Dedicated servers are a hardware based, single server for your use.
Virtual private servers are hosted on multiple servers, in the case of an outage or hardware issue - Your VPS/Virtual Machine is migrated to another server to continue operations.
Dedicated Servers vs Virtual Servers
Dedicated Servers:
- Resources are dedicated to your OS and applications.
- Dedicated servers are typically more expensive than VPS's as your getting an entire server rather than a portion of resources.
- No shared hardware - the server is yours to use.
- Server performance and resources depends on the server, configuration you choose e.g CPU, RAM, & Disks.
- Scalability is a little difficult compared to virtual private servers, as upgrading servers requires downtime/outage for the upgrade to be completed.
- Typically more efficient than a VPS.
- Dedicated servers are complex, and require a fair bit of technical knowledge to handle. Most people deal with this by opting for a managed solution, but it adds to the expenses.
How do dedicated servers work?
- During the ordering process you choose options relative to the server resources and specifications. E.g CPU, RAM/Memory and Disk configuration.
- The server is then provisioned & delivered to you via login format, whereby you can login to the server via terminal or VNC ( remote console ).
- IP addresses are issued to the server, enabling you to connect and map DNS to the IP's.
- The options are open for you to use the server for hosting or your own custom application. E.g install cPanel ( www.cPanel.com )
- You can control the server power, shutdown, restart, reset and reboot all from the client area interface.
- Statistics of the server bandwidth and other information is presented in the client area interface.
Virtual Servers:
- Resources are shared amongst other virtual machines however, your virtual machine is assigned its portion of resources - Other VM's cannot over-use resources here at Hoopla Hosting.
- If hardware failures occur, other servers take the load and ensure your VM is online.
- Scalability is a lot easier, VPS's are able to be upgraded and downgraded without an engineer attending to the servers.
- Affordability is great with VPS's compared to dedicated servers. In most cases dedicated servers are not used to their full potential with under 100 websites.
- VPS's are recommended for small to medium sized businesses requiring dedicated server resources without the dedicated server costs and more than the typical reseller web hosting plan resources.
How do virtual servers work?
- Virtual private servers, also known as Virtual Machines are an allocation of resources e.g 1 CPU Core, 1GB Ram, 32GB SSD Storage and 1Gbp connection.
- This is an allocation of resources for the virtual machine, whereby you can install an operating system just like a dedicated server or any normal computer.
- Think of it as a contained room on the server just for your OS, applications.
- Hypervisor machines host the virtual private servers, monitoring each other for issues - If a hypervisor host machine has issues, the VM's are pushed over to an available server.
- Virtual machines receive more control ability than dedicated servers. Including backup solutions - snapshots and restorations with only a few clicks.
The ordering process is very similar to a dedicated server - Choose your specifications, receive logins, login via terminal/console and start provisioning your cPanel or own applications.
