HOST offers many options to meet your hosting needs, and at some point, you may wonder if you should upgrade to a virtual private server (VPS).
What's in the box?
When you're on one of our shared servers, your resources are just that - shared. CPU, RAM, storage, bandwidth, etc. are shared with dozens or hundreds of other websites. While our administrators work diligently to prevent that from happening, if any of those sites start using more than their fair share, your site(s) could be affected.
On the other hand, a VPS comes with dedicated resources, which means you have full use of the CPU, RAM and storage you paid for, and it's easy to upgrade if you find you need more.
VPS hosting for unlimited emailing
The shared environment also limits the amount of emails you can send in a single day. While our administrators work to ensure that all resources are shared evenly, if one of your neighbors starts sending a lot of spam, it could cause everyone on that server, including you, to be flagged as spam for a short period of time. However, if you have a VPS, you are much less likely to end up on a blacklist due to someone else's unsavory behavior.
As for limits on how many emails you can send, there are none with a VPS! You must follow some rules because laws are important, so we recommend that you familiarize yourself with the Dedicated Mail Policy, but other than that, you can exchange as many emails as you need to.
You have unmetered resources in our shared environment, which means there is no set limit on RAM, storage, bandwidth or CPU. This is a great configuration because there are so many resources available. You don't need to know how much you need before choosing a shared plan, and our administrators keep an eye on things to make sure everything is shared evenly. However, if someone exceeds 25% of the server's resources for more than 90 seconds, they could be in violation of the Terms of Service (TOS).
With a VPS, you can choose the level of resources you need and, if you find you need more, you can upgrade later. In contrast, there are no shared hosting packages that you can upgrade to provide more storage, CPU or RAM.
VPS Root Access
Moving to a VPS is like getting your apartment. It may be smaller than the house you shared, but now you're in charge! So while you may have access to more resources on shared hosting, your resources are only used by you on a VPS.
When you switch to a VPS, you get root access, which means you can manage everything for your server with root WHM (rWHM) and kernel-based virtual machine (KVM). or Virtuozzo on legacy VPS accounts.
With root access, you can create multiple cPanel accounts, restart services, access all DNS zones, monitor the status of your server and install (or request us to install) many programs.
VPS backups, restores and maintenance
Backups and Restores
In our shared environment, we maintain daily / weekly / monthly backups of your cPanel for easy rollback when you need it.
However, when you are on a legacy VPS, we only maintain weekly backups of the entire container, which means that everything on your VPS will be restored to the way it was at the time of that backup, not just a site / cPanel. And our backups are provided as a courtesy and are not always guaranteed, so no matter what type of hosting you have, we strongly recommend that you keep regular backups.
On your KVM VPS, maintaining regular backups is something you can manage at rWHM with daily, weekly and monthly options, or you can use a third-party backup service like CodeGuard.
Software Updates
In addition to running backups, you are also responsible for updating most of your software, PHP versions, modules, etc. You can install third-party software; for example, if you don't opt for a cPanel, you can install and use a different control panel. But then you would need to keep track of when that software has updates or patches deployed because, in addition to new features, updates are available if any vulnerabilities or issues are identified.
Suppose you decide to use CentOS and WHM / cPanel. In that case, our administrators will take care of scheduling routine updates to automatically install and release patches if any significant vulnerabilities are identified. In some cases, they may notify you that the updated version of something like PHP is available on your server. Even then, they won't automatically change any of your sites to use it because you may need to make changes or do some testing before deploying it.
If you're ready to move forward with a VPS, then you'll want to add these articles to your reading list. In addition to our knowledge base, the cPanel documentation will be an invaluable resource for more information on how to manage your server in WHM.
Restoring Files and Directories for WHM
Another option on a VPS is to add the complete Web Host Manager (WHMCS) solution. The WHMCS license is not included with any VPS plan because a VPS is not ideal if you are hosting multiple resource-intensive sites. However, it can be a great way to test it out if you are thinking of moving to a dedicated server and want to try out the features before committing. It will allow you to set up a billing portal, create hosting packages, and you can even purchase more WHMCS add-ons directly to add additional features like managing your business from your iPhone or Android device.
So what's it going to be?
Pros
- Root access
- Ability to install third-party custom programs
- Dedicated resources
- Ability to create a sandbox environment
- Cheaper than a dedicated server
- No email limits
- Scalable resources
- Ability to reboot the server and restart services.
- Ability to perform your restores
- Ability to access and manage your server with industry-standard tools
Challenges
- Requires more advanced knowledge, such as Linux management.
- You are responsible for backups
- Set a resource limit, so you need to upgrade if more are needed
- Costs more than shared
- Not a solution for TOS violation by using too many resources in Shared
- If you have the technical skills or patience to purchase it, want more control of your hosting environment, or want to try out what it would be like to have a dedicated server without the higher price tag, then moving to a VPS might work for YOU.
If you don't want to be responsible for all the maintenance, are intimidated by Linux or computers, or need a lot more resources, VPS may not be the option for you. HOST offers so many hosting plan options, so you can choose what works best for you and upgrade if you need to. And with any hosting plan, you qualify for free site migrations within 30 days of purchasing the plan, so you can move from your shared plan to a higher-level VPS or dedicated server with ease.
If you need additional help, HOST support is here to assist you - contact us via live chat so we can help you!
