What is a Virtual Private Server?

A Virtual Private Server ("VPS") has similarities to a dedicated physical server and shared hosting, but is superior to both in many ways. With a VPS you share system resources like CPU and memory with other users but the system is configured in such a way that you are guaranteed your share of the resource pool. For example if your contract specifies a 2GHz CPU with 2GB RAM then you will always have full and exclusive access to resources at that level.

With a VPS you cannot tell the system has anyone else on it; it acts like a dedicated server. This means that no single web-site or service, as can happen on a shared system, can use all the resources all the time. Your site will be more consistent because it will always have the same amount of access to CPU, memory, and bandwidth.

How do I know if a Virtual Private Server is right for me?

If you are considering a dedicated server or think that a shared host might not be right for you, then you should certainly look at a VPS. The price is very reasonable, and sits in between the price of shared hosting and a dedicated setup. You will have a more consistent site with a VPS than a shared server because of guaranteed resources, and a VPS is also more secure than a shared system because your VPS is completely isolated from other VPS instances.  With a virtual private server no one can tell you are on the system and you cannot tell anyone else is on the system.

Is a Virtual Private Server really more secure than a shared server?

Yes, a VPS is more secure than a shared server due to how the file system is setup. Although you are using guaranteed levels of CPU, memory, and network connectivity from a shared pool, you do not share the same file system as other sites. This means that if someone else’s virtual server gets hacked, there is no way that they can go from that VPS onto your VPS. In a shared system there is only one file system and users can see who else is on there, so if someone were to break into a site on a shared system they would have access to all the sites on the server.

How come a Virtual Private Server is so much less than a dedicated server

There is considerable difference between the cost of a VPS and the cost of a dedicated server. The reason for this is that we can more effectively allocate resources to customers under a VPS framework, and by doing that, we spread the cost of hardware more evenly, whereas with a dedicated server there is only one person paying for the hardware. A Virtual Private Server is a great way to get the security and privacy of a dedicated server at a fraction of the cost.

Why would I want a virtual private server instead of using shared hosting?

There are some limitations to shared hosting, and the most significant is that you cannot usually compile and install your own software, or modify the existing software installed on the system. For example, your site may require configuring some of the existing software differently, and because there are other sites on the server sharing the same software, you are unable to make modifications specific to your individual requirements.

Do I need a control panel to administer the server?

There are a lot of things you can do with a virtual private server because you have root or administrator access to your individual system. This however, can be dangerous if you don't know what you are doing. Ipera offer the Plesk Control Panel on all our Virtual Private Servers, which allows you to easily add and remove software, create and modify databases, set-up mailing lists and add e-mail accounts. Plesk does all the work for you, and saves you having to resort to tedious command-line configuration.