What is VPS Hosting | Pros and Cons of Getting VPS Hosting

VPS hosting is the hosting solution where a website gets a dedicated virtual server with root access, but the physical server gets shared by other virtual servers.

Defining VPS Hosting

A Virtual Private Server can be explained as a virtual platform embedded within a parent server by applying a virtualization technology such that it offers exclusive or dedicated resources to other virtual servers. The definition states that multiple companies enjoy isolated servers of the same parent server or host in a VPS hosting solution.

This type of hosting is familiar with medium-sized businesses that have a certain amount of revenue or visibility expectations. This hosting plan lies somewhere between shared hosting and dedicated hosting services.

A virtual server can duplicate several physical or parent server properties from its functionalities to its processes. It might act as the parent server. In reality, it is nothing more than a fragment of software that imitates the dedicated operating system.

VPS hosting generally provides you with these facilities-

• Access to the virtual private server from any location
• Unhindered performance of your website as you receive dedicated storage and bandwidth support.
• The amount of storage capacity and bandwidth you receive with VPS can be more than what certain websites get directly from the parent server.

While you get the concept of VPS, it is essential you understand the private VPS parent hosting to avoid confusion between the two.

Understanding Private VPS Parent Hosting Services

In the case of a private VPS parent hosting support, you get the virtualization benefits; plus, you don’t have to share a parent server with other VPS. It is a more isolated, flexible, and robust solution as compared to general VPS hosting. Some major features you enjoy with this hosting solution are-

• Get complete solo control over the parent server along with the resources.
• Add multiple VPS servers to your parent server as needed for your company alone.
• You pay for the parent server only. Additional VPS you create is free of charge.
• An easy option for switching between the VPS instances and parent server for website operation.

How does VPS hosting service work?

As mentioned earlier, when you buy VPS hosting plans, you use a fragment (VPS) of a parent server that hosts multiple virtual private servers, separated from one another. Hosting companies use hypervisor software to create the virtual layers on your OS and assign a virtual server to you. Since each virtual server is separated through virtual walls, users get to enjoy dedicated software and OS in their virtual servers. It is truly a private hosting experience in total.

The price of VPS hosting is slightly higher than that of shared hosting. But still, it is an economic option as compared to dedicated hosting, but equal private experience to the users. Hence, in the modern days, all medium-sized companies choose this over the dedicated solution in the initial phase.

Uses of a VPS

If you have a website workload that needs to perform consistently, VPS is the ideal solution for you. Businesses opt for VPS for these purposes mostly-

• Business e-mail support
• Option of hosting more than websites
• Loading business files such that you can access them from anywhere across the globe
• Database
• Access to Plesk or CPanel
• Hosting other website servers
• Providing employees working from a remote location with virtual work stations
• Creating and delivering cloud services to the customers

In short, VPS can be used for all the website activities that were otherwise possible with a dedicated server. However, one must not get confused with VPS and dedicated hosting. Bandwidth and storage are much less in VPS hosting as compared to a dedicated server.

Pros and cons of getting VPS

With VPS hosting, you enjoy the combined features of dedicated and shared hosting. These features offer some great benefits to the users. Though there are some cons associated, the benefits surpass them.

Pros:

• Reliability in Performance: Since you get dedicated root access, bandwidth, and storage facility with VPS, your website always performs exceptionally.
• Business Growth: Business scaling is easy and fast with VPS.
• A value-for-money choice: VPS hosting might not be as cheap as shared hosting plans, but it offers far more benefits than the shared alternative. It is a cheaper alternative to dedicated hosting plans as you receive services only for which you pay.
• Protection of data: Protecting your data from any loss is easier, as performing a server backup happens without hindrance. The dedicated virtual servers make the hosting solution more secure than shared hosting.
• Security: Since the VPS interface is isolated from other servers, it offers more security than shared hosting.
• Customization: VPS hosting plans are all custom-made. Here, you only get those services on your OS for which you paid your host. Hence, the option to customize your hosting plan is more with VPS.
• Control: VPS offers you root access and SSH, ultimately offering the website complete control over the server resources and operating system.

