What is a VPS? A Complete Guide to Virtual Private Servers

A Virtual Private Server (VPS) provides a private space on a shared server, offering more control and resources than basic hosting.

This guide covers how a VPS works, its benefits and drawbacks.

We’ll also explain how to migrate to a VPS and answer common questions to help you decide if it’s the right choice for your website.

VPS stands for virtual private server. It’s a type of web hosting in which you share server space with other websites, but the server will be partitioned off into your own private environment.

Essentially you'll get plenty of processing power and can handle high daily traffic.

For medium-sized businesses needing better performance, more storage, bandwidth and control, the right VPS hosting ensures your website runs at its best.

VPS works like a hybrid between shared and dedicated hosting.

Although you’ll be sharing a server with multiple other websites, your website will actually be cordoned off in a private portion of the server.

Here’s a breakdown of how it works:

• Splitting a Physical Server

  • A physical server is divided into multiple virtual compartments using software called a hypervisor.

  • Each of these virtual servers is called a Virtual Private Server (VPS) and operates independently.

• Dedicated Resources for Each VPS

  • Your VPS comes with its own allocated CPU power, memory (RAM), and storage space. These resources are exclusively yours and are not shared with others, ensuring reliable performance.

• Choose Your Operating System

  • You have the freedom to install your preferred operating system (like Linux or Windows) on your VPS.

  • This allows you to customize and configure the server environment to suit your specific needs.

• Isolation from Others

  • Even though multiple VPSs are on the same physical server, they are isolated from each other. Problems like security breaches or high traffic on another VPS do not impact your VPS.

• Full Control Over Your Server

  • You get administrative access (root access on Linux or admin access on Windows) to your VPS.

  • This means you can install any software and make advanced configurations as needed.

Unpacking the Advantages of VPS Hosting

1. Full customization options

VPS hosting gives you full control to customize your site—you can install your own software and custom systems you've developed.

If this sounds too technical, you can choose managed VPS hosting, where all the technical details are handled for you.

2. Affordable

VPS hosting strikes a nice balance between processing power and affordability.

It’s not nearly as expensive as dedicated hosting but represents a significant step up from shared hosting plans

3. Top notch security

In addition to data center security like SSL certificates, firewalls, and antimalware, you can add your own security measures.

Plus, with your site in a separate environment, you're protected from cyber-attacks affecting other users on the server.

4. Good reliability

Because you don't share bandwidth with others, you get increased reliability and uptime.

You’d typically only experience performance issues if you exceed your bandwidth limits or have chosen an unreliable host.

5. Impressive speeds

With VPS hosting, you rarely experience slow-downs.

Most packages offer generous bandwidth, and because your server is private, you'll enjoy consistently strong performance.

6. Managed options are available

If you need significant processing power but lack the technical skills to configure servers yourself, you can choose a managed service.

The hosting provider will handle all the technical aspects while you enjoy the benefits

7. Good traffic handling

Most VPS packages are set up to handle quite large amounts of traffic. If you’re expecting a spike in traffic you can speak to the customer service team to upgrade fairly easily too.

Downsides of VPS Hosting to Consider

Hardware limitations

Your VPS plan includes a fixed amount of bandwidth and processing power, and you might experience slowdowns if you exceed these limits.

While it's fairly easy to scale up VPS hosting, it's not as flexible as cloud servers and requires some planning.

Requires some technical knowledge

Unless you opt for a managed service, you’re going to need some advanced technical knowledge to get the most out of your servers

Increased responsibility

With VPS hosting, you're responsible for more daily administration and management tasks, so if something goes wrong, you'll need to fix it yourself.

You can avoid this by choosing a fully managed service where the host handles everything for you.

Transitioning from shared hosting to VPS can be a smooth process if you know what to expect.

Here's a breakdown of key steps and considerations during the migration:

1. Backup Your Data

Before migrating, make sure to back up all your website files, databases, and important information to prevent data loss.

