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Virtual Private Server (VPS) technology has become a popular alternative to more traditional shared hosting, as it offers far greater flexibility at a not much higher price. Unfortunately, the complexity of choosing the best virtualization technology for a given situation is usually far greater than are the much simpler choices required for a shared host. If you’re planning to use VPS technology but don’t know the choices, I’ll present you with a few popular virtualization technologies.

Broadly speaking, there are two major categories of virtualization technology, each with its relative advantages and disadvantages. The simplest type is at the operating system level. When a new server is supplied, it comes with its own virtual space owing to a fresh OS install made in a subdirectory on the hosting system. The server and its processes are still visible to the main operating system, although they are separated from any other virtual installations. This way the users and processes of different servers do not interfere with one another.

This particular kind of operating system virtualization has several major advantages. First, it generally requires fewer resources than are needed by other virtualization mechanisms, and as such is less expensive to administer. Servers of this sort can also generally be administered more easily and reliably, as they rely on the host’s kernel and are generally not prone to lockups introduced by using custom kernels with other virtualization solutions.

However, there are some drawbacks, too. Operating system virtualization limits you to the kernel installed on the OS host, with no possibility for using either a different version or an entirely separate OS. One consequence of using OS-level virtualization is that upgrading OS to take advantage of new technologies may result impossible, since hosts each time have to justify upgrading all their servers. It is also difficult to thoroughly isolate and control resource use such that one user’s server does not consume more than their allotted share.

Another virtualization technology involves emulating the underlying hardware of an operating system, and then installing it on top of the virtual computer. As the virtual server is for all intents and purposes independent of the host’s hardware, it can support different kernel versions, or even entirely separate OSs.

This is one of the biggest advantages of virtualization. Having only one OS version on every single server would require high homogeneity, generally rarely acquired and more so in hosting, where flexibility is a key factor. Furthermore, most full virtualization solutions allow for the installation of custom kernels, making it possible to use VPS technology with modern device drivers and kernel level technologies still unfamiliar the provider.

Unfortunatelly, these advantages come at a cost. Full virtualization generally requires more system resources and therefore is more expensive to host. The ability to install custom kernels and operating systems introduces additional administrative overhead which, in the wrong hands, can render full virtual machines much less stable than are their OS-level counterparts.

Virtualization technology has revolutionized our concept of hosting as such. The choice is no longer confined to limited shared hosts or expensive dedicated servers. Understanding the virtualization landscape and available options is crucial in order to capitalize on this shift in hosting alternatives.

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