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Virtual Personal Servers

Virtual Personal Servers are essentially a private server loaded onto a common server. While this may sound odd, it is actually a very simple concept that is quite easy to grasp. The virtual server is really a unique computer program that handles all of the information and actions for your website. The software will be unique to your website and will only be set up to handle information for you. In this way, the software acts as your unique server space. However, the software is installed on a set of communal server hardware components. This is the part that gets confusing for most people. However, the distinction between unique server hardware and unique server programming is an important one to understand.

A unique piece of server hardware will still require software to operate. Most communal servers use one piece of equipment and one piece of software to store the information for a number of sites. A virtual personal server uses one piece of hardware and a unique piece of software for each user. This means that each user can get the security and performance that comes with having your own individual server without paying the extra price. This is a key part of why so many people are starting to use virtual personal servers. Buying space on your own individual server used to be much more expensive than getting a standard server plan on a communal server. Now, it's possible to get the same performance you would expect from an individual server while not paying the higher premiums. This has made personal servers much more accessible to the average site owner.


Why is a virtual personal server less expensive?

There are a lot of different factors that go into deciding the cost of server space. These factors will vary from provider to provider. However, there are a number of general reasons for why a virtual personal server is often much less expensive than a physical virtual server.

  • Less Necessary Hardware. This is the most obvious reason for why virtual server space is less expensive than having a physical personal server. Fewer physical servers are required for a service like this and this cuts down on the overhead costs of your provider. These lower operational costs get passed on to you in the form of more competitive prices.
  • Less Necessary Energy. If a company has to have many servers running at once, then their electricity bill skyrockets. It's really that simple. If they spend less on utilities, then they are able to offer a lower price to their customers.
  • Simplicity. Using a few virtual personal servers instead of a large amount of physical servers cuts down on the amount of personnel it takes to keep things running smoothly.
Is a virtual personal server as secure as a physical server?

This will depend entirely on the security protocols that are utilized by your provider. If the appropriate security measures are in place, then there is no reason for a virtual server to be any less secure than a physical one. Since less physical space is required for virtual servers, it is actually much easier to identify and deal with security threats to virtual servers.