Like most people, you’re probably at least somewhat familiar with what a server is. To put it in simplest terms, it’s a computer that stores information other devices can then access. It’s the physical technology we need to for the World Wide Web and other essential digital landscapes we all take for granted these days.

However, there are countless different types of servers out there and it’s most likely worth your time to have a general understanding of some of them. One such example would be a VPS.

VPS

A Virtual Private Server is much like a dedicated server. Unlike shared servers, dedicated servers give you a specific amount of “space” just for your needs. This ideal for most businesses because they never have to worry that, say, their website will suffer in performance because other websites on their server are experiencing high rates of traffic.

However, there could be a number of reasons why you or your business don’t want to use a dedicated server. Cost is usually a major factor. You’d have to pay for the actual, physical server and all its resources in order to have your own dedicated space. That just isn’t feasible for a lot of businesses.

This doesn’t stop companies from wanting a dedicated server though. Eventually, this led hosts to come up with the VPS option. Essentially, they take a normal server and partition it into separate spaces, each one constituting its own VPS. Each user can only view their own virtual environment, but this also means they get most of the advantages involved with it too.

Controls

They can reboot their server at will, for example. However, they also get plenty of other controls that would normally only be available to those with their own dedicated server. This doesn’t keep them from getting the same type of technical support they would from paying for their own server either.

Another major advantage to using a VPS is how scalable it is. This is what attracts many companies to it in the first place. It makes for a good middle ground between shared and dedicated hosting. You may not even need dedicated hosting right now, but simply want to be prepared for five years or so in the future.

Customization is a major benefit too. Most companies appreciate that their VPS can basically be designed to meet their unique needs, whatever they may be and further altered in the future.

While they still aren’t the norm, you can expect to see more and more about virtual private servers in the future. They offer too many advantages for their popularity not to grow.

ServerPronto offers the best affordable and secure hosting service in all dedicated server packages.

Sources:

Differences between Shared, VPS, and Dedicated Hosting

What is VPS Hosting?

Photo cred: Flickr / vikasgupta87