VPS hosting
What is VPS hosting?
Definition
VPS, short for virtual private server, is a type of hosting where multiple companies use isolated environments on a physical dedicated server. These isolated environments are virtual private servers, also known as instances.
Because the servers are virtualized, they don’t require physical hardware maintenance. Each VPS mimics the benefits of a dedicated server, offering enhanced security, scalability, and speed.
How VPS hosting works
Using a software called a hypervisor, the hosting company implements a virtual layer on top of the operating system (OS) of a dedicated server to segment the virtual private server instances.
The separation between virtual walls allows each user to install their own OS and software, creating a server that’s truly private, separated from others on the OS level.
#1 provider
Liquid Web is the leading host for Linux VPS performance
Dedicated
Allocated bandwidth and storage for each instance means performance is not affected by other users on the server.
Scalable
With VPS hosting, you can access your environments from anywhere and adjust your resources with a click of your mouse.
VPS hosting: commonly asked questions
Is VPS hosting safe and secure?
Yes, VPS hosting is secure. VPS security stems from each instance’s isolation. By contrast, with shared hosting, environments share resources and can be affected by each other’s vulnerabilities.
Is VPS hosting fast and reliable?
Yes, VPS hosting is fast and reliable—that’s a big reason companies prefer it to shared hosting. Since you’re allocated your own bandwidth, you get reliable performance more similar to a dedicated server.
What are the types of VPS hosting?
VPS hosting comes in several forms, each catering to different needs and levels of technical expertise. The main types of VPS hosting are managed VPS, cloud VPS, reseller VPS, and preconfigured VPS.
What are the benefits of VPS hosting?
VPS hosting delivers several important benefits that combine the best features of shared and dedicated hosting. Your favorite VPS features will vary based on how your company uses it.
Empowerment
You get SSH and root access to your environment, giving you more control.
Customization
You get only the features you want, which even includes the operating system (OS) of your choice.
Growth
VPS hosts provide more bandwidth and storage than shared hosting. Scaling is fast and easy.
Data protection
VPS hosting makes it easy to perform server backups. With Liquid Web, daily backups are standard for our VPS environments.
Security
VPS environments are isolated from each other, making them more secure than shared hosting environments.
Versatile
With a VPS, you can host unlimited sites, build an app, host a gaming server, and even create your own cloud network.
Common use cases for VPS hosting
Cost control
Unlike pay-as-you-go cloud hosting, VPS resources are reserved and scalable, which limits overages and add-ons.
Server access
For those wanting root access and custom integrations, VPS provides tech freedom without a high price tag.
Scaling down
Dedicated server users sometimes downsize to a VPS to save on costs while maintaining similar security and performance.
Not seeing your use case?
How VPS hosting scaled Ampleharvest.org to new heights
“Our mission requires VPS hosting that is up to the task, and we found that.”
Real-time reports
Helped prevent code injection
4.8 billion
Impressions scaled
What to look for in a VPS hosting provider
The best VPS hosting service is the one that you feel most confident and comfortable with. For you, that could mean the provider with the best reviews or the one who offers the best price or the best technical specs. Ideally, you’ll choose a provider who offers a balance of all of these.
Uptime
Don’t just ask the hosting provider about their uptime guarantees. Check their third-party customer reviews to see whether their hosting is reliable and how quickly and effectively the provider responds in the event that downtime does occur.
Customer service
Don’t just research by visiting hosting provider websites. Reach out to see which companies are the easiest to speak with, who responds most quickly and thoroughly, and who takes the most proactive approach to working with you.
Liquid Web’s customer reviews prove a commitment to responsive support, proactive service, and immense value.
Scalability
Ask each provider what the process is for scaling VPS hosting on their servers and the turnaround time for making changes. Also, research how the pricing changes as you scale. Some providers charge by the megabyte, others charge by the minute.
Cost
Weigh not only the monthly cost but total cost of ownership. If you’re considering self-managed VPS hosting, that means taking into account your own staff’s management time and the cost of potential downtime or cyber attacks.
Hardware
Ask for details on the servers each hosting provider uses for VPS. Providers who use more up-to-date hardware with current-generation processors will be more reliable long-term partners than those that don’t.
Operating systems
Learn what operating systems the hosting providers support on VPS, and decide whether those work for your needs. If you’re not sure which OS you need, chat with our hosting advisors now.
Security
Find out what sort of security comes with each VPS offering. The best VPS hosts automatically include basic server DDoS protection with options for upgraded protection in the event of larger attacks.
Backups
Backups are an important feature of VPS hosting, so ask how often each provider performs them. If possible, opt for a company that does nightly backups and ensure there are onsite and offsite backup options. It’s important that you’re always just a click away from full recovery.
