by Aric Watson

Created on: January 30, 2008   Last Updated: January 31, 2008

While dedicated servers and shared hosting are usually more easily understood, many web designers, webmasters and web developers are still confused by VPS, and don't really understand what this form of hosting may be useful for.

A Virtual Private Server (VPS) is essentially a virtual dedicated server indeed they are sometimes called virtual dedicated servers. One "real" computer can host one or more "virtual machines" - each of which can be configured to with a certain amount of memory, storage space, etc. The virtual machines have no direct access to the hardware of the physical server, which acts to keep the virtual machine separated. Software can be installed on these machines the same as if they were real physical dedicated server.

VPSs typically fill a middle role between shared hosting and dedicated server in terms of cost and performance. They tend to be more stable, can handle more visitors and are more secure than shared hosting plans. This is because the virtual server is guaranteed whatever resources are dedicated to it, and while it shares the resources of the physical server that hosts it with any other virtual servers on the same machine, the virtualization software separates the virtual machines so that the crash of one virtual machine does not affect the others. Likewise, the a virtual machine can only use the resources assigned to it no more. Again, unlike in shared hosting resources are much more easily compartmentalized by the virtualization software.

Virtual Private Servers also tend to be more secure than shared hosting plans. Once again, the virtualization software acts to compartmentalize the virtual servers, so that malicious code that may somehow get run on one VPS does not affect the others in any way. A VPS is also far more flexible than a shared hosting plan the user has full control over the server, and often can even reboot the server at will. This is not possible on a shared hosting plan, because it would affect other clients that are hosted on the server. And because one physical server can host multiple virtual servers, VPS plans tend to be cheaper than a full dedicated server.

While VPS plans do tend to be able to handle more traffic than shared hosting plans, they aren't as capable as a dedicated server and certainly can't handle the traffic that a load balanced server cluster can handle? But their combination of compartmentalization, increased stability and increased security at a lower cost than dedicated server means that they can be very useful in certain scenarios.

For example, VPS plans make an excellent place for web developers to work and host their sites. This is because a VPS allows the developer far more control over their server and environment than is possible on a shared plan. The developer can install whatever software he or she desires, configure the server however needed, etc.

Virtual Servers are also very helpful to ecommerce sites that are just getting started. They're more affordable than a dedicated server, while providing much of the security benefits of a dedicated server. Furthermore, because the virtual servers are essentially "little" dedicated servers, ecommerce sites can upgrade more easily to dedicated servers and even server clusters than would be possible with a shared hosting plan.

So, if you're considering a new website, or upgrading/moving from your current web hosting service, take a look at virtual private servers they may be just right for your web hosting needs!

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