Anybody who has been in web hosting long enough to at least know the tiers knows that when you move from a shared hosting server to a VPS hosting server, your entire website experience will be better.  However, there are misconceptions about how much bang for your buck you will get with VPS hosting too.  With that said, I thought it might be a good ideas of looking at some of the pros and cons of switching from your standard shared web hosting plan to a Virtual Private Server.

The Pros for Switching to VPS

The number one thing you get when you switch to VPS hosting is more CPU power and RAM access.  These server side resources are as good as gold to a website using a content management system that has overgrown a shared hosting setup.  If you get a fully managed VPS hosting plan, then the web host will take care of the server side of things – just as if you were on a shared hosting plan.  If you are looking at VPS technology, I would say go with a Xen server-based setup. With it, you can be sure that your resources are limited to your account and your website will be less likely to come crashing down because of something your server neighbor is going through.

The Cons for Switching to VPS

The biggest bad thing about switching to VPS hosting might still be the price.  While it is significantly lower than dedicated hosting, VPS hosting can still take a big chunk out of your wallet.  You might also have misconceptions when it comes to how big of a VPS you need.  I know when I first switched, I thought 756 MB of RAM would be plenty for my four websites – and I was wrong. To run my websites successfully and to have a little elbow room to grow, I had to end up going with 2GB of RAM, 100GB of disk space, 1.25 TB of bandwidth.

Overall, once your website or network of websites becomes too popular, you will have to come to the realization that it is time for a change.  Many people are turning towards VPS hosting these days because it is easier to both deploy and manage than dedicated server hosting. Setting up VPS nodes for a web hosting perspective is just a lot easier than ordering X number of servers for dedicated hosting customers.  The advantages also get passed back down to the consumer too – as VPS hosting is getting cheaper and cheaper these days.

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© Mitch Keeler 2011 | Check out my firefox help site and my tech blog too!