How to choose the best Joomla VPS Hosting?

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The usage of a Virtual Private Server (VPS) is getting more popular every day. The price of a VPS is relatively low these days and the freedom of configuration and access to the server is a real blast. There are some things to keep in mind though.

What is a VPS?

A VPS (Virtual Private Server) is a virtual machine that runs on special hardware capable of running more than one virtual machine. On that virtual machine almost any Operating System can be installed. Most likely that’ll be a Linux distribution like Debian or a Windows Server version. In this blog I’ll assume Linux is used as server OS (where applicable).

Scalability

Since it’s a virtual machine, adding more RAM or CPUs to it is really easy for the hosting provider. Unlike with a physical server, they don’t have to actually be near the machine, shut it down and install the new RAM. Instead, they can just make a few clicks and reboot your machine and you’ll have more RAM (and probably a larger bill at the end of the month). This way you can start with a light server (and therefor probably a light bill as well) and expand it as your site grows.

Full access

Perhaps even better than the ease of upgrading: you’ll have full access to the server! That means no more restrictions from your hosting provider on which PHP version you can run or whether PHP’s Safe Mode is on or off. With a VPS you can also connect to your server via SSH and install or remove software, change settings in the php.ini file, fix permissions to files and folders, and do a million of other things (like messing up the system, so don’t forget to backup).

Not shared

Another advantage is that you don’t share your server with other people, unlike what happens on a shared server. This is far more secure, because having people on the same server would potentially enable them to access your files. Keep in mind though that the virtual machine is running on hardware where other virtual machines are running on as well. Depending on the hardware used by the hosting provider this could cause trouble. With the wrong hardware and software installed, hackers could break into another site (that is less secure than yours) on the same physical server that you’re on and use that site as a platform to break into yours.

Hosting providers

As you’ll probably already know, there are quite some differences between hosting providers. For example: the hardware and software used to run the virtual machines on can be different. Some hosting providers will simply have invested more money and effort in their hardware and software than others. Even though this is likely to result in a more expensive bill as well, you’ll probably get some nice features for it in return such as:

• A fully redundant platform that doesn’t have a single point of failure
• ‘Bare metal virtualisation’, which means you have a fully isolated VPS that’s more secure as it can’t be accessed by another VPS running on the same hardware. Even if the node (the physical server) is hacked, your VPS can’t be accessed
• Guaranteed amount of RAM and processor power so you can be sure that you can use the hardware when you need it
• Better storage capabilities that decrease the risk of data loss and is faster than a normal hard disk
• Guaranteed isolation of your virtual private server which prevents your server being accessed by another one (for example by using a hack)
• More frequent backups of your data

Because the services, software, hardware, service, up-time etc. can be so different for each of the hosting providers, we’d suggest you to create a list of requirements for your VPS server. With this list in mind, you can contact several hosting providers and see what they can offer you. Because VPS is considerably more expensive than shared hosting, the providers are more likely to cut you a nice deal in order to haul you in as a client.

Things to keep in mind

You’ll have to ask yourself some questions before leasing a VPS. For example, which Linux distribution am I going to use? Do I need a server control panel like PLESK, DirectAdmin or cPanel and what are the extra costs? Do I have enough Linux knowledge to manage a server? Do I really need a VPS (a VPS doesn’t necessarily mean your site runs faster)?

Managed VPS

If you don’t have (enough) experience in managing a server yourself then you could go for a so called ‘managed VPS’. With a managed VPS the hosting provider will do more activities for you like keeping the server up to date, installing new software, adding PHP modules and making backups. Be sure to review your contract with the hosting company to see what activities are – and what activities aren’t – covered by your ‘managed’ VPS in order to avoid unexpected high bills at the end of the month.

In short: always compare hosting providers and don’t just go for the cheapest one. Run some searches on Google as well to see if there are any complaints with the company and what others say about them.

Feel free to share your experiences with VPS in the comments below!

Author: FinishJoomla