Recently I acquired access to my own VPS.  (Virtual Private Server)  The company I work for is about to roll out a new set of VPS hosting packages and they want the employees to “test” them.

For those of you who host your sites on a “shared server” environment, which I would assume the average site owner does, a VPS is an entirely different beast.  To compare, a shared environment houses hundreds of sites on one server.  Resources are limited and if you use to many - say you make it on the front page of Digg or get Slashdotted - your site is likely to be suspended for using to much of the servers shared resources.  You are also limited by what software the hosting provider will allow you to install and use.  Custom configuration is nearly impossible.

These restrictions do not apply with a VPS.  It short, it’s your “private” server to configure, run and use as you wish. It is actually one physical server split, in this case, by software to 5-10 virtual servers that have allotted disk space, RAM, and processors.  The resources allotted are yours and yours alone.  You are only limited by your imagination and what the hardware can handle.  You don’t have to play nice and share with anyone.  You have root access to the server, dedicated IP addresses, and infinite possibilities.

In my particular case I have 512 RAM, 10 GB of space, 200 GB of monthly bandwidth, and 40% CPU usage spread across 8 processors.  The specs may sound shabby compared to the average desktop computer, but when you consider that a web-server is, for the most part, is only completing http requests and making a database queries, that’s plenty of power to run even a demanding website.

I have always used software like cPanel, WHM or Webmin to administer my websites. I am taking this opprotunity to hone my command-line skills and configure everything by hand.  From installing and setting up the web server, FTP server, SSH access, installing domains and configuring DNS.  It is an adventure in the making.  The best part about it is I an not hosting anything mission critical so if I break it beyond repair, I can reset the server and start over - no harm done.

For those wishing to take the next step in web hosting and want total control over your environment, but don’t have the funds for a dedicated server, give VPS a try.

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Filed under: F.Y.I., Internet, Tech