Discover What is VPS Hosting (A Complete Guide)

The web hosting industry is growing and this leads the user to know more about various types of hosting solutions to host their website.  If we talk about the hosting solution then it starts with shared hosting and followed by reseller, VPS, dedicated and cloud. Each hosting solution has its own uniqueness and advantages that help users to expand their business globally.  The only thing they need to do is to know the exact requirement of hosting and get the plan accordingly. If you’re curious about what VPS hosting is, this article offers a clear definition and real-world examples to help you understand it easily.

What is VPS hosting?

A VPS (virtual private server—VPS full form) hosting includes the segregation of physical server hardware into multiple virtual servers. That’s VPS hosting explained in one sentence. This denotes a physical server that is a virtualized server that mimics a dedicated server within a shared hosting environment. It is crafted using a virtualization technique, which distributes a single physical server into multiple virtual instances. That’s the VPS hosting meaning in plain terms: the control of a dedicated server, but on a shared physical machine. Once you get full root access for managing your virtual server, this setup offers users unmatched control and customization ease. That’s what VPS does—freedom over your hosting stack.

A virtual private server consists of its own storage system, operating system, dedicated RAM and CPU. You can say that it is a median between shared hosting and dedicated hosting. If you are looking for faster page speed, assistance, robust service and security at an affordable cost then managed VPS hosting is the ultimate choice.

So what defines VPS hosting? VPS hosting stands out from other hosting types by offering a unique blend of performance, control, and affordability. Unlike shared hosting where multiple websites share server resources, VPS creates a virtual private server for each user, providing dedicated resources and enhanced security. While more expensive than shared hosting, VPS is significantly cheaper than dedicated servers, making it an ideal choice for growing websites with increasing traffic and resource demands.

How does VPS hosting work?

Virtual Private Server hosting explained simply—It’s one strong physical server split into multiple isolated spaces, each acting like its own machine. The virtual machines are divided into multiple virtual sections and server software is structured separately, with an aim to make all units working individually.

Even if other websites are hosted on the same VPS node, your website will be hosted on the given virtual section with the given amount of server resources like CPU, RAM, disk space and more. However, other websites hosted on the same server would not affect your website performance. In short, you get the resources for which you have paid along with the complete root access to the server. It’s like you are taking the experience of dedicated server hosting at an affordable cost. 

VPS hosting leverages virtualization technology to create multiple virtual servers, each with its own dedicated resources, on a single physical machine. The purpose of VPS hosting is to give you both speed and freedom—without having to manage an entire physical server on your own. This is achieved through a hypervisor, a software layer that manages and partitions the physical server’s resources. Each virtual server operates independently, providing users with the illusion of having their own dedicated server, while the hosting provider efficiently utilizes the hardware. This technology enables VPS to offer a balance of performance, control, and cost-effectiveness, making it a popular choice for websites with growing needs.

Benefits of VPS Hosting:

1. Enhanced Performance

VPS hosting provides a significant performance boost compared to shared hosting. Since you have dedicated resources like CPU, RAM, and storage, your website isn’t competing with other websites for these resources. This translates to faster loading times, improved responsiveness, and a better user experience. Additionally, VPS allows you to optimize your server environment to suit your specific needs, further enhancing performance.

With VPS, you can install the software and types of web applications your website requires without affecting other users. This ensures optimal performance and prevents conflicts that can occur in shared hosting environments.

2. Increased Security

VPS hosting offers a higher level of security compared to shared hosting. With your own isolated virtual server, the risk of your website being compromised by other users’ activities is minimized. You have root access to your server, allowing you to install security measures and firewalls tailored to your specific needs.

Regular security updates and patches can be applied promptly, protecting your website from vulnerabilities. Moreover, VPS providers often offer additional security features like DDoS protection and malware scanning to safeguard your data.

3. Scalability

Do you want to know what is VPS hosting flexibility potential that clients get? Well, VPS hosting provides the flexibility to scale your resources as your website grows. Whether you experience a sudden traffic surge or need to accommodate increased resource demands, you can easily upgrade your VPS plan to accommodate your needs. This scalability ensures that your website can handle fluctuations in traffic without compromising performance.

Upgrading your VPS plan is typically a straightforward process that can be completed with a few clicks. You can also easily downgrade your plan if your website’s resource requirements decrease.

4. Root Access and Control

VPS hosting gives you root access to your server, providing complete control over your hosting environment. You can install and configure software, manage files, and customize settings according to your preferences. This level of control allows you to optimize your server for maximum performance and efficiency.

With root access, you have the freedom to choose your operating system and software stack. This flexibility enables you to tailor your hosting environment to the specific needs of your website or application.

