2,253
edits
Changes
m
Robot: Automated text replacement (-VPS +container)
Although I am somewhat of a new user to the VPS container world I thought I'd write a short article giving an overview of why use VPS container instead of dedicated servers for those of you who are involved in the hosting business or people thinking about leasing a VPS container server. Here I will address misconceptions I had about VPS container and talk about how my perspective on VPS container is changing.
Who am I? This article originally written by [http://www.perkel.com Marc Perkel] - a new VPS container user - expressing my overview of OpenVZ from my perspective as a new user talking to other new users about my experience in learning this new environment. I am not an OpenVZ expert and I want to write this while I'm still new to OpenVZ so I can express my view from a new user's perspective. If you are just reading about VPS container for the first time I am not that far ahead of you. This article is an attempt by me to give back a little to those who created this free software and give you new people an overview of the big picture as I learn this myself.
== Why use Virtual Private Servers instead of Dedicated Servers ==
Like many of you when I first heard of the idea of VPS container I pictured it is some small lame server that is sold to 12 year olds trying to start hosting companies on the cheap. It had never quite caught my attention until I decided I needed a remote name server and all I needed was enough of a server to run bind, but didn't want to buy a dedicated box just to do that. So I got a VPS container based on Virtuozzo for $80/year and it worked great.
In the process however I started understanding the VPS container concept and it became apparent that this is more than just a tool to create little servers. The way I see it VPS container can replace dedicated servers in many situations in a data center and do a better job than dedicated. You can actually give the customer more horsepower and better hosting than selling them a small dedicated box. (Of course big customers will still need their own server.)
I don't own a data center business myself but I have a friend who does and I colo several servers there. He has several racks of some old Celeron boxes with 512 mgs of ram and one or two 80 gig drives depending on if the customer has any concept of backups, which most of them don't. I'm looking at the racks of Celerons and P4s thinking that each rack could be consolidated into a single modern server and that the customers would actually have a better server than the one they are on now. And the cost saving is tremendous.
== Advantages of VPS container ==
Most small dedicated servers are a waste of resources. People buy bigger servers than they need and the excess capacity is wasted. These servers take both space and power which is expensive in a data center and you have hardware costs associated with each server that you have to recoup. People often don't do any backups so after several years the hard drive fails and they lose everything. And it's your fault for not backing them up in the first place.
Note also that many of these servers have idle time where the processor is doing nothing and they have lots of extra hard drive space that isn't being used. By consolidating these systems the free resources are combined allowing you to run many more logical servers that each have more resources than the individual servers.
On a dedicated computer the user is stuck with an old slow 32 bit processor, a limited amount of ram, and an old slow hard drive with no backups. In a VPS container that same user is running on a shared dual core 64 bit CPU sharing 8 gigs of ram with fast modern large hard drives with raid backup. That is a significant improvement over having their own dedicated box. So this is a better deal for the customer.
=== Administration Advantages ===
If a customer needs you to fix something on their dedicated server you have to either know the root password or take the server down and boot from a rescue CD to get in and fix it. You also can't access the customer's files without logging in to their server as root. In a VPS container you as host can enter their server at any time without a password. (Keeping the host environment very secure of course.) That allows you to do maintenance without having to look up the person's root password.
=== Ease of Setup ===
Setup couldn't be easier as compared to building a dedicated server. All you have to do is type a few commands and the new virtual server is ready to go. You can have the customer running while you are still on the phone taking the order. A dedicated box requires setup, installation, and often has to be scheduled. This involves cost and time. VPS container is ready instantly and easily. Any distro you want with all the latest updates installed. When a customer places an order they want it now. With VPS container you can deliver it now.
=== Backup Advantages ===
=== Migration ===
Suppose a customer just needs a bigger server. Migration is easy in the VPS container environment because the VE is consistent between servers. You just copy over the files and start it up. You don't have to build a new server, install an OS, copy it all over, and then mess with it for an hour getting everything to work.
=== Emergency Procedures ===
Let's say that a server fries. With VPS container and good backups you have more options. You can copy the backup of the VPS container onto another server and restore it as of the last (nightly) backup. (I'm a backup freak - but it pays.) That gets the customers up instantly if they need that while a tech can go down there and fox the server with less pressure. This give you more options when bad things happen.
=== Load Balancing ===
== Conclusion ==
I believe that VPS container represents the future of computing. The space, power, and cost savings are too great to ignore. I see data centers that are massive clusters running tens of thousands of logical servers that transparently migrate around the physical resources and are up 100% of the time. Customers no longer will have to deal with issues of backups the way they have to now, and it will simplify the hosting process. I think that every data center should be looking into virtualization technology now with the idea that you are going to be doing this and it's time to at least start thinking about it and exploring it with an eye towards the future.
I have to say that my view of VPS container has radically changed and that I now see this as a solution not just for people wanting little servers but for most everyone who is looking for dedicated service. VPS container is a different way of looking at the computing world and it takes some significant mental adjustment and education to grasp the big picture.
== VPS container Hosting Providers ==
See [Hosting providers]