2. Choose the Right VPS Plan

Assess your resource needs (CPU, RAM, storage) and select a VPS plan that fits your website’s current and future traffic.

3. Server Configuration

You’ll need to configure your new VPS environment, including setting up your operating system, control panel, and security settings.

4. Data Migration

Transfer your website files, databases, and email accounts from the old server to your new VPS. Many hosting providers offer migration tools to simplify this process.

5. DNS Propagation

After moving your data, update your domain’s DNS settings to point to the new VPS. It may take up to 48 hours for DNS propagation to complete.

6. Testing the Website

Test your website on the new VPS to ensure everything is running smoothly. Check for issues with speed, performance, and any broken features.

7. Monitor Performance

Once your site is live on the VPS, monitor its performance to identify any potential issues with resource usage or loading times.

Windows VPS

Windows is the world's most popular operating system, so Windows VPS solutions are common.

They provide a private virtual environment where you control all server resources and can install any software compatible with Windows.

Linux VPS

Although Linux is often seen as a niche operating system, many VPS-hosted sites use it because running a LAMP stack offers great customization.

Linux VPS is cheaper than Windows VPS, but you won't be able to run Windows applications at the same time.

Cloud VPS

Here your website is hosted in a hybrid environment that combines VPS and cloud solutions.

While resources are shared across multiple servers, you still have root access and administrative rights to your assigned portion.

Any traffic spikes or strain on resources can be spread across multiple servers.

This option is usually more expensive than standard VPS packages but offers more flexibility.

Multi VPS

Multi VPS allows you to access multiple servers at the same time.

It's a good option for those that have multiple websites in different niches.

This allows you to customize each server specifically and run different operating systems on each one.

• Reputation: It’s vital your host has a good reputation and is known for good customer service. Make sure to do some research prior to signing up and check out online reviews.

• Uptime guarantee: If a data host can’t guarantee a minimum of at least 99.99% uptime, then don’t even think of using them. This is now the industry standard

• 24/7 support: Problems can occur at any time of the day or night, which is why it’s important to find a host that can fix any problems 24/7.

• Traffic location: The further your servers are from your customers, the slower your website will be. Make sure your host has data centers in the regions you operate in.

• Cost: There’s a huge range of different prices these days so it’s important to set a budget before you start your search. This should be based on the expected traffic for your website.

• Data Storage: This will determine how much information you can pack into your site. Make sure you choose a host that can accommodate your business needs.

• Processing power: Check how many CPU cores and how much processing power each hosting package offers; this will determine your site's speed. Compare different tiers to see how they differ.

• Service Level Agreements: These outline how quickly the host resolves any issues you might have. Major incidents should be fixed within a few hours, so check the timeframes offered.

• Security controls: Choose hosts that offer free security features as standard, including an SSL certificate and a strong firewall. Avoid hosts that don't provide these tools.

As technology evolves, more hybrid options are becoming available. One popular choice is combining VPS with cloud hosting, where virtual sites are hosted across multiple servers.

Cloud VPS offers the benefit of accessing a larger pool of resources for easier scaling, while still keeping your environment fully isolated.

Although it's more expensive than traditional VPS, it provides greater flexibility.

Whether on a private or public platform, cloud servers can give your business a competitive advantage by offering scalability that grows with your needs.

This is especially true when using advanced, built-in tools offered by cloud applications.

VPS hosting strikes an excellent balance between affordability, flexibility, customization, bandwidth, and processing power.

It's an ideal choice for medium-sized businesses, popular blogs, or sites with a high number of visitors.

If your needs are simpler, starting with basic shared hosting might be best before upgrading.

For those wanting a hassle-free experience, managed hosting options let the host handle all technical and maintenance tasks.

Explore our Managed Windows VPS Hosting for full support, or take control with our Unmanaged Windows VPS Hosting—both tailored to meet your web hosting needs.