Shabnoor
Votes: 0Posted On: Jul 10, 2017 06:34:23
To understand the difference between dedicated servers and virtual private servers, we have to understand what the terms "dedicated" and "virtual" mean. A server is an ensemble of hardware and software designed for a specific purpose. When you buy a server for a specific purpose, let's say web hosting, you require certain specifications of that server. The term "dedicated" implies that when you buy a server, you and only you can utilize all of its resources(like RAM, storage, processor etc.). On the other hand, "virtual" server implies that you are given a part of the server resources as per your requirement. Note that there is one physical server on which the different virtual servers are hosted. This is done with the help of virtualization. The owner of the VPS perceives the server as their own dedicated server. Hence, the term "virtual private server" is coined.
Here are some of the comparisons of dedicated and virtual private server based on price, performance and capacity.
Price
It is obvious that the dedicated servers cost a lot more than the virtual private servers. Theoretically, the VPS is a small section of a physical server, the costs are decided by the portion of the server you avail. on the other hand, dedicated servers are provided entirely to you. Hence, you pat as per the specifications of the server(processor, RAM, hard disk etc.).
Performance
You would think that dedicated servers would perform much more efficiently than Virtual Private Servers. This is not entirely true. Actually, it depends on the activity you are performing on the servers. If the resources used by the activity or application running on the servers can be accommodated by the VPS, then the VPS and the dedicated servers would have the same performance. Therefore, for applications using minimal resources, people prefer vps over dedicated servers. However, some applications depend on the entire resources available to itself. For such applications, dedicated servers provide optimum performance.
Scalability
The term scalability refers to the feature of a server where you need to upgrade its specifications in accordance with your requirement. The dedicated servers win hands down in the field of scalability. Since the entire server is provided with you, you can change or replace any of its hardware components as your requirements change. On the other hand, VPS is a part of a server and to change its specifications means to create a new vps entirely. It is not impossible but a very tedious task.
Hence, the choice of dedicated server or VPS completely depends on your requirement and the price vs performance evaluation. It should give you optimum performance but also suit your budget.