also alter the modules for their servers, if needed. This information is of paramount significance that a VPS environment is accompanied by an exclusive software for its hosting providing a reliable security over the websites under their supervision. Security is well guaranteed because the resources are also distinctive.

An initial and the entry level web hosting plan endows you with things like PHP/MySQL, etc., having limited disk space on a shared server. Whereas, co-location puts the hardware in your grip and you simply have to rent an Internet connection and a rack space from data center. VPS hosting stands between these two like a connector. VPS option is inexpensive and perfect if you can't afford a co-location web hosting plan but want to avail a shared hosting.

However alongwith considering VPS you can also count on considering a dedicated web hosting service as an alternative for your co-hosting choice. It is cheaper than co-hosting but at the same time it is dearer than VPS and nowadays the dedicated web hosting service is becoming quite high priced due to the high competition in the market. In this service instead of renting a rack space you would have to rent the entire server and hence the higher cost than VPS service since the dedicated service gives you a dedicated server as well.

Now let us move to the various advantageous features of the VPS hosting. They are as follows:

Provides access for installation or configuration of any program whatsoever and at anytime the customer wants.

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

Provides other services like mail server, FTP server and any other that the customer may require.

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.

A VPS web host server gives you the whole operating system to work with, but you need to share the hardware resources like RAM, CPU, etc. with other users of the VPS on the same host. So if your business demands high performance or the usage of programs which involve the RAM to a huge extent, it would be better to go for co-location or a dedicated server.

How does it work?

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.

Using your VPS account you will get to access core areas of the server provided to you. Working with a Linux server you will get to use it to your full advantage and control everything using this core access advantage. But remember that along with full control you also become liable for anything you do so if Linux is not the thing for you then forget about VPS.

However if you are extremely eager to use VPS then you can choose from the many disk images that will be offered to you. In fact they will also provide you with multiple distributions that you can choose from the default configurations. Just specify what you want and the VPS will be configured just to your choice in a couple of minutes. After this you will have access to the core area and the service is yours to use in any way you feel like.

Costs can vary from $20 to $100/month but cost does not indicate quality. At $20 you get 2GB disk space and 64MB RAM that you can start off with and move to the higher ends of the service after you get accustomed to the service and its usage.




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