What is a Virtual Private Server (VPS)?

A VPS, or virtual private server (also known as a virtual server, virtual dedicated server or VDS) can be confusing to a web hosting newcomer or even shared web hosting veteran.

Let's start by defining some other terms first, starting with a dedicated server. A dedicated server is simply a computer in which all of the computing resources are allocated (or dedicated) to a single client. Often large websites require one or more dedicated servers to run their website effectively given the site's traffic, cpu and memory requirements.

Next, shared web hosting (also knows as virtual web hosting or just virtual hosting) is a service provided by web hosting firms in which the firm takes a server and leases out this server to many different websites. Each website coexists with many other (possibly hundreds) of websites on the same server. There is very little buffering of resources used between these shared web hosting sites so a single site may affect the performace of all sites on the server under heavy strain. Shared web hosting accounts also have a very limited set of actions that the website administrator can perform. For most clients this works out well and shared web hosting is well suited to small sites or sites where the site owner doesn't require low-level control of the underlying system.

This brings us to Virtual Private Servers. A VPS lies in between shared web hosting and dedicated hosting in the spectrum of both control and power. A VPS system is a self-contained dedicated-like server which lives on a server with other VPS systems. As stated previously VPS systems are also known as virtual dedicated systems becuase they give the control of a full dedicated server but are housed on a real physical server with other VPS systems living on the server as well. You get the a good deal of flexibility with a VPS system as you gain the control, performance isolation and flexibility of a dedicated server while only having to pay for a portion of the server itself.