Hosting Article - Virtual Private Server?

EXTRACT
The private server concept has finally come of age. It fills the gap between economy shared hosting and big budget dedicated hosting.

The concept is not a new one. Dividing a physical device has been around for many years. Mainframes were once divided to allow more people affordable access to these large and very expensive devices. more

Sure VDSs are great, but with $99.00 dedicated servers, is Ensims pricing really that competitive? I mean a VDS for $69 - 89/mo. A full RAQ 4 with 100% resources AND 300 GBs bandwidth for $99.00??????????

I've been thinking of getting one of those $99 servers just to have something to play around with. Of course, I've never even hit the 1gig mark for transfer in a month...

Low end Dedicated Servers and VDSs are closely priced but I would think that the VDS is targeted to those without the technical knowledge to manage a server or for those who just don't want to. Would you agree?

Rev,
For the money it's not a bad toy to have for a few months

The Virtual Server seems to have its place for resellers or web developers who want to host their customers sites without the hassle of a dedicated machine. Since VDS can be split into many different sites that seems its best niche.

I'm not sure anyone who would be looking at a dedicated server would find a VDS useful. Usually they are looking for a large amount of either space or bandwidth or are running a gaming site that requires all the resources of a dedicated machine.

Just some thoughts...I could be wrong

Also, some hosts offer such large virtual plans as to only be able to have a few customers on each machine. Thus, creating what amounts to a near-dedicated machine.

I've heard of linux based gaming servers running up to six CounterStrike servers on one machine but in the case of a VDS, these can be ten to a physical machine so yes, a gaming site would be a lot more demanding and would be best on a dedicated server.

Good point about resellers and like I suggested, it's for those who don't want the hassles of a dedicated server. Imagine having to constantly install the patches and updates for Windows

Thats why Linux is a better option over windows anyway

But let me ask you something. Does RackShack Manage the $99 server for you? Install updates?

The Ensim PS (at least in my shop) are fully managed. OS and Service updates are automated, taking the headache of Administration away from the PS owner.

There are huge advantages of having a VPS over a dedicated server. The advantages are even bigger when you get the service and support behind it.

Also with most VPS solutions I've seen, you don't have a $250-$500 setup fee! (referring to RackShack).. Which is very important to most consumers.

Just a thought..

Laterz,
raqworld

I do not see how a VDS is any less demanding, technically, to maintain than a full dedicated option.

The VDS is just like a full server - it involves a single box running multiple instances of a kernel. It therefore is entitled to as much maintenance as a regular dedicated box. There are no easy options.

As far as I can see, the VDS has evolved and become more mainstream becauses hosts have noticed that much capacity remains unused on a dedicated box, therefore, why not carve it up and sell it on - nothing wrong with this.

However, I'm still not totally sure that I am seeing reasonably low prices to justify a VDS.