What is Windows VPS

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What is Windows VPS?

A Windows VPS is a Virtual Private Server for Windows that lets you host your domains without relying on dedicated hosting from shared servers. Windows VPS divides physical servers into virtual servers using server virtualization and provides root access to its users so that each of them can work independently.

Here’s why you should use a Windows VPS:

1. Customized Operating Systems and API: Unlike in shared servers where you are restricted to the Operating System the shared server deploys at a particular time, Windows VPS hosting allows you to choose and switch Operating Systems at will.
2. Enhanced Security: Because each website uses a private server, the Windows VPS ensures greater security of the information of website users than in shared servers or dedicated hosting.
   Also, Windows VPS hosting offers one or more security enhancements such as IPv6 and DDOS protection to ensure that the data of your website users are protected.
3. User-friendly Interface: Window VPS hosting services offer a user-friendly interface. If you are already familiar with Windows and Microsoft Office, using the VPS will be a walk in the park for you. It also offers database platforms like ASP, SQL that help you create standard websites. You even get to customize your online platform if you wish.
4. Cost-Effective Option: Every website developer reaches a point where they have to expand. Acquiring a Windows VPS will cost a lot less than upgrading your shared server plan or purchasing dedicated hosting service for your websites. Besides, the benefits you enjoy while using a Windows VPS trumps the advantages of dedicated hosting and shared servers. Our VPS hosting starter plan cost as low as $4.99 per month.
5. Greater Control of your websites: Windows VPS offers full root access to its users so they can possess ultimate control on their websites.
6. Regular Backups: Windows VPS backups data daily, so you are assured that you will not lose website data.
7. Increased Website Performance: Unlike with shared servers, each website developer works with a personal server. So, websites that operate using Windows VPS spend less time loading or approving user actions.

A guide to all the Cheap VPS

A lot of people assume that cheap items often offer substandard quality. However, this is not always the case. That said, here are the most affordable VPS providers with excellent service:

1. Bluehost

The Bluehost VPS is a great choice for both beginner and experienced webmasters. It has a range of features such as:

• Server Virtualization
• WebHost manager with full root access
• CentOs for people who use Linux OS
• 1TB-2TB of bandwidth

Most on the payment plans on the Bluehost VPS are competitive and reliable. The cheapest payment plan, the Standard plan, costs as low as $18.99. Other plans, the Enhanced and Ultimate plans, are priced at $29.99 and $59.99 respectively.

The pricing for Enhanced and Ultimate plans are very competitive. However, the price for the Standard package is a little too expensive, considering it was designed for beginner web developers. Also, the bandwidth offered to advanced webmasters (2-3TB) in the Enhanced and Ultimate plans may be insufficient.

2. InMotion Hosting

Compared to the rest of the VPS on this list, this VPS is a little expensive. Its basic plan costs $36.34. However, in relation to most VPS on the market, the prices of InMotion plans are quite competitive.

For a cheap VPS, the features InMotion offers are exceptional. The VPScomes with CPU cores, full root access, live chat support and free backups. That said, the InMotion VPS is an excellent choice for large websites.

Other features of this VPS include:

• Centos for Linux servers
• Server Virtualization
• 4TB -6TB plans.

The monthly payment plans are:

• VPS 1000 HA-S: $36.34
• VPS 2000 HA-S: $57.84
• VPS 3000 HA-S:$84.64

While this VPS works for large websites, it is not the best choice of VPS for small websites due to its complexity and relatively expensive cost.

3. DreamHost

DreamHost is another cheap VPS with low prices. It is most suitable for webmasters who are willing to compromise on essential VPS features for the lowest prices. The basic plan for the DreamHost VPS costs just $10. Despite its low prices, this VPS is one of the few servers that provide unlimited bandwidth to its users.

Its features are:

• Custom control panel
• Server virtualization
• Unlimited bandwidth
• Adaptability to the Ubuntu Operating System

Payment plans

• VPS Basic -$10
• VPS Business- $20
• VPS Professional- $40
• VPS Enterprise- $80

This VPS has a few shortcomings. The server lacks root access. In addition, users may find it difficult contacting the admin for help because the DreamHost VPS does not offer live chat support.

4. Digital Ocean

This VPS charges at hourly rates instead of monthly rates. So, it is a convenient choice for both developers and newbies. The cheapest plan on this VPS is $0.007 per hour, which sums up to $4.71 per month.

The features of this VPS are:

• A variety of control panels to choose from
• Adaptability to a wide range of Operating systems
• 1TB-12TB of bandwidth

Overall Monthly Costs

Because the hours a web developer spends running the server may vary from day to day, it might be difficult to allocate a monthly budget for VPS billings.

