• Hosting: what is it, types of hosting, virtual, cloud, VPS (VDS). What to choose: shared hosting or dedicated server

    Virtual hosting is...

    Shared hosting- a type of hosting in which many websites are located on one web server. This is the most economical type of hosting, suitable for small projects. In this case, each website is located on its own section of the web server, but they all share the same software.

    It should be noted that virtual hosting optimally suited for sites with traffic up to 1000 people per day. To host corporate websites with higher traffic, it is more advisable to choose other types of hosting, for example, a virtual dedicated server (VPS). It allows you to serve much more visitors and provides uninterrupted access to the site from anywhere in the world.

    Benefits of shared hosting

    Benefits of shared hosting:

    1. There is no need to have special hosting skills.
    2. Hosting management is carried out using a convenient control panel in Russian.
    3. Provided large volume disk space .
    4. For the duration of the order, hosting can be provided free of charge domain name.
    5. Availability additional features(exchange and transfer of data via FTP protocol, access to site visit statistics, e-mail based on the site name, etc.).
    6. Cost minimization. Savings when using shared hosting can amount to a significant amount, since you shift the responsibility for hosting to the hosting provider. 24/7 support expensive server equipment, setting up the software, its regular updates, as well as ensuring a constant connection to the Internet.

    Disadvantages of shared hosting

    Disadvantages of shared hosting:

    1. You cannot install it yourself software .
    2. Physical resources(RAM, processor) are distributed among several clients. You do not have exclusive ownership of all physical resources, as, for example, in the case of a virtual dedicated server (VPS).

    What does the site offer?

    The site specializes in providing services hosting in Belarus. Your site will be hosted on servers located in the data center in Minsk, which will increase the loading speed of your site. We only use own equipment, unlike most companies, which are intermediary companies.

    You also get the opportunity full-fledged work with hosting using Plesk master control panel, which has a simple and intuitive web interface in Russian. Using Plesk You can do it yourself:

    • create a domain and an unlimited number of subdomains
    • manage databases MySQL data and MS SQL (create a database, users, etc.)
    • create FTP accounts
    • manage mail (create mailboxes, mailing lists, etc.)
    • manage the DNS server (create and edit DNS records to fine-tune hosting capabilities)
    • control the use of server resources by your sites
    • track the activity of users of your sites using the advanced statistics system AWStats
    • use a large number of additional features

    Shared hosting plans

    The site offers 5 main shared hosting plans. Detailed characteristics are presented on the page virtual hosting in Belarus.

    Tariff plan "Start". 1500 MB of free disk space, the ability to host 1 website, an unlimited number of subdomains, support for all technologies. Quantity mailboxes unlimited.

    Tariff plan "Practical". 3000 MB of free disk space, the ability to host up to 2 websites, an unlimited number of subdomains, support for all technologies. The number of mailboxes is not limited.

    Tariff plan "Business". 5000 MB of free disk space, the ability to host up to 4 websites, an unlimited number of subdomains, support for all technologies. The number of mailboxes is not limited.

    Tariff plan "Master". 7000 MB of free disk space, the ability to host up to 6 sites, an unlimited number of subdomains, support for all technologies. The number of mailboxes is not limited.

    Tariff plan "Pro". 10,000 MB of free disk space, the ability to host up to 10 websites, an unlimited number of subdomains, support for all technologies. The number of mailboxes is not limited.

    Shared hosting features more high level security compared to traditional hosting, which does not provide full protection against resource attacks. And on a virtual server, the disk subsystem, network, processor, and more are completely virtualized. And this approach allows virtual hosting to ensure complete isolation of servers from each other.

    Providing unimaginable flexibility in server management, the virtual hosting service will undoubtedly appeal to “advanced” clients. Virtual hosting is also a good choice for beginners, who get at their disposal a fully configured, working system with a convenient control panel.

    Shared hosting is the placement of a virtual web server on a server machine, whose resources are shared by it with other virtual servers. The advantage of this method is the low cost of the service and the fact that the owner of the virtual web server does not have to worry about its software.

    — databases: connection to DBMS databases (MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, etc.), while access to the databases can be obtained from the outside.

    PHP hosting: providing access to the PHP interpreter and PHP frameworks (for example, LIMB), additional libraries (such as IonCube Loader, Zend Optimizer, Suhosin Extensions), installation of various web applications: content management systems (CMS), organization systems forums, blogs, galleries, distance learning, news publications and many others. PHP requires access to the MySQL DBMS.

