What is VPS Hosting? - Virtual Private Server
Last updated on January 19, 2025 by RGB Web Tech
A VPS ( Virtual Private Server ) is a virtual machine sold as a service by an Internet hosting service. The virtual dedicated server (VDS) also has a similar meaning.
A virtual private server runs its own copy of an operating system (OS), and customers may have superuser-level access to that operating system instance, so they can install almost any software that runs on that OS. For many purposes it is functionally equivalent to a dedicated physical server and, being software-defined, can be created and configured much more easily. A virtual server costs much less than an equivalent physical server. However, as virtual servers share the underlying physical hardware with other VPSes, performance may be lower, depending on the workload of any other executing virtual machines.
How does VPS work?
If you’re familiar with VMware or Virtualbox, you’ll be familiar with how VPS hosting works. These programs let you run what are known as virtualized operating systems from one machine. For example, your computer might be running OS X, but you could run different systems such as Linux or Windows XP without having to reconfigure or restart your computer.
VPS web hosting environments work in the same way as a virtualized operating system in the sense that one server will run numerous, one of a kind virtualized OS’s on a single server -since each virtualized system behaves as though it is a dedicated server. Virtualization is possible through a hypervisor. A hypervisor is computer hardware, software or firmware that creates and runs virtual machines (VM) by separating the underlying physical hardware from a computer’s operating system and applications. The computer system on which the hypervisor runs is known as a host machine, and each VM is called a guest machine.
The hypervisor provides each guest machine (each website using the VPS) with a virtual operating system and takes care of managing and executing guest operating systems. This process makes the most effective use of computer resources such as network bandwidth, memory space and processor cycles. For this reason, a hypervisor also goes by the name of a virtual machine monitor (VMM).
VPS hosting relies on a hypervisor to take resources from the physical server and provide each website with access to an emulated server (the VM). These physical servers are often held in a data center and divided equally between several virtual compartments (known as server virtualization). Each compartment is rented out, and server software is set-up on them separately so that each unit is capable of functioning as an independent unit. Each individual VPS is called a container, and the server each container is held within is known as a node.
With VPS, you benefit from many of the advantages of a dedicated server for a significantly lower cost. It offers more privileges within the OS and allows users to install any type of software capable of running on that OS. Each virtual server’s software is installed separately, enabling independent functionality for all users.
Defined amounts of CPU time and memory are shared throughout all the accounts sharing the server space. So, despite the fact that there might be far bigger websites than yours on another VPS compartment powered by the same server, that doesn’t matter. You are guaranteed the system resources you are paying for.
VPS is a step up for most users, but you'll also benefit by knowing a bit more about the technology. When your website is stored on a VPS, you are solely responsible for setting up, maintaining and running the server yourself. Handling an internet server is not an easy task! It involves taking care of security patches, server configuration, software updates, and so on. Unless you have the degree of technical skills required, it is going to tricky, and for this reason, there are two versions of VPS hosting – managed VPS and unmanaged VPS.
There are different types of VPS Hosting
Unmanaged VPS
With unmanaged VPS, your web hosting takes over installing the operating system, and you as the site owner take over managing various aspects of the server such as:
- Installing software, your control panel and taking care of software updates.
- Monitoring for security threats, installing security patches and fixing error messages.
- In the event of an outage or hardware failure you won’t get much if any support from your host.
- Configuring and maintaining your server including any upgrades you might want to see.
- You take over the responsibility of setting up your sites backup services.
This is recommended for site owners who have a technical background.
Managed VPS
Site owners with less technical acumen or a smaller staff can benefit from managed VPS. With managed VPS hosting, IT professionals lighten your load by keeping your server running correctly and taking care of your virtual server. Here’s what you should expect from a web hosting provider:
- Initial server setup : When you launch your site with a VPS there are a few steps to take in order to set the server up including installing your control panel, server software and installing any applications and your operating system. A managed host will take care of this.
- Updates : Similarly, all applications and OS updates, and ongoing fine tuning of the server will be handled for you.
- Security Patches : Security patches for your OS and core server software are installed and updated, on your behalf.
- Monitoring : Monitors for early warning signs of hardware failure and malicious attack.
- Automated Backups : In the event anything goes wrong with your site, you can retrieve it back to an earlier version.
Check with your VPS hosting provider to see what levels of management they offer. Some have greater flexibility, like Namecheap; we offer Self-Managed, Managed, Fully Managed and Emergency Assistance.
