Virtual Server Options For Your Website

Virtual Server Options for your Website

A virtual server means that your website shares a web server with other individuals' websites. Every website on a virtual server is provided with its own e-mail accounts as well as its Internet address (or domain name). A virtual server is considered to be a “compromise between a dedicated server and a traditional hosting account.� Each virtual server can only accommodate a small, select group of customers at any one time. Choosing to go the virtual server option provides you with more access to management if you should require it and it acts very much in the way having your own individual would as you have “full root access.�

Virtual Server options are broken down into two categories- Shared and Virtual Private Server (or VPS). Shared is the more popular of the two types. In this case, a file directory is created for each individual domain. Specific resources are shared between domains (thus the name “Shared�) and these items include the mail server, the web server as well as other components of key server software.

However Shared hosting has some disadvantages, which included stability issues, performance issues, security issues and control issues. Stability issues in regards to technical problems and bugs can be a major problem because so many accounts are sharing the same parts including the operating system, the mail server, web server and other key elements. Any small problem that wrecks havoc with one site can potentially cause a complete crash of the entire system, which could mean disaster for every individual site. Due to the fact that this is a “Shared� environment, performance issues come into play because there is virtually no way to keep total control over how many resources are being used at any one time. For example, one site might need more than its fair share of disk space, memory or CPU, which could result in the other sites having less to use. Security is a big issue when sites share a server because everything is protected only by file level passwords. For that reason a breach of security can easily take place. It is difficult to control configurations at one's own website because all accounts share “core software components.�

A Virtual Private Server (VPS) is a more sophisticated and superior model that is very easy to get the hang of using and does not have all of the disadvantages that the Shared hosting system comes complete with. The Virtual Private Server's “software innovation has been used to create a virtual server that performs as if it were a full server dedicated to the exclusive use of each account.� A Virtual Private Server has many advantages to its credit and these include insulation, performance, security and control. Let's take a closer look at each one of these advantages.

Each and every virtual private hosting server is “insulated� from all others. In other words they are all separated and if problems occur such as a lock up or crash the virtual server for one website does not affect the other one. Every individual virtual server is allocated a specific amount of disk space, memory and CPU. Under this system every virtual server receives a level of above average service that is in no way influenced by other websites. To put it another way, “The environment allows for bursting within reasonable limits, but does not permit one VPS from dominating the physical server's resources.� The security of each virtual server is such that data from one virtual server does not co-exist with data from other virtual servers. In a virtual private hosting server system, each virtual server acts almost exactly like that of a dedicated server. Total control of a VPS is possible as each one can take control of the settings by way of the command line and/or the easy to use control panel.

The virtual servers include many features for users and these include, as previously mentioned, the easy to use control panel, a personal mail server, resource usage visibility, backup management, self-service, personalized service and high performance. The virtual servers also include many features for programmers as well. These features are root access, integrated web server, integrated mail server, directory services, integrated Java application servers, integrated database servers and a customized environment.