    Python hosting: designed for hosting websites in the language Python programming. Providing access to a Python interpreter also implies the availability of any framework: Zope, Pylons, Django, TurboGears, etc. Plone hosting provides users with access to an already installed and configured Plone website publishing system. Python requires access to the MySQL and PostgreSQL DBMS.

    Perl hosting: Perl has significantly lost its position at the present time and sites on it are becoming less and less common, however, Perl is usually supported on shared hosting.

    RoR hosting or Ruby on Rails hosting: of course, intended for projects written in the Ruby language and running on the Rails framework (MySQL required).

    SVN hosting: aimed primarily at professional developers. In this case, the SVN client allows you to quickly update changed files on the server without resorting to FTP access, and the SVN server allows a group of developers, even those separated geographically, to work together.

    In addition, shared hosting provides access via FTP, SSH (chrooted SSH), SFTP.
    Paid virtual hosting must also provide:

    24/7 technical support Clients; -backup (backup); -installation of web applications (CMS, blogs, forums, galleries, online stores, etc.).

    Additional services include:

    Domain registration;
    -providing SSL certificates.

    When I created this site in 2011, I didn’t even delve into such concepts as shared hosting, dedicated server and virtual private server (VPS).

    In principle, for novice webmasters with small simple sites (like mine) even now, understanding such concepts is not so very important. It is enough to choose one of the shared hosting tariffs, taking into account how many sites can be placed on a certain tariff, how much space is provided, the number of available databases, available traffic and some other points.

    But as traffic and popularity of the site increases, as well as with the introduction of various capabilities and tasks assigned to the site, for some sites the capabilities of virtual hosting may no longer be enough.

    Therefore, in this article we will make an entry into this topic (especially since my site is intended mostly for novice users) and just to begin with, we will understand the differences between the above-mentioned concepts, so that we can understand a little better when and for what tasks and circumstances to use shared hosting, and when dedicated or virtual dedicated server.

    Shared hosting

    Since the site is a certain set of files, their operation requires a certain environment that allows the site to work and be available for use by other users. This environment is played by a web server.

    What is a web server? This is a set of programs that are installed on a computer with constant access to the Internet and accessible from anywhere on our planet. Such computers are called servers.

    As for virtual hosting, such server computers are installed in special rooms with uninterrupted system power supply, fire extinguishing system, backup data, etc. This ensures the reliability of the sites that are in memory and accessible to users thanks to these computers.

    Companies that have organized a network of such computer servers sell space on their servers (volume hard drives) for the operation of websites and are called hosting.

    One computer may have certain limited parameters: capacity hard drive(disks), processor frequency, volume RAM. Thus, a certain number of websites can be hosted on one server computer.

    And it turns out that the more sites are hosted on one computer, and the more more space they occupy, and what more requests from the Internet to them (site traffic), the more load they create on the server computer.

    How much load can such a computer withstand? It depends on the power of the computer.

    Employees working in such hosting companies monitor the performance of the servers and the redistribution of the load and the amount of information placed on the servers. But, due to the fact that only one computer server can be used to operate multiple sites, the cost of hosting one or several sites with low traffic or load, as well as with a small footprint, can be quite low.

    Of course, many sites located on the same server computer can affect the operation of other sites, for example, causing too much heavy load, which the computer may not be able to handle. Because of this, other sites may no longer be accessible to users until the hosting staff resolves this problem.

    However, most good hosting companies (with good computers and staff, as well as competently configured work), problems with the performance of sites are rare. Therefore, if you are a novice webmaster and are creating a simple website, for example, on the popular WordPress engine, with a planned traffic of even up to several hundred and thousands of visitors daily, then it is enough to choose one of the suitable hosting plans.

    What reliable and inexpensive hosting services have I personally tested and which I can recommend? I talked about in the article: “”.

    Dedicated Server

    The good thing about virtual hosting is that it is a relatively inexpensive service and a comfortable experience for users. Plus almost everything is there necessary tools for most young and not too large sites with average traffic.

    But when the need arises additional features, which cannot provide virtual hosting tariffs, then you can rent a separate server-computer with the necessary parameters. The advantages of renting a dedicated server are that you can get the most out of the available features.

