Virtual Private Servers - The Pros and Cons?

[Bec]

I'm seeing a lot of ads for Virtual Private Servers at some very tempting prices. Just what would be the pros and cons of using one for adult websites vs a dedicated server setup?

[Lee]

We still have a couple of virtual servers for really small projects, the major pro is that they are extremely cost effective, the major con however is that being virtual, you really have no say about who is hosting on that server with you and you could potentially get blacklisted in the engines.

Regards,

Lee

[HunkyLuke]

virtual servers is when a host sets up one big server and then uses virtualization software to slice it into smaller chunks. The pros are that its a lot cheaper and its safer than shared hosting as the virtualization does add a layer of protection. The cons are all the usual stuff when you are sharing a server, like you are sharing your processing power, ram, disk activity, ip address, etc...which can cause issues if the other sites on the same server are disk or processor intensive or are running unsecure scripts.

Overall, virtual servers are better than shared hosting but not as good as dedicated hosting.

[jIgG]

a good VPS will have a good amount of ram, at least 1 unique ip, and allow you to burst CPU/RAM and take advantage of the unused resources

the negative is that if you're in a lower plan and run scripts the guaranteed ram might not be enough and then you start having problems

i'm have a VPS and pretty happy with it save for what I think is Wordpress fucking with the MYSQL database and taking it down because of shoddy plugins

i also get 4 ips, and am on a server with 8CPUs or two quad core Xeons not sure, and I think they have 32GB ram total, guaranteed ram depends on the plan

[Bec]

jIgG - Would a unique IP sidestep the "blacklisting by association" mentioned by Lee?

[Bec]

Overall, virtual servers are better than shared hosting but not as good as dedicated hosting.

So would that be a better way to say host blogs, freesites, etc, vs using virtual shared hosting on one of those inexpensive "unlimited" hosting accounts?

[jIgG]

jIgG - Would a unique IP sidestep the "blacklisting by association" mentioned by Lee?

yeah

the ip or ips you're given work in the same way as a dedicated server. you can have your own nameservers too, or use the host's though some insist you use your own if you have VPS

with the VPS i get to whine when mysql bombs and they check it out or reboot me if i can't, with a dedicated you have to get it managed if you want extra help or do it yourself