5. A2 Hosting

Like Digital Ocean, the plans on A2 Hosting are more expensive than most VPS in this guide. Its cheapest plan costs $25. Nevertheless, the price is still reasonable.

To compensate for its relatively high costs, A2 Hosting offers excellent customer service, root access and free backups.

Features

• Server virtualization
• Adaptability to a variety of Operating Systems, from which you can switch at will
• 2TB bandwidth
• Web Host manager
• Root access
• World-class support

Pricing Plans

The A2Hosting has one flaw. It supplies less bandwidth than its rivals. Even if you purchase the most expensive plan, you still won’t enjoy more than 2TB of bandwidth.

Our Windows VPS hosting plans are just as cheap as the VPS hosting services in this category. Also, we offer several benefits, like root access, that is absent in some of these hosting services.

How to Get Cheap VPS Windows Hosting

Most VPS hosting services only offer Linux-based plans. It takes extra effort to find a Windows VPS hosting. Our VPS provides all you need to host your website with the Windows software at unbelievable prices. Our server payment plans begin at the cost of $4.99 per month. Regardless of our low pricing, the benefits our server offers are just as reliable as more expensive VPS hosting services. The benefits you enjoy with our VPS include:

1. A large number of OS options and API: The Windows VPS comes with over 100 pre-configured templates for API and Operating System functions, so that you can utilize your server for your personal needs. Unlike shared servers, you enjoy full control over the application or operating system your server works with.
2. Adaptability to several Operating Systems: The Windows VPS works with several Operating Systems, such as Debian, Ubuntu, Arch Linux, and a host of other Operating Systems.
3. Live Backups: You can backup your server while your system is running. You do not need to schedule a downtime for your website domains before you can back up your server.
4. Flexible Billing: There are no billing contracts to keep you confined to using this server. You can quit using the Windows VPS at will without suffering any penalties.
5. Worldwide DDOS Protection: DDOS stands for Distributed Denial of Service. It is a kind of attack on servers that occurs when a network of computers causes traffic and temporarily disrupts the operation of servers.When this happens, webmasters may be unable to run their website domains system with their servers. The Windows VPS offers pre-installed protection to defend your server against DDOS attacks and prevent future network failures.
6. Fast NVMe SSD hosting: Windows VPS use NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory express) SSD hosting, which is 5 times faster, more efficient, and more user-friendly than regular SSD hosting.
7. Easy and Quick Firewall Setup: The Windows VPS lets you set up your firewall quickly within a short period so that you can provide security for your servers.
8. Multi-functional Control Panel: The control panel for the Windows VPS offers a variety of functions which include:
   • Reducing the complexity of administrative tasks on the server
   • Booting and Rebooting of the server
   • Scaling your VPS
   • Full root access to your Virtual Private Server, with all the possible benefits.
   • Billing, payments and referrals on the VPS.

Cheap VPS server plans

We offer 3 payment plans on your Windows VPS:

• Standard
• CPU power-optimized
• Memory-Optimized

Standard package

The standard package is perfect for web developers who require an equal supply of CPU power and Memory. The plans in this section provide similar levels of CPU power and Memory. You get the opportunity to enjoy a 7-day trial before you pay for your VPS plan.There are 12 plans under this package:

• For $4.99, you get 1gb memory, 1 core, 25gb disk, and 1tb transfer.
• For $9.99, you get 2gb memory, 2 cores, 50gb disk, and 2tb transfer.
• For $14.99, you get 3gb memory, 2 cores, 75gb disk, and 3tb transfer.
• For $19.99, you get 4gb memory, 3 cores, 100gb disk, and 4tb transfer.
• For $29.99, you get 6gb memory, 4 cores, 150gb disk, and 5tb transfer.
• For $39.99, you get 8gb memory, 6 cores, 200gb disk, and 6tb transfer.
• For $79.99, you get 16gb memory, 8 cores, 400gb disk, and 7tb transfer.
• For $139.99, you get 24gb memory, 10 cores, 600gb disk, and 8tb transfer.

