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What Is It?

A Vitual Private Server (VPS), also referred to as a Virtual Dedicated Server or VDS, is a method of partitioning a physical server computer into multiple servers that each have the appearance and capabilities of running on its own dedicated machine. Each virtual server can run its own full-fledged operating system, and each server can be rebooted independently.

The practice of partitioning a single server so that it appears to act as multiple servers has long been common practice in mainframe computers, but this practice has seen a resurgence lately with the development of virtualization software and technologies for other architectures.

Features

Virtual private servers bridge the gap between shared Web hosting and dedicated hosting services, providing customers with independence from other customers in software terms, but at a cost below a physical dedicated server. Since each VPS runs a private operating system, customers have superuser-level access to that operating system and can install almost any software that runs on the given operating system.

Users are in control of the server, but they’re also responsible for all installation, maintenance, security and updates. The advantage, however, is that an unlimited number of Web sites can be hosted on most virtual hosts, and other services such as a mail server, FTP server or any other server can be hosted as well. The server can be used for backup, file storage, or Web site. Since users have root access, this capability allows for installation and configuration of a wide number of programs.

With that said, certain software does not run well within a virtualized environment, including firewalls, anti-virus clients, and sometimes virtualizers themselves. Other VPS providers place further restrictions, but they are generally lax compared to those in shared hosting environments. Due to the number of virtualization clients typically run on a single machine, a VPS generally has limited processor time, RAM and disk space.

Who Is it For?

Virtual private servers are for Web site owners who have outgrown a shared hosting plan, but who aren’t ready for the financial commitment of co-location service or a dedicated server.

Compatibility

Most VPS plans are hosted on either Linux or FreeBSD, but they do also exist in the Windows world and through other proprietary licenses.

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