Introduction
Think about your computer, or even your phone. It has a specified amount of storage space, usually measured in gigabytes. When it runs out, you clear space, add a memory card, or send some of your stuff to your email, or to a cloud service. Many phone models have their own cloud services now, for back-up. If you have a lot of data, you might keep some on an external hard drive. In corporate settings, that external drive is a huge ‘digital file cabinet’ called a server. As technology has advanced, many businesses have outsourced their servers. Instead of having it physically in your space, you go to a company that specializes in servers and buy some space on theirs. Think of it as your own little plot in a server plantation.
Understanding Virtual Private Servers
Depending on your needs, you could hire an entire server for yourself. This is called a dedicated server, and gives you complete control. But few people require that much storage. Instead, you all buy a portion of the server and share maintenance costs. It also means you share processing, so if many of you are logged into the server at the same time, your speeds will slow considerably. VPS servers mix the best of both options. You still share the server, so your costs are lower, but your portion of the server is compartmentalised, so it responds like a dedicated server.
VPS benefits
- You have individual access and maximised processing speeds at a fraction of the price. This makes your website more efficient without hurting your pocket.
- Because you’re the only user on your VPS, you have increased privacy and loading speeds. If you have any specialised needs, they can be installed on your VPS without interfering with other server users, allowing you to tailor your virtual space.
- Your RAM is all yours and isn’t influenced by peak times, or by others people’s usage. You can restart, upgrade, or tweak at will and it won’t bother anyone else.
- You can sign up for unlimited traffic and friendly monthly rates.
For more information on VPS servers, call Cloud.co.za today on +27 21 012 5184.
