VPS Hosting Definition

VPS hosting is quickly becoming one of the most popular hosting options available to consumers. VPS stands for virtual private server. It is a technology that allows several independent “virtual” servers to run simultaneously on the same physical server.

Traditionally, website owners only had two hosting options. These were shared hosting and dedicated hosting. With shared hosting, multiple websites exist on the same server. They share the same resources. Resources of the server that are used up by one website affect all other sites hosted on that server.

The only available alternative to shared hosting was dedicated hosting. Dedicated hosting avoided the problems of shared hosting by allowing one website to be stored on a single dedicated server. However, this method has always been more expensive.

VPS Hosting vs Shared Hosting and Dedicated Servers

VPS hosting was introduced as an alternative to these two options. With VPS hosting, multiple websites can be hosted on the same server. However, unlike shared hosting, they exist completely independently from each other like hard drive partitions. They do not share resources. They can also use completely different software that will not be affected by the software of other virtual private servers.

This technology can provide certain benefits to website owners compared to other hosting options. One is better security. This is due to the fact that different VPS accounts are completely insulated from each other unlike is the case with shared hosting. This makes it much more difficult for both hackers and other users on the same piece of hardware to gain access to a person’s files. Things like denial of service attacks are much more unlikely to affect a VPS user.

VPS accounts are also unlikely to be affected by the activity of other websites on the same server. Since VPS accounts are independent of each other, a website can not use up another website’s resources. Errors and other problems produced by certain websites are also much less likely to affect other accounts.

VPS hosting also has a few downsides that should be considered. First is cost. While VPS hosting is usually cheaper than dedicated hosting due to that fact multiple accounts can share the same server, it is still more expensive than shared hosting.

Another possible downside is that VPS hosting requires more administration than a simple shared hosting account. System updates and security patches will have to be routinely installed, and the host may expect VPS administrators to do this on their own.

VPS Web Hosting Companies – 3 Features to Look For

Still, VPS hosting may be the best hosting option for many website owners. However, there are three things you should look for in a quality VPS host. The first is root access. Part of the reason to have such an account is the ability to install software and applications on your own. Some hosts do not offer this option.

Secondly, you should check to see if a host offers quality server management tools that are easy to use and understand. A virtual private server, like a dedicated server, requires more administration than a shared hosting account. Without quality administration tools, you are likely to run into problems.

Lastly, you should consider how many domains a host allows a VPS account to use. The number should be rather high or even infinite. If the number seems small, you should probably look elsewhere for a better deal.

Here, on WebHostingRatings.ca, we’ve listed a number of web hosts which offer VPS. We strongly suggest that you read our hosting reviews and choose the host that suits your needs.