VPS: what it is and how to get it at the best price

In the meantime, it's a good idea to start with the fundamentals. VPS is an acronym that stands for Virtual Private Server, that is, Virtual Private Server. Server is a proper noun of a thing, masculine. So when you hear or read on some website "THE VPS", you can close and move on. But it is also true that language purists say English terms have no gender and therefore both masculine and feminine are correct.

In any case, in Italian the virtual private server is a portion of a physical server, which through a virtualization layer is divided into multiple private servers, called VPS clipboards.

The VPS server is exactly like a dedicated server, it can have its own operating system, Linux or Windows, its own amount of CPU, RAM and DISK. The server administrator can therefore do practically everything he can do with a dedicated server but with some undoubted advantages.

The advantages of a VPS server Compared to a dedicated server, a VPS server can be tailor-made and therefore can start from a minimum configuration of 1 CPU and 1 GB of RAM. The first big advantage is therefore the investment to be made which initially can be very small. When our project grows we will be able to "change the size" of the VPS and make it grow accordingly. Another very important advantage is high reliability. A VPS server is generally (depending on the provider that provides them) located within a cluster of physical servers in HA. What does HA mean? It means that our VPS server will be active on a specific physical server, if this, for some reason, has a problem, the VPS is restarted within a few seconds on a new physical server available within the Cluster. This functionality is very important to guarantee the continuity of the services we are providing from the VPS. Be careful though: not all providers provide highly reliable VPS servers. Especially very cheap offers do not include this feature.

Disadvantages of a VPS server Even though we thought about it, we were unable to find any real disadvantages in using VPS solutions, the only cases in which a VPS server can become dangerous is when it is sold by the Provider with a purpose other than that for which the service was created, perhaps to force the sale to a Customer who has read somewhere that "the VPS is for him".

Who can use a VPS? A VPS system is usually useful to a technician, a system administrator, capable of managing, configuring and maintaining it in the future. Every time we put a server online, it must be kept updated and monitored, which is why a VPS server is not suitable for everyone. Providers often sell VPS servers as if they were hosting, that is, they sell them to people who have no real technical skills and who want a VPS to have dedicated CPU/RAM and higher performance. For those who have this type of need, the VPS is not the most correct solution, the "right" solutions are those of CLOUD HOSTING, which allow you to have all the advantages of a VPS, but without the disadvantages (management). Here is the link to the cloud hosting solutions provided by HOST

VPS Managed or Unmanaged? What does managed or unmanaged mean? Translated into Italian: managed or unmanaged. This too, in our opinion at HOST, is a stretch to sell VPS servers to those who are actually looking for a hosting service. As we said before, a VPS server must be managed and maintained and when this is not possible by the Customer, the provider sells him a "managed" option, in this way the provider will manage/monitor it on behalf of the Customer. So isn't it equivalent to a cloud hosting solution? Yes In many cases management is given as an option, the price range goes from 50 to 150 euros per month, in some cases the management of the VPS itself costs more. In fact, in the composition of the price it becomes "complicated" to make a Customer digest that the management of the server itself costs more... so in some cases we find ourselves with really low server management prices that make those who are a little more experienced think: «But will they really be able to dedicate more than 1 hour a month to the management of my server»?

What can you do with a VPS server? With a VPS we can do practically everything, host a high traffic site, an application that requires particular configurations, we can take 2 of them, connect them with a private network and put the web server in one and the database server in the other, in short, we can create our small or large virtual infrastructure, without having to worry about the underlying hardware. The most important thing, however, is always the same: we buy a VPS server only if we are able to manage it, alternatively we go for a cloud hosting solution (link)

How much does a VPS cost? At the time of writing this article, January 2023, the VPS market has completely changed. The energy crisis has seen the prices of VPS increase by up to 30%, all over the world. We can therefore find offers from 6 euros per month upwards, but be careful that in some cases the very low cost profiles do not have an IPv4 included but only an IPv6, in which case there is very little you can do about it at the moment.

The VPS solutions offered by HOST Host has launched a new offer of 100% Italian VPS servers, based on OpenStack technology and with latest generation FULL NVMe storage, this allows you to obtain VPS with high performance despite having a monthly cost which is currently the lowest in Italy. In fact, basic VPS profiles start from €5 per month for the 1 CPU - 1GB of RAM and 20GB of disk solution, up to €30 per month for the 16CPU - 32GB of RAM and 300GB of disk solution. All with activation within 60 seconds of purchase and direct access to the main functions such as the out of band console. The VPS offer will be enriched throughout the year with new Premium profiles which will include firewalls, backups, private networks and more.