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Many users often confuse VDS and VPS. It may seem as if these are two different concepts. In this article, we will explain what VDS and VPS are, and explore one more similar service – cloud infrastructure.

What is the difference between VDS and VPS?

Since the names are different, those who are not familiar with IT technologies may think that VDS and VPS are also different services. It is not exactly true. These abbreviations mean, respectively, Virtual Dedicated Server and Virtual Private Server. Both mean the same thing – allocation of a part of physical hardware resources. The client gets a virtual machine (VM) that is isolated from the others.

They differ in the virtualization method. In the case of VPS, it is virtualization at the OS level, while VDS is hardware virtualization. However, for the end-user, it does not matter.

Working principles and features

The concept of VDS/VPS is that the provider divides the capacity of physical hardware into multiple parts and rents each of them out to customers. The client receives a complete analog of a physical server with the necessary configuration. He can configure it, install applications, grant access, and perform other actions.

Although resources for multiple virtual machines are taken from the same physical server, the owners of neighboring VMs cannot access each other’s data. However, this does not mean that there is no impact at all. If one or more clients use all of their allocated capacity, the overall performance can be negatively affected. In addition, some unfair providers, hoping that customers will not fully load their virtual servers, sell more resources than the hardware allows.

VDS/VPS vs. shared hosting

In shared hosting, multiple sites are hosted on the same server, and all utilize the same software. This option is more cost-effective, but there are some drawbacks.

The main one is that neighbors are not isolated from each other. This directly affects the performance. Moreover, shared hosting sites have the same IP address. In turn, VDS/VPS, as mentioned above, provides isolated machines.

The virtual dedicated server grants the owner administrative rights, allowing for advanced infrastructure configuration and the installation of necessary software. Besides, clients can create any number of sites, domain zones, etc. The only limitation is VM resources.

VDS/VPS vs. a physical dedicated server

A dedicated server is a physical machine that is either owned by a company or rented. For example, a client can rent such a machine for a project.

Compared to VDS/VPS, physical machines are more expensive, especially if you have to buy equipment. With significant capital investment, you will get an infrastructure where the majority of the resources will be idle.

A virtual server is also easier to scale. To get more RAM and CPUs, you change the tariff. With the standard hardware, this is not that easy.

On the other hand, a physical server is entirely dedicated to you and your processes, while with VDS/VPS, you share the resources with other users. That is, if some users overuse the capacity, others will not get enough.

What is the cloud, and why is it better

Another solution is cloud technology. In many ways, a cloud server works similarly to VDS – this is also virtual resources for rent, but with significant exceptions.

While a VDS/VPS is just a conditional “piece of the pie”, in the cloud, client resources are not assigned to one particular physical server. A cloud provider utilizes a significant amount of equipment, the capacity of which is connected to a single pool, from which the necessary resources are allocated to the client.

The advantage of cloud solutions is that “neighboring” VMs are not simply isolated from each other; they never affect the performance of others. The capacities are automatically allocated so that users always get the necessary amount of resources.

Additionally, clouds enable scaling up or down according to demand. To handle the increasing growth, you can add resources with just a few clicks. And you only pay for the resources consumed.

The only disadvantage compared to VDS/VPS is a higher service cost. For some simple and less demanding tasks, it might be worth using a dedicated server. However, for building a reliable infrastructure, we recommend choosing the cloud.

What is a public cloud (IAAS)

Public cloud is a service model that provides shared access to remote computing resources (apps, services, data transfer networks, servers, storage, etc.) via the Internet on demand. Typically, clouds are based on professional, Enterprise-class equipment and specialized software. All servers and network equipment from the cloud provider are integrated into the entire resource pool. The computing power of this pool is dynamically distributed among consumers based on their requests.

Operations of a cloud user do not depend on a particular hardware device, such as disk arrays, a server, a switch, and so on. If any of the cloud components fail, redundant devices will duplicate their functionality in real-time, and the load will be balanced within the cloud. The user will not notice this, as their operation in the cloud is not interrupted.

The Infrastructure-as-a-Service model, IaaS, allows users to choose the equipment configuration, build the virtual network via the intuitive management panel, and install all necessary OSs and apps. Virtual network devices can be configured, disconnected, and reconnected to the network just as easily as they can to the on-premises hardware in the customer’s office.

Flexibility is a unique advantage of IaaS because the customer can quickly and conveniently scale their virtual infrastructure on demand, without relying on the cloud provider’s participation. Access from anywhere around the clock (sure, if you are connected to the Internet) enables the customer to scale up or down cloud resources if necessary. It is the critical value for those clients who need scalability, reliability, and productivity.