Do you Need a Virtual Private Server?

[mandy]

A Virtual Private Server (VPS) is a simulation of hardware by a host operating system that allows another operating system to run on it. What that means for Web developers is that a Web hosting company can host multiple "Virtual" servers on one physical, or "host", server.

VPS hosting plans offer the following key advantages:

    * root access gives you the ability to install and configure any programs you want. Want to run PHP with PostgreSQL instead of MySQL? Go ahead: install it. Want to try out Zope/Plone? Knock yourself out.
    * You can host an unlimited number of Websites through Apache's Virtual Hosts.
    * You can host other services, such as a mail server, an FTP server, or any type of server you want.
    * You can use the server for backup, file storage, or anything you need.

However, VPS hosting plans have the following disadvantages:

    * Since you're in control of the server, you are also responsible for all installation, maintenance, security and updates. If you are inexperienced with administering a Linux Server, and are not willing to learn as you go, this may be a big drawback.
    * While a VPS hosting plan gives you an entire operating system of your own to work with, you still share hardware resources (CPU, RAM, etc.) with other VPSes on the same host server. Therefore, if performance is key, or you're running RAM-intensive programs, you may be better off with co-location.

full article: http://www.sitepoint.com/article/virtual-private-server