Web Hosting Reviews & Ratings

May 16, 2011

The Primary Differences between Shared Hosting and VPS Hosting

Most novice webmasters begin their online endeavors by choosing one of two hosting types – shared hosting or VPS hosting. Shared hosting has its name because it offers a service that requires dozens or even hundreds of webmasters to share the resources of a single server, and is therefore the cheapest, yet least reliable form of hosting available. Nonetheless, shared hosting is by far more popular than VPS hosting, primarily because of its extensive availability and affordability. VPS (virtual private server) hosting is similar to shared hosting in that a lot of webmasters are sharing the same server, however the difference lies in how the server is split up amongst these webmasters. In the following paragraphs we'll discuss the primary differences between VPS hosting and shared hosting.

Partition Allocation

Within the shared hosting environment there are no partitions, as a specific amount of server resources are available to each webmaster, and these resources are pulled from any part of the server at any given time, based on advanced load-balancing technology. When a visitor comes to a website a request is sent to the server, and then the necessary resources are extracted to perform the requested task. On the other hand, within a VPS hosting plan each webmaster is given their own partition, which is basically a designated segment of the server. This streamlines the process of fulfilling server requests, and enhances performance by limiting fragmentation and giving the webmasters the ability to upgrade to greater capabilities quickly and easily.

Startup Cost

Another major difference between shared hosting and VPS hosting is the startup cost. Contrary to popular belief, most VPS hosting plans have a lower start up cost than their shared counterparts. This is because the majority of shared hosting providers require at least one year's payment in advance, which means that a $6 per month hosting plan would actually cost $72 per month initially (plus any applicable setup fees). On the other hand, VPS hosting plans range from $10 per month to $200 per month, but even the cheapest VPS plans can be purchased on a monthly basis. Thus, VPS hosting actually provides a lower start up cost than shared hosting, despite the higher monthly costs. Of course, the most comprehensive VPS hosting plans would not be comparable in price to a shared hosting plan.

Administrative Freedom

The third major difference between shared hosting and VPS hosting is the amount of administrative freedom that is given to each webmaster. While a shared hosting plan holder does not have the ability to access the server root, and can therefore not change the operating system, most VPS plans allow the webmaster to adjust the software configuration of server. This can be incredibly important for aspiring web developers or website owners that need to utilize various applications for business management and network organization. Ultimately, VPS hosting provides greater flexibility, compatibility, administrative freedom, and the ability to upgrade more easily, all at a lower typical start up cost than shared hosting.

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