Virtual Private Server

VPS or virtual private server is considered to be a major breakthrough in the field of web hosting. It has made web hosting lot easier by incorporating many new technologies and hosting mechanisms. Virtualization of server facilitates the operation of several operating systems (OS) or virtual machines simultaneously yet independent of each other using a single hardware component. These virtual machines can be removed from the existing host by a software known as the hypervisor.

Virtualization of server can be classified into two types. The first is known as paravirtualization in which the guests are allowed to run a modified OS to reach higher performance despite being on its host architecture. The second is the hardware-assisted virtualization in which the guests can freely run OS without any modification in the software arrangement.

Why a VPS?

Previously, small and medium sized businesses had to choose among shared server web hosting plans as they could not afford an individual or dedicated server because of its exorbitant cost. In shared web hosting plans, businesses had to face technical and other operational difficulties. With the growth in the scale of businesses, they required more powerful server and they started looking beyond the shared server.

After the advent of virtual private server, online businesses were able to avail similar benefits as provided earlier by a dedicated server and that too at a highly subsidized rate. The cost of a VPS was almost equal to the cost incurred for a shared server web hosting plan.

Due to attractive features and advantages VPS became the first choice of businesses since the time of its launch. Some of the important features of VPS are:

VPS Features

Unrestricted Access: Convenient access is the most attractive feature of virtual private server. It allows absolute root access to webmasters that helps in managing configuration files better than before. Moreover, it offers you the benefit of customizing the setup, as a certain part of the server remains entirely under your control. In this arrangement you are allotted a fixed space that will act as an independent dedicated server for you.

Economical VPS web hosting: In VPS arrangement many webmasters use different partitions of the same server therefore the cost of web hosting gets reduced drastically. Due to this feature, users get cheaper web hosting plans with the benefits of a dedicated and independent server.

Uncompromised security: Data and documents remain safe and secure with VPS web hosting. The information related to online transactions, vital statistics and files remain safe that is a very attractive feature. If your site is hosted via VPS then the files are by default protected from online threats like spammers, Trojans, worms and bugs.

Handles increasing web traffic: As every business grows with time and you need to enhance your capabilities to handle increasing traffic. Managing the increasing traffic would not be possible with shared server and opting to a dedicated server would come heavily on your business budget. In such a critical situation, VPS proves to be a boon as you enjoy the benefits of dedicated server at the cost of a shared server. With VPS web hosting, you stay relaxed even if the traffic is increasing rapidly.

Segregated operations: Virtual private server refers to a sub-server working under a full-fledged main server. As this is separate from the main server restarting the sub-server will not have any impact on other sub-servers belonging to other websites.

Freedom to modify the server configuration: As you have the entire administrative rights of the VPS, you would be able to customize the setup and software configuration of the server. Starting with the operating system to other software programs, you can install all of them as per your requirement.

You can also increase the options and capabilities of your sever by choosing the licensed software. Irrespective of the software packages used by the domain, you will have greater flexibility to host and utilize the VPS machine.

A virtual private server gives you the freedom to grow and manage your data and files to remain unfazed even if you don’t have a dedicated server. You can host multiple websites related to your business and enjoy flexible customization controls. So choosing a VPS is a wise decision if you are into a medium-sized growing business.