    For example, all computer parameters will be used to operate the site; there will be no other (foreign) sites on this server, which in any way could affect the operation of your site or your sites (if there are several of them).

    In addition, once you have rented whole computer, then you can install any necessary software on it (within the law, of course), enable protection against DDoS attacks, install the software you need antivirus protection etc.

    In general, you can use the computer and its resources at your discretion. And other users with their sites do not affect you in any way - their sites will be on other servers.

    The advantages are obvious, but since an entire computer is rented, the cost of such a service is much higher than on shared hosting. Therefore, dedicated servers are usually suitable for fairly large-scale projects.

    Virtual Private Server (VPS)

    If there is no urgent need for a dedicated server, but virtual hosting capabilities are not enough, then you can use a virtual dedicated server (VPS).

    You will also be able to install the necessary software yourself, enable protection against DDoS attacks, host an unlimited number of websites, etc. In addition, there will also be a separate dedicated IP address, with the ability to add additional IP addresses.

    What's the difference then?

    As the name suggests, your rented virtual a dedicated server will simply reside on the same computer with several other virtual dedicated servers. Those. The power and resources of a computer are divided into several parts and rented to just a few clients, providing separate virtual servers on this computer. Each customer has their own allocated amount of space and power and the ability to install and manage their own applications.

    And since resources of this computer Only a few clients use it, then the load, and therefore the uninterrupted operation of such a system, is much higher than that of virtual hosting. Of course, it is to a certain extent lower than that of a dedicated server, but it allows you to do this service significantly affordable.

    Conclusions

    If you have a simple Internet project with traffic of up to several thousand people per day, and you don’t feel any problems in the operation of the site, and don’t even understand yet why you need to change anything, then you should continue to use your hosting (or find something more suitable, more profitable and more reliable).

    But if you already need more resources, additional software and protection that are not available in hosting services, then you should think about a separate server. And it’s best to start with virtual dedicated server (VPS), since this option is more accessible.

    The only possible difficulty that you may encounter is the need to understand new instructions on how to work with a rented server.

    But this is a small problem, since companies providing such services prepare and provide the necessary manuals, for example, as the RuVDS company did by creating a separate section: VPS Directory. There you can find both text instructions and articles on this topic, as well as video tutorials like the following:

    Well, besides, since you purchase a separate dedicated server, it means you can install suitable software there. This means you can install the usual toolbar (CPanel, ISP Manager, etc.). Or use the services and assistance of specialists from the selected company to help with the setup.

    Choosing the type of hosting becomes a real problem if you do not understand the difference between them. We will try to explain what virtual hosting is in simple words and tell you about its disadvantages and advantages.

    Shared hosting - what is it?

    The term hosting itself comes from the English word host, which means the owner of a house who receives guests. This perfectly conveys the essence of shared hosting - guest space for a website on one large server.

    Its advantages:

      working with it does not require any special skills;

      This is a fairly inexpensive hosting;

      the provider usually provides a full cycle of service free of charge;

      a domain and SSL certificate are also often provided as a gift;

      If a DDoS attack is carried out on the site, protection is provided by the provider.

    Flaws:

      sites with a large amount of information will not have enough resources;

      limited administrative rights;

      you will be sharing the server with other clients of the provider, which may cause problems.

    This option is perfect for small sites that do not contain large quantities information. For example:

    • business card website;

      small blog or forum;

      corporate website;

      online store with a very narrow assortment.

    Considering that providers usually provide a lot additional services free of charge, even a beginner can cope with managing a website on shared hosting. The provider, for example, will even transfer your website for free.

    How is vps different from shared hosting?

    VDS/ VPS hosting is a dedicated and isolated part of the virtual server. The difference from shared hosting lies precisely in this isolation. Whatever happens on another site located on this server will not affect your site.

    VPS is golden mean between virtual hosting and a full-fledged server.

    Its advantages:

      it has the same properties as a standalone server. This means that you will have your own personal IP address, filter and port. You will have the opportunity to administer the server completely - change it system parameters, install the necessary software, configure the mail system and proxy server, if necessary;

      Since the hardware is built by professionals, it ensures smooth operation of the server. Your site will have a reliable online presence;

      The hosting provider always takes care of the security of its servers. And the fact that a separate and isolated part of the virtual server is allocated for your site eliminates the risk of infection from neighboring sites;

      if necessary, you can change the server configuration at any time and reduce or increase its performance.

