WDTalk

VPS is an acronym for Virual Private Server. VPS plans in the webhosting industry fall between shared and dedicated hosting, both in capability and price.

A VPS is a single physical server logically divided – into multiple virtual private systems. The physical server’s resources (CPU & RAM) are shared between its VPS accounts, with each having its own allotment, operated independently from the others. This separation allows each VPS on that server to run it’s own operating system, scripts or software (with some limitations) without effecting other virtual servers on the same physical server. It offers enhanced security over shared plans, as compromising the Operating System on a Shared Hosting Server impacts every website on that server.

With a VPS, you have – root level access to your server, allowing you to install/uninstall software, create accounts, set permissions, etc., much like as on a dedicated server, except at a lower cost. A VPS does require a different skill set, beyond shared hosting. As a VPS system administrator, mistakes can be made leading to security vulnerabilites. Permissions need to be set, files need to be managed and patches need to be run.

Narrowing your short list of VPS hosts

In the webhosting industry, there are a pletora of teenage and college level entreneurers advertising VPS plans to the general public via very slick websites and advertisements on hosting forums. Some of them run top notch businesses, but many are fly-by-night operations offering no redundancy and limited support, so how do you decipher which to entrust with your mission critical data?

Some questons to ask

1. How long have they been in business? How does that relate to how long you’ve been in business, and the value of your data to your business? Whether you’re an established business with 2 or 150 clients, would you entrust your data to a host that just registered their domain name two months ago and claims to have millions of clients?

2. How many employees do they have on staff? What are their certifications? How long have they been in the industry (on average)? Here again, there are hosts operated by one or two partners sharing responsibilites for marketing, sales, customer support, server management, etc. Do they offer phone support 24/7/365 or are you forced to wait for an answer between 9AM – 5PM, or between classes? Or do they only answer questions via a ticket system or email?

3. Are they offering unrealistic (unlimited) bandwidth and storage at ridiculously low prices? This is a clue that their marketing strategy doesn’t match well with their Terms of Service. Too frequently, those unlimited bandwidth sales pitches are attached to restrictive clauses in their TOS. The result of exceeding their projected allotment of bandwidth or storage for each VPS plan is that you’re frequently asked to upgrade your services or you’re terminated for violating their TOS. Could you afford to have your VPS terminated? On a side note, make sure your data is remotely backed up as part of a disaster recovery and business continuity plan. If your VPS service is terminated, very often your data is no longer accessible from that host. Terminated space on their physical server is frequently deleted and resold the same day.

4. Do they have references listed on their website? If so, call them!! Ask them questions. If not, ask the host for a list of references, then call them!!

5. Do they offer upgrade plans? What happens when your business grows beyond a host’s ability to support your operations?

When selecting a VPS host, use due diigence. Research the hosts on your short list. Read reviews of each on hosting forums or Google searches. And pick up the phone to call their references.