What is VPS hosting? Pros and cons explained

To thrive in today’s business landscape, a robust digital presence is of utmost importance, and the key foundation of this online presence is your website. Ensuring a consistently accessible website hinges on a dependable hosting solution. This hosting solution not only keeps your website up and running, presenting your company in the best possible light but also scales to accommodate your growing business, surging customer base, and increasing online activities—ensuring your website stays robust and high-performing, free from crashes or performance compromises.

All of us, at least once in our lives, have given up on a company just because its website was too slow or kept crashing. Isn’t it? That is why selecting the right hosting server has become more critical than ever before. While shared hosting does provide enough resources initially, it is unable to handle the rapid needs of a growing business due to its lack of agility. On the other hand, a dedicated server doesn’t face such issues and is very robust and reliable. However, dedicated servers can end up burning holes in pockets. As a result, more and more companies are now turning to VPS or Virtual Private Servers.

In this article, we will delve into what VPS hosting is, its types, and the benefits and disadvantages of choosing a virtual private server hosting.

What is VPS or Virtual Private Server?

As the name suggests, VPS or Virtual Private Servers are isolated and secure virtual servers that function within a physical server, providing an efficient and budget-friendly hosting environment. It provides its users with customizable space for hosting applications, data or websites. It also allows users to manage their server configuration and software without the added hassle and expense of maintaining physical devices.

How does VPS work?

VPS uses virtualization software that divides a physical server into many virtual compartments. Each of these virtual servers has its own operating system and resources, ensuring that the workload of one virtual server does not impede the performance of the other virtual servers located on the same physical server.

This allows users to install their preferred operating systems and software, giving them complete control over their virtual environments. The users do not share resources with other account holders and experience a reliable and efficient hosting experience.

Kinds of VPS Hosting:

There are three kinds of VPS hosting available in the market.

1. Managed VPS hosting

In this type of VPS hosting, the user is provided with a server that is pre-configured with a control panel and some essential software already in place. This type of setup allows the account holder to focus their energies only on managing the applications or website, while the hosting provider handles the server management-related tasks.

2. Unmanaged VPS hosting

In unmanaged VPS hosting, the entire onus of managing the server falls on the shoulders of the account holder with no interference from the hosting provider. The user is responsible for the maintenance, software updates and security of the server. As a result, unmanaged VPS hosting is a good option for users who have the technical knowledge and want maximum control over their hosting environment.

3. Semi-managed VPS hosting

A go-between managed and unmanaged VPS hosting, semi-managed VPS hosting provides users with core software installation and support, operating system updates and security postures.

Pros and cons of VPS hosting

Like most things in life, there are two sides to VPS hosting. On one hand, VPS hosting does not provide the resources and reliability that a dedicated server can, but provides far more resources and can handle a lot more workload than shared hosting. On the other hand, while being a lot more pocket-friendly than a dedicated server, VPS is slightly more expensive, than shared hosting. Below is a list of pros and cons that will help you make an informed decision.

Pros of VPS

• Enhanced Performance: Compared to shared hosting where fixed resources are shared by all account holders, VPS hosting provides better performance. The separate virtual compartments with their operating systems and resources prevent the performance and workload of one user from impacting the performance of the servers of other users and vice-versa.
• Scalability: VPS is highly scalable, allowing users to increase resources according to their needs, resulting in negligible downtime even during peak traffic times.
• Access: The account holders have full root access and control over their server environment, allowing them to customize their apps and websites according to the needs of their business.
• Security: VPS provides an isolated hosting environment to every individual user. This protects the data and applications of the user in the event the server of neighboring users gets compromised or infected.

Cons of VPS

• Cost: While being quite effective, VPS hosting is more expensive than shared hosting. If you are a small business with a tight budget, then VPS can feel like an expensive option.
• Technical Expertise: Managing a server requires a certain level of technical know-how. Even when opting for a managed VPS hosting solution, the user should have technical knowledge, to ensure the smooth functioning of the website.
• Regular Maintenance: A server that is not properly configured, can prove to be a major security risk. The server needs to be regularly maintained and the security needs to be updated to the latest version. Here, the role of the hosting service provider is of significant value. Hence, you should opt for VPS hosting only from a reliable VPS hosting provider.

When should you move to VPS?

Do you find yourselves asking these questions: “When should I switch to VPS? Do I really need a VPS?”. If yes, then this section is for you.

1. Frequent Downtime: A slow or frequently crashing website can be detrimental to the image of a business. In case you are receiving frequent reports of the following issues or are facing them yourself, then it is time for you to move to VPS.
2. Less Security: If you are frequently becoming a victim of cyberattacks, then it might be a good idea to move to VPS from your current shared hosting solution. The virtual compartments of VPS will ensure that your neighbor’s server environment doesn’t impact yours, reducing the chances of your server being compromised.
3. High Traffic: Shared hosting provides limited resources that are shared by multiple account holders. If your website has periods where the traffic peaks rapidly, then the limited resources of the server might not be able to support the workload, causing it to crash. In such cases, it is best to move to VPS, where you can scale your resources as and when needed.
4. Slow Website: A slow website is an indicator that your website requires more computing power than it has access to. By moving to VPS, you will have complete control over the available resources, allowing you to scale at will.
5. Online Storefront: Online stores receive a high level of traffic throughout the year and during festive seasons, the traffic increases drastically. Not having an agile server can hamper the performance of the website, which negatively impacts the business. In VPS, a user will not face this problem, as it allows individual users with limited resources that are not shared and can be scaled as per requirement.
6. Custom Software Requirement: Shared hosting environments provide pre-installed software and operating systems to their users, which cannot be customized. VPS on the other hand, allows its users freedom to choose their operating system and applications and personalize the server as per their requirements.
7. Frequent Server Errors: If you are frequently receiving reports of server errors or encounter server errors such as “Service Unavailable” or 503 Error, then it is time to move to VPS. These errors indicate that your site has consumed all the resources allotted to you by your hosting provider. And chances are you are being charged for going over the allotted limit.
8. Budget Constraints: Businesses with limited budgets and high traffic like online stores need the resources and scalability of a dedicated server but are unable to keep up with the costs of acquiring and maintaining one. VPS provides such businesses a way out by providing scalable resources at cost-effective prices.

ZNetLive, a trusted hosting solutions provider, helps businesses by providing a range of comprehensive and reliable hosting options for both Linux and Windows operating systems. Not only are the solutions highly deployable, but the service bundles have also been made keeping in mind the budget and resource requirements of businesses of all sizes. To find out which package suits you best, you can get in touch with the ZNetLive sales team at sales@znetlive.com.

Wrapping up

VPS hosting is the ideal solution for businesses looking for a versatile and powerful solution, with greater control, performance, and security for their online presence, while simultaneously being budget friendly. Although it demands a certain level of technical expertise and is more expensive than shared hosting, VPS hosting is highly scalable and provides users with the option to customize their servers according to their needs. This makes VPS a smart choice for users who prioritize performance, reliability, and customization in their hosting solutions but cannot bear the commitment and expenses of a dedicated server.

Image credit: Freepik

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