Managed VPS Hosting Service

VPS server hosting services provide businesses and individuals with a sense of dedicated server hosting within the safety of a shared web hosting environment. VPS server hosting provides users with their own dedicated environment in which they can do whatever they want with, knowing that they won’t be affecting the performance of other VPS servers that are hosted on the same hosting node unless they are using CPU intensive applications. Since VPS hosting services provide users with their own dedicated environment, some may not have the necessary knowledge or skills to be able to manage a VPS server properly which is where managed VPS hosting services come in. Managed VPS hosting services allow users to purchase a VPS of their choice, but then allow the support team of their chosen web hosting provider to manage it which normally includes installing regular updates as well as the inital setup and installation of the VPS hosting server. VPS hosting can cost a bit more than regular shared web hosting, but if you need a dedicated environment in which you can host your websites and applications then you will notice a big difference performance wise and will justify the small rise in cost on your behalf. Managed VPS hosting allows those that feel they don’t have the necessary knowledge or skills to leave their VPS in the safe hands of an experienced support team who will manage it on their behalf, and in that kind of situation, the rise in cost can also be justified.

Managed VPS hosting services are able to provide users with many advantages over shared web hosting, although VPS hosting is also a method of shared hosting itself in a sense. Although shared hosting may be suitable for those wishing to host small and simple websites, it is not enough to suffice for the needs of large businesses or individuals who are running mission critical websites. Such advantages over shared web hosting may include:

• reliability - although a web hosting provider may advertise their web hosting services as reliable, a shared web hosting package is prone to more downtime than any other form of web hosting since they are normally hosted together on one large server meaning that if a rogue account is setup then the reliability of the web hosting server could be compromised
• security - with a managed VPS hosting package, you can make your VPS as secure as you wish it to be, although your web hosting provider may offer secure shared web hosting, there’s is nothing to stop rogue accounts from being set up which could affect the shared web hosting server
• flexibility - with shared web hosting service you are stuck to using a basic control panel to help manage your web hosting account, but with VPS hosting you get full root/administrator access to your VPS allowing you to manage it the way you want to and to install any programs that you want on it.

If you feel that the advantages that VPS hosting has over shared web hosting may not be of any help to you then you should consider using a shared web hosting package since this will be much cheaper but still meet your requirements.

VPS servers come with many more features than a standard web hosting package, but for someone who isn’t in the know, all these different terms can be quite confusing therefore meaning that you may be put off from purchasing a VPS hosting server in such a case. Such features are normally related to the virtual hardware of your VPS hosting server, therefore making it important that you know what they are and how to keep an eye on them when needed. Examples of such features include:

• burst RAM - not being contempt with giving each VPS dedicated RAM, web hosting providers also give VPS hosting servers a certain amount of RAM that they can go into for a short amount of time if their VPS hosting servers are experiencing a high load, this is one feature that sets VPS hosting apart from dedicated hosting
• dedicated IP address - with shared web hosting services, your website is hosted on one IP address that is shared with all the other websites that are hostedon the same server, but with VPS hosting you get given your own IP address that you can host all your websites and applications on without having to worry about other users
• fair share CPU - as a computer does, VPS hosting servers need access to a CPU so that they can carry out all the calculations and tasks that they have been purchased for, in this case the CPU needs to be shared with all the VPS servers on a hosting node meaning that they all get the same share of the hosting node’s CPU.

Such features are important to understand since they can easily affect the running of your VPS hosting server. This is where managed VPS hosting services can help since you don’t need to understand what all these different terms mean if you have the support team at your web hosting provider managing your VPS server on your behalf.

Like any form of web hosting, VPS hosting servers normally come supplied with some sort of web hosting control panel to ensure that you or your web hosting provider can manage your VPS hosting server remotely using a web browser as well as Remote Desktop or SSH. Web hosting providers normally provide a control panel such as Webmin for Linux VPS hosting clients since it allows for the management of the server and all the relevant services using a web browser instead of using a more complicated method such as SSH or remote desktop. If you plan on using your VPS hosting server for hosting your own web hosting clients then its worth considering a web hosting orientated control panel that will allow your clients to manage their own hosting accounts and for you to manage them; such examples include cPanel for Linux VPS hosting and Plesk for Windows VPS hosting. A control panel is important in any sense since even though you may have purchased a fully managed VPS hosting service, you may want to be able to manage a different aspect of your VPS hosting service from time to time so that you at least have a little control over the entire management situation.

A managed VPS hosting service means that you are provided with full support for your VPS instead of having to learn how to manage a server yourself. Web hosting support teams are now available 24×7 in a majority of cases meaning that you can contact them at any time of the day if you find that there is some sort of problem with your managed VPS hosting solution. As long as your web hosting provider has an experienced support team, you should expect fast and knowledgable reponses from them. Advantages of having a managed VPS hosting solution over an unmanaged package include:

• increased reliability - since managed web hosting providers normally have 24×7 support, they put in the extra effort to monitor all the VPS servers and hosting nodes that they are managing, as such meaning that if there is any specific problem they are likely to be notified quicker than in an unmanaged situation allow for a quicker response time and greater reliability
• installations - if you want a specific software package installed on your managed VPS hosting server then the support team that your web hosting provider employs should be more than happy to install it for you, this means that you don’t have to have any knowledge in order to have the programs that you need installed on your VPS hosting server
• 24×7 support - 24×7 support means that a support team can be contacted at any time of day, meaning that you can discuss an issue with them at any time you wish - not only does this mean greater reliability on  behalf of the server, but also means that you know someone will be there for you when you need them to be.

Some people don’t need managed VPS hosting services for one reason or another, but in the case that you do you may feel that the above support advantages can benefit you in one way or another. One thing to note is that a managed VPS hosting service will cost more than an unmanaged VPS hosting service because of the time and effort support staff have to put in.

In conclusion, managed VPS hosting services provide you with a way to have a secure VPS hosting server to host your websites and applications on without the need to have any knowledge on how to manage a VPS hosting server. If you choose a managed VPS hosting provider like http://www.eUKhost.com then you will probably find that you have access to 24×7 support which ensures you greater reliability than an unmanaged web hosting package or shared web hosting services. In the case that you don’t need managed VPS hosting, then you will find that you can purchase a VPS hosting package that still suits your needs but for much less.