3 Things You Still Share on a VPS

VPS hosting is often marketed as an ‘insulated’ hosting solution.

But there are some things that you still share with your neighbours.

In this article, we’ll look at the potential risks of VPS hosting when compared to a dedicated server.

VPS vs Shared

First, let’s backtrack and look at the main reasons for upgrading from shared hosting.

Often, people want to get away from bad neighbours – resource hogs on the same machine.

VPS hosting tends to get around this because the server resources are strictly separated and have their own caps and limits.

But this doesn’t eliminate the bad neighbour problem completely.

Here’s what’s still shared.

1. Your Site’s Security

On a VPS, you’re separated from other accounts by a software ‘wall’.

This can never be as secure as a complete physical separation.

2. Network Resources

VPS accounts don’t throttle incoming and outgoing bandwidth. This is rarely seen as necessary; spikes are generally brief and don’t have much of an impact.

But in rare cases, one account can become a resource hog.

Network resources are always finite, so this is always a risk you’ll have to take with a VPS account.

3. Hard Drive Access

Server hard drives are usually larger and faster than those in personal machines, but all of the accounts on the server might want to read and write to disk at the same time. That could cause problems if the server’s not well specced.

If you know your site’s vulnerable, a dedicated server is probably a safer option.

Is VPS Hosting Still Worth Buying?

VPS hosting is a definite upgrade from a shared server, and most of the problems of shared hosting will be eliminated once you switch.

For the most part, a VPS is still a good investment, but consider making the leap straight to dedicated if you’re concerned about having to deal with more bad neighbours.