VPS vs Dedicated Hosting: The best Option for Big Brands

by Megan sashyl Blogger & Content Writer

Web Hosting

This is a service provided to those who wish to establish their own websites, blogs, and other entity on the website but do not have the resources or willingness to put up their own servers. A web host is a business, its main service is enabling the website and pages of its clients to be seen on the internet. The pages are hosted on the servers, and using the internet the general audience is able to access the information on those servers.

There are many hosting plans available. The most common of these is the shared hosting plan that most people subscribe to when they first open their websites. However, there comes a time when this plan is no longer able to handle the heavy load placed on it. A heavier load is the direct result of a website’s expansion and an increase in the number of visitors simultaneously accessing the site.

The topic of today is two definite upgradeable plans; VPS hosting and Dedicated server hosting. Within this article we aim to discuss their individual characteristics, their pros and cons, and the various cases that will require one more than the other.

What is VPS hosting

Virtual Private Server hosting is a plan in which a web host’s servers are divided between each hosting client and their website’s needs. This makes it very similar to a shared plan, as both involve multiple hosting accounts on the same general server. VPS hosting offers each client root access to the servers however. It offers you more control over your server than a shared hosting plan and the specifications are generally on a higher level.

It should be noted that the fact that the servers are shared does not eliminate the privacy of each hosting account. A software called a hypervisor is used by the web host to create a strict separation for each hosting account. This way, while you all use the same server, it is impossible for any other user to interfere with your allocation.

Another important feature of VPS hosting is that the server resource is evenly allocated between all of the users. This allocation is also fixed. No hosting account is able to exceed its allocated server space, regardless of how its needs might grow. In a lot of ways, it is similar to having an apartment in a complex. You have control over your own space and can do with it as you wish, and so do your neighbors. But they are not able to suddenly start putting their things in your place because they ran out of space.

What is Dedicated Server Hosting

Dedicated server hosting is an entirely different bag from both VPS and shared hosting. There are no others on the server with you, which means there is no need for a hypervisor or for the resources to be shared.

As the name implies, it is a server entirely dedicated to you and your hosting needs. Here, there are no others sharing your resources with you and so even less possibility of another user interfering with you. This gives you the ability to decide all software that is installed on the servers and complete control over other decisions that affect the server.

With dedicated servers, you are given even more freedom to dictate how your server is set up. In this way you will often be offered a number of configurations to choose from. Depending on your web host, you may be given complete autonomy to build a server configuration that you believe best suits your needs.

The similarities

● In terms of resources, both VPS hosting and dedicated server hosting offer you much larger resources than shared hosting. They are both a definite upgrade, just to varying degrees.

● They both offer you more control over your server than on a shared hosting plan. In both, you are given root access.

● The two plans allow you to purchase the particular hardware specifications that you believe best suit your needs.

● They are both hosting plan. This is important to note because at the end of the day, there will always be certain restrictions that apply to you as a client.

What are the differences

The differences between these two plans are where you as a potential user will be able to determine which of these two plans best suit your needs. It is important to note that under the right circumstances, either of these two plans and even the basic shared hosting plan could be perfect for you.

● Customization options

Dedicated servers are in many ways all yours. One of the many implications of this is that you are granted a wider range of possible configurations to choose from when setting up your own servers. Your customization options are virtually limitless and can be done to whatever level and at whatever time you wish.

VPS hosting, on the other hand, will often offer you a few fixed options to choose from. Beyond this, the other changes you can make will be restricted, and you are definitely not allowed to make any changes that would affect other hosting accounts. However, this has an advantage as it makes the setup a lot easier and quicker for you.

● Control

Control is another aspect of both plans that potential users should look at. While both the Dedicated server and VPS hosting gives you more control than the shared plan, the Dedicated in turn gives you more control than VPS. This is due to the fact that each dedicated server user is granted access to a separate machine. Shared plan can be seen as giving you little, if any control, VPS gives you some control, the dedicated server grants you all the control you could possibly require. This control is evident in the software installed, the hardware configurations, and any customization options you may choose to include or remove.

● Security

In truth, this is not as much a worry for the VPS or dedicated server user, as it should be for someone using a shared plan. Due to the separation present in VPS hosting, there is very little chance that a malware intrusion or hack aimed at one user will be able to penetrate the resource of another. The same can be said for the possibility of one user on the server accessing the resource of another.

However, dedicated servers do away with this possibility altogether by giving you a machine all to yourself. As you are the only one there, every attempt at an intrusion or hack will be directly targeted at you and will never be the result of another user’s efforts or negligence.

● Cost

The dedicated hosting plan can be seen as a more premium version of VPS hosting plan. Accordingly, it will cost more to acquire and maintain. VPS plans range based on your requirements and your provider, prices will often fall somewhere between $5 a month all the way up to $100 a month. However, there are currently plans that cost as much as $175.

Dedicated plans are the more expensive option. This is due to the exclusivity, the increased control, higher number of customization options and a number of other factors. On average a dedicated hosting plan will cost a minimum of $30 and this amount will keep going higher depending on what specifications you are seeking.

Making the choice

When deciding between a VPS server and a dedicated server, you should take the information provided above into consideration. You also do well to use a top web hosting provider. You can find more about what makes a good web host provider on https://www.domains4less.co.nz/web-hosting. To render it all in a simpler format, we have made some suggestions for which we believe best suit certain circumstances.

You should choose a VPS hosting if:

● Your business has grown enough to afford a better plan than shared hosting.

● You have faced a number of security threats or you find yourself increasingly concerned for your websites security.

● You have some knowledge on web hosting, but you are not an expert on the field.

● Your growing blog has an increased number of audiences and you need more resources to cover this.

You should choose a VPS hosting if:

● You have the funds to cover it and you need the resources to cover a large base, over 500,000 visitors per month.

● You have the staff and technical knowhow to operate and maintain this server and its various configurations.

● You are interested in asserting complete control over your servers and want as little restrictions placed on you as possible.

● You want to eliminate all possibilities of a security risk via a shared server.

● You have a need to specially craft your hosting environment to meet your particular needs.

Following all the information we provided above, you should already be convinced that upgrading from a shared plan is usually your best option. It simply does not serve enough of the basic needs or give the necessary protection for a growing website or blog.