Home News Definition of VPS [Virtual private server] Server & How it Works

Definition of VPS [Virtual private server] Server & How it Works

by Nina Smith

The Internet is a magnificent thing. It is a great hub of people, businesses and information. You can find nearly anything on the internet; and whatever you are looking for, if you look hard enough you will probably find a business offering that product or service, or a website that provides information about it. This great feat has only become possible thanks to the myriad of companies and websites that provide different kinds of hosting services, cloud hosting, VPS hosting, shared hosting and more, so that anyone can create pages and websites of their own on the internet, and offer their services, products, or knowledge to the local or global public.

Among various types of hosting services and other related services, VPS hosting services definitely play a big role in democratizing the internet. They cater to the needs of the greater individual people and smaller businesses, allowing them to take their own place on the internet at a comparably much smaller cost.

Definition of VPS Server

Source: want2host.com

To understand what a VPS server is, you need to first understand what a server is and what it does on the internet. A server is a computer in the global network of computers (called internet) that is designated to run certain kinds of software and serve information to other computers. These other computers may be servers themselves or client computers, meaning that they are computers used by a human user to access information. The information that a server serves may be the content of a website and its web pages, online software services such as search or internet taxi or food delivery, or files such as pictures and videos stored on the server.

Although any powerful computer connected to the internet can act as a server and provide information and services, servers are generally placed in establishments called data centers. A data center is usually a very large establishment designed to host server computers en masse, and connected deep into the backbone of the internet at high speeds. A Datacenter may host from hundreds to tens of thousands of servers. When a person or company buys or rents a server, it is generally located in a data center. They have full control on the machine and are responsible to manage nearly all aspects of it. That is often called a dedicated server.

A Virtual Private Server or VPS is by definition an emulation of a full-fledged dedicated server at a smaller scale, suitable for all kinds of use cases. VPS machines are virtual machines created out of real physical servers by using various virtualization technologies. These different virtualization technologies, each with their own strengths, help turn one dedicated server to several smaller virtual servers which can be used by different users or clients separately, thus the name Virtual Private Servers. A VPS is a good idea if you plan on trading the financial markets in an automated manner, using scripts or robots. Some Forex and CFD brokers offer VPS hosting on a complimentary basis when you deposit large sums of money and/or meet monthly trading volume requirements. Compare brokers with VPS hosting capabilities on this website to learn more.

Generally, a VPS is something between dedicated hosting and shared hosting, and not far from cloud hosting. A VPS server tries to imitate a dedicated server, but in a size closer to that of a shared hosting server. Managed VPS hosting plans especially have certain similarities to cloud hosting. We’ll get into all of that later.

How a VPS Works

VPS are virtual machines created out of a full dedicated server to act and work like a real server. But they are defined and created using virtualization software. A virtualization software allows a server administrator to portion up all the available resources on a server into smaller portions. The virtualization software then creates several virtual machines each with its own portion of allocated resources. The main point here is that those resources are dedicated to each VPS and no other client using another VPS instance on the same server can affect or uses your resources.

This is what makes them “private” and is the greatest advantage of VPS over shared hosting. In a shared hosting, several clients can access the same server at the same time to their own work, but all the resources are shared between all clients. Any overactive client can start using too much of system resources and bite into other client’s share, hurting their performance.

In short, a VPS can be used just like a real server, to run the same kind of software and services, to set up a website, a blog, a business, an online storage, or any other use-case just like a normal server, only at a smaller size and scale, and therefore at a much smaller cost.

Understand Types of VPS

There are many different uses for a VPS and there are various VPS plans offered by different websites and companies suited to those uses. But there are two main types: managed VPS and unmanaged VPS. In Managed VPS, the VPS hosting provider maintains the VPS machine and you don’t need to get into the details of running the VPS, and only use it for the purpose you intend. In Unmanaged VPS, you will have full control and access over the VPS server and can run any service or software you desire.

The most common use of a VPS is to setup and run a small website, typically a small business website or a personal website. These websites generally don’t have too many visitors, so a balanced set of resources is enough for them. There are millions of small to medium sized websites on the internet created by running WordPress content management system on a VPS.

Another common use for a VPS is using it as remote desktop. You can install and run the operating system you like, such as Windows 10 or Ubuntu Linux, and then connect to the VPS remotely using RDP or VNC remote desktop software, and use it like a normal desktop. [You can buy RDP VPS with bitcoin HERE]

Typical reasons for having a remote desktop includes connecting the internet from another location in the world, having an always-running always-online machine on the internet, or running 24/7 critical software or services.

Proxy server VPS is also a common use. Although people usually go to available VPN services for this purpose, it is also possible to rent a VPS in the location of your choice and use it as a proxy server or VPN server with an unchanging IP address.

People who work on forex (foreign exchange currency markets) typically use a VPS or a collection of VPS machines as well. For them, the important factors are faster more reliable internet connectivity, fast reliable performance, being always online and always running, being safer and more secure, and being close to their broker’s servers for lowering latency in their trades.

Other common uses include mail server VPS, game server VPS, or running other small-scale specialized server software.

✅ Choose the Right VPS Hosting [RouterHosting]

Source: resellerclub.com

If the speed of the VPS is important, for example for ranking better in Google search results for your website, having fast storage like SSD storage helps.

Depending for your uses, you need a number of CPU or processing cores, typically two. For smaller uses such as a proxy, 1 might be enough.

RAM or working memory is important depending on how much traffic your website or VPS server might have, or how many software it is going to run at the same time. This affects number of CPU cores you need as well.

Good internet connection is a must, but most VPS are created on servers in data centers, which provide fast and reliable internet by default. Low latency is also important if you are going to use it for forex or remote desktop.

Security and DDoS protection is a plus that can be provided by your VPS hosting company. But even more important is their level of support and customer care. Search their name on the internet and read a couple of reviews on them.