When it comes to hosting, there are many different alternatives that you can choose from. However, there are primarily 3 main hosting options that your decision will always boil down to. They are dedicated servers, shared hosting, and virtual private servers. The latter of these is going to be our point of interest today, due to the many capabilities it has and the many useful features that it can provide you with.
Additionally, will we also look at some recommendations as to when you should go for VPS hosting in general as well as acknowledging whether you are making the right choice in terms of server type?
What is a virtual private server and what makes it different?
Source: greencloudvps.com
VPS servers utilize virtualization technology in order to create separate virtual machine instances that are all hosted on the same physical server but have independent resources, meaning that sharing is avoided.
This is one of their greatest advantages in comparison with shared hosting for example, where you are required to share the same server space with its other occupants. This can cause significant problems as if someone happens to consume more resources than the other occupants and their hosted websites or applications, resource deprivation can occur, which can negatively impact not only the user experience but also the website uptime.
Because of this, VPS servers are more closely compared to dedicated instances, which on the other hand, have completely independent resources, all reserved for only one user. However, dedicated hosting is also the most expensive option out of all of them, due to these reserved, private resources. Virtual private servers can offer you similar benefits but for a much cheaper price, making them the go-to option for most. But what other features do VPS servers offer?
Advantages of VPS hosting
Source: webcentral.au
There are quite a few advantages that VPS servers have in comparison to the other 2 types. However, the leading and most important feature that they have is their ability to scale upwards as well as down. But what exactly do we mean by the term ‘scaling’? Good question. Some users get easily confused by it, but the reality is that the term in itself describes a very simple concept – the ability of your VPS server to be upgraded or downgraded. Still confused? This relates to the fact that you can add or remove resources from your server including storage space capacity, processing power, and active memory.
This is especially useful for seasonal businesses, startups, and some smaller online eCommerce businesses as it can save you money when you end up not using the entirety of your server’s resources. You don’t have to change your plan or switch providers, you can simply customize your server to fit your needs and most importantly – your traffic.
In addition to being scalable, you also get the ability to have full root access to your virtual private server, making installing extra software very easy. You can also tweak and change anything on your server to your liking and you can ultimately personalize it so that the server can fit your needs completely. Most providers even offer a very intuitive control panel for you to make any changes.
Thirdly, there are some providers that offer services like VPSBG’s Bitcoin VPS, which are essentially virtual private servers that you can pay for using Bitcoin or other types of cryptocurrencies. This alternative payment method is very beneficial if you would like to protect your privacy or if you would like to purchase a server in another country as international payments made through crypto are substantially cheaper in comparison to traditional transaction-making ways such as bank transfers or PayPal due to the lack of adding extra costs and fees that you are required and expected to pay. Not only that but paying with Bitcoin is also a very quick and easy process and you can easily create a crypto wallet in minutes.
When to go for a VPS server
Source: b2evolution.net
As we already mentioned, virtual private servers are a very good choice for companies and businesses that experience seasonal changes in traffic. Their scalability makes them very optimal for adapting to said changes and their versatility is unmatched. Moreover, this also makes them a very good option to go for if you are just starting out and cannot predict the amount of traffic you are going to get. You can start off by purchasing a plan with not that many resources and they progressively add more if your traffic happens to continue to increase.
On the other hand, you can also get a more expensive, resource-rich VPS hosting plan and detract resources from it if your project fails to take off immediately. Consequently, this makes such servers a very good and viable choice for beginners in the field of hosting as well as for experienced, seasoned professionals.
Additionally, most hosting providers are stepping up their game as well as their support team’s quality in terms of response time and abilities, meaning that you can easily ask for help if you happen to not understand a given concept, function, or action and your provider will most likely help you resolve any problems as well as guide you through installing any software.
Overall, virtual private servers have many advantages when it comes to their features. Their scalability, root access, and usage of virtualization are something that you can definitely make use of, making them a very suitable option for all businesses, websites, and applications.
The most popular virtualization platforms are VMware, KVM, RHV, Citrix Hypervisor, Microsoft Hyper-V, and OpenVZ for VPS servers are being used to utilize a single physical server into multiple virtual instances, so choose wisely what kind of virtualization you need. This will heavily influence the performance of the service and your website, especially in case of traffic spikes. As you know, many visitors will give up on your website and abandon it if it doesn’t load in only a few seconds. That applies for both desktop and mobile visitors.
Because of this, you should always consider going for such a server unless you are working on a very tight budget or you do not have the funds to go for a dedicated server.
But even if you do have the extra funds, going for a VPS will always be a good choice so make sure to at least consider it when conducting your research on hosting providers and server options as their true potential is undeniable and they will always be the right choice in most situations.
