Comparing Dedicated and Virtual Private Server

Thursday, 17 February 2011

When a client needs to have access to a quality hosting service, there are different options which can be used to achieve the necessary results.  Shared hosting is the common starting point for most clients, and then an upgrade to a much more centralized option with allocated resources may be in order.  The differences between dedicated server hosting and virtual private server (VPS) hosting can be the real difference between how the client wishes to operate their website(s) or applications on the server.

Virtual Private Server Hosting

The VPS is one of the popular options that can generally be affordable for most clients.  It can provide similar function to a dedicated hosting option but has the resources divided up between many VPS partitions on a single server.  This is a great options to try out the benefits of having some allocated resources for a website or server processes without having to worry about managing an entire server. 

The VPS will also provide root level access to the server and provide higher functions which are generally not available for a typical shared hosting plan such as rebooting the partition in a layer.  In essence, this type of hosting is a great virtual version of a limited dedicated hosting option.  Usually, a VPS will provide guaranteed resources by allotting a virtualized portion of the resources that are handled by the server.

Dedicated Server Hosting

With a dedicated server option a client will not have to worry about virtualized servers or sharing the resources of the server with other accounts.  Instead, there is a greater responsibility by having access to the entire server and all of the resources that are available with it.  Dedicated servers have higher responsibilities but provide much more opportunities for clients to expand their website(s) or other projects that need more resources.

Management of the server may be necessary depending on whether or not the client decides to have partial or complete management ability of the server as well.  This is the best option for a large website that expects a great deal of resources to be used with their configuration.  The client can have complete control of the server and use it to their specifications for the application they choose to use it for.

To get the best idea of what a client should choose between a dedicated and VPS hosting service depends on what they are trying to accomplish with the hosting.  If the hosting is to replace a shared hosting plan that is nearing the limits of resources use, then a VPS option may be the suitable upgrade.  If the client plans for immediate or near future growth of their website or server usage, a much higher powered dedicated server option is the best solution.  Cost wise, VPS will be able to save the client money on the service if the expansion of the website seems to be slower while a dedicated server option can save time by having the resources on hand from the start.