Although very little credit is given to cheap hosting solutions when it comes to the internet boom, the truth is that without affordable hosting solutions there was no way so many websites could have been hosted online. The price of hosting has been on a steady decline and new technologies like VPS (virtual private servers) have made hardware sharing an affordable reality. To better understand how VPS has impacted web hosting one must first understand what a virtual private server is.
A virtual private server is a method of partitioning a physical server computer into multiple servers; each virtual server has the appearance and capabilities of running as a dedicated machine. In addition, a virtual private server can have multiple instances of different operating systems running at the same time. A virtual private server boots up like any normal web server, the server then executes a virtualization software that allows a single server to host multiple ?virtual machines?. The server's administrator decides exactly what resources are available to each virtual machine. Contrary to popular belief, a virtual private server is in no way inferior to a dedicated server and is far more cost effective.
A webmaster is usually assigned a super-user account on the virtual private server, and a webmaster can choose to install any software he wants. Unlike a dedicated server, there are very little restrictions on the type of software a webmaster can install, and everything from firewalls to anti-virus programs can be installed on a virtual private server. Although, virtual private servers with multiple operating systems are becoming popular, a virtual private server with multiple instances of the same operating system is believed to perform better.
A super-user also has access to various features like root SSH and memory management. As mentioned earlier in the article, the virtual private server's administrator has the rights to decide how much RAM is allocated to each virtual server thus ensuring that each virtual server is allocated enough space and memory and is not deprived of system resources.
Advantages of virtual private servers
Cost effective
The biggest advantage of virtual private serves is that they are cost effective. Compared to a dedicated server, a virtual private server is nearly 75% cheaper and can offer the same features as a dedicated server.
Greater flexibility
A webmaster can choose exactly how many hardware resources he wants allocated to his website. In addition, a webmaster can reboot the web server as and when he wants without having to worry about downtime for other websites. Virtual servers can be rebooted individually, and do not affect other servers that are running on the same virtual private server.
Expandable
Depending on a webmaster's requirements, a virtual server can be assigned greater system resources and space. For example, an e-commerce site might require more server space as its business grows. A virtual private server's administrator can assign additional server space and system resources to a website in real time with very little or no downtime.
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Virtual Private Server Software
Virtual private servers have been used for quite some time, but lately they have gained popularity and more and more people have a need for something other than shared and dedicated web-hosting services. A virtual private server is a single physical server that is split into multiple virtual servers. What this means is that the single physical server is portioned in such a way that the one server appears to be multiple servers. While this portioning of a single server has been effective for quite some time, newer software such as Xen, FreeVPS, and others have revived the popularity.
Virtual private servers are practical for those that need something a bit different than either shared or dedicated hosting. The attractiveness of Virtual private servers or VPS is that they allow root level access to each of the clients, yet they do not require physically dedicated servers. Businesses and individuals that really need a customized server and web hosting plan often go for the virtual private server because it gives them more privacy and customization than a shared server, but usually is not as expensive as a dedicated server is. Many find that a virtual private server is just able to fulfill their needs more accurately and efficiently than any other type of hosting service.
Virtual private servers are used in a variety of situations. Many times they are used for duplicate or copy websites. This allows changes to be made to the copy site before making the changes to the main site, to ensure that the website will be as accurate and as unflawed as possible. Testing the copy site allows the individuals running the website to ensure that it is as professional and up-to-date as possible at all times. Virtual private servers are also used quite often to create honeypots, which refers to the ability to allow a specific machine to run software that knowingly has security or other flaws. Honeypots are considered to be easier to deploy in a timely fashion, which allows one to gain more insight into the world of computer safety without compromising the safety of ones main server.
There is a well-known variant of virtual hosting that is called clustered hosting; this is a technology that involves a cluster of physical machines that are each running virtual hosts. Whether you choose clustering or virtual private servers, this can be the solution to your web hosting needs. If you have the need to gain more control and customization than you can get with shared hosting, one should definitely look into VPS hosting options. VPS is great for many, including those that want more control as well as resellers.
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