Starting a venture, business, or company today involves having a digital presence. This means you need to think about positioning yourself through a website. As your website grows, it's important to ensure that your site or blog always runs smoothly. One of the factors responsible for this is the server where it will be hosted. VPS is one of the best alternatives, and in this article, we’ll explain why.
What is VPS?
VPS stands for Virtual Private Server. To better understand what this means, it's important to analyze what each of these terms represents.
A server refers to a computer used to store, for example, data, files, and applications that can be accessed remotely. We can see an example of this model in companies, where such machines allow multiple computers to share data and access applications conveniently.
Servers also play an essential role in accessing websites by storing sites and making them available when someone wants to access them. This means that the performance of your site depends largely on the proper functioning of the machine it is hosted on.
We’re talking about a server that also has the characteristic of being private. This indicates a restriction, meaning only someone with permission can access it.
Operationally, a Virtual Private Server works similarly to other web hosting services, offering a space permanently connected to the internet where we can upload the content of our website for others to access.
VPS servers can be either managed or unmanaged. To manage an unmanaged VPS, advanced knowledge of system administration is required, as the client is responsible for installing and maintaining the software and security of the server.
If you don’t have this knowledge, the best option is to either hire the provider’s management service (managed VPS) or delegate this task to an external system administrator.
As for the operating system, options are commonly offered with either Linux or Windows.
What is the purpose of VPS hosting?
Conventional hosting stores your website or blog in a shared environment. In this case, multiple websites from various users and businesses share the same server.
On the other end are dedicated servers, which are synonymous with exclusivity. We’re talking about a computer with excellent processing power dedicated only to your site, which represents a truly premium service.
By opting for VPS, your site is hosted on a computer alongside other sites, but fewer than in traditional shared hosting.
This means the machine's hardware resources are shared with fewer sites, making VPS a great option that offers better performance at a more affordable price compared to a dedicated server.
How Does a VPS Work?
A VPS server behaves like a Dedicated Server: it has a dedicated IP, runs its own copy of the operating system, and clients have full access. This means they can install any kind of software and manage it freely. VPS servers can also be configured with custom settings, tasks that wouldn’t be possible on Shared Hosting.
When is it recommended to switch to a VPS?
If you have a large number of shared hosting accounts, we recommend moving to a virtual server service. This way, you can manage your hosting independently, just as in shared hosting, with the advantages of having exclusive resources assigned to your server. You'll also be able to create custom hosting plans for each account and adjust PHP parameters such as memory_limit or add additional PHP libraries for your server.
Virtual Private Servers occupy an intermediate space between shared hosting and a dedicated server. They are a good choice if your project exceeds the limits of a shared hosting plan.
To determine what type of hosting services you need, you should analyze how many visits your website currently gets or expects to receive. To give you an idea, here’s a rough guide:
0 – 300 unique visits per day → Web Hosting.
300 – 5000 unique visits per day → VPS.
5000+ unique visits per day → Server Dedicated
Due to the difficulty of predicting the resources needed when starting a web project, many people start with shared hosting, which is a very good option.
When the project grows and more resources are required, one of the most common options is moving to a VPS, although this isn’t always the best choice.
The decision will depend on the volume of resources the project needs, but generally, moving to a VPS is only advisable if you need to install or run server-level applications.
What Advantages Does a Virtual Server Offer Me?
A VPS is power and privacy at the best price:
With a VPS, you’ll have access to all the power, privacy, and security that a dedicated server offers. And if you compare the rates, you’ll see that there isn’t much difference between web hosting and a VPS.
It’s More Secure:
A Virtual Private Server has more security because it operates independently. This isolation makes VPS hosting more secure than shared hosting. For example, our VPS servers are separated from other virtual servers, so their operation does not interfere with other servers installed on the same physical machine, making them much safer.
Better Performance and Reliability:
You’ll get the performance of a dedicated server with the ability to develop your projects in a solid and reliable environment.
Ease of Management:
With your server, you’ll have several control panels to manage it. You’ll have a control panel where you can back up your server, and a PLESK panel that allows you to create websites and manage all the domain features, such as FTP, email, and databases.
Guaranteed Resources:
In a VPS, you'll have guaranteed resources just like in a dedicated server. A VPS has an isolated environment with its own RAM and dedicated CPU, meaning no other user can utilize these resources.
Highly Customizable:
VPS servers share the same hardware with other VPS, but their software is completely independent, allowing you to access and make any changes or improvements to the configuration.
In summary, the main advantage of a VPS is that it offers many of the benefits of a dedicated server, but you only pay for the resources you need, making it a good option for users who require greater freedom of use and configuration.
Disadvantages of Using a VPS
It’s important to consider all variables in this situation. The main disadvantage of VPS compared to shared hosting is the price.
A VPS will cost more, not only for the extra resources but also because, on top of the base price, you'll need to add three additional costs: the management panel (WePanel, Plesk), the cost of the server management service, and the space for backups, though this depends on the offer from each provider.
You will also need more advanced knowledge of virtual server configuration and administration, making it ideal for projects with specific needs, but not recommended for simpler projects or for those without specialized knowledge in the field.
Conclusion
However, VPS hosting offers various advantages over traditional hosting. With a VPS, you have more freedom, for example, to install applications and make hardware improvements.
Additionally, the price is more affordable compared to dedicated servers, and the fact that resources like RAM and the processor are not shared with other virtual servers ensures superior performance when compared to traditional hosting. Therefore, VPS hosting is an intermediate solution for those seeking better service at a price that is not cheap but still accessible.
Finally, this decision should not be seen as an expense, but as an important investment for your company’s growth. If you have any questions or are ready to start implementing a VPS, contact our advisors to get started.
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