With all of the talk of Virtualization in Industry Publications and Conferences I felt like it was time to blog about this little known (or at least unknown to a lot of clients we interact with) technology. Earlier last quarter we (www.pleth.com) started positioning ourselves for this trend and I have to admit, at first I was a little hesitant but once we bit the bullet, and got off of our wallets, I can now say that I absolutely love being Virtual…
What exactly is a VPS Solution? Who is it for? The Pleth Networks VPS solution is for webmasters, ad agencies, web design firms, small businesses and even enterprises who want to have total control over their server environment. While we (www.pleth.com) still deliver dedicated server solutions to our hosting and development clients, we are much more likely these days to recommend our VPS (virtual private server) solution for a few reasons.
The primary reason is that there isn’t really a whole lot of difference between a dedicated server and a virtual private server. Here are some similarities:
- Just like a Dedicated Server, VPS has it’s own processes, users, files & root access.
- Each VPS can have it’s own IP’s, Port Numbers, Tables, Filtering & Routing Rules
- Each VPS can have it’s own System Configuration Files
- Each VPS can have it’s own versions of system libraries or modify existing ones.
Earlier this year my partners and I flew to Chicago to attend HostingCon. During the 3-day conference we had the opportunity to meet with our vendor SWsoft, in regards to virtualization. We have been satisfied with the Plesk Control Panel for a few years now and wanted to investigate the possibilities of expanding our operation to be able to offer even more products through virtualization.
In my opinion, Virtualization allows managers and administrators the ability to do more with less. The ability to do more with less has always appealed to Corporate Management when it comes to IT, whether that mindset is a good one or not is definitely left open for discussion, but in my ten years or so in the IT Industry I have found it to be pretty dead on.
How do we accomplish Virtualization? We use Virtuozzo.
Virtuozzo creates multiple isolated Virtual Private Servers (VPSes) on a single physical server, or group of servers to share hardware, licenses and management effort with maximum efficiency. Each VPS performs and executes exactly like a stand-alone server for its users and applications as it can be rebooted independently and has its own root access, users, IP addresses, memory, processes, files, applications, system libraries and configuration files. Light overhead and efficient design of Virtuozzo makes it the right virtualization choice for production servers with live applications and real-life data.
On occasion we have ran into a few clients who wanted to have SSH access to their servers while they were being hosted in a shared environment. For most server admins this is a major no-no, by providing the client a small virtual private server solution we can now afford these clients that luxury.
To the end user what is the difference in managing a VPS as opposed to a Dedicated Server? Managing a VPS is roughly the same as managing a dedicated server. We recommend that all VPS users have some understanding of Linux so that we can better serve them. Of course, with my company, Pleth Networks, being a full service firm, and an old hand at Managed Hosting, we also offer affordable server management solutions for our clients based on just how much interaction they want to have with their server. For the less experienced server admin, VPSes can serve as a great learning experience, allowing you to operate in a dedicated server environment without the cost and with less risk. If you are looking for a dedicated server, I strongly urge you to consider a VPS solution from Pleth Networks, but if you are set on having a Physical Hardware solution, please consult with our sales team to discuss your project in more detail, we will be more than happy to work with you to achieve your IT, Hosting, or Storage Goals.
[…] dnseeker wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptWhile we (www.pleth.com) still deliver dedicated server solutions to our hosting and development clients, we are much more likely these days to recommend our VPS (virtual private server) solution for a few reasons. … […]