VPS Hosting Providers
Due to the vast growth of the internet in general, during the past two decades, today, the average internet user, gets to choose between a huge number of web hosting providers. This, of course, has its good and bad sides. The good side is that the cost for a standard web hosting service has shrined, due to the large number of companies competing on the market. The bad side is that choosing a good and reliable web hosting service has become an extremely hard thing to do. Therefore, the most common, web hosting related question today is- "How to choose a web hosting company?"
There are several things to look for, in a web hosting service- price, reliability, features and company experience. Since this article concentrates on the virtual private hosting, let's have a closer look at how those criteria apply, when choosing the right Virtual Private Server provider.
Choosing the right Virtual Private Server
The first, and most important, thing is to know that VPS services are not always alike. The different companies often have different offers, especially in terms of features and service flexibility. This is mostly due to the fact that the different providers use different systems and even more often because they have different marketing strategies. In any case, one must be aware of the 4 things that are different in a service, when provided by different companies:
Control panel
It is important to remember that a web hosting control panel is no always included in the VPS hosting package. In fact, most providers offer that feature as an optional service. When a virtual server does not have a control panel installed on it, then the user will have to manage it by using only commands, typed in manually through an SSH console. That, of course, requires a certain level of knowledge in programming, therefore, it can be quite hard for a beginner. The type of control panel is also a matter. The most common web hosting control panels are the cPanel, the DirectAdmin and Plesk, however, these programs require a paid license, therefore are rarely offered for free by the web hosting providers. Some companies, such as NTCHosting.com, have even developed their own control panel software, so that they may offer that service for free with their web hosting packages.
Web hosting features
When it comes to VPS hosting, it has to be clear that there cannot be any "unlimited" features, especially when it comes to disk space and bandwidth. In fact, there isn't a web hosting service that can truly offer such an unlimited feature, since it's practically impossible to have unlimited disk space for 40 USD/year, for instance, however, when it comes to virtual private servers, such a thing is simply absurd. Therefore, when a company offers an unlimited feature in their VPS packages, then know that this is either a case of overselling (which is fine if done properly by an experienced company), or it's simply a fraud. It is important to be extremely careful when dealing with "unlimited" packages. A proper investigation of the company's background is highly recommended, before proceeding in placing the order.
Operating system
There are two main operating systems that are usually offered with virtual server packages- Windows and Linux. The user should be aware of what operating system he will need, since switching the OS once the server is active is rarely an option. Unlike in personal computers, Linux is the preferred OS for web hosting servers, since it allows more freedom is configuring the server itself. It also allows for better security, considering the fact that you can change literary everything. Moreover, 90% of the computer viruses are written for Windows operating systems. On the other hand, Windows servers allow the usage of Microsoft supported script languages, such as ASP and .NETframework. No matter what, however, Linux is still the recommended OS.
Pricing
In order to avoid getting scammed, one should look carefully at the pricing that the company has for its services. As in life, every extreme is bad, therefore, avoid companies whose prices are too low, or too high, since it's almost certain that you will be dealing with a scam. There isn't a serious company that will set their services at a low price, since that won't allow them to provider proper support and server stability. On the other hand, they cannot set their prices too high as well, since that way they won't be able to compete on the market. Therefore, know that an experienced company will always have their prices somewhere in the middle. In fact, the pricing is almost the same, between the most experienced providers. The difference comes from the features of the packages, as explained above.