web hosting

Benefitting From VPS Hosting

Virtual Private Server or VPS, refers to a type of hosting where different customers host their sites a single physical server. They share the same internet connection and even the hardware itself. Sounds pretty much like shared hosting, right? Yes it does, but there are significant differences. A VPS is established by virtualization software which partitions and creates multiple servers within a single server. This process allows you to enjoy benefits similar to that of a dedicated server. For example, you typically get your own operating system, file system and root access to the server. Control is another aspect that is increasingly attracting webmasters to virtualization solutions. VPS allows you to perform administrative tasks such as making configurations to the server, installing software applications and hosting multiple sites without enduring performance issues. You also have the power to actually reboot the server.

Benefits of VPS Hosting

The major benefit of VPS hosting is enhanced performance as well as tighter security at a price significantly cheaper than a dedicated server.

If you plan to move from shared hosting yet can’t afford the high-end price tag of a dedicated server, VPS hosting is the solution you are looking for. Virtualization is becoming more popular, resulting in a price drop on VPS hosting packages. This type of arrangement can serve benefits to a wide range of users. With your platform and operating system isolated from other customers, you will enjoy guaranteed resources in terms of CPU, RAM and disk space.

Who Needs VPS Hosting?

Virtualization is quickly become the preferred option amongst entrepreneurs involved in reseller hosting. VPS provides you with a greater level of control on the services you can offer your customers, resulting in a edge over competitors still utilizing traditional shared servers. The power it provides is well suited for developers looking to a create highly functional blog or demanding social networking site. VPS is also an ideal platform for the webmaster that is already proficient at managing a shared hosting account and wants to upgrade their server administrative skills without fully being exposed to dedicated hosting. All users will have the freedom to install custom applications and change modules on the server. When considering the added privacy, extra layer of security, guaranteed resources and a higher level of performance, it’s no wonder that VPS hosting has become so incredibly popular.

Conclusion

Both shared and dedicated hosting will always serve their purpose but the Virtual Private Server is here to stay. This arrangement makes the perfect solution for anyone who requires more control over their hosting environment yet do not have the resources to invest in an entire server. With VPS, you get a cost not too far removed from shared hosting with a level of control and flexibility similar to a dedicated server, an ideal compromise that allows you to enjoy the best of both worlds.

The Many Faces of Web Hosting

For the most part, what makes choosing a provider so challenging is that there are so many different types of web hosting.  Narrowing down the choices is often as simple as finding one that suits your personal or business needs.  To give you an ideal of what is available, we have provided some details on the most common types of web hosting.

Free Hosting

Yes, free web hosting really does exist.  You can have your very own website without paying anything at all – that is, if you don’t mind being restricted.  What do we mean by restricted?  Well, with a free web hosting service, you generally have little disk space and bandwidth to work with.  Features?  You don’t get too many of those either.  If you’re lucky, you may get a simple control panel along with the ability to upload a few images and integrate a free shopping cart into your site.  How could we forget the advertisements?  When hosting your site with a free service, the provider typically places third-party ads on your site and best of all, you have no say in the matter.  If you can deal with the drawbacks, know that free web hosting is widely available.

Shared Hosting

Shared hosting is the most common type of web hosting today.  After free services, it is also the most cost effective.  With shared hosting, you are literally sharing server space and resources with other web hosting customers.  This arrangement calls for you to share disk storage, bandwidth, CPU, RAM and generally an IP address as well.  Shared hosting allows providers to offer a cheaper service because the customers essentially pay for the cost of the hardware and critical resources.  Although you have no control over the web server, you do have control over your site by way of a control panel application.

VPS Hosting

Short for Virtual Private Server, VPS is similar to shared hosting in the way that it involves hosting multiple websites on a single server.  The major difference is an evolving technology known as virtualization.  This type of software has the ability to simulate multiple servers within a single physical server.  A VPS is partitioned in a manner that isolates you from other customers hosting on the server, providing you with guaranteed resources and enhanced stability.  If you require more flexibility than shared hosting can offer but can’t afford an entire server, VPS could be the right solution.