5. Reliability and Uptime

VPS hosting offers improved reliability and uptime compared to shared hosting. Since you have dedicated resources, your website is less likely to be affected by issues experienced by other users on the same server. Additionally, many VPS providers offer advanced monitoring and support to minimize downtime.

Reliable uptime is crucial for the success of your website. With VPS hosting, you can expect your website to be available to visitors most of the time, leading to increased trust and customer satisfaction.

VPS Hosting vs Other Hosting Types:

1) Shared Hosting v/s VPS Hosting:-

Here we can take the example of real estate industry where you purchase or sell the flats, row houses and bungalows. Similarly, in the shared hosting environment, you get an apartment for rent and there is one landlord (your hosting provider) who has the ownership of the full space and assets. That landlord gives the apartment on lease and allows you to avail the other facilities like parking, gym, garden (in hosting terms CPU, RAM and Disk space). Whereas, in VPS hosting you get your own server and other necessary resources like CPU, RAM and disk space. But it is distinct from shared hosting, as you get root access to manage your virtual server and handle the issues and modifications as required.

2) Dedicated Hosting v/s VPS Hosting:-

VPS is like a townhouse that gives you full control, whereas in dedicated hosting, you own a big house or a bungalow. Technically in dedicated hosting, you get the whole server along with the management responsibility and it is not shared with any other user. In the terms of pricing, a dedicated server is a highly expensive server and it is useful for those websites who expect high traffic and deal with huge amount of data on a daily basis.

3) VPS Hosting vs Cloud Hosting:-

VPS (Virtual Private Server) involves dividing a physical server into multiple virtual servers. Each VPS runs its operating system and can be rebooted independently, which depicts the core VPS hosting definition. This provides a higher level of control and performance compared to shared hosting. On the other hand, cloud hosting utilizes a network of interconnected servers to deliver services. Resources are pooled and dynamically allocated based on demand. This offers exceptional scalability and flexibility, as you can easily adjust resources up or down as needed.

Let’s learn in detail what is VPS hosting used for:

Common Use Cases for VPS Hosting

1) Hosting High-Traffic Websites

VPS hosting is ideal for websites experiencing significant growth or those that consistently handle high traffic volumes. The dedicated resources provided by a VPS can handle increased traffic without compromising performance or speed. This ensures a smooth user experience even during peak traffic periods.

Furthermore, VPS allows for easy scalability, enabling you to adjust resources as your website’s traffic fluctuates. This flexibility prevents downtime and ensures optimal performance at all times.

2) E-commerce Stores

Online stores often require robust performance, security, and scalability to handle customer traffic and sensitive data. VPS hosting offers a reliable foundation for e-commerce platforms, providing the necessary resources and control to manage product catalogs, customer information, and payment processing efficiently.

With a VPS, you can implement advanced security measures to protect customer data, ensuring trust and confidence in your online store. Additionally, the ability to scale resources allows you to handle increased sales and promotions without disruptions. For e-commerce stores requiring dedicated resources and enhanced control over their server environment to handle fluctuating traffic and secure sensitive customer data, it is how VPS hosting works.

3) Gaming Servers

VPS hosting is a popular choice for hosting gaming servers due to its ability to handle multiple players simultaneously and provide a stable gaming environment. With dedicated resources, you can optimize server performance, reduce lag, and ensure a smooth gameplay experience for all players.

VPS also offers customization options, allowing you to configure your gaming server to specific game requirements and player preferences. This level of control enhances the overall gaming experience.

4) Development and Testing Environments

VPS provides a secure and isolated environment for developers to build, test, and deploy applications. With root access, developers have complete control over the server configuration, allowing them to install necessary software and tools.

VPS also enables developers to create multiple testing environments, accelerating the development process and reducing risks. This flexibility is crucial for ensuring the quality and performance of applications before deployment.

5) Email Servers

What is a VPS server, and how does it provide a reliable and secure solution suitable for businesses with high email volumes or specific email requirements?

If your business sends a lot of emails or has custom email setups, what is VPS for a website makes perfect sense—it gives you the tools and control to manage it all without hiccups.

By hosting your email server on a VPS, you gain control over email configurations, spam filtering, and security measures.

VPS also provides the flexibility to scale email resources as your business grows, ensuring uninterrupted email services for your users.

When is the right time to switch to VPS?

Most of the users prefer VPS hosting due to the availability of plenty of resources and ability to manage the server. In addition, if a user belongs to technical background then VPS hosting is a  right option for him/her. On the other hand, it is usually observed that shared hosting is preferred at initial stages, but later you need to upgrade the plan to Cloud VPS for smooth functioning and better performance. In case, you have any question regarding when to switch to VPS hosting then check below-mentioned parameters it will assist you to understand in a better way.

