Virtual Private Server Hosting or Virtual Dedicated Server Hosting is the intermediate between shared web hosting and dedicated web hosting. If you go by its name, the message is well conveyed. Virtual meaning existing in essence or effect though not in actual fact, form or name, and private meaning belonging to some particular person or organization. These two words are the definition itself.

 

Putting it more simply, in virtual private servers a developer secures space on a server and has shared access to the server’s features. Virtual hosting can be IP-based or name-based, i.e. it can have different IP addresses for every website or multiple names running on each IP address. The host server analyzes the ‘name’ by which it is being called upon and then responds as per the name, keeping the visitor in dark about the fact that they are running on a single server.

 

But the main difference between virtual private server hosting and shared web hosting is that you share the space with only five six people as compared to the five hundreds or six hundreds in shared web hosting. You share the system resources with others but it acts like a dedicated server. The file set up is in such a way that you cannot tell that someone else is also sharing your CPU, memory and other resources, as only a certain percentage is allotted to everyone and so resources are always available for you. Your site is more consistent with a virtual private server with the same amount of accessibility to the CPU, memory and other system resources.

 

Talking about its advantages over shared hosting, what comes at the first place is security. In VPS account, you don’t share the same file system which restricts one VPS account holder from entering into another’s range. And when it is about the advantages over dedicated servers, cost effectiveness tops the list. In virtual private server hosting, the service and maintenance expenses are shared by six-seven people, whereas you are to bear the whole of expense in dedicated server hosting.

 

 Other than that, a technical problem in the site hosted in the same server does not hamper the other sites of the same server as they are well partitioned. A virtual private server account is allotted with certain percentage of system resources which obstructs other accounts from grabbing the entire system resource.

 

A virtual private server hosting can be divided into two types – managed VPS and unmanaged VPS. In managed VPS, the host manages the entire plan like software, downtime and fixes. In unmanaged VPS you are to bear the responsibility. As such, a managed VPS is always more expensive than unmanaged VPS.

 

In unmanaged VPS, you must be well aware of the nitty-gritty of hosting. This can be counted as one of its disadvantage as you are supposed to be able to manage and configure different services and applications as problems may arise anytime. Another countable disadvantage is “overhead”. A VPS account needs extra memory as each account holder runs their applications within the allotted resources and space.

 

A virtual private server is a mix of shared web hosting and dedicated web hosting. If you are not ready to bear the expenses of dedicated server, and the disadvantages of shared hosting are worrying you, then virtual private server are the solution. The expenses are lesser than dedicated servers and at the same time you don’t confront the disadvantages of shared web hosting. Best suitable for complicated and high trafficked sites that are unable or reluctant to bear heavy expenses, virtual private servers stand between the two extremes.