Virtual private servers (VPS) are a modern way to get dedicated resources for your hosting, with some advantages and some disadvantages vs shared hosting.

Virtual Private Servers are versatile and offer more freedom than shared web hosting, but there is a small increase in the monthly cost.  However, Virtual Private Servers are still much cheaper than a dedicated servers.  So they are a middle ground between Shared Hosting on the one hand and having a fully dedicated server on the other hand.

Depending on the website or service you want to run, VPS can provide a significant increase in performance. At BeMoreOnline, we offer two different types of VPS: an Unmanaged (or ‘Self-Managed’) VPS and a Managed VPS, alongside our Shared Hosting, Domain name, and SSL services.

Dedicated hosting vs VPS

To understand what a Virtual Private Servers is, it can be useful to compare them to dedicated servers.

Dedicated servers are physical servers that you own or hire in a data center, you will have access to all the resources on that server. That dedicated server space is used exclusively for your sites and apps. As the server is yours, you can specify its performance and upgrade the hardware as necessary, and you have full control.

However, dedicated servers have their drawbacks: you’re responsible for maintenance and upgrades unless you pay extra. Purchasing a server is expensive and the hardware will lose value over time. Unless you upgrade the hardware regularly (our shared hosting and VPS servers are upgraded regularly as part of your hosting plan) site performance will decrease.

Dedicated hosting used to be the only viable option, server sizes were much smaller, and a single site or service could take up all the resources of that server.  However, with advances in technology, servers are much more powerful and can host several sites without any impact on performance, and without those sites running out of resources.  In most scenarios, a dedicated server is an unnecessary expense and VPS is a better option.

The main exception to this will be for the largest corporations who need all of the resources and control that a dedicated server can provide and have the know-how and expertise to set that server up and maintain it.

How are Virtual Private Servers (VPS) Different?

A VPS is an affordable and flexible alternative to owning a dedicated server.  You still have many of the benefits of a dedicated server, like dedicated resources and incredible performance, but that is achieved by a virtualized server.  Market-leading virtualization software is used to create secure partitions on an array of servers.

They are referred to as private because although your site/service is on the same physical server as other sites and services the secure partition ensures they cannot affect each other.  Your security, capacity, and performance are completely independent of other sites on the same server.  Another site might be running at full capacity, but your site would never be impacted.

With VPS you are getting incredible performance, alongside great levels of security at an affordable cost.

By choosing from a range of processors, RAM and storage you can ensure you get the right size VPS for your needs, and if you need to upgrade it is quick and easy to do so.

Our VPS packages range from 1 GB to 32 GB RAM, 1 to 10 cores, and up to 400 GB storage with unlimited bandwidth.

Unmanaged VPS

You can choose between unmanaged and managed VPS.  With unmanaged VPS you have a lot of freedom, you can host any kind of files and software or decide to use it for hosting a website.

There are several different operating systems to choose from, but you are responsible for installing it.  You will also need to make sure that software is kept up to date and patched with any version or security updates – this requires a good level of technical understanding and knowledge of the command line.

In summary, an unmanaged VPS is very versatile, limited only by the resources you choose (cores, RAM etc) and the management of the software on the server.  You can install any software on an unmanaged VPS (software installs are restricted on a managed VPS)

Some examples of how you might use a Virtual Private Servers;:

• For gaming
• Testing code in development
• Internet of Things/home hub

The flexibility makes them ideal for developers, as a developer you can install any tools, frameworks, or languages you need.

But please note, while we manage the hardware, platform, and network – NO other support is provided beyond that.

Managed VPS

Our managed Virtual Private Servers offer convenience and several features that you won’t find with most other providers.

Similar to unmanaged VPS you are able to choose from a range of packages based on cores, RAM, and storage.  However, managed VPS is fully supported by us.  If you have an issue you are unable to resolve we can help.

In addition to the level of support available, the other key difference is that their use is limited to

web hosting and only use the CentOS 7 operating system.

Controlling a managed VPS is simple, included in the cost is access to the StackCP control panel, which makes managing your account as simple as it is with shared hosting.  And you also get features such as Content Delivery Network and Migration center.

With Managed VPS, BeMoreOnline takes care of the hardware, the network, and all updates and patches to the OS.  We also monitor our servers 24*7 and will respond swiftly to resolve any issues that we see.  This enables us to provide you with optimal security and performance all day, every day.

Our managed VPS is ideal for web developers with a great range of tools and availability and access to over 80 1-click installs making it easy to create any kind of site.

Managed VPS costs more each month than unmanaged VPS, however, it is much easier to manage for most typical users, and you do not need to worry about upgrades and maintenance.

Some key Points of our Managed VPS Packages

• Ready in minutes
• “Always on” 99.99% uptime
• Perfect for web hosting of any type of site
• Managed maintenance, updates, and security
• Unlimited bandwidth
• 80+apps / 1-click install
• Technical support
• 100% renewable energy
• Free SSL certificates

If you think VPS might be right for you, visit our VPS page, where prices start from only £9.99 per month.

If you have any questions or need more information, get in touch over social media, or email us at info@bemoreonline.co.uk.