Managed VS Unmanaged Support for Virtual Private Servers
Virtual Private Servers are virtual machines. A physical server is divided virtually into smaller chunks of virtual servers that are then rented out to clients. With Virtual Private Servers, customers enjoy the same functionality as having their own physical computer acting as their server but in a smaller volume and lower cost.
With Virtual Private Servers, you can choose what operating system you want, how many sites you’d like to administrate, and other options.
What is VPS Hosting?
There are many companies offering top VPS hosting solutions. This web hosting service is offered both as an unmanaged hosting and managed hosting package depending on the company that offers it. With VPS hosting, a web hosting company has its own data center where physical computers are kept safely. VPS hosting can also be offered by resellers who only get their services from a web hosting company and they divide their hosting to smaller chunks and offer it to their own customers.
VPS hosting is what bridges shared web hosting and dedicated server hosting. You get the same independence as getting a dedicated server yet paying just a little higher than a shared web hosting.
The Advantages of Getting a VPS Hosting Plan
Getting a VPS hosting plan is great especially if you’re ready to step up from a shared web hosting plan. When your site needs more than what your shared web hosting can offer but you’re not yet ready to jump in and get a dedicated server hosting plan that costs a lot of money then VPS hosting plan is the right jump.
VPS hosting plans are flexible. With a VPS hosting plan, you can get just as much disk space, bandwidth, and others as you’d need by simply requesting for an adjustment from the web hosting company. This is something that you can’t find easy with a dedicated server because you’d get the space you have in the physical computer, no more no less. Of course you too could have it upgraded but it’s not as simple as in VPS.
The Difficulties You Can Encounter with Virtual Private Servers
Virtual Private Servers are great but it isn’t flawless. There are times when you’d experience a few bumps and if you’re not an expert web designer, you may need a bit of outside help especially in troubleshooting or in diagnosis. This is why managed VPS is a better choice.
The internet is pretty sneaky. No matter how safe your system may seem to be, hackers still have a way of trying to hack your site. Once they become successful, you need to solve the problem really quick to minimize the damage. With a managed VPS hosting, you can request for assistance and your web host will help you. You are paying more for the Managed VPS hosting but it’s a great security blanket if you are not sufficiently knowledgeable in running the server on your own. Believe us, we’ve had to rely on our VPS hosting provider several times to get issues like this fixed, we were very glad to have customer support available when we needed it!
Another difficulty you may experience is when you upgrade your automated software and something goes wrong. When this happens you need to fix the problem to keep your site available. The longer it takes you to fix it, the longer your site will suffer. If you have managed VPS hosting, the problem can be solved faster but it may seem impossible if you don’t know how it’s done.
There are many other system programming problems that may arise with a Virtual Private Server hosting that you may encounter. These problems are not necessarily caused by the server itself but with your own error in programming or with security intrusion (site hacking). In deciding whether you should go for the unmanaged VPS hosting or the managed VPS hosting really depends on you and how well you know in system administration. If you’re an expert or you have an IT team working for you that are experts in this then go ahead and choose the unmanaged VPS as it costs less but if you want the peace of mind and pay a little more then go and choose the managed Virtual Private Servers.
In Summary
Managed support is necessary for Virtual Private Servers if you don’t have the knowledge and skills necessary to maintain your site solely on your own. Managed support is not necessary if you know you can do it well without the help of your web host.
Managed VPS hosting costs higher but it gives you the peace of mind knowing you can lean on your web host when there’s a problem you can’t easily fix yourself. The difference between the two is really with the price and convenience. If you think paying a few more dollars won’t hurt you and you don’t want to spend hours trying to troubleshoot then better go for the Managed Virtual Private Servers.