The tradeoffs between managed and unmanaged hosting are cost vs flexibility. While unmanaged services are, naturally, far cheaper than managed plans, there’s a snag - you need to have the tech know-how to run and maintain a server, or be prepared to hire someone to keep it running smoothly and safe from potential attacks.
What are the benefits of VPS Hosting?
The main merits of VPS servers is that they give you the freedom of having your own virtual machine just like you would from a more expensive, dedicated server with performance that can allow you to handle moderate traffic with the occasional heavy spike.
- Customization : Since you have your own OS, with a VPS, you can customize it to your needs. For example, if you have your own instances of server applications from PHP, to MySQL, or Apache, you can customize them so that the server fits your needs.
- Control : Offers the ability to oversee a hosting environment. Also, if you plan to install applications that need you to perform a system restart to finalize the installation, you can do this without affecting anyone else, at any time. Even though you share a VPS server with others, yours can be restarted without disrupting others.
- Cheaper : More affordable than a dedicated server.
- Dedicated resources : With a VPS Server, you have a predefined amount of RAM available to you whenever you need it. In contrast to shared web hosting, where there could be others sharing your server that could eat up the RAM when you want it most!
- Scalable : Another great thing about VPS is that you can purchase the resources you think you will need, and if that’s insufficient, you can simply increase its size.
Virtual Private Server Pros and Cons
VPS hosting can be an ideal solution for you if that’s the service you really need. Below, you can read the pros and cons of running a virtual private server.
Pros
- It’s faster and more reliable than a shared hosting server.
- As server resources such as memory or processing power are guaranteed, there’s zero to minimal fluctuation in available resources.
- Issues and traffic surges of other server users don’t affect your site.
- You get superuser (root) access to your server.
- You have better privacy, as your files and databases are locked from other server users.
- It’s an easy-to-scale service. As your website grows, you can easily upgrade your server resources (RAM, CPU, disk space, bandwidth, etc.).
Cons
- It’s more expensive than shared hosting.
- It requires more technical knowledge to setup your VPS, though there are a lot of tutorials available online.
- Server management is more technically demanding than shared or cloud plans.
- Improperly configured servers may lead to security vulnerabilities.
Do I need VPS hosting?
There are use cases for every type of hosting, so who exactly is VPS hosting for? You should consider VPS hosting if:
- Your business is expanding beyond the constraints of shared hosting.
- You are expecting a substantial increase in site traffic within the next few months. For example, your site is geared toward a new marketing effort or promotional campaign, or if you’re expanding into other markets.
- You might have enough bandwidth to handle a single website, but two, three? If you plan on hosting several websites in the near future you’re going to need more resources. Similarly, if your current shared hosting account is eating through the resources and your host is asking you to consider upgrading, it’s time to consider VPS.
- Your website needs better privacy and performance compared to what’s available with shared hosting.
- You want full control over the server, things like custom configurations, root access and installations unavailable with shared hosting.
Conclusion
VPS style hosting is the best way to keep up the success of any site going through rapid growth and expansion. It’s the next best plan that can afford some form of scalability. With VPS, not only will you enjoy a tremendous amount of storage and bandwidth (that’s entirely yours), it’s a cost effective solution to meeting the demands of a busy site. Of course we’ve mentioned dedicated hosting, which for most will be a vast amount of resources you may not need, and you’ll pay significantly more for it.
When deciding between the type of VPS, consider how hands on you want to be, or whether you are able to employ someone else to do the heavy lifting for you. If you like the sound of running your own server, go for unmanaged VPS, if on the other hand you’d like some help with server maintenance, automated backups and software updates, opt for the managed version. When it comes to choosing a VPS host.
Namecheap has the most optimized VPS hosting plans, we provide three types of VPS management: self-managed, managed (which includes root access) where we provide assistance with the additional configuration of core services to meet the specific requirements of each site. We can also help to optimize the server performance. We offer constant monitoring of all services on the server to prevent any of them from being down, and the ability to take immediate actions to resolve the issue in the case sudden downtime occurs. Our fully managed service plans (when root access is granted to Namecheap) includes all the features of the managed option including extras such as priority support and weekly backups.
