Is VPS Hosting Right for You?

December 22nd, 2010

A virtual private server (VPS) is a virtual machine that is used exclusively by an individual customer of a web hosting service. Usually, the term is used to describe how a virtual machine that is running software on the same physical host server as virtual machines being used by other users is instead functioning like a separate physical computer dedicated to an individual user’s needs. Moreover, each VPS offers the same privacy of having a separate physical computer that can run its own operating system and can be independently rebooted.

What Are the Benefits of a Virtual Private Server?

A major benefit of virtual private servers is value for a user’s money. In fact, virtual private servers can cost less that $20 USD a month and still offer the same features and flexibility of a dedicated server. Moreover, virtual private servers are always placed on very powerful computing machines that have the best hardware components. Hence, virtual private servers come with a number of extra features that are typically not available from dedicated servers in the same price range.

In addition, virtual private servers have the following benefits:

Setting up a VPS can be much faster than setting up a dedicated server. In fact, it may only take a few minutes to complete the entire setup process;
VPS users will also have complete root access meaning the same operations that are performed in a dedicated server environment can be performed in a VPS environment;
Virtual private servers can be upgraded on-the-fly and with no downtime at all;
Some providers will allow users to take snapshots of their VPS so that a previous version of the entire server can be restored if necessary.

What Are the Disadvantages of a Virtual Private Server?

While virtual private servers are powerful options for running personal websites and resource heavy applications, they may not be as powerful as a dedicated machine when it comes to running high-traffic websites such as large business portals. Moreover, a single physical server hosts several virtual private servers and if one is using too much CPU or RAM power, it may slow down all the virtual private servers using it.

However, VPS hosting providers will always guarantee you a minimum X MB of RAM and a minimum CPU usage that is usually measured in GHz. However, burstable RAM, which is the maximum memory available to the VPS, may not be guaranteed at all times.

Finally, an unmanaged VPS will require users to have more technical knowledge in order to manage and maintain it while support technicians will likely need more time to solve a problem than they would need with a shared hosting account. Hence, less experienced webmasters and administrators may want to look into managed VPS hosting solutions.

The Bottom Line

Virtual private servers offer a great alternative to dedicated hosting because of their low cost and high flexibility. However, they may not be the most appropriate choice for some users as they will require more expert technical knowledge.