Internet access is so widespread these days that most of us take it for granted, at least to a certain extent. Not that we are unaware of the monthly bills associated with broadband or wireless Internet access, but rarely do we consider all the underlying infrastructure that allows us to check Facebook or send a Tweet. That infrastructure, however, is integral to the existence of the Internet as we know it, and coincidentally is responsible for a large portion of our Internet bills. Some of the most crucial pieces of the Internet technology puzzle are web hosting servers, in all their various iterations.
If you've landed on this page, chances are you're looking for information about Windows based virtual private server hosting plans. These plans are some of the most popular available, and for good reason. If you're new to the world of web hosting, however, the terminology and jargon may be a bit overwhelming. Below we'll cover the basics and decide if Windows VPS hosting is right for you.
First let's tackle the operating system part of that question, and then we'll look at why Virtual Private Servers (VPS) are so popular. Every web server resembles a personal computer insofar as it requires a set of instructions that tell its hardware how to operate. Those instructions are called the operating system, and just as there is vigorous debate over which one is best for personal computing, there is no clear consensus on which is superior in web server applications. The two main contenders are Windows Server and Linux. Both are widely used in web hosting, both have enthusiastic fans, and both have a long track record of successfully running web servers. Some hosting customers choose one or the other just because they are used to it and don't want to learn a new OS. Many webmasters realize that for small blogs and websites, the operating system on their server doesn't actually matter very much, so they go with whatever their chosen hosting provider uses. It's up to you to decide if you really need to demand one OS over the other, but chances are you don't.
When it comes to the "level" of hosting plan you choose, however, nearly all webmasters can appreciate the benefits of VPS based hosting. VPS is popular because it delivers the features, control and flexibility of dedicated hosting at prices that are closer to shared plans. It accomplishes this by sharing the resources of a physical web server among many webmasters while allowing them all to treat their virtual server as if it were a separate physical machine. This is done using a process called virtualization. The details of how virtualization works are too technical to get in to here, but it's a fascinating subject, and it's no exaggeration to say that VPS has revolutionized the world of online hosting. It represents a best-of-both-worlds solution, and VPS plans are used to host more websites than any other web server resource allocation scheme.
If your website uses specific programming languages like Visual Basic, .NET, ASP, ASP.NET, or is built using Microsoft FrontPage, chances are it will run better on a Windows server. Otherwise, I wouldn't worry about the issue of which operating system is superior. But when either OS is combined with cost-effective virtual private server hosting, the result is a near perfect web host. So peruse our Windows VPS hosting plans, there's one with your name on it!