Dedicated Hosting

Often referred to as dedicated server, dedicated hosting is an arrangement where you have the entire server dedicated exclusively to your personal or business needs.  This means that you don’t have to worry about sharing disk space, bandwidth, RAM and other vital resources.  Dedicated hosting provides the utmost in flexibility, stability and security but is also far more expensive than conventional shared hosting.

Managed Hosting

Managed hosting can be described as dedicated hosting in full turnkey service terms.  Because a dedicated server requires extensive maintenance and administration, managed hosting is often needed for individuals who lack technical knowledge or the time required to keep the machine thriving.  With this type of solution, you usually have the luxury to choose a predefined managed package or select the options and services that best suit your hosting needs.

The Benefits of VPS Hosting

Seemingly out of nowhere, VPS has become the preferred hosting solution for small to medium sized businesses.  VPS stands for Virtual Private Server, a solution that effectively bridges the gap between the limitations of shared hosting and the flexibility of dedicated server hosting.  A VPS is created by virtualization software which partitions a single physical server to form multiple servers within it.  Each virtual server is completely independent of its neighbors and functions like an actual networked server.  What makes VPS hosting so popular is that it provides control at a level similar to a dedicated server at a price not to far removed from affordable shared hosting .

Here are some of the benefits that come along with VPS hosting:

Stability: Unlike shared hosting, the traffic and activities of other VPS customers will not adversely affect your operation.

Performance - Having your own allotment of resources allows you and your visitors to enjoy faster load times.

Dedicated Resources - VPS hosting provides you with more disk space, CPU and RAM.

Flexibility - You have the freedom to choose the operating system and software you want to install on the server.

VPS Features

The features and services of VPS hosting vary depending on the provider.  Although the ones you will need all depends on personal requirements, here are a few you may want to look out for:

Root Access: Root access will grant you with complete control over your VPS account from configurations to software installations.  All of the actions can be handled from the interface of your control panel application.

Management and Support: Similar to a dedicated hosting account, VPS hosting calls for you to manage your own server .  However, there are many companies that provide support and management services to assist with administrative tasks.  This feature is invaluable if you lack technical savvy.

Server Monitoring: A good VPS provider will actively monitor its network and hardware your account relies on.  This ensures the physical security of the server and also helps defend against virtual threats such as hackers, malicious software and DDoS attacks.

Multiple Domain Hosting: Although shared hosts offer multiple domain hosting, most of them do not provide enough resources for you to do so and still enjoy a smooth performance.   Many VPS providers offer plans that allow you to host multiple websites without suffering performance issues.  In most cases, you can set up separate email accounts and allocate specific resources for each individual site.

Managed Data Backups: As with any hosting solution, a VPS plan should offer a way to backup your data.  Because anything could occur within the provider’s network, it is recommended that you choose a service that allows you to manually backup your own data to assure that it can be restored at any time.

VPS hosting offers an inexpensive way to get many of the features, resources, control and flexibility of a more costly and complex dedicated server.  With the technology increasing in popular, prices are dropping rapidly, assuring that you can find a reliable VPS solution that meets your hosting needs.

Crucial Paradigm Launches New VPS Solutions

Virtual Private Server or VPS hosting, has become extremely popular over the last couple of years, highly sought after because of its flexibility and cost-efficiency.  Those interested in this hosting solution will be glad to know that VPS has just became more beneficial.

Crucial Paradigm, a fast growing shared, reseller, dedicated server and managing hosting provider, recently made an announcement that it is expanding its VPS solution offerings.  The company’s new VPS hosting plans have already gone into effect, introducing a variety of entry-level and high-end services designed to provide more options for its existing and prospective clients.  With the recent upgrades, VPS hosting customers can now leverage two of the new entry-level plans which include generous offerings on disk space and allotted resources.

Crucial Paradigm director Aaron Weller, remarked that after more than five years in the web hosting industry, the provider has learned the importance of offering an array of hosting solutions that provide customers with the utmost in usability, flexibility and scalability.  Weller followed up by stating that the new VPS plans will broaden the range of hosting solutions Crucial Paradigm is able to offer, essentially broadening the spectrum of customers they are able to serve.

