The advent of virtual private servers revolutionized the shared website hosting industry. Is a VPS suitable for any situation? When does a fully dedicated machine become essential? This article examines the issues.
Virtual Private Servers remain the latest innovation in the rather technologically stagnant sphere of website hosting. They represent a different way to partition a server and separate user accounts, providing higher levels of control and security that mimic what was previously only available to fully dedicated servers. They can provide solutions for websites that regular shared hosting can’t handle, but it still can’t handle all situations. This article looks at what a VPS can do and when it might be wise to consider moving to a fully dedicated solution.
What is a Virtual Private Server?
First, a brief overview of what exactly a VPS is and why it can simulate a dedicated server environment when in fact multiple VPS hosting plans can reside on the same server. VPS works because of the way it divides user accounts on the server. If you think about how your home computer stores files, you most likely have a single hard drive that has “folders” or directories on it. Inside the folders/directories are individual files. These files are managed by the computer’s operating system, which can be Windows or Mac OS. In a typical shared hosting environment, all customer accounts are directories on the same “hard drive”, managed by the operating system and available on the Internet through an installed web server such as Apache. All files in all accounts are managed by the same web server, share the same applications, and generally compete for server attention based on the popularity of the hosted site.
On a VPS, accounts are not just hosted in individual directories, but on individual drives. Think of a computer with multiple hard drives, or more commonly, a hard drive and a CD-ROM drive; each of these drives has its own folder/directory system, completely independent from the other drive. Through a process called “partitioning,” a single hard drive can be divided into many smaller drives that are viewed by the operating system as separate, single entities. In a VPS system, individual accounts reside entirely within these separate units. Apps are installed on individual accounts and not shared among a single group of accounts in a large drive. This provides not only additional security, but also additional control, as users can be granted “root access” to their single drive to install and configure their own environment without affecting any other client’s configuration.
This is how VPS mimics the functionality of a dedicated server, by having each account reside on its own “drive”, which is roughly equivalent to the single drive you’d find on a basic dedicated server. The software on the VPS server manages the individual units/accounts to ensure the smooth running and availability of all accounts on the server. This environment is ideal for those looking for an environment that has root access but cannot afford a fully dedicated solution. Larger, modern VPS accounts can handle sites that may have required a dedicated server just a few years ago.
Totally Dedicated Solutions
A fully dedicated server is a single machine leased to a single individual for their exclusive use. Root access is generally a given in any dedicated environment, allowing the server to be customized with applications to suit the user’s needs. It is this root functionality that VPS hosting provides, but it does so on a server that is still “shared” by other users. A dedicated server is completely at the disposal of a single user, to manage as they see fit. Due to the unique nature of a dedicated server, they generally require a higher capital investment than regular shared or VPS hosting plans. Many companies will offer a managed dedicated server for an additional cost. This is an important consideration, as most “cheap” or low-cost dedicated servers are unmanaged, perhaps leaving out even rudimentary technical support. Those unfamiliar with managing a server should seriously consider managed solutions if purchasing dedicated servers.
Although large VPS accounts can replace some dedicated solutions, they cannot completely replace them. There are a variety of activities and applications that only a fully dedicated server can adequately handle, such as very large, high-traffic databases, large media hosting, and processor-intensive web applications. At a very basic level, even simple sites that get massive amounts of traffic could outpace the ability of a VPS to host them effectively. However, the combination of high-traffic and highly processor-intensive, script-based, database-driven web applications is still the domain of a fully dedicated server. Some of the largest and most popular websites are hosted on more than one dedicated server to handle the load.
A good host will provide a smooth upgrade path between VPS and dedicated solutions. There are a variety of management systems, such as SWsoft’s HSP, that can provide both VPS and dedicated servers, and move accounts between these 2 different types of servers. This would allow people with growing websites to move from a large VPS to a fully dedicated one quickly and easily, without any service interruption.
recommendations
Today, VPS hosting can handle some of the tasks that were once the preserve of dedicated servers. However, they will never completely replace dedicated servers for high-traffic, processor-intensive sites. Customers looking for the economy of a VPS should ask their prospective hosting companies if there is a seamless, automated upgrade path between VPS and dedicated hosting. Ideally, such a path will allow a successful website to grow and prosper without interruptions from server changes and site moves.
