When starting a website, it’s easier to get confused between dedicated servers and VPS web hosting. Before you choose any of these common web hosting types, you need to understand their differences.
In this article, you’re going to learn the two types of web hosting and a few advantages of each option so you can make an informed decision.
What are dedicated servers?
Customers lease dedicated servers when they want resources that aren’t shared with other accounts. The website has 100% access to the full range of resources including hard drive storage space, memory, processing power, and database access.
Dedicated servers are great for websites that require a lot of resources, but they are not the only option. For example, in this list of DreamHost service reviews, you can compare shared, VPS, and dedicated hosting from a single vendor. You can see that generally, dedicated servers come with more resources out of the box, but this comes with a higher cost than other options.
Why choose dedicated servers?
Unmatched speed
Since there is no sharing of resources, a website hosted on a dedicated server will load faster as data passes through without latency since there is no virtual layer in between the server and the client.
Resources
On a dedicated server, storage space, CPU power, memory, and other resources are known entities. You never have to worry about whether other websites on the server will slow down your website by hogging resources.
Unmatched Security
Clients are often safer in a dedicated environment than on a virtual one when it comes to attacks from external sources. This is because only one client is allocated the entire server which minimizes security breaches.
Another good thing about a dedicated server is that a client can manage software installations efficiently. Well, of course, a VPS is said to be secure when it comes to internal attacks but a data breach by one client can put the entire network at risk of external malicious attacks.
Keep in mind, however, that security depends on having the right configuration on your server. If the hosting company manages the server, then you’re likely safe. However, if it’s an unmanaged server, then you need a security expert to configure your server properly. Otherwise, it will be extremely vulnerable to attacks.
Configuration and customization
On a dedicated server, the client has complete freedom to configure and customize the server. Even though a VPS offers limitless configurations as well, you cannot install software that hurts the integrity of other websites on the server.
Dedicated servers are extremely expensive though and that’s why they are reserved for websites with a lot of traffic.
What is VPS Web Hosting?
VPS web hosting is perhaps the most popular option in the web hosting world. With this kind og hosting plan, several websites are allocated server resources from the main server through virtual servers by a hypervisor. A hypervisor is a service that normalizes the sharing of resources to all websites on the network.
The hypervisor ensures that each website is allocated a certain amount of resources including server space, RAM, bandwidth, CPU, etc. For instance, if a server hosting 10 clients has 10GB server space, each client gets 1GB of server space.
The same resource allocation formula applies,for all other resources. With VPS, when your website has its resources to the maximum, the hypervisor can borrow some resources from another website that’s not using the resources allocated to it.
Why choose VPS web hosting?
Pricing
VPS web hosting is usually more affordable than dedicated server hosting.This is because multiple clients are allocated server resources through virtual servers from a physical server so the host divides the cost between the clients.
That means you pay a fraction of the server but still get complete access to the hardware.
Room for growth
There is room for growth in the virtual environment than there is in a dedicated environment. In a VPS environment, clients are allocated a portion of the available resources without changing the hardware. You just upgrade your plan, and you get more processing power, storage space, and other resources as you need them.
On the other hand, with dedicated hosting, when a website needs more resources than the available, more slots must be added to the physical server to expand the resources. Adding slots is not only expensive but can also consume a lot of time. Besides, there will be server downtimes during the expansion as it cannot be done in real-time.
Dedicated servers vs. VPS Web Hosting: Which is Better?
Generally, VPS web hosting is less expensive than Dedicated Web Hosting. However, the choice of your web hosting plan should be informed by the type of website you’re running.
If your website needs a lot of resources then you may want to choose dedicated web hosting. If your website doesn’t need a lot of resources, then VPS web hosting would make the best option for you.
