As of late, there has been a lot of talk about VPS’ and their myriad of uses.  But, due to the fact that some VPS providers offer their services at a premium, it’s important to understand what a VPS is, and whom they are for.

What is a VPS?

VPS stands for “virtual private server” and is essentially a computer hosted in another location that you can access from your computer. This differs from something like a shared hosting plan, which only allows you to run a web server or another dedicated service. This is due to the fact that VPS are much more versatile in what they can do and give the end user a lot more control. However, it’s important to decipher between a VPS and a dedicated server.

A VPS is basically its own individual computer, running within another computer – hence the term “virtual”. This means that on any given server, there may be several VPS each with their own unique operating system and purpose. A dedicated server, on the other hand, is just that – a dedicated computer completed allocated to you. While VPS provide more than enough power for most uses, dedicated servers typically provide more power. This is important to make note of when selecting which type of server to go with.

What Can a VPS Do?

In short, a VPS can do anything your normal computer can do because it is essentailly that: a computer. However, the beauty of it all comes into play when considering that a VPS is not hosted in your own house. This means that you can run it non-stop without having to worry about hogging your own bandwidth or power. This point is why many people choose to use a VPS as their primary web server. Of course, if you’re going to choose a VPS as your web server, it’s important to make sure that your VPS is configured to act as one.

However, that is only the surface of what a VPS can be used for. Marketers, in particular, typically have a Windows powered VPS in their arsenal. This is due to the fact that many applications marketers use on a daily basis are extremely resource intensive. If they were to use these applications on their own computer, chances are they wouldn’t be able to do anything else. Running these applications on a VPS, however, means they can run these applications even while they sleep without worrying about running low on resources.

Other typical uses of a VPS include:

• Online game server hosting
• Backing-up Important Files
• Media Storage
• Reselling

Where Can I Get a VPS?

So, now that you know what a VPS is and some of the things they are capable of, it’s time to find a provider. While this may seem like a daunting task, there are countless companies that provide VPS hosting in Canada, the United States and virtually everywhere you can think of. Things to take into consideration when picking out a VPS include price, what operating system it is running, how much RAM and processing power will be allocated to your VPS and how much bandwidth you are provided with.

Typical VPS for web hosting can go for quite cheap but more powerful servers that are capable of handling extremely resource intensive programs will understandably be more expensive. Thusly, it’s best to shop around and be sure of what you need a VPS for before making a purchase.