Virtual Private Hosting - Is it Right for you

                                                                                         

A virtual private server, also known as VPS is an imitation of hardware by an operating system, also known as "host". It can enable multiple virtual servers to operate on one physical server.

Each virtual server has to share the hardware resources with other virtual servers, operating on the same "host" server. This concept can be clearly understood with the following citation.

Let's say that a typical server has a 200GB hard drive, 8GB ram and two 2 GHz processors. Each Virtual Server has to share resources or can have dedicated access to a part of the resources like 50GB hard drive, 2GB ram etc. This often depends upon the kind of software that is being used by a virtual server.

VPS Plans

Most of the Vps plans are based on Linux. Some of them are based on based on Windows. Virtual Private hosting on a windows based VPS plan may cost you a lot more money than what a Linux based or a *nix based plan me cost.

A Virtual server hosting plan is for people who are neither beginner in the world of web hosting, nor are big enough, both business wise as well as financially, to shift to a co-location plan.

Dedicated hosting is also a good option and is way cheaper than co-location. It is, of course more expensive than virtual hosting but if you are beginning to grow then there's no better option.

Advantages of Virtual Hosting

1. You can install as well as access any kind of programs.
2. Depending on the strength of your "host" server, you may be able to host an unlimited number of web portals.
3. Services like Mail Server and FTP server can also be hosted.
4. Servers can be use for a number of purposes such as backup, file storage etc.

Disadvantages of Virtual Hosting

1. Hosting is not an easy task. Web hosting requires a lot of expertise as far as installation of software, security and updates is concerned. Linux is not known buy all. You will need to be well versed with it or you may face difficulties.
2. Private Hosting means that you will have to share hardware resources with other virtual servers as well. If you are running programs that are RAM-intensive, then the method of "co-location" is a better option.


Making Choices

It's simple!

1. Be sure of the hardware specifications of the host server. It must suit your needs.
2. Be well versed with the underlying operating systems as well as hardware upgrades and how they are handled.
3. Pay special attention to the kind of services offered by the virtual hosting company, i.e. customer support, the time for which it has been in business and the kind of clients it handles.

Downtimes should be low and backup measures need to be superb!

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