Virtual hosting is ... What is the difference between a virtual hosting and a dedicated server?

To create a website is just the beginning of the work. To see the rest of the creation, you need to place it on the Internet. To do this, special Internet providers lease out space on the server - in fact, a place on the hard drive. Shared hosting - what is it? Pros and cons, the criteria for choosing the right company - we will consider in our article.

Virtual hosting is ... Definition and services

Virtual hosting is the lease of disk space on the server of the hosting company. The server can host thousands of sites; They share the memory, the processor's power, and the common software. Since the resources of the partition are limited (often the administrators of the provider, so that the swollen traffic of the site does not impede the work of neighbors), virtual hosting is suitable for business cards, small portals, landings - pages, attendance of which does not exceed 800-1000 people a day.

A company offering virtual hosting services identifies users by domain names (with IP hosters the same), or by IP - in this case the host has several separate web interfaces.

Virtual Hosting Features

The cost of a monthly placement depends on the characteristics of the tariff option:

• The size of the disk space on which the code files and content are stored is usually from 1500 MB to 10 GB or higher.
• Monthly traffic - how many people can visit the site on a monthly basis without overloading the system.
• The number of sites and subdomain names that can be registered in one section - usually 1 site requires 1000-2000 MB.
• The number of available mailboxes.
• The number of databases and memory for them.

Pros of using virtual hosting

For small sites, virtual hosting is the best choice, since it:

1. Economical: the owner of the Internet resource pays only the rental of space on the hard drive of the company's server, and the hosting service takes care of the data center, timely updating of databases and software, security concerns, and attendance analytics.
2. Easy to maintain: the site is managed through a user-friendly Russian administrative panel. Working with the site does not require special knowledge.
3. The size of memory and traffic, the number of domain names depend only on the chosen tariff plan, that is, you can choose the conditions of placement in accordance with the budget and the needs of the site.
4. Various promotions and special offers of the hoster: a free domain name, a test period, the ability to host sites written on different CMS, and so on.

The disadvantages of virtual hosting

1. Hosted online resources can not use their software. This is critical if the site is based on a self-written or unpopular CMS - you have to transfer it to the provider's software.
2. The level of security provided by the host always leaves much to be desired. Even if protection costs, among the sites located on one server there is at least one, whose code is vulnerable to hackers - this will be the weak link in the overall system.
3. The processor and the RAM share the site with its neighbors on the server. If traffic restrictions are not worth, then the domain that is gaining popularity will select resources from the rest. Hence - a long download, "lying" pages, unresponsive databases.

Those who care about the security of an Internet resource (for example, a corporate portal or a page with subscription forms), whose traffic is more than the provider offers, you need to pay attention to the virtual server. Hosting on a shared server - for small sites, a separate machine in the data center - for larger sites.

What is the difference between a virtual hosting and a dedicated server?

A dedicated server (VPS, VDS) is located on a separate computer.

1. The administration of VPS lies entirely with the server tenant. It can install software, include scripts of varying complexity, flash animation, etc. However, the management of such a system requires special knowledge, the ability to program in a web environment.
2. VPS can be used for various trading platforms (forex, auctions), game servers (from browser to MMORPG), and so on.
3. If on a dedicated hosting the administration of the provider is responsible for the availability of the portal on the Internet, then when renting a VPS, the hoster monitors only the physical state of the computer. Protection against hacker attacks, software update, general security of a web resource - problems of the site owner.
4. VPS resources are limited by the performance of the machine they rented. But none of the neighbors in the data center can not take these capacities.
5. Hosters depend on the OS that is installed on the provider's server: Linux or Microsoft. In some cases, VPS completely modulates the physical server: it can be installed on any OS, and configured.

So, virtual hosting - what is it? This is a separate place to host the site on the server of the provider company. On a space of 1500 and above MB is stored code, content files, databases - all that is necessary for the functioning of the Internet resource. Hosting options are limited, so this type of accommodation is chosen for sites with a traffic of less than 1000 people per day. However, it's easy to manage your partition using the admin panel, and the server is taken over by the landlord. For large projects, a dedicated server is suitable - a separate machine in the provider's data center.