What is VPS hosting? Virtual Private Servers Explained

VPS hosting provides superior performance to shared hosting. Unlike shared hosting, where multiple sites live on a single web server and have no guarantee of resources, VPS allows fewer users to share allocated segments of hard drive space, memory, and processor power. Each user has access to a virtual machine running its own copy of an operating system (OS). 

In this blog, we explain everything you need to know about VPS and why this might be needed for your business.

What is a VPS?

A virtual private server, or VPS, is a virtualized server environment that runs on a physical server. The physical server is owned and operated by a cloud or web hosting provider. A VPS hosting plan provides an experience like dedicated hosting without the high costs and maintenance overhead associated with a dedicated server.

How does VPS work?

A VPS hosting provider leverages virtualization software, called a hypervisor, to create and manage multiple virtual machines (VMs) that are run on physical servers. Each VM consists of an entire operating system and has access to only a portion of its host server’s compute, memory, and storage resources. Together these individual VMs make up a single physical server that can be configured to represent many different logical servers. Customers can access only the operating system of the VM they own, but not the physical server on which their VM resides.

Advantages of VPS Hosting

There are many advantages to VPS which has made it increasingly popular world-wide.

Reliability

While VPS and shared servers can both be characterized as “virtual hosting,” there are major differences between the two. With a shared server, the activities of other customers can have an impact on your server. For example, if another client gets a jump in traffic, your server in turn may experience performance issues such as slow loading times, which can drive visitors away or slow down your application.

Improved Performance

With a VPS, your website is not slowed down by other sites and may perform better. Additionally, the allocation of individual server resources allows for more bandwidth and storage so that when visitors come to your site, they are less likely to bounce. 

Resource Control

VPS hosting plans offer a high level of resource control, as you can allocate resources the way you see fit. Additionally, with the flexibility to expand or reduce your server resources over time, VPS hosting is ideal for growing companies that may not have the capital to support a dedicated server plan. 

Options for Services

While some shared hosting providers only offer the server space, bandwidth, and storage needed to run your website, a virtual private server (VPS) provider might provide additional services. If you choose an unmanaged plan, you’ll have to configure and maintain your own virtual server. However, managed plans are available where your host takes care of everything for you. 

Security

Securing web infrastructure has become a priority for organizations of all industries. The need for a secure and robust infrastructure is necessary in today’s technological landscape. Luckily, the infrastructure that hosts virtual private servers is extremely secure, and security upgrades and improvement initiatives are always being deployed. By choosing VPS, your website has the ability to be inherently secure. 

Why choose VPS over a dedicated server?

Cloud hosting is more affordable than dedicated hosting. A cloud VPS, or “virtual private server,” allows you to get dedicated resources for your site while still having the flexibility to easily upgrade your hosting capacity by changing the “partition” on the virtual machine. VPS also offers better reliability, security and performance. 

When should I move to VPS?

There are several use cases for VPS but in general, when your business begins to grow and you need to accommodate more traffic, VPS is a solution to help you scale up.

Hosting a High-Traffic Website 

A virtual private server is a good choice for hosting sites with small workloads that need consistent performance. A VPS can be used to host any application you would use a dedicated server for, but with less overall storage and bandwidth. 

For a Gaming Server

VPS is ideal for gaming because it offers several advantages over other hosting solutions: You can customize the server to suit your needs, there are few limits on performance and stability, VPS offers superior privacy, less lag, and dropped connections.

Developing and Testing Applications

If you are developing apps, a virtual private server can be the perfect solution. A VPS is a virtual working space that allows team members to work from anywhere. It allows teams worldwide to enjoy remote development work. 

Access to many Domains and IPs

A VPS allows you to host several domains with enough resources for each domain to load quickly. It is convenient if you are building websites for clients, thus earning profits. Each VPS comes with at least one dedicated IP address. However, as a user, you can choose to have as many IPs attached to your VPS as you like. 

The benefits of Leaseweb VPS

Leaseweb offers a variety of VPS solutions tailored to different businesses and needs.

Completely Customizable

You can choose your package size, data center location, backup software, operating systems and control panels, bandwidth, and contract parameters (including SLAs and billing terms). 

Low Maintenance

Leaseweb provides a full range of hosting services, including server hardware and infrastructure, managed by our expert engineers. We completely relieve you of the need to manage this aspect of your business, allowing you to focus on what is important: delivering products and services to your customers. 

State-of-the-art Network

We use a state-of-the-art network with multiple Tier1 transit providers and private peering. All virtual private servers are connected to this network, providing full redundancy on all routers. Data traffic is free of charge, with volume based on the VPS you select. 

Accessible Customer Portal

Leaseweb provides a Customer Portal that allows you to manage, monitor, and configure virtual private servers. You can upgrade your SLA level, install a basic firewall configuration, and add software control panel installations. Leaseweb also gives you the option to view network data traffic graphs and reports. 

Firewall Filtering

Leaseweb offers a free firewall on all virtual private servers. The firewall is a network-based service on our hypervisor that blocks TCP, UDP and ICMP traffic by default. You can use firewall rules to explicitly permit traffic to specific ports or IP addresses.

DDoS Protection

All virtual private servers have built-in DDoS protection. Our service uses globally located detectors to protect your servers from volumetric and protocol-based DDoS attacks, mitigating malicious traffic and forwarding clean traffic with little to no impact on the end user. 

Infrastructure Monitoring

Leaseweb Monitoring is a free add-on to our web hosting offering. It provides you with immediate notifications when a check on your server fails, so you can react quickly whenever an issue arises. 

Powerful APIs

Leaseweb’s Application Programming Interfaces give you control of your virtual private servers. Using these APIs, you can list your VPSs, retrieve information, power on and off, reboot, reinstall, and retrieve administrative information. 

SSD Storage

Leaseweb’s VPS solutions are built on state-of-the-art all-flash SSD storage disks, providing increased reliability and reduced latency for cloud applications. 

 

Want a VPS for your business? Check out VPS by Leaseweb.