VPS hosting works like a bridge between shared hosting and dedicated hosting options. In VPS hosting, a single physical server is divided to create multiple virtual servers where each server functions independently with its own operating system. Here, the virtual server offers features and advantages similar to that of a dedicated server but within a shared hosting environment. So, VPS hosting is technically a blend of both dedicated and shared hosting. Your website needs online visibility for which you need a quality web host. Owning your own server will ensure that you have access to unlimited resources like bandwidth, CPU and RAM, but maintaining and installing a server exclusively to cater to your business is very expensive. This is why the VPS server hosting plans are slowly gaining in popularity. This type of web hosting is ideally suited for the smaller and medium sized businesses which need additional resources to grow but do not have the finances to buy dedicated servers or the technical expertise to manage such servers.
How Does VPS Hosting Work?
In dedicated hosting, you rent out an entire physical server for your business requirements. So, this type of hosting is ideally suited for large e-commerce websites which get a lot of traffic. Smaller sites or personal websites on the other hand can function optimally with shared hosting plans. However, there are businesses which may have outgrown the resources that shared hosting offers, yet are not ready to maintain a dedicated server. For these businesses, VPS hosting works just fine. It allows you to run different kinds of operating systems on the same server. Clients enjoy super-level access to the server and can customize it to suit his business demands. They can also reboot the server if required without affecting the functioning or performance of other users.
How is VPS Hosting Beneficial?
- VPS hosting guarantees more reliability and stability to businesses. In shared hosting, your site’s performance can be affected by the activities of co-users. However, in VPS hosting, you run your own OS and can configure it to suit your preferences. There is no fear of resources of the server being overused by any of the co-users.
- VPS hosting offers far more control to the user compared to shared hosting. Users enjoy root access to the server and can configure the settings, reboot the server is required and install applications and programs of their choice.
In terms of security too, VPS hosting guarantees more security compared to shared hosting plans. Since you have super-level access to the server, you can customize the security provisions too and ensure that you have enhanced protection against malware and viruses.
- VPS hosting uses green technology and reduces carbon footprint. In dedicated server hosting, all the resources of a single server are used up by a single enterprise; but in this type of hosting, the large server has been sliced into multiple virtual servers and many users can share resources of the same server. You can visit supporthost.com to find good and cheap dedicated server hosting packages.
- VPS hosting also offers easy scalability when you need it; this means that you can scale your resources up and down depending on your needs. For businesses which are just starting out this feature is very beneficial because it lets them scale their resources without facing downtime.
- This type of hosting is also very cost-friendly particularly for smaller websites which have to work on a tight budget.
These are some of the most important reasons why you should consider switching to VPS hosting. However, when choosing a VPS provider, there are some important factors that one should consider.
- Perhaps the most significant criterion is the RAM that you will be entitled to for running your operating system. Clients should ideally choose at least 512MB RAM for fast loading.
- Users must also decide whether they wish to opt for managed VPS or unmanaged VPS hosting. The unmanaged VPS hosting offers root access to the user and they are responsible for installation of control panel and configuring the software, server maintenance and security issues. Managed VPS is obviously the better alternative because server monitoring here is the responsible of the system administrator and users can use their efforts and time to focus on pressing business matters.
- Another important consideration is the network uptime guarantee; unless you are certain that there is 99.9% uptime guarantee, it is not worth investing in that provider because latency issues will cause your site to slow down and lose customers.
- Finally, you must consider the price of VPS plans. It is better to compare prices offered by multiple VPS hosting providers before making a final choice. It is also recommended that you choose a provider that gives a money-back guarantee so that if you are not satisfied with its performance, you can always discontinue the plans and claim a refund.
Choosing a VPS hosting provider is therefore not an easy task. Your provider should allow you to manage the server easily so that you can enjoy total control over upgrades, computing resources and security measures.