Virtual private servers offer the best mix of customization and support for small to midsize businesses on the Internet. Add to that, the cost efficiency and scalability of cloud services and you’ve got a great solution to lots of server problems. Many people choose cloud VPS services for their security and scalability benefits.
Virtual Private Servers in the Cloud
With a virtual private server, the resources of one server are divided up using virtualization software and shared between multiple accounts. This is a great way to reduce server costs and combine maintenance tasks between multiple accounts. However, a traditional VPS is limited by the hardware that can be installed on one server. When a client’s needs expand they may be required to move to a different physical machine where the resources they need are available. This is not a problem with a cloud-based VPS because the resources are limitless.
With a cloud-based VPS, multiple servers are combined to share their resources. The operating system that sits on top of all these servers can be used to divide up their combined resources using virtualization software just like a traditional VPS. The big difference is that resources can be reallocated in a way that allows for some elasticity during peak traffic. Additionally, more servers can be added to the cloud when additional physical resources are needed.
Cloud VPS Security Benefits
With a cloud VPS, just like a traditional VPS, there are security benefits that come with running your server in a virtual machine on a shared server. For one, you’ll have access to IT support that does not come with a dedicated server. This means you will have someone to call if things aren’t working right and someone will be helping you fend off cyber-attacks. Another big benefit that comes with a cloud VPS is redundancy. Since a traditional VPS runs on a single server, any problem with that server will cause problems for your site. However, a cloud-based VPS runs on multiple servers and resources can be reassigned to ensure optimal performance.
Rapid Scalability with Cloud VPS
One of the major benefits that comes with reassigning resources is the ability to scale rapidly. Moving your site to a more robust VPS using a traditional setup can take some time. However, when you’re using a cloud-based VPS it is possible to scale your server resources within minutes. Additionally, traditional VPS installations require monthly or yearly contracts. Compared with the hourly pricing model that comes with cloud-based VPS configurations, this can cost you quite a bit of money. For example, what would happen if your site is mentioned in the news and experiences a three-day bump in traffic? If you’re using a cloud-based VPS then you would only pay for three days of additional resource usage. On the other hand, if you’re using a traditional VPS configuration then it may take longer than three days to migrate to a new server. Even if you can get it done quickly, you would have to pay for at least a month of hosting on the new server. In addition, you would incur the costs associated with moving your site between these servers.
As you can see, cloud-based VPS configurations offer many advantages over a traditional VPS. The security and scalability benefits alone are worth choosing a cloud-based setup. The fact that cloud-based VPS configurations tend to cost less than their traditional VPS alternatives makes this choice an obvious one.
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