VPS hosting has become a popular middle-ground between shared and dedicated servers, providing greater control and dedicated resources compared to shared hosting while being more affordable than dedicated servers.
This article explores six of the most common use cases that are taking advantage of VPS for hosting capabilities – from web hosting, application, and gaming servers to business systems like email, VoIP, and VPN servers.
What is VPS Hosting?
Virtual Private Server hosting utilizes virtualization software to divide a physical server into several isolated virtual servers. Each virtual private server gets allocated dedicated CPU cores, RAM, storage, and bandwidth as per the configured specifications.
VPS works as the gap between shared hosting and dedicated hosting, providing greater control and flexibility compared to other hosting while being more affordable than dedicated hosting. The fastest VPS hosting offers high performance through allocated resources and enterprise-grade hardware.
Uses of VPS Hosting
Here are 6 of the most popular ways businesses are using VPS hosting.
Website Hosting
One of the most common VPS uses is to host websites and web applications. A VPS provides a reliable and scalable environment for sites built on CMS like WordPress or web apps built using platforms like Node.js.
Here are some VPS benefits for web hosting include:
- Dedicated Resources – Each VPS gets allocated CPU, RAM, storage, etc., based on the chosen configuration. This ensures consistent performance under changing traffic loads.
- Root Access – With full root access, VPS plans let you customize the server setup for your application.
- Scalability – Adding more RAM or CPU cores to handle growing traffic is a simple and fast process with most good VPS providers.
- Cost Savings – A VPS costs considerably less than dedicated hosting for the same capabilities. The pricing model is pay-as-you-grow, allowing you to scale up incrementally.
With a well-configured VPS, you can handle thousands of daily visitors while ensuring maximum uptime and performance for your sites.
Application Servers
VPS hosting is great for running server-side applications and microservices. Programming languages like Python, Ruby, Java, etc., are commonly used to build the backend and API layers of modern web and mobile apps. These server-side processes have memory and CPU-intensive workloads that need consistent performance.
Using a VPS provides predictable resource allocation for your app’s components, leading to the following:
- Smooth handling of traffic spikes
- Ability to tweak OS-level settings as needed
- Horizontally scaling out by adding more application server VPS instances
So whether you are deploying a REST API, setting up a Queue management system, or building a real-time application – a properly configured VPS can provide the foundation.
Gaming Servers
Running multiplayer game servers is another suitable use case for VPS hosting. Games like Minecraft, CounterStrike, Call of Duty, etc, have native server executables that can be installed on a VPS.
Benefits of using a VPS include:
- Ability to handle a large number of concurrent gamers
- Persistent game worlds with continuous uptime
- Full control for installing game mods and add-ons
- Options for private/public game servers
With robust DDoS protection and high network throughput, your gaming server can provide a lag-free experience even under load. You can even resell access to cover your hosting costs.
Email Servers
Business email continues to remain a critical communication channel. While you can easily get email accounts from your shared web hosting provider, there are some good reasons to have email hosted on a separate VPS:
- Dedicated IP Address – This reduces the chances of deliverability issues due to IP being flagged for spam sent by other users on shared IP.
- Customization – You can fine-tune email server settings as per business needs for security, redundancy, etc.
- Scalability – Scale up storage and computing power easily whenever you need to accommodate more mailboxes and data.
A VPS-based email server can provide greater reliability and control over this key business system.
VPN Servers
Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) have become an essential internet security tool for both individuals and organizations. While paid VPN services work well, self-hosting your own VPN server has some compelling benefits:
- Complete data privacy as you control the whole stack
- Ability to use custom VPN protocols if needed
- Wider choice of server locations to connect from
- Extra layers of security as per internal policies
VPS hosting plan provides the flexibility to set up and manage OpenVPN, WireGuard, and other custom VPN solutions cost-effectively. You retain full control while still leveraging enterprise-grade hosting infrastructure.
VoIP Servers
If voice and video communication are vital parts of your business, you can leverage a VPS to build a custom VoIP solution using open-source software like Asterisk, FreeSWITCH, etc.
Some advantages over paid VoIP providers include:
- Greater flexibility to integrate VoIP with your existing phone system
- Additional call routing logic as per business workflows
- Lower costs as you expand the number of extensions
- IP PBX capabilities like IVR system, voicemail, etc
By hosting the VoIP server on a VPS, you ensure the reliable real-time connectivity needed for crystal clear call quality even with multiple simultaneous uses.
How To Pick The Right VPS Host?
When choosing a VPS hosting provider, key factors to consider include server configuration options, scalability of resources, uptime guarantee, support responsiveness, security measures, and costs.
Analyze your application’s server needs and shortlist providers that offer optimal virtual machine specifications aligned to those needs.
Customer reviews should cover the flexibility, performance, and reliability of cheap VPS hosting plans. Lastly, confirm suitable budget plans are available to sustain long-term growth.
Conclusion
VPS hosting services offer the advantages of both dedicated and shared hosting, bridging the divide between the two. The isolated virtual environment, dedicated resources, and root access provide the perfect foundation for a wide variety of applications – both for personal use and business scenarios.
With capabilities matching that of dedicated web hosting at lower costs, they are undoubtedly the go-to option for any mid to large website and most server applications. Their flexibility and scalability make VPS hosting perfectly suited for the dynamic demands of the modern internet era.