Cons:

• It is not the cheapest hosting option available for you. It is more expensive as compared to a shared hosting solution.
• Managing a VPS server requires more technical understanding and expertise.
• Your website security can get compromised if you configure your servers improperly.
• VPS is not the solution for beginners in the online field.

Parent hosting or VPS hosting: Which is more beneficial?

If you have used shared hosting services so far, you will definitely rejoice in enjoying parent server hosting or dedicated hosting services. But VPS is always a better solution if we consider reliability, customer expertise to handle the server, business requirement, and the budget. VPS is not only a cheaper solution to dedicated or parent server hosting. It also ensures that your website data are well protected and secured from server breaches.

Two exclusive benefits you enjoy with VPS are-

Versatility:

With VPS, you can get both Windows and Linux instances on a single cloud server. This versatility is only possible as you get the services you pay for in Virtual Private Server Hosting.

Monetization:

VPS is the only hosting solution where you can enjoy the server’s facilities and work as a reseller. Spinning up and reselling VPS instances to your customers is a feature you enjoy exclusively with VPS.

How safe is VPS hosting?

Virtual Private Server Hosting is always a secured solution to web hosting, as each of the virtual instances under the parent servers is separated from one another.

The level of vulnerability of the server is lowered as multiple websites don’t share a single server and its resources. Data protection and security are superior to VPS web hosting plans.

Can you rely on the speed of VPS hosting?

Companies nowadays choose Virtual Private Server Hosting over shared solutions because of high reliability and server speed. The exclusivity of bandwidth and storage to each of the websites makes them high-performing and prevents increases uptime.

The performance and speed of websites hosted on Virtual servers can be compared with dedicated hosting benefits.

Who should Ideally use VPS hosting?

Now that you understand what VPS is and how it differs from Private VPS Parent hosting, dedicated hosting, cloud hosting and shared hosting, you should be able to determine if this is the best hosting solution for you. To understand who should hire a Virtual Private Server hosting solution, check the business necessities. These points will make the decision easier.

• How technically skilled are you to handle a dedicated server?
• What is the budget you have in mind, and what performance do you seek from your website?
• Do you need to operate multiple websites on multiple virtual servers?
• Is your current hosting plan giving rise to performance errors?
• How much storage and bandwidth do you need?

VPS is not a solution for companies that have budget constraints. Also, if you are new to web hosting, VPS is not the right choice for you. It requires some technical skills to control the virtual server. It is also not the hosting solution for big-sized enterprises who need high bandwidth and expects unlimited web visitors daily.

Types of VPS hosting

If you have chosen VPS as your preferred mode of web hosting, you now face a new question. Which category of the virtual server will you prefer as a host – managed or unmanaged?

Managed VPS

A completely managed VPS solution offers you a Virtual Private Server for your website with a hands-off attitude. Here, your host provides your business with a team of skilled professionals to handle the server and its functionality.

They take care of your data protection, virus attacks, regular server maintenance, software installation, and troubleshooting. In short, they handle every work while you concentrate on your business.

Pros:

• Time-saving solution
• Doesn’t require IT expertise at the customer’s end
• Secures and maintains your website and server
• Changes monitored

Cons:

• Not the cheapest VPS solution
• Third-party has more control over the server

Unmanaged VPS

Unlike the managed VPS solution, you need to self-manage all the IT works in an unmanaged VPS hosting solution.

The hosting company only provides you with the virtual server, maintains the hardware, and checks on the OS regularly.

Pros:

• Economic VPS option
• More control over the server
• More trustable

Cons:

• Requires 24×7 IT skills
• Time-consuming
• Staying updated with OS updates is difficult
• Reduces security
• Slows performance

Clearly, managed VPS is the best option, but it comes at a cost. What if there was a solution in the middle? There is a Semi-managed VPS solution where you can hire certain additional services from the hosting company for a price and enjoy both managed and unmanaged VPS benefits.

Conclusion

VPS hosting is always a better solution than shared hosting if you want a high-performing website. However, if there are budget constraints, shared hosting is the only option. With VPS, you get root access, exclusive bandwidth and storage, and better security.

You can choose between managed and unmanaged VPS based on your IT skills and budget. If you want a complete solution, we recommend choosing Semi-managed VPS solutions for your website.