CPU Optimized Plan:

CPU-optimized plans are most suitable for servers that need additional CPU power. These plans provide huge CPU power and stable CPU performance, but at the expense of the memory capacity of the server. Some of the plans in this package include:

• For $69.99, you enjoy 1gb memory, 1 core, 25gb disk, and 1tb transfer.
• For $139.99, you enjoy 2gb memory, 2 cores, 50gb disk, and 2tb transfer.
• For $159.99, you enjoy 3gb memory, 2 cores, 75gb disk, and 3tb transfer.
• For $219.99, you enjoy 4gb memory, 3 cores, 100gb disk, and 4tb transfer.
• For $279.99, you enjoy 6gb memory, 4 cores, 150gb disk, and 5tb transfer.
• For $419.99, you enjoy 8gb memory, 6 cores, 200gb disk, and 6tb transfer.
• For $559.99, you enjoy 16gb memory, 8 cores, 400gb disk, and 7tb transfer.
• For $699.99, you enjoy 24gb memory, 10 cores, 600gb disk, and 8tb transfer.

Memory-Optimized plan

If your website uses a lot of applications that require large Memory, this is the package for you. The plans offer a lot of Memory and supply other resources in fewer quantities, so you don’t have to acquire the Memory you need at an extra cost. Some of the plans in this category are:

• For $7.49, you get 2gb memory, 1 core, 25gb disk and 1tb transfer.
• For $14.99, you get 4gb memory, 2 cores, 50gb disk, and 2tb transfer.
• For $22.49, you get 6gb memory, 2 cores, 75gb disk, and 3tb transfer.
• For $29.99, you get 8gb memory, 3 cores, 100gb disk, and 4tb transfer.
• For $44.99, you get 12gb memory, 4 cores, 150gb disk, and 5tb transfer.
• For $69.99, you get 16gb memory, 6 cores, 200gb disk, and 6tb transfer.
• For $119.99, you get 32gb memory, 8 cores, 400gb disk, and 7tb transfer.

What is VPS Hosting? All You Need to Know About Virtual Servers

VPS is short for a Virtual Private Server. VPS hosting is one of the most popular hosting services you can choose for your website. It uses virtualization technology to provide you with dedicated (private) resources on a server with multiple users.

It’s a more secure and stable solution than shared hosting where you don’t get a dedicated server space. However, it’s smaller-scale and cheaper than renting an entire server.

VPS hosting is usually chosen by website owners who have medium-level traffic that exceeds the limits of shared hosting plans but still don’t need the resources of a dedicated server.

VPS solutions usually offer more than one hosting plan. For instance, at Hostinger, we have six VPS plans to suit different business needs and let you scale your site seamlessly when you need more resources.

How does VPS hosting work?

A server is a computer on which your web host stores the files and databases needed for your website. Whenever an online visitor wants to access your website, their browser sends a request to your server and it transfers the necessary files through the internet. VPS hosting provides you with a virtual server that simulates a physical server, however, in reality, the machine is shared among several users.

Using virtualization technology, your hosting provider installs a virtual layer on top of the operating system (OS) of the server. This layer divides the server into partitions and allows each user to install their own OS and software.

Therefore, a virtual private server (VPS) is both virtual and private because you have complete control. It is separated from other server users on the OS level. In fact, VPS technology is similar to creating partitions on your own computer when you want to run more than one OS (e.g. Windows and Linux) without a reboot.

Running a VPS lets you set up your website within a secure container with guaranteed resources (memory, disk space, CPU cores, etc.) you don’t have to share with other users. With VPS hosting, you have the same root-level access as if you had a dedicated server, but at a much lower cost.

Comparing VPS to other web hosting types

Different types of web hosting allow you to perform different levels of customization on your server. They vary in pricing, performance (e.g. page load time), and the availability of the service (e.g. uptime) as well. Below, you can read about how VPS hosting compares to other hosting solutions.

Shared Hosting

Shared hosting is the solution for website owners with lower traffic sites. It is the starting point of most small businesses and bloggers. With shared hosting, you split the same physical server with a number of other clients of the hosting company. You don’t get dedicated resources allocated to you, as your site runs on the same operating system as everyone else’s.

Therefore, the memory and computing power your site can use is affected by the needs of other service users. For instance, if there’s a sudden traffic spike on a website hosted on the same server your page load time may increase. You can’t choose your operating system and other server software either, as all users use the same configuration. All in all, it’s your hosting provider who takes care of every aspect of your shared hosting environment.

You can think of shared hosting as a rental where you share the same apartment with a number of roommates. VPS hosting is still a kind of flatshare, however, everyone has their own room where they can customize the space according to their needs. For instance, they get to choose the painting, furniture, decoration, etc.

Cloud Hosting

With cloud hosting, you don’t use a single server but rather a cluster that runs in the cloud. Each server in the cluster stores an up-to-date copy of your website. When one of the servers is too busy, the cluster automatically redirects the traffic to a server that is less busy. As a result, cloud hosting comes with no downtime, as there’s always a server in the cluster that can serve the requests of your website visitors.

