Difference Between Dedicated Hosting and VPS Hosting

Friday, 04 February 2011

Customers exploring options in dedicated and VPS hosting will want to understand what each option can provide for their needs.  Most clients will have a basic understanding of what they will need from a new hosting plan and will simply choose the upgrade that they see which fits their budget well.  Of course there is nothing wrong with this course of action, it is important to understand what the customers are choosing with their plans.

VPS Hosting

VPS provides some of the most affordable options available for hosting services.  They are very similar to dedicated hosting in terms of virtualization.  The client will have a virtual private server which can be used as they please with an allotted amount of resources which can be used by the client and their website(s) needs.  The server contains a specialized virtualization software or hardware option which makes it possible to partition several servers from a single physical server.  They provide the client with a great degree of control without the responsibility of managing the server.
The server is managed in the background for a VPS hosting option by the hosting company.  This option works out well for most clients who do not need the highest levels of access for their hosting needs and rather only need to have guaranteed resources for their websites.   Some VPS options also have the ability to share resources in memory when others are not using them.  This can make the hosting very affordable and provide websites with some leeway with resources when needed.

Dedicated Server

Dedicated servers make it possible for the customer to have full control of a server.  There is no sharing or virtualization of the resources.  The client leases the entire server for their personal use.  This provides greater responsibility for the customer and makes it possible to have greater control over what they can do with the server.  Essentially, they can control what goes on and gets removed from the server in terms of operating system and software.  Some dedicated server hosting options can also provide advanced options in which the client can partition the server as needed and distribute resources as necessary.

Dedicated server options can be either managed or unmanaged.  Managed dedicated hosting will employ the hosting company as background support for the server and perform the necessary functions of updating, support and troubleshooting.  An unmanaged dedicated hosting option will require the client to manage the server and perform all of the necessary maintenance and routine work to ensure reliability.

Ultimately, a customer will have to decide what they need from a hosting service when they consider VPS or dedicated hosting options.  The ability to choose between high quality hosting services is up to the consumer of the services.  It is always recommended that a customer looks into reviews for the services that they are considering to get a better idea with the experience of past and current customers using the services offered by any VPS or dedicated hosting company.