VPS Hosting vs. Reseller Hosting

Introduction 

With today’s modern technology, a website is one of the most critical components of developing a business and growing it within a targeted global space. The age of small business has passed, and the time when every business can make itself known worldwide has arrived. In this new world, an innovative industry has been growing for specific clients’ web hosting needs in this area. In this article, we will talk about two of the most common ways of meeting those hosting needs, including utilizing VPS hosting versus utilizing reseller hosting.

What Is VPS Hosting?

The term VPS stands for Virtual Private Server. A VPS employs specialized virtualization technology that allows the partitioning of resources on a larger server (called a parent server) into smaller instances that run a fully contained operating system. Each of these partitions is considered a full server capable of hosting multiple websites on multiple user accounts.

One of the key differences between a VPS and a classical shared server is in the way in which the resources are distributed between its users. The letter P in VPS stands for Private, which indicates that the resources allocated for the instance are genuinely yours and will not be further allocated to any other users. On a VPS, if you pull resources from the parent server, only that user should have access to it. Additionally, a VPS also allows us to possess root user level access (or server-wide access as a superuser.) A shared server will only allow for domain-level access (control of a single account) unless the server administrator explicitly grants other permissions. Slightly deviating from a traditional VPS server is a managed VPS server. This type of VPS comes fully equipped with your choice of control panels (InterWorx or cPanel), which allow full control over it.

What Is Reseller Hosting?

Reseller hosting is a method of web hosting where the owner of a large server resells portions of the disk space and bandwidth to other users. In essence, the reseller rents out disk space for a website to different users, effectively providing access to the internet for that account. Reseller hosting usually comes with a control panel similar to the ones mentioned earlier (InterWorx, cPanel or Plesk) which provide for an easy and secure method of control over a websites’ functions and services.

There are multiple types of servers or services that are utilized for reseller hosting. These include VPS servers, dedicated servers, private VPS parent servers, and Cloud Sites servers. Liquid Web also offers an option called Private Cloud Powered by VMware and NetApp, which allows client access to a high-power service, which creates private cloud parent servers, which can then be broken down into smaller VPS servers. Each of these choices varies, and usage will depend on what your needs and requirements are. Our clients can select an option they believe is the best choice for them depending on the size of their business, specific use cases, or how they plan on using the server.

Usage

Some clients have asked, “Is there a difference in how the website looks or functions on a reseller server versus a VPS server?”

The answer is no. The functionality and visuals of a website are still the same, and it would function on a dedicated server, VPS server, cloud sites server, or a private cloud server in the same way. The only thing that needs to be taken into consideration when choosing a platform is how the resource allocation assignments are associated with the account. If a limited amount of resources is allocated to a server, a resource-intensive web application or software program may run into issues if it consumes too much of those designated resources. This, in turn, would cause a slowdown on the server, and the website or software application would also suffer.

Ensuring that all the resources are free and available in advance will prevent future issues with the application, the server, and the clients down the road. This aspect should be of prime importance when interviewing web services where you will be hosting the app or website. Failure to take this aspect or growth into consideration will assuredly cause loss of site ranking, the possibility of limited outages, client frustration, and overall dissatisfaction with your hosting experience.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the VPS and reseller hosting options are aimed at two specific use categories; Both of which can provide multiple benefits depending on the business model that you are using and your particular needs. A VPS is an excellent option for hosting a limited number of sites that have medium traffic levels or disk usage. Concurrently, the reseller model is great for hosting a significant amount of smaller sites. In the end, the choices Liquid Web offers will depend on how you plan to use the servers, and Liquid Web can assist by offering the best solutions that are tailored to your specific needs.

In case you are not sure which option would be the best for you, Liquid Web provides information and assistance via the knowledge contained on our reseller program page. To find out what option is best suited for you, we have knowledgeable solutions advisors standing by to assist you in determining the most suitable course of action to take when selecting the best hosting option for your needs.

Check out the full range of Liquid Web VPS servers, or to find out more about our reseller program, visit our reseller page to turn your hosting ideas into a full-time business. Should you have any questions regarding this information, we are always available to answer any inquiries with issues related to this article, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week 365 days a year.

If you are a Fully Managed VPS server, Cloud Dedicated, VMWare Private Cloud, Private Parent server, Managed Cloud Servers, or a Dedicated server owner and you are uncomfortable with performing any of the steps outlined, we can be reached via phone @800.580.4985, a chat or support ticket to assisting you with this process.