What is VPS Hosting?
VPS stands for Virtual Private Server. Essentially, a VPS is a server that has software and partitioning setup to emulate a dedicated server, all while still technically using a shared machine. This has been used on mainframe computers historically, and now applies to website hosting.In order to understand VPS Hosting better, it is first important to recognize a couple of different types of servers that can be utilized for your hosting needs, and what limitations (or lack thereof) each server type presents.
Let’s briefly describe Shared Hosting, VPS Hosting, and Dedicated Hosting. Each of these has a varying degree of control on the part of the hosting client (website admin).
In the case of Shared Hosting, your hosting services are being run on the same machine (and therefore the same operating system and hardware configuration) as other clients of the hosting company. One super computer is being used to host many clients at once.
Shared Hosting is limiting in that you must use the same resources others are using. This limitation is thus two-fold: you are only getting a certain fraction of each resource, and you don’t have the option of customizing or changing the hardware and software being used. Shared Hosting works for some clients whose hosting needs are very basic.
Now skip to the other “extreme”: Dedicated Hosting. This type of hosting is the opposite of Shared, in that you have complete control over your own personal server. You are not sharing it whatsoever with any other clients. Therefore, you get the option of things like operating system, hardware, control panel and anything else you need to customize your hosting services.
What are the Benefits and Disadvantages of VPS Hosting?
VPS Hosting is essentially the best of both worlds. It is like a cross between Shared and Dedicated. With VPS Hosting, you get many of the advantages of Dedicated Hosting (such as software selection and competitive pricing) without the premium price tag. You also have an edge over those clients who opt for plain old Shared Hosting, since you do have much more in the way of customization and performance.The primary disadvantage of VPS Hosting (versus completely Dedicated Hosting) is that you do not have your own machine from a hardware standpoint. Therefore, if you want a very specific hardware setup, you are less in a position to get one. You may also be limited from a software and/or OS standpoint to some degree, although not nearly as limited as you would be in a Shared Hosting scenario.