Virtual Private Servers or VPS as they are commonly called are a form of web site hosting that is usually based on some form of server virtualisation such as Xen, Virtuozzo or OpenVZ.

VPS are generally a virtualized host operating system, rather than virtualized hardware (such as VMware), this allows for a higher level of density and efficiency and subsequently VPS are relatively inexpensive. This density however comes at a cost usually in the form of performance especially under high load as VPS do not have dedicated hardware.

VPS are mostly used for web site hosting, email, ERP and CRM applications.

Benefits of VPS

• High density, low cost.
• Usually are fully managed and backed up.
• Many VPS services can be instantly deployed and scaled on demand.
• Many VPS also come with remote reboot and management.

Downsides of VPS

• Shared hardware and operating system.
• Limited ability to scale.
• Some restrictions on software and configuration due to shared OS.
• VPS generally do not come with a high level SLA or support.

OpenHost is a leading provider of VPS in New Zealand with hundreds of servers deployed. OpenHost VPS run on Parallels Virtuozzo which provides an extremely efficient form of Virtualisation for both Windows and Linux.