1) Heavy traffic:-

As I said above, you need to upgrade your current hosting plan, if you are receiving a good amount of traffic. This indicates that you are over consuming your existing resources and you might get notification from your hosting provider regarding this.  In short, you can say that your provider is reminding you to upgrade your plan to VPS hosting.

2) Reliability and security:-

In shared hosting, there are possibilities that your site may get hacked or you may face any other issue. In short, your website lacks security and it requires secure resources for superior website reliability. With VPS, it is 100% guaranteed that you get security because you own a private server where you are able to manage your own server separately.

3) Server root access:-

It is a universal truth that shared hosting provides limited access and this sometime irritates a lot because you are not allowed to make any changes to the server. At some point of time, you realize that you need full control over your web host to perform advanced functions. In such cases, you can opt for VPS hosting to take advantage of the feature called “server root access”.

4) Website loading time increases:-

In shared hosting, you are sharing resources with multiple users and if any one of those sites starts consuming extra bandwidth then all other sites hosted on the same server may get affected. Because of this, you might face issues like downtime, slow loading speed, network failure and more. Moreover, if your website is taking time in loading multiple plugins that are making a PHP and SQL database request then you can consider VPS to host your website.

5) Operating an eCommerce website:-

When you are running an eCommerce website then it is suggested to opt for a VPS, Dedicated or Cloud hosting instead of shared hosting. A reason behind this is most of the eCommerce websites incorporate credit card payment process on their website and they require a PCI compliance certificate. It is noticed that majority of shared hosting plans are not successful in getting a PCI. Whereas in a VPS, you get a separate operating system for your website, this assures you will meet the requirement of PCI test in comparison to shared hosting.

6) Experiencing “service unavailable” error on your website:-

A 503 service unavailable error indicates that your server is not available to meet the user requirements. This usually takes place when site overreaches the assigned application space in the Windows hosting or reaches to maximum concurrent connection restriction in the Linux hosting.

How to select the best VPS hosting provider?

Factor #1: Managed Vs Unmanaged:-

When we talk about shared hosting, over there you don’t get access to manage your server as per your requirement. Whereas in VPS hosting, you get the option to choose between managed and unmanaged servers. 

Managed VPS Hosting: The hosting provider handles server management tasks such as updates, security patches, monitoring, and backups. This is ideal for users who prefer a hands-off approach or lack technical expertise.

Unmanaged VPS Hosting: The user is responsible for all server management tasks, offering greater control and flexibility. Unmanaged VPS hosting option is suitable for users with technical proficiency who have the ability to manage their server issues on their own and require specific configurations.

Factor #2: Windows Vs Linux:-

Before buying hosting, it is important to know which kind of VPS environment you need for your website whether it is Windows or Linux? Linux is more popular and most preferred in comparison to Windows as it offers multiple features that makes easy for the user to access accordingly. You can choose Linux VPS and Windows VPS plans as per your requirements. Whereas, if you are looking to run your website on ASP or ASP.NET then you will need Windows environment. In terms of pricing, Windows is costly as compared to the Linux platform.

Factor #3:- Price

This is the main feature that we look up all the time while buying anything. In the same way, while buying hosting you may get confused due to hundreds of competitors available in the market. Price may vary significantly due to the variability and the nature of the hosting environment. VPS hosting cost relies on multiple factors such as support, customization option, different hardware specs, service level and more.

Factor #4:- Server specifications and Configurations:-

With VPS hosting, server configuration plays an essential role to enhance the performance of the website. You should undertake some points before finalizing the provider which are listed below:-

• RAM and storage
• Data transfer
• Choice of OS
• Backup
• IP address
• CPU Core

Factor #5: Customer support

Yet another very crucial factor that is usually neglected by the users just because of the price factor. The support service is the one factor that makes hosting provider superstar in the eye of customers. No matter, how rich features your hosting provider is offering, but if they fail to offer quality support service then you can assume that you are wasting your money and time and you should think to switch. In case, you face any issue and the provider is not available to fix the issue then your website traffic may get affected and this results into loss of potential customers. Therefore, it is crucial to ensure that you get quality support and service from the provider.

Factor #6:- Trial period

This factor is useful for you because you get a chance to check the service of the provider. You will get numerous providers that offer free trial service or a free demo of the service for a specific period. You can shortlist your best VPS hosting provider and check their service. Once you are done with the trial period then you can sign up with the respective provider based on your experience.