Crucial Paradigm’s new entry-level Linux VPS hosting plan begins at only $10 per month, offering access to 128 MB of memory, 15 GB of disk space and 75 GB of data transfer.  The Windows plan is attractive as well, starting at $25 per month with access to 256 of memory, 25 GB of disk space and a robust 150 GB of data transfer.  All Windows VPS plans are powered with the Windows Server Edition 2008 software with the Dotnetpanel control panel available upon request at no additional cost.

Not to be left out of the discussion is the two new high-end VPS hosting solutions offered by Crucial Paradigm.  According to Aaron Weller, the upgrade has resulted in one of the most extensive and powerful VPS platforms in the industry.  Customers hosting on a Linux server can now upgrade to the VPS-16384 plan.  This plan beings at $1200 per month, offering access to 16 GB of memory, 1600 GB of disk space and 6000 GB of data transfer.  Comparable to this solution is the Windows VPS plan which begins at $320 per month and offers access to 4 GB of memory, 400 GB of disk space and 2400 GB of data transfer.

Aside from the new VPS hosting plans for its clients in the United States, Crucial Paradigm has also introduced a number of enhanced VPS solutions for its customers in Australia.  The Australian division offers Linux VPS plans at AU $15 per month and Windows plans as low as AU $35 per month.  Existing customers are not automatically impacted by the upgrades as they have the option to upscale or downscale their web hosting plans according to personal requirements.

Crucial Paradigm was originally founded in 2003 and now operates in multiple locations across the globe.  The firm is most known for providing a wide range of custom hosting solutions based on the needs of each individual client.

Shared Web Hosting vs. VPS Hosting, Part 1

We are often asked about VPS versus Shared Hosting. Most small and very small businesses will find shared hosting is a very good fit at a very reasonable price. There definitely does come a point when most businesses outgrow shared web hosting plans. Virtual Private Server (VPS) hosting can provide a solid “next step” for both medium-sized businesses and those smaller businesses that rely heavily on their site or email on a day-to-day basis.

In this first article we’ll outline a few of the key differences between shared web hosting and VPS hosting. Some of these apply only in the case of InMotion Hosting’s plans, but many of them are standard for VPS implementations.

Separate OS and Software

Virtual Private Servers have a complete autonomous Operating System specifically for that VPS. All of the software necessary to run a shared hosting server is present but setup just for the VPS to use. A VPS from InMotion Hosting is almost identical to having a dedicated server while having the convenience of a shared hosting account. It even has a full copy of Cpanel included.

Private Email Server & IP Address

Shared web hosting solutions share not only the web server but also the email server. In many situations, shared mail servers will handle thousands if not tens of thousands of domains at a time. With a VPS Hosting solution, a company will have its own email server dedicated to handling its own email. In addition, the email will be coming from a unique IP address and this greatly helps ensure fast, accurate delivery. There are several other benefits but the above two are the biggest factors for small and medium sized businesses that rely on email for their daily operations.

Custom Security Policy

VPS Hosting platforms are allow for a customized security policy. Your company can dictate how your vps is accessed and when. For example, with shared web hosting, email (POP/SMTP/IMAP/Web Mail) must be accessible through both secure and standard connections. VPS Hosting allows the business to require that its employees access their email through a secure socket layer (SSL) connection. This helps ensure logins and passwords are encrypted and can help prevent hackers from obtaining that information while in transit.

On-Server Anti-Virus Scanning

VPS Hosting accounts will most often include the ability to scan all incoming email for potential virus threats through an on-server virus scanning process. This is a resource intensive process and shared hosting typically doesn’t include it because it can greatly degrade reliability of the shared hosting server.

Customizable Firewall

Shared web hosting usually (and really should if it doesn’t) includes some form of firewall protection to help prevent hackers from accessing the server. When the firewalls are set up for shared hosting, access must be allowed to everyone on that particular server to control panels, web mail, POP, SMTP, FTP, etc. With VPS hosting, because it’s a stand-alone environment, the firewall can be locked down to only allow access from specific locations to those important services. For example, a business may be concerned about who has access to update the web site and will want to only allow access from their office to FTP or the hosting control panel.

A follow up coming soon.

Please feel free to ask questions, technical or from a business standpoint, and I will try to answer them in our upcoming posts.