Cloud hosting and VPS hosting are not exclusive to each other. Instead, many hosting companies offer VPS hosting on a cloud infrastructure. This is also the solution we have chosen at Hostinger, as we found that combining VPS and cloud technologies leads to the highest possible performance and reliability in the virtual server environment.

WordPress Hosting

WordPress hosting is a service specifically offered to WordPress site owners. It comes with several WordPress-related features that you can only use if you have a WordPress site, such as one-click installation, pre-installed plugins, or a WP command-line interface. Servers are configured for the needs of WordPress. Therefore, hosting providers offer WordPress hosting as a part of their shared hosting service.

Although it’s also possible to set up a WordPress site on a virtual private server, you can’t get access to the custom-built servers that have been configured with WordPress in mind. However, if you still choose VPS for your WordPress site you are able to set up and configure your hosting environment according to your business needs.

Dedicated Hosting

With dedicated hosting, you rent an entire physical server for your business. If you have a high-traffic website, dedicated hosting can be the best solution for you, as dedicated servers are fast, flexible, and fully customizable. However, the service definitely comes with a price tag as well, so they are not worth for everyone, especially if you have a small or medium website.

While VPS hosting allows you to choose and configure your operating system and server applications, dedicated hosting goes one step further. It doesn’t only let you configure the software but also the hardware, as the entire server is yours and no one has any say in the setup. You can also run a dedicated server on-site (for instance, in your office), however you lose the support of a professional hosting team in that case.

VPS pros and cons

VPS hosting can be an ideal solution for you if that’s the service you really need. Below, you can read the pros and cons of running a virtual private server.

1. It’s faster and more reliable than a shared hosting server.
2. As server resources such as memory or processing power are guaranteed, there’s zero to minimal fluctuation in available resources.
3. Issues and traffic surges of other server users don’t affect your site.
4. You get superuser (root) access to your server.
5. You have better privacy, as your files and databases are locked from other server users.
6. It’s an easy-to-scale service. As your website grows, you can easily upgrade your server resources (RAM, CPU, disk space, bandwidth, etc.).

1. It’s more expensive than shared hosting.
2. It requires more technical knowledge to manage your server.
3. Improperly configured servers may lead to security vulnerabilities.

When to use VPS and how to decide it is time to upgrade?

VPS hosting is usually seen as the next step after your website grows out of the resource limits of shared hosting. If the most advanced shared hosting plan is not enough anymore to run your website smoothly, it’s worth upgrading to a VPS plan. In such cases, VPS hosting can provide you with the best of two worlds: shared and dedicated hosting.

However, there are other use cases when it can be a good idea to start with a VPS plan right from the beginning. For example, eCommerce websites where you need to ensure secure payments with a fast and stable environment can benefit a lot from a virtual private server. In fact, if you store any kind of sensitive data or have to process online payments VPS can help you reduce the risk of security breaches and identity theft.

If you expect traffic spikes at certain times on your site, for instance, in case of an event planning or ticket-selling website, a VPS hosting plan can be a godsend as well. Game servers and other resource-heavy sites also run with much better performance on a virtual private server.

Are there any VPS alternatives? What is a managed VPS?

One of the biggest pitfalls of VPS hosting is having to manage your entire server environment by yourself. If your virtual server is not configured and maintained well, you may face serious security risks and performance loss. Managed VPS hosting services have appeared on the market as a viable solution to this problem. You can think of it as an enhanced alternative of VPS hosting, that comes with full technical support.

Managed VPS is still a new thing on the market, however more and more hosting providers offer it to their customers. For instance, at Hostinger, we aim to provide a fully managed hosting environment with all of our cloud hosting plans. We get your server up and running according to your needs, handle server uptime and monitoring, take care of backups and caching, and provide a 24/7 dedicated support for all of our managed VPS customers.

All in all, What is VPS hosting?

VPS hosting gives you access to guaranteed resources and full control without having to run your own server. It’s an excellent solution for medium to high traffic, resource-heavy, and eCommerce websites. However, businesses who expect rapid growth can also benefit from the stability of the service. If you want a reliable, business-scale hosting environment at a friendly price, it’s definitely worth considering VPS hosting for your website.

We hope this article helped you understand what is VPS hosting and how it works. In case you have any additional questions, feel free to submit them in the comment section below!

Domantas leads the content and SEO teams forward with fresh ideas and out of the box approaches. Armed with extensive SEO and marketing knowledge, he aims to spread the word of Hostinger to every corner of the world. During his free time, Domantas likes to hone his web development skills and travel to exotic places.