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Virtual Private Server Hosting Guide
What is a Virtual Private Server?
A Virtual Private Server is a mix
between a dedicated server and a shared hosting account. With a
Virtual Private Server you still share system resources like the CPU and memory with other
users but the file system is setup in such a way that you cannot
tell the system has anyone else on it; it acts like a dedicated server. The CPU,
Memory, and other resources are usually setup in such a way that each person is
only allowed to use a certain percent of them so your resources are always
available to you. This means that there is not one person, like can happen on a
shared system, using all the resources all the time. Since the resources are
setup in such a way that each person can only use so much of them, your site
will be more consistent because it will always have the same amount of access to
the CPU, memory, and most of the time bandwidth.
What is a Virtual Dedicated Server?
Some web
hosting companies call a Virtual Private Server a Virtual Dedicated Server or
the other way around. In both cases they do refer to the same thing. Companies
have called the product Virtual Private Server for years now but since Virtual
Dedicated Server is easier to understand for a normal user hosting some hosting
companies have started to call it that instead.
How do
I know if a Virtual Private Server is right for me?
If you are looking at a dedicated server or feel that a shared
host might not be right for you then you should certainly look at a virtual
private server. The price is right between a shared setup and a dedicated setup.
You will have a more consistent site with a virtual private server than a shared
server because a certain % of each resource is allocated to you meaning you do
not have to fight the other hosts on the server to get access to those
resources. A virtual private server is more secure than a shared system where
one can actually figure whose site is hosted on the server. 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 Virtual
Private Server is more secure than a shared server due to how the file system is
setup. Even though you are sharing CPU, memory, and network connectivity you do
not share the same file system. This means if someone else’s virtual server gets
broken into there is no way they can go from that virtual file system onto your
virtual file system. In a shared system there is only one file system and users
can go anywhere they want on it to 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 comes a Virtual Private Server is so much less than a
dedicated server
Depending
on the Virtual Private Server you are looking at and the dedicated server you
are looking at there can be a considerable price difference. The reason for the
price difference is that there are usually 10 or more customers sharing the
resources and therefore the expense of the hardware where with a dedicated
server it is only one person paying for it. A Virtual Private Server is a great
way to get the security and privacy of a dedicated server at a fraction of the
cost.
What
are some questions I should ask a host about their Virtual Private
Server?
Does your setup have a maximum amount of memory,
CPU %, and/or bandwidth a site can use?
Is there a control panel for
administering the server?
How many clients are there on the system?
If
someone else’s web server/site crashes will it affect mine?
How often do you
back up the system?
Why would I want a virtual private server instead of using shared
hosting?
There are
limitations to having shared hosting services and the biggest one is you cannot
usually compile or install your own software. More specifically say you want
your web server to be able to use a certainly technology like PHP but the host
does not have it setup for you. As a regular user you cannot install the
software needed to use PHP but in the Virtual Private Server system you can
install any software you want because you have full control. This means that you
would be able to install PHP and any other software you want.
Do I need a control panel to administer the
server?
There are a lot of
things you can do with a virtual private server as you do have root access on
your own file system. This means if you do not know what you are doing then
typing the wrong command into the command line could easily mess up your system
very easily; it will not mess up anyone else’s system on the same server though.
This means you might be interested in having a control panel so that you can
just click some buttons and what you want to be done is done. There is no way
you can make a mistake this way so it is safer. If you want to spend more of
your time doing marketing or other parts of the business instead of
administering the web server then you will probably want a control panel on your
system.
My host says my site will go down if someone else's site does.
What should I do?
Some hosts
set up the Virtual Private System different than other hosts. The whole purpose
of having a Virtual Private System is that you are more secure than a shared
host and you have more control. If everyone on the server has his or her sites
served using the same web server then it is not a real Virtual Private System
and it is not secure. It is possible to have your file system be virtual so no
one else can get at it but if you are sharing the same web server then that all
of a sudden makes it so it is not as secure and you should go with a different
hosting company because they are only giving you about one quarter of what you
really should be getting.
Glossary of terms:
File System
A
system of storing files on the hard drive and in this case the files are stored
in such a way that only your account(s) have access to them. This is more secure
than shared hosting where everyone is on the same file system and could go look
in other areas where they should not be.
Root
This is the
super user, or the user with control over everything, on a computer system. This
user can do anything they want on the computer system from installing software
to deleting everything on a system.
Control Panel
A
web based interface, which allows users to administer their server by clicking
on different icons instead of having to memorize commands. The commands would be
run on the command line and if typed in incorrect they could seriously harm a
system and stop it from running forcing the hosting company to have to restore
the system from a backup.
Command Line
This
resembles DOS in that it is just a blank screen with a prompt where the
administrator/user would type in commands for the system to run. Most users
would rather use a web base interface or a graphical interface to administer
their system because there is less chance of error.
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