What Is VPS Hosting?
An explanation of VPS vs. shared hosting and dedicated servers even your grandma can understand!
Well, your Grandma has done it again! Not ready for the old folks home just yet, this time she has jumped two feet into the online world and purchased herself
a domain name, all excited about creating her first website and making her mark on this modern thing they call the internet.
No longer satisfied with just searching for items on the web and looking at other blogs, she now wants to be noticed with her own presence online. With her website name sitting idly at the registrar, Grandma is savvy enough to recognize that the next step in the process for her upcoming site is to obtain web hosting, but she knows nothing about it, and that's where you now come into it. Having to explain hosting options is a big ask alright, but we have you covered. Follow along as we explain how hosting works, the main types that you need to consider, and which would be the best for any budding or currently baffled blogging Grandma.
Hosting - Your Website Needs A Home
Just as you live in a house where everything you need is kept and maintained, so does your website require a residence that has everything it
needs so that it can appear live online. Web hosting companies store or "house" all of the assets and pages that make up your website.
Just as you go outside to another person's house to meet them when they call, hosting allows your website to go outside onto the computers of everyone who
"calls" for it when they search for it in the browser on their home computers. While it's true that you could host your website from your own computer,
that set up would be a poor and inefficient substitute for the speed with which large data centers (web hosts) can connect your site to the internet,
thereby allowing millions of people worldwide to view it all at the same time if required.
Web hosting companies store the components of your website on large and powerful computers that are connected to the internet.
These computers are called "servers", in that they allow all of the parts of your website to come together as a whole, and then "serve"
your website to the people who search for it. Rather than having just one server type to offer, hosting companies will provide a mixture of
server plans that will vary in price based on the server option that you select.
It is important therefore that you understand what the main
hosting server types are and why you would select one to house your website in place of the others.
1. Shared Hosting
This is the most used form of hosting and one that most new webmasters select to serve their sites.
In this setup, your websites share a single server with sites belonging to other site owners.
This means that all of the resources of the server are shared by many, so neither you nor the others on this hosting plan have ownership of the server.
The resources that you will share include; Bandwidth (the amount of traffic that your website can receive), Disk space (the size of assets (graphics, videos, etc)
you can add to your site) and Central Processing Unit (CPU) (program execution and information requests asked of the server).
Since your site and its components will be sharing the server with that of other sites,
this hosting plan is best suited to blog and site owners who are new, or small to medium sized operators who do not need large amounts of resources.
This is also for you if you have no plans to expand into a large entity. In other words, this would be a okay hosting option for Grandma
who is just maintaining her basic blog or site from home.
Advantages
Economical - with many users on the one server, all users share the costs
User friendly - each user has access to their own point and click control panel which allows account management from their web browser
Server maintenance - server performance is monitored due to the large numbers of sites being hosted, and any issues are addressed immediately
Technical knowledge - is not required, as all updates and upkeep is maintained by the host
Disadvantages
Website performance - other websites may affect yours, if they have a surge in traffic that requires them take additional server space, or reduce loading time of your site
Security issues - slight chance that other users leave the server open to risk through weak passwords
Resource allocation limits - bandwidth and disk space may be limited by the host on a monthly basis
Flexibility - configuration of applications may be hindered by the firewall which is itself configured to protect
he user majority
2. VPS Hosting
This type of hosting is considered to be a step up from shared hosting in that you are given a specific portion of the hosting server that is not shared
with other users. Virtual Private Server hosting works by "partitioning" the single individual server into what then works as a multiple server so that
for the user, it has the capability of performing as a standalone server.
In this hosting option, your site is still on the server with other websites,
however your sites have more privacy, and you have more flexibility in your administration capabilities, including software installations that
can be more readily configured.
If Grandma's website becomes a business in which she is experiencing heavy visitor traffic, or running complex applications,
either of which results in rapid growth, then VPS hosting is the perfect solution.
Advantages
Larger housing - bigger space and bandwidth
Flexibility - allowed to upgrade of downgrade your subscription when required
Owner Capabilities - greater configuration powers because you own your space
Security - no impacted by the level of users as per the shared hosting option, and you can custom your firewall configurations
Disadvantages
Cost - it is more pricey than the shared hosting option
Maintenance - with each site having its own operating system and some other software, it may be difficult at times for the hosting company
to completely maintain the operating system and ensure maximum uptime
Server management - if you are unsure how to manage your server, you may unknowingly create security holes
through improper activity. Grandma would have some learning to do here.
3. Dedicated Server Hosting
This is the hosting that meets the needs of big businesses. With this hosting plan, webmasters receive their own dedicated server, as the name suggests.
The server is not shared with other users, and full administration access is granted.
This hosting option is required for websites that require custom requirements that cannot be utilized in a shared environment,
and you could very well expect that a site hosted on this server is attracting a lot of visitor traffic.
Advantages
Heavy operations capabilities - large and heavy use software can be installed for sites like gaming and ecommerce
Speed - load times are 'super fast'
Security - solid security features for websites that need to capture personal customer details
Performance - ability to manage large traffic amounts, both constant and spikes
Flexibility - more server and storage space can be added without impact on current servers, thereby avoiding downtime risks.
Disadvantages
Cost - to be expected when compared to the shared options presented, due to the server maintenance requirements
Knowledge - sound technical skills are required for server management purposes because you are, to at least some extent, managing your own server
Trouble shooting - if internal errors appear, it may take some time to fix, particularly if you are reliant on IT specialists to examine the problem.
Summary
Whilst there are both pros and cons of working with each hosting option, the main thing to remember is that with each upgrade,
you will free up more server space and capabilities for your sites, but the higher you go, the more you will need to understand
what it is that you are working with in terms of server management.
Understanding what you are getting with each hosting plan
is straight-forward enough for not only Grandmas to understand, but for anyone who takes even a short time to examine what each plan is willing to "serve"
up for the cost.
For those just starting out, they will find the shared hosting facility the most cost-efficient however,
it is up to each website owner to plan the extent to which they expect to grow, and to take this into consideration for potential future hosting growth.