    With these advantages, VPS hosting clearly prevails over virtual hosting. It gives more opportunities to the webmaster, providing a powerful and flexible service. But, of course, this option also has disadvantages:

      VPS is more expensive than shared hosting. But still cheaper than a full-fledged server.

      Administration requires a specialist, which means additional costs.

    How to choose a shared hosting provider?

    First of all, hosting that is too cheap should make you suspicious. Considering that the price includes maintenance, it cannot cost very little. Temptingly low prices are usually available from those providers who, along with a place on the service, also provide their clients with a lot of problems. It is not advisable to save money by sacrificing the stability of the site and the quality of services.

    If you want to check if hosting is right for you, the trial period will give you this opportunity. Find out how long you can test the service for free. This period is different for everyone, but if the provider does not provide a trial period at all, this is also a reason to doubt the quality of the services.

    When choosing the location where your hosting will be located, make sure that the site does not violate the laws of that country. Give advantage to the area that is near yours target audience to provide maximum speed downloads.

    This is a service for hosting websites, web services and other resources. On at the moment, the cheapest popular type of hosting is considered to be virtual hosting. There are even free options no advertising.

    The difference between shared hosting and others

    A distinctive feature of virtual hosting is the ability to place different quantity websites on one web server. All sites are located in their own sections, but share the same software: linux or windows.

    This option is most convenient for owners of small websites or those who do not want to spend their time and money on hiring system administrators and creating your own server.

    As a rule, on shared hosting, a control panel with the necessary functionality is installed. The most common ones now are: DirectAdmin, cPanel, ISPmanager, Plesk, and others.

    Who is the consumer of Virtual hosting services?

    The market for offering virtual hosting services is so diverse that services can be provided by both beginning schoolchildren and large companies. So all that remains is to do right choice hosting provider, since the level of stability of your website’s functioning directly depends on its quality of work. Choosing quality hosting, you can be calm and confident in the continuity of your project.

    The main methods for implementing access to resources are: through using a general IP address, as well as via an individual IP.

    Classification of shared hosting

    Virtual hostings can be divided into:

    • The size of the provided disk space and RAM.
    • Volume of monthly traffic.
    • The number of sites hosted under one contract.
    • Availability of databases and the amount of space provided for them.
    • Number of mailboxes.

    When choosing virtual hosting, you should pay attention to the type of hosting used. operating system. This determines not only what software is used, but also the cost of services.

    What operating systems are installed on the server?

    There are two groups: those running Linux OS (FreeBSD, GNU) and Windows OS. The significant difference between the two is that the Linux OS is mostly free and therefore the cost of UNIX and Linux hosting providers is slightly cheaper. This is because server owners do not pay a license fee.

    Windows hosting is different in that it operates both technologies developed exclusively for this operating system, and those created for UNIX/Linux. Microsoft Windows allows you to work with ASP, NET, MS SQL, as well as PHP and MySQL. The use of these technologies has made it possible to significantly increase the speed of the PHP engine compared to its work on the UNIX/Linux UNIX/Linux platform.

    Geographic location of hosting

    The cost of virtual hosting services is influenced by its geographic location. The main goal of domestic hosters is to make a profit of 100-200%; they also spend a lot of money and time on obtaining licenses and other permitting documents. Therefore, it is more profitable and convenient option, there will be the use of services provided by Russian-speaking or foreign companies from foreign countries.

    Dedicated IP address

    Virtual hosting provides both a common IP address for all sites and a dedicated IP address service. This allows in case DDOS attacks disable exactly the resource that this attack is aimed at.

    Unlimited disk space

    Many providers describe in their contracts the possibility of using unlimited disk space (a marketing ploy to attract more clients), although in fact the most greedy clients are “kicked out” using any pretext:

    • Limiting the number of files, after which automatic backup stops.
    • Content that violates someone's rights.

    Website security on shared hosting

    It is a misconception that shared hosting is unsafe. At the moment, there are many solutions to maintain the confidentiality of stored data.

    Server load

    Virtual hosting allocates a certain limit of processor time, memory, and sometimes hard drive for an account. If you exceed this limit, you will be warned or blocked for high load. The advantage is that you can change it at any time tariff plan to a more resource-intensive one.

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