CDN
If you’re using VPS to host a website, find out whether the VPS package comes with a CDN. If the provider offers Cloudflare, that sweetens the deal, as it can mean a faster and more secure site.
Migration
Moving a website requires skilled experts, a proven process, sharp attention to detail, and a dedicated amount of time. If you’re already hosting elsewhere, it’s important to understand each VPS provider’s approach to migration and the cost.
Liquid Web VPS hosting FAQs
What is managed VPS and is it better?
Managed VPS
With a managed VPS, your hosting company will handle the technical side to ensure functionality and protection of your server. They’ll also handle maintenance, troubleshooting, and software installs, saving you time and making your life considerably easier.
Pros of managed VPS
Cons of managed VPS
Managed hosting allows company team members to stay current on best practices and new technologies. They also quickly gain on-the-job experience working with a variety of environments and troubleshooting common issues. That means they know how to optimize your environment for performance and security and how to resolve common issues quickly.
Self managed VPS
With a self-managed VPS, your hosting company is responsible for providing the VPS, maintaining the hardware, and performing system-level health checks. But the VPS customer performs the rest of the maintenance, monitoring, and changes.
Pros of self-managed VPS
Cons of self-managed VPS
Self-managed hosting requires asking your IT team members to do the work of a skilled, full-time hosting team while also performing their other duties. And, unless you want to open up the risk of downtime, they’ll have to perform those duties 24/7/365. As you can imagine, companies often end up paying more in the long run due to security breaches and downtime when they choose to go with self-managed hosting.
The middle ground: core managed VPS
With a core managed VPS, the hosting company provides the same basics as unmanaged hosting but adds on core software installation and support. Features include OS updates and patches, security enhancements, full web server support, and proactive response and restoration of monitoring events.
| Features | VPS hosting Shop plans | Shared hosting More info | Cloud hosting More info | Dedicated servers More info |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average cost | $20-$100/mo | $20-$100/mo | $20-$100/mo | $100-$3,000/mo |
| Liquid Web cost | $20-$100/mo | – | $115/mo | $199/mo |
| Unlimited websites | âś“ | – | – | âś“ |
| Scalable resources | âś“ | – | – | âś“ |
| Server knowledge required | Basic | Minimal | Basic | Advanced |
| Elevated support | âś“ | – | – | âś“ |
| Dedicated IP | âś“ | – | – | âś“ |
| OS choice | âś“ | – | Varies | âś“ |
| Root access | âś“ | – | Varies | âś“ |
| Remote access | âś“ | – | âś“ | âś“ |
| Install custom software | âś“ | – | Varies | âś“ |
There’s always more to know
VPS environments run faster and perform more reliably than shared environments for the simple reason that they operate on individually allocated bandwidth. With shared servers, if another customer is a “resource hog,” it can negatively affect the performance of other environments on the server.
With VPS hosting, you get SSH and root access to your server, whereas on shared hosting, all server changes must be made by the hosting company.
VPS is considered more secure than shared hosting because each environment is isolated. With shared hosting, if one website is hacked, every site on that server is vulnerable.
Shared hosting is typically less expensive than VPS, but the extra money goes toward peace of mind and scalability.
Dedicated environments are second to none when it comes to performance. However, VPSs can still deliver plenty of speed, especially if they’re hosted on next-gen cloud infrastructure.
With a dedicated server, you can install any operating system. VPS offers a limited selection. Otherwise, both options give you full root access with control over the OS and all the software in the environment.
Dedicated and VPS environments are both completely isolated and, therefore secure, as long as you’re using a reputable hosting provider.
VPS has a big edge over dedicated hosting when it comes to cost, as you have more flexibility in the amount of resources you use and pay for. It’s typically less than half the cost of a dedicated server with scalable pricing based on your business needs.
The cloud generally delivers high-availability and high performance based on the ability to expand CPU power and memory capacity on demand. A traditional VPS delivers a fixed level of resources, but a cloud-based VPS can offer the scalability of the cloud with the performance of a VPS.
Both cloud hosting and VPS hosting offer the ability to choose between a Linux and Windows OS and add network architecture, firewalls, load balancing, and IP addresses. However, the complexity of a cloud environment means it requires more technical expertise to configure.
VPS security is virtually the same as dedicated hosting, which is to say it’s the least vulnerable to outside attacks. Cloud hosting is generally also secure. However, its physically distributed nature makes it a bit more vulnerable.
With VPS hosting, you pay for what you use in the sense that you select a certain amount of bandwidth and storage to be allocated in advance. With cloud hosting, you pay for what you use in that your resource levels are not pre-determined, which means unpredictable pricing that tends to be more costly due to the overhead and complexity involved.
Your search for the best VPS is over
Get started worry-free
Every VPS is backed by our 30-day money-back guarantee. Migrate your data to Liquid Web now.