: What are advantages and disadvantages in using VPS hosting vs standard Web hosting services? I saw many companies offer Virtual Private Server hosting beside their Web Hosting packages. I was

@Caterina187

Pros and Cons of vps hosting

VPS web hosting is one of the newer forms of web hosting that has only recently gained in popularity. VPS stands for Virtual Private Server. VPS hosting is a source of confusion for many individuals and businesses searching for a web host for their Internet ventures. The reason for this is that it really is a hybrid of shared hosting and dedicated hosting.

It is no wonder people are confused by the term and are unsure if it will suit their purposes and their web hosting needs. We shall look to clarify the pros and cons of VPS hosting to help you better decide if it is appropriate for your endeavors.

VPS Web Hosting Defined

A virtual private server is one that is partitioned so that it has its own operating system, disc space, and bandwidth. What, exactly, does this mean? A physical server that resides in a data center is used for VPS hosting. That server is then divided into various spaces that create its own virtual server. The account holder who is put on the virtual server sees only their virtual environment and can reboot their server or use it as if it was their own dedicated server.

The space acts just like a dedicated server but it is in actuality a part of one physical server. Because it acts as a dedicated server this is a good interim solution for sites that may need a dedicated server in the future but are not yet ready for it. VPS hosting is a good bridge between shared hosting and dedicated hosting.

Who Uses VPS Hosting?

Many hosting customers have a preference for VPS hosting because they have more control over their environment than they do with shared hosting. Even if they do not need all the system resources allocated to them in the VPS and a shared environment is just as suitable, the control they are afforded is worth the added expense.

For people who want to have dedicated hosting but are a bit wary of the technological knowhow needed, VPS hosting is a good starter package to get their feet wet. They can try it out and increase their skill set without committing to as much money up front.

What Are the Benefits of VPS Hosting?

As with all types of web hosting, there are pros and cons to each and each one is suited to specific circumstances. Generally there are many advantages to hosting your site on a virtual private server. These include:

A VPS hosting account is less expensive than a full dedicated hosting plan that uses a physical server.
Many VPS plans can be customized to meet your needs so you pay for what you want but you do not need to deal with any features you will never need.
Many VPS hosting plans are easily scalable. You can start off in your virtual environment with the minimum amount of resources you need and then as you grow gradually increase your hosting plan to accommodate your needs. You do not have to pay for excessive resources you have not yet grown into.
You have a lot more control over your virtual server than you do with shared hosting. You will likely have root access and the ability to use scripts that may not be allowed in the shared hosting environment.
You have the same technical support as with shared hosting for most issues.
You can choose from semi managed hosting where the web host handles some maintenance and fully managed services.
Are There any Disadvantages to VPS Hosting?

VPS hosting, in theory, is a great way to have the services of a dedicated server but without the cost associated with it. However, there are some potential issues that may occur with VPS hosting. The main disadvantage from a financial standpoint is that it is more expensive than shared hosting. For sites that do not need a dedicated hosting service, the cost may be prohibitive. While it is not as expensive as dedicated, it is also typically a lot more expensive than shared.

From a services standpoint, though, the issue can be a lot greater. Some web hosts offer VPS hosting but do not allocate the resources appropriately. This may cause problems down the line if a particular site uses its resources at peak levels. The reason for this is that the web host may have over sold its space, banking on the probability that each account on the physical server will not use its allocated store of resources. However, if they do, it may cause server issues that will affect all other sites on the server. A way to combat this is to ensure that you are aware of how many virtual accounts are on the server at one time.

VPS hosting is a great bridge between shared hosting and dedicated hosting. It s main advantage is the ability to have complete control over the hosting environment as you would get in a dedicated hosting package but without the cost. There are a few issues you may encounter if the host does not handle VPS correctly but if they do and you can afford the slightly higher price, it is a great option.