List of VPS (Virtual Private Server) Service Providers:
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Read More : You can explore here 30+ Best Web Hosting Providers 2023
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Affordable Website Hosting for your domainIf you found this article helpful, we encourage you to share it on your social media platforms—because sharing is caring! For more information about article submissions on our website, feel free to reach out to us via email.
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Written by RGB Web Tech
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What is Reseller Hosting? And How Does It Work?
Last updated on January 19, 2025 by RGB Web Tech
Reseller web hosting is an option that involves one company (a hosting provider) renting hard drive space and bandwidth to another company (small-midsize business), who then rents the space to third parties (entrepreneurs-small business). Simply put, reseller hosting is the ability to provide hosting to your own clients as if you yourself were the web hosting company.
This is typical for aspiring entrepreneurs who want to start their own web hosting firm or for current web developers and designers who desire to add additional services to their brand.
Advantages of Reseller Hosting
1. Cost : Plans for reseller hosting are fairly cheap. This is why they’re a good option for people looking to get into the web hosting business. Additionally, it simplifies things because you don’t have to purchase the technology, infrastructure, and equipment usually needed to become a web hosting service provider.
2. Focus on the Business : When you choose reseller hosting you can focus on the business aspects rather than the technical aspects of running a web hosting business. This is because all of the tasks related to updates, server maintenance, connectivity, security and so forth, are the responsibility of the web hosting service you’ve rented or purchased from.
3. Room to Expand : If you have a website that gets a lot of traffic, has a lot of pages or your business has several sites, reseller hosting will provide you with a larger number of features and space. For instance, you can run different parts of your sites from different URLs and different servers without having to purchase additional hosting plans.
4. Additional Features : In comparison to basic hosting plans, reseller hosting has a greater number of features. The control panel for the website will also be more powerful, enabling you to manage your site more effectively. Furthermore, a lot of companies will offer unlimited SSL certificates as well as features such as Cpanel.
5. Build Your Brand : Although you’re selling the resources of another web hosting service provider, reseller hosting lets you build your own identity and brand. Essentially, this means that clients won’t know that you’re renting from another web hosting company.
6. Income Opportunities : It’s possible to make additional profit from reseller hosting by selling add-ons such as SSL Certificates, Dedicated Hosting, VPS Hosting, Dedicated IP, domain name registrations, etc.
Disadvantages of Reseller Hosting
1. You’re Dependent on the Original Web Hosting Company : The quality of the original web hosting company will determine the success of your business. This means that if their server regularly goes down or if there are a lot of technical issues, your business will be affected.
2. You’ll Need to Dedicate Time to Customer Service : If you’re providing a web hosting service, even if it's reseller hosting, you’re still responsible for answering questions from clients. If you don’t take the time to answer these questions correctly, it could ruin your business.
3. High Level of Difficulty : Unless you’re an expert at running a website you’re going to find the features and control panels of reseller hosting difficult.
4. Changing Providers will Affect Your Clients : If you decide to change your web hosting provider you have to shift all the data from your clients. This can be incredibly difficult so it’s recommended that you have a dedicated server or Virtual Private Server (VPS). Having a dedicated server or VPS will make it easier to change providers but it does make things more expensive.
5. Limited Access to the Server : You are going to have to go through your web hosting service provider for most things because reseller hosting only offers limited access to the server.
How Do You Make Money as a Reseller?
Nobody is going to pretend you’re going to get rich with reseller hosting but you can make extra income from it. You also gain an income from those clients attracted by the complete packages a web designer can offer that includes site setup and hosting in one.
Essentially, if you offer full managed hosting to your customers, you can charge a premium as compared to standard hosting, where you would charge let’s say $50/month to each client, but handle all their technical needs and maintenance, such as upgrades of core CMS, plugins, backups, security, etc.
Your residential income depends on the wholesale price you pay to the host and the maximum your market can sustain. As mentioned, some hosts charge a monthly maintenance fee for reseller hosting accounts but many don’t. It pays to research the market, what’s on offer and at what price before you settle on one provider.
Most reseller accounts are scalable so you can start small when you first launch your offering and scale up only when you need to. This is a cost-effective way to do business and keeps your costs down as much as possible.
How to Choose the Best Reseller Hosting?
If you have your business plan in order then the main task left to you is to choose the best reseller hosting for your needs. When you’re considering a web hosting service that has reseller plans make sure to check for the following:
- Does the reseller have a solid reputation for reseller hosting?
- Does the hosting service have a plan that meets your budget and hosting needs?
