The Difference Between The Several Types Of Web Servers
Published by Fred at June 15th, 2009Starting up a website requires that you meet certain prerequisites. One such act is getting a web server in which to store the files that will allow you to share your thoughts, ideas, or products with others. You will soon see that there are several types of servers in which to buy, making the process a bit more complicated than anticipated.
Just starting out as a webmaster probably puts you in the shared hosting category. Shared hosting is best for websites that don’t need a lot of system resources to function. Even some medium-sized websites won’t require an upgrade if you find the right shared hosting package. The only problem is that you can’t edit the server according to your liking, and reliability could prove to be a problem.
Some applications will demand you have more access to your server than what a shared hosting server allows. In that case a Virtual Private Server, or VPS, is a small upgrade that isn’t going to require you to pay too much more money each period. If you have your own dedicated server, you may even consider sanctioning a portion of your system resources to a VPS so that you can run a different operating system.
Prices in dedicated servers have come down dramatically. It’s now possible to get a managed dedicated server plan for $100 or less. The more options and performance you expect from the machine equates into much higher expense. You can easily shell out thousands of dollars each month for such servers, although odd are you won’t need to worry about that any time soon.
Some web hosts also offer something called a reseller hosting plan. Don’t be confused, technically every server type could be a reseller hosting plan. You are granted access to a Web Host Manager, or WHM, that allows you to allot different accounts to different limits of bandwidth and disk space usage. It’s unlikely to see such a thing on shared environments, but VPS and dedicated servers will often have this by default.
There are exceptions to the rules in each case. You can have a dedicated server that is running subpar hardware, and you can even obtain it at a price in the neighborhood of what you would pay for a virtual private server. In the same manner of speaking, you are able to obtain a virtual private server with a heap of RAM and CPU power that allows you to get managed support with the power of a dedicated server for no extra cost.
In Conclusion
Picking a web server isn’t hard at all. If you are just starting out, odds are shared hosting is just fine. Just make sure you allow yourself room to grow and be wary of signing leases until you know what you need.
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