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@Megan663

Their largest differences lay on two aspects:


VPS can allocate more disk space and monthly data transfer to you
than web hosting, resulting in better security.
VPS allows you to have more control over the server via the Root
access. Web hosting,however, only allows you to control your own
websites.


In fact, these two hosting types are almost the same, for you are not own a dedicated server, but need to share the server resources with others. Difference only matters the number of your server neighborhoods. Therefore, no matter which hosting type you choose, you need to figure out whether this web host is reliable by checking its customer feedback on Google and its review on HostingReview360.

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@Hamaas447

A word of warning on VPS hosting. Be sure to upgrade to a dedicated server before it gets too overloaded or you will suffer pain - trust me on this.

I have just completed such an upgrade and had allowed inodes to reach 90% and disk space was at 80% and it caused problems when it came to migrate. In fact, the transfer had to be done slowly to not cause performance issues on the still running VPS web sites and it took 3 days to transfer 250Gb within the same data centre.

Remember that although you are on a VPS the V part is important. You are sharing IO and other resources on the same server and they will be throttled to a certain point.

FWIW, the dedicated server has so much more breathing room in every area that it makes it much easier to manage.

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@Margaret670

Biggest advantage of virtual private server is the fact that you get simulation of dedicated hosting for fraction of a price.

I would say biggest advantage is isolation. You don't suffer the fact that you share server with hundreds of websites which can affect your website.

Biggest disadvantage can be complexity, but as someone mentioned with managed VPS hosting this is also turning inta advantage.

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@Deb1703797

VPS ADVANTAGES:

You are more in control with the server; it's virtual, but still you can manage it as a full server. You have full root access, full control and therefore you can do almost whatever you want installing anything you like, even stuff that is not provided the web hosting plans of the same provider, you could remove the control panel and install another one (i.e. removing cPanel and install webmin or remove totally a control panel and manage the server by yourself changing manually the configuration). You could replace the webmail interface with another one (i.e. remove Squirrelmail, and install something else). You can change root Apache config https.conf and root php.ini config.

VPS DISADVANTAGES:

You MUST KNOW how to manage a server; getting such know how is very time consuming, you need to learn and study carefully. You screw up something on a VPS and you risk it being unusable, or even worse, up and running but with dozens of SECURITY HOLES.
It's usually more expensive than a shared web hosting plan, but not always more expensive than a web hosting reseller plan.

WEBHOSTING/RESELLER ADVANTAGES:

You are in control only of what is already installed on the plan by the provider (i.e. cPanel for managing, Squirrelmail for web mail), even if you can still install your scripts and many third parties stuff. It's much easier to manage, and more difficult to be completely screwed up. If the server is down or there are security holes it's not your fault - you simply open a ticket and complain to the web host, who will have to take care about it.

You can rewrite also Apache config for specific folder using the .htaccess file. Also php.ini config can be rewritten on a per-directory basis because most web hosts install suPHP, which lets you rewrite php.ini config using a php.ini file in the directory you want it to be modified. It's definitely cheaper.

WEBHOSTING/RESELLER DISADVANTAGES:

If you want to change something at an higher level (like changing the control panel) you can't. You can NOT change root Apache config https.conf and root php.ini config.



Anyway there is still something missing here, and I'm missing it too. Many hosts are now selling FULLY MANAGED VPS; according to their policies these type of plans have the advantages of WEBHOSTING/RESELLER because if you screw up something, they look at it and they also prepare the server for you. It seems you don't require so much know how, but simply must careful not to put your hands where you shouldn't.

Actually I tried to ask a similar question on serverfault you can find there also links to other similar questions that might help you too.

IMHO I don't understand what's the catch for some hosts to push the VPS against the WEBHOSTING RESELLER plans. Some hosters are even selling FULLY MANAGED VPS at CHEAPER prices than RESELLER plans. It seems bizarre because if I buy a VPS I'm probably going to open many more tickets to ask this & that and to ask them to fix/change something for me compared the the amount of tickets I could open with WEBHOSTING RESELLER plan.

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