Virtual Dedicated Server (VDS) Hosting: Everything You Need to Know

Liutauras Morkaitis 2024-10-24

If you’re new to the cloud and curious about the main differences between a Virtual Dedicated Server (VDS) and a Virtual Private Server (VPS), this guide is for you.

This detailed guide covers the basics of VDS, how it differs from VPS, its benefits, tips for choosing the right plan, setup instructions, and common use cases. Let’s get started!

Introduction to Virtual Dedicated Servers (VDS)

A Virtual Dedicated Server (VDS) is a partitioned portion of a powerful bare-metal server, providing dedicated resources and functionality similar to a standalone server. It uses the virtual dedicated hosting architecture to facilitate communications between the VDS and client PCs.

VDS providers, like Hostline, use a hypervisor operating system to virtualize server resources, like CPU, RAM, SSD, NVMe, network, etc., to create multiple small servers in a large one.

Your VDS remains completely separated from any other on the same server, providing security and privacy. Furthermore, you get root access to the remote server to install applications, create users, remove users, set up email servers, manage databases, reboot the server, and so on.

VDS vs. VPS: Key Differences Explained

If you’re confused about the differences between a VDS and a VPS, this table will help clarify things for you:

Features	VDS (Virtual Dedicated Server)	VPS (Virtual Private Server)
Definition	A server where users have dedicated hardware resources.	A server with virtualized, shared resources.
Resource Allocation	Dedicated resources (CPU, RAM, storage) aren’t shared with others.	Shared resources with other VPS instances.
Performance	Higher performance due to exclusive access to resources and exceptionally low latency.	Slightly lower due to shared resources.
Cost	Generally more expensive because of dedicated resources.	More affordable due to shared infrastructure.
Scalability	Harder to scale without major changes, and requires adding more hardware.	Easier to scale, as it’s virtualized and flexible.
Control	Full control over the dedicated resources and configurations.	Control over the virtualized portion but not the entire physical server.
Isolation	Complete isolation from other users on the same physical server.	Partial isolation, but still sharing some resources with others.

Benefits of Virtual Dedicated Server Hosting

Find below the benefits of hosting your websites, web apps, and other business tools virtual dedicated hosting solution:

Cost-Effective: A VDS comes with a balance of affordability and dedicated server performance. This you can easily optimize the operational budget without sacrificing automation and transforming to cloud computing.
Enhanced Security: It also offers robust data security and privacy features since the remote server is totally isolated from other similar units.
Scalability and Flexibility: You can easily request more CPUs, RAMs, SSDs, etc. when demand increases. Similarly, when it’s offseason for your business, you can downgrade resources to save on the hosting budget.
Customizable Server Environment: Since you get full root access to the server, you or a developer can customize the server environment according to the website or web app you want to host.
High Availability and Uptime: If you subscribe to a VDS from reputed providers like Hostline, you’ll get almost 24/7 uptime thanks to Tier 3 data centers located in the Europe and Americas.
Resource Efficiency: You don’t share hardware resources, like CPU, RAM, network bandwidth, storage, etc., with other clients.
Backup and DDoS Protection: Most standard VDS providers offer DDoS protection to safeguard your hosted apps and websites from hackers. Also, these servers are often backed up and hosted from multiple sites to provide seamless access even during natural calamities.

Choosing the Right VDS Hosting Plan

Here’s a simple workflow you can follow to pick an appropriate VDS hosting solution:

Evaluate Your Resource Needs: Assess your CPU, RAM, storage, and bandwidth requirements for the website, app, or database you want to host. Also, consider the daily traffic you’re expecting.
Check Scalability Options: Choose a provider, like Hostline that offers flexible plans, so you can easily upgrade resources as your business grows or traffic spikes.
Prioritize Uptime and Reliability: Look for a VDS hosting provider with a strong uptime guarantee of 99.9% or higher.
Consider Security Features: Don’t overlook the standard security features, like physical security of data centers, CCTV monitoring of server cabinets, DDoS protection, regular backups, firewalls, etc.

