A dedicated server is basically designed to serve the needs of the whole network which contain thousands of computer connected to each other and communicate with each other. In a network, it is a single computer which is set aside to serve the need of the network. The term “Dedicated server” indicates the server which is allocated to you only for hosting your website i.e. dedicated to the client website only to serve its need.
As the name suggests, a virtual dedicated server is not a real dedicated server but it acts and works like a real dedicated server. It is actually installed on a computer serving multiple Web sites and appears to the user as a dedicated server. One computer may have several VIRTUAL PRIVATE SERVER which runs the hosting software for each and every user through their operating system. In other words, it is a method of splitting a server. This is also known as a Virtual private server (VPR).
It is a Cloud server
A VPS can be changed at runtime thus is often referred to as a cloud server. Additional hardware resources like RAM, CPU can be added at runtime and when the Server is running, a server can be moved to other hardware and in few cases automatically according to the load.
A virtual dedicated server hosting
Virtual dedicated server hosting, as an extension for web hosting services, is provided by many companies. In a Virtual dedicated server hosting, there is a shared bandwidth and good usage policy is also involved.
Benefits of Virtual dedicated server
Virtual dedicated server include various programs like Web server program, a mail server program, a File Transfer Protocol (FTP) program and few specialized applications for various purposes. VPS is mainly useful for small businesses that cannot afford a dedicated server but they require a customized Web site. Another advantage of VPS technology is that it allows single subscriber to maintain multiple virtual servers. For example a Web site owner may use one server for the production-level Website and the other he can use for a “dummy site” where he can test modifications, updates, or new programs. Each virtual dedicated server has its own disk space, allocation of CPU, bandwidth, operating system and memory. It is more easily created and configured like a physical dedicated server for all its functions. .Most important is that their price is very less than an equivalent dedicated server. There is no direct effect of one server’s activity over the other server’s activity because each virtual server is segregated from other servers on the same platform. If we talk about the performance of VPS, then its performance is a little bit lower than the dedicated server but higher than the shared server because it has allocated amount of resources in terms of memory and RAM, usage of CPU.Another advantage of this system is its security. Each website is maintaining their own operating system and resources because individual servers are totally separated from each other and thus one server cannot invade the security of another server.
Limitation of Virtual dedicated server
If a Virtual dedicated server has few advantages, then it possesses few limitations or disadvantages also.
VDS performance is sometimes very less depending on the workload of the others because it shares the underlying physical hardware. One of the most important disadvantages of this server is its maintenance problem because it is very difficult for the web host to maintain all the operating systems, as each website is having its own operating system and other software. Its limitations also involve few other factors also like security and maintenance of the server and its updates. Most of the time virtual private server does not make use of its all the resources sometimes it happens that the hosting provider does not provide the allocated resources. During the large volume or unexpected amount of traffic, it becomes quite difficult to manage the virtual dedicated server. This happens because maximum no. of time it is seen that the resources are taken as per the minimum requirements. It is also possible that if one server’s activity or customization affects other server’s activity or customization then it can lead to the failure of software or breakup of the security which is a major issue to handle.