Profile
Virtual Private Servers - the Basics A virtual private server can be described as the next step in shared web hosting on the path to your own dedicated server. Virtualisation plays a significant part in web-hosting, since server hardware is becoming more efficient and affordable in terms of memory and CPU performance. As a website owner, virtual private servers offer you the benefits that a dedicated server provides, but at only a fraction of the cost. What are the key factors to consider when choosing a virtual private server? Physical memory; disk space; allocation of CPU bandwidth; operating system Physical memory Physical memory (RAM) determines the number of applications you can run on your VPS at the same time and how many users can access these applications at the same time. This is often translated to "How many users can I allow on this website without slowing down?" The more memory you have, the more efficient. However, the majority of virtual private servers have memory between 512MB and 4096MB. Anything below that will not really let you perform much, unless you use a proxy server or a domain name server. DATCHLEY IS BLOGGING Anything above 4GB is an excellent reason to switch to a dedicated host. A dedicated server will provide better performance than a virtual server with the same specs. If your VPS uses 4GB of memory, you may see the balance shifting in favor of a dedicated host. Disk space Most VPS deals provide between 5 to 40GB of disk space. If you don't plan to host a lot of large files (such as high resolution images or media files), this space allocation is probably sufficient. Be aware that the more space you have will eventually become more expensive on a VPS plan than on dedicated servers as with memory. Allocation of CPU Another important aspect is how CPU time is allocated to your VPS. There are a variety of models to choose from but they all have one thing in common: they ask about the CPU utilized by your VPS node. It doesn't matter if the node is running an E3-1230 or an old P4. Below is a quick summary of the most popular CPU allocation plans: 1. A guaranteed cores plan gives you complete control over the specific number of cores that are available on the host's CPU. While this option offers the highest performance in terms of performance, compared to other allocations, it is also the most expensive since a large portion of a CPU's processing time is reserved for you alone regardless of whether you really need it or not. 2. You will get some CPU performance based on the CPU's clock speed, based on the MHz/GHz allocation. 3. This method lets you utilize a specific amount of cores of the VPS node's physical CPU. If your VPS plan states "2 cores fair share" it means that you'll be able to use 2 cores of the physical CPU for your VPS, and that you can use these two in such a way that you do not cause any problems for other clients on the same node also making use of these 2 cores. The exact definition of "fair share" is dependent on the service provider you're working with, so make sure you read the small print. 4. VCPU This is a mix of (2.) vCPU This allocation is a combination of (2.) and (3.). It might have allocations such "4 cores at 800MHz", or (.) Remember to inquire as to which CPU is in your VPS node. Bandwidth Most VPS offer lower bandwidth or traffic than dedicated servers and are operating on the (sometimes shared) 100mbit/s connection, with some providers offering gbit/s as well as a default option or through an upgrade. While it's tempting to purchase as much bandwidth as you can however, this is likely a sales tactic. To avoid unnecessary expenses, make sure you know the amount of traffic your company will be using. Operating system VPSs will run any of the commonly used Linux flavors, such as CentOS or Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora and Fedora. There is no restriction to Linux however. Most providers will offer Windows based virtual private servers too. These servers typically require additional licensing. Summary A VPS has the advantage of being compact. You can do nearly everything you can do with a dedicated machine, but at cheaper prices than purchasing a whole server. The disadvantages of virtual private servers are in their scalability and contention ratio. The more customers hosted on a single physical machine the more likely you are to encounter increasing competition for a machine's resources between the guest systems, for instance, I/O, memory, or CPU power. Scalability is another issue. A VPS can't be scaled without an end. The current hardware of today's high-performance Intel or AMD architecture cannot be scaled infinitely and a website that requires resources that were typically accessible via dedicated servers a few years ago may benefit from the additional performance (albeit at a cost higher) from a dedicated machine with the same specs as CPU, memory, and storage space.
Forum Role: Participant
Topics Started: 0
Replies Created: 0