Buying and Setting Up a VDS Server

Ordering your VDS from Hostline is super easy. Here’s a simple step-by-step guide:

Visit the Linux Servers or Windows Servers portal of Hostline.
Click Choose to go to the data center selection panel.
You can choose from five top data center locations with Tier 3 data centers, like Vilnius, New York, London, Amsterdam, and Hong Kong.
Choose a VDS configuration, like Linux VDS C4, Linux VDS C8, etc.
Click Order.
Now, select a billing cycle and OS on the next screen.
Click Continue on the Order Summary card to proceed to the checkout page.
If you’re unsure of the VDS specifications you need, click Configure for the On Demand option.
Enter your name, email address, and a description of your needs so Hostline VDS experts can suggest the best configuration for your Virtual Dedicated Server hosting plan.

VDS Hosting: Best Use Cases

Here are some top use cases where you can utilize your VDS subscription:

High-Traffic E-Commerce Websites

If you own an e-commerce website, you should host it on a Virtual Dedicated Server. This solution specifically comes in handy to scale up server capabilities during peak seasons, like Black Friday or Cyber Monday. With dedicated resources, your business can ensure fast loading times, improved site performance, and a seamless shopping experience, which is crucial to converting visitors to customers.

Custom Software Development

If your company develops custom applications you can leverage VDS hosting to create isolated environments for testing and staging. This setup allows your developers to experiment with new features without affecting the live application. Also, a VDS supports multiple environments on the same server for various stages of app development, testing, and production.

The image shows a person working at a desk, typing on a keyboard, with a focus on their hands. The individual is writing or editing code displayed on two monitors in front of them. The screen content suggests software development or programming, featuring lines of code in a dark-themed code editor. A pen holder with various writing instruments is also visible on the desk, adding a casual office or home office setting to the scene.

Game Hosting

Online multiplayer games require extremely low latency and high performance. Hence, online gaming companies use Virtual Dedicated Server hosting solutions to host and manage online games. Also, game developers can easily scale up or down their VDS resources as traffic increases or decreases.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Virtual Dedicated Server (VDS)?

A Virtual Dedicated Server (VDS) is a web hosting solution that creates a virtual server with dedicated resources on a physical server. The configuration is based on user-specified requirements, providing full control to the user for hosting applications, and websites, running databases, setting up email servers, and so on.

What are the benefits of using VDS hosting?

With a VDS subscription, like Hostline Windows servers, you get a dedicated multi-core vCPU, RAM or memory, high-speed NVMe storage, IP address, internet bandwidth, per month traffic quota, and a server operating system of your choice. VDS providers like Hostline isolate your VDS unit from the rest of its users so your business websites or apps can get priority traffic. A VDS also ensures better security compared to shared hosting.

What are Virtual Dedicated Servers used for?

Your business mostly needs a VDS subscription if you’re planning to host high-traffic websites, web apps, CRMs, ERPs, and databases. Also, you might want to run complex and resource-intensive cloud apps or manage critical business systems on the cloud for remote and hybrid employees, as well as global users.

Why do you need a virtual dedicated server hosting plan?

If you don’t want to invest the bulk of your startup funding in setting up and maintaining dedicated on-premise server infrastructure you need a virtual dedicated server hosting subscription. Not to mention, by opting for cloud-based Linux or Windows server solutions, you can free yourself from unproductive technical responsibilities and focus on inviting investors, marketing services or products, and sales.

How do I choose between VDS and dedicated servers?

You should order a VDS if you’re a growing business, looking for affordability, flexibility, and scalability. On the contrary, if you’re an established company looking for global-scale applications hosting or enterprise workloads, you should go for dedicated servers. An entry-level Linux VDS server will cost you about 18.00 €/month whereas a basic NVMe dedicated server would cost 157.00 €/month.

What is cloud VDS?

A cloud VDS is a web hosting solution that brings the benefits of VDS and cloud infrastructure under one umbrella. It gives you flexibility, scalability, affordability, dedicated hardware resources, and 24/7 global access to apps and websites.

How can I buy a VDS server?

You can visit Hostline and hover your mouse cursor over the Cloud VDS/VPS menu at the top of the website. You’ll see three options for the best VDS offerings: Linux Servers, Windows Servers, and Forex VPS. Choose any of these to find a set of preconfigured VDS units or the option to customize a cloud VDS.