- Do they have a good software interface to manage your reseller account?
- If you’re not satisfied, do they have a money-back guarantee?
- Do you have access to technical support? What kinds of support services? Phone/email/chat?
- If your business grows and requires an upgrade, will they provide an upgrade path for your hosting service?
Choosing a service is often a matter of personal preference and perspective, but this checklist should help lead you to a reseller host that will provide the solution you need.
FAQs - Reseller Hosting
1. What is reseller hosting?
Answer :Reseller web hosting is an option that involves one company (a hosting provider) renting hard drive space and bandwidth to another company (small-midsize business), who then rents the space to third parties (entrepreneurs-small business). Simply put, reseller hosting is the ability to provide hosting to your own clients as if you yourself were the web hosting company. This is typical for aspiring entrepreneurs who want to start their own web hosting firm or for current web developers and designers who desire to add additional services to their brand.
2. How does reseller hosting work?
Answer : Here are the (perhaps over-simplified) steps to establishing a reseller business: 1. Research and select a hosting company. 2. Purchase the reseller package that meets the goals of your business. 3. Know and understand your target market to locate your new customers. 4. Create your own branded hosting packages. 5. Decide your price. 6. Sell hosting packages to your clients. 7. Earn profit
3. What’s included in a reseller package?
Answer : Below are some of the common features often included in Reseller packages: 1. Disc Space 2. Bandwidth 3. Domain Hosting 4. Ability to brand your own web hosting company with the hosting provider company unknown to your client (also known as “white label”) 5. Latest cPanel control panel. 6. Manage your own plans and configure different accounts based on your needs. 7. Pass on features to your own clients such as email, control panel, additional scripts and monitoring tools. 8. Premium support (usually 24/7) offered by hosting providers.
4. Will my clients know it’s me…or my hosting company?
Answer : They will believe it’s you! You see, you can run your own hosting business under your banner and brand without your clients knowing who your actual upstream hosting provider is. This gives you total control in promoting your business with your name written all over it!
5. Do I need to be a hosting expert to succeed at this?
Answer : Nope. Your provider will handle all the backend, “dirty” work, so you can focus on building your business. Server hardware, connectivity, network infrastructure, hardware setup and maintenance, security and updates for your servers are all addressed by your web hosting provider. It’s a good idea to check into these things as you do your research to ensure that you’ll receive the best tech support if certain issues arise…and they likely will.
6. If my business grows, can I upgrade at any time?
Answer : Absolutely…you can upgrade your reseller hosting account at any moment to expand with the demands of your business.
7. How do I get started?
Answer : To get started, you simply follow the steps outlined in FAQ-2. The foundation to your success will lie in choosing a good reseller web hosting provider that not only meets the objectives of your business, but can provide you with consistent, reliable service and support because it's your name that is on the line when dealing with your customers. Choose wisely…which leads to the final FAQ…
8. How do I choose the best hosting provider?
Answer : It’s important to know that you can offer your own customers the best possible web hosting experience prior to building your clientele. Here are just some qualities to keep in mind when searching for your reseller web hosting service: 1. Easy to use cPanel 2. At least 1 site builder 3. Satisfaction guarantee 4. Private nameservers 5. Brandable client panel 6. 24/7/365 impeccable support 7. A 99.999% uptime guarantee 8. Fully managed services
Conclusion
In sum, reseller hosting can be lucrative if you’re looking to get into the web hosting business or if you’re a developer or designer. However, it is a lot of work and is certainly not for everyone. Make sure you research web hosting service providers to ensure they can offer your site optimal performance and make sure you’re comfortable with advanced website controls.
List of Reseller Web Hosting Service Providers:
1
2
3
4
5
Read More : You can explore here 30+ Best Web Hosting Providers 2023
Video - Best Web Hosting For Small Business
Affordable Website Hosting for your domainIf you found this article helpful, we encourage you to share it on your social media platforms—because sharing is caring! For more information about article submissions on our website, feel free to reach out to us via email.
Send an emailWritten by RGB Web Tech
Latest Technology Trends
Latest technology trends shaping the future, including AI advancements, blockchain innovation, 5G connectivity, IoT integration, and sustainable tech solutions. Explore breakthroughs in quantum computing, cybersecurity, augmented reality, and edge computing. Stay ahead with insights into transformative technologies driving innovation across industries and revolutionizing how we live, work, and connect.