What is a virtual dedicated server (VDS)?

A virtual dedicated server is a computer server or network of servers hosted online and reserved for use by one client. Users share no processing power or storage with any other party.

It’s essentially like having your own on-premise dedicated server. The difference is that instead of housing and maintaining the actual server yourself, a third party houses it for you and takes care of all required maintenance.

Also, unlike an on-premise dedicated server, utilizing virtualization means you have all the flexibility of the cloud at your disposal, making scalability quick and easy.

With virtual dedicated servers, one parent server maintains 100% control, and there is no need to delegate instances or share resources. This allows for unrivaled processing power and a high level of security. Enterprises with multiple sites, variable scalability, or resource-hungry applications often choose dedicated servers.

Key features of virtual dedicated servers

What does a virtual dedicated server offer your business? Here are the key features that set it apart from other hosting options.

• Focused resource. Because your virtual dedicated server is reserved for your use only, you get full access to its processing power and storage, maximizing performance and reliability. This feature is especially crucial for users hosting multiple sites. 
• Effortlessly scalable. Small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) with plans for growth often choose a dedicated virtual private server (VPS) because it’s effortlessly scalable to a business’ changing needs. When your business expands and traffic spikes, upgrading is easy. And if you decide you need to scale back to better fit the current needs of your business, that’s an easy adjustment, too. 
• Budget-friendly. Without the upfront installation costs or the ongoing expense of physical maintenance, a VDS is more cost-effective than an on-premise dedicated server. This makes a VDS a great, budget-friendly option for a small business. However, it is more costly than a VPS. 
• Highly customizable. With a dedicated virtual private server, you get root access to the server, empowering you to install and configure software according to your needs. This offers greater control and flexibility. 
• Secure. While a shared hosting environment could potentially expose you to the risks posed by your neighbors (aka “noisy neighbors”), a VDS offers isolation from other users and greater protection from malware and other vulnerabilities. Additionally, admin access allows you to adjust your defenses with your own security measures.

Pros and cons of virtual dedicated servers

Let’s review the benefits and drawbacks of virtual servers.

Benefits of virtual dedicated servers

There are many benefits to using virtual dedicated servers over local servers. Whether it’s the public cloud, VPS, or dedicated virtual server hosting, many companies and organizations are taking note and committing to virtual infrastructure for their hosting needs.

Here’s a look at just a few of the benefits of virtual dedicated servers:

• More affordable alternative to a local dedicated server. You’ll save on the upfront hardware installation and ongoing maintenance. Plus, with a virtual dedicated server, you pay only for the resources you need.
• Enhanced by the cloud. Because a virtual dedicated server leverages the cloud, you can boost processing power, balance traffic loads, and enjoy seamless communication between servers while still benefiting from the security of a VDS.  
• Flexible for growth. Your virtual dedicated server solution can effortlessly scale to meet the needs of your business. 
• Built-in redundancies keep your data safe. The physical infrastructure that supports your dedicated virtual private server is protected with backup power supplies and additional connections to the network, relieving worry about your data in the event of an outage. 
• Single-tenant environment. VDS’ exclusive-to-you infrastructure, storage space, and connection offer enhanced security, flexibility, and control.

Virtual servers can provide many benefits without the cost of a dedicated, on-premise infrastructure. But before you commit, it’s also important to investigate the drawbacks.

Drawbacks of virtual dedicated servers

The drawbacks of virtual dedicated servers have not stopped a wave of site and application owners from switching over. Nonetheless, there are still a few aspects of virtual hosting you may want to weigh before ruling out an on-premise solution.

Here are some of the potential drawbacks of virtual dedicated servers:

• Less control over your hardware. A local server still offers greater ability to install and customize your infrastructure according to your needs.
• Less control over your server configuration. While a VDS enables you to make some custom configurations, it still doesn’t match the customizability of a dedicated server, which can be built precisely to your requirements.
• Less control over security. A dedicated virtual private server is a highly secure option, but not as secure as an on-premise server.

The main drawbacks of virtual server solutions involve control and customization. However, some vendors, such as Liquid Web, do offer greater levels of customization and configurations.

Differences between a virtual dedicated server and VPS

Dedicated virtual server hosting isn’t the same model as virtual private server hosting. When comparing VPS vs. dedicated hosting, it’s important to consider the role of the parent server.

In VPS hosting, you have partitioned off a cloud server to act as your own private server. You have all the resources of the cloud at your disposal and a private server for data processing and storage. The only catch is your parent server will outsource tasks to a network of shared servers with different instances.

In dedicated virtual hosting, the parent server maintains 100% control of instances, giving you one more layer of privacy and processing power for sites and apps that may require database management, resource-hungry apps, or hosting resale.

Often, the most important difference for many site owners is cost. A VPS is a cost-efficient solution for many small businesses that do not require high availability or burstability. A VPS will fulfill your processing needs, and you may not need the added power of dedicated servers.

Differences between dedicated virtual servers and cloud servers

Virtual dedicated server hosting isn’t the same thing as a cloud server. In a virtual dedicated server (VDS) setup, the parent server dedicates a fixed portion of its resources—CPU, RAM, GPU, and storage—exclusively to you. This is made possible through physical server hardware with virtualization software installed.

Cloud servers tend to draw their resources from a pool of interconnected servers, allowing for greater flexibility but sharing resources across multiple instances. Instead of having a physical machine dedicated to you, you have a virtual machine that’s created by you provider and provisioned on their infrastructure.

Use cases for virtual dedicated servers

For virtual dedicated servers, consider the following use cases:

• Hosting multiple sites: For agencies and resellers that need to host numerous sites on a single server, virtual servers have greater processing power to handle multiple sites and their requests. Also, they generally have access to provisioning API, along with easy deployment to their customers.
• Database hosting: Because your server environment is the only one on the parent server, your sites and databases have dedicated access to the full CPU and all cores.
• Private networking: A virtual-enhanced server allows multiple servers to communicate over an internal private network.
• Firewall: Want the same protection and security offered with conventional hardware firewalls? Virtual dedicated servers can have either basic or advanced control over which web services to allow or deny.
• Load balancing: You can methodically distribute traffic across multiple virtual servers, ultimately increasing performance during times of high activity or traffic spikes.

Which type of server is right for you?

Now that you know what a virtual dedicated server is, how do you choose the right type of server for you?

If you run multiple websites or need a lot of resources, you may want to consider dedicated virtual server hosting. On the other hand, if your core business occurs on one site, cloud VPS will be a great solution for your users and your budget. 

Whether you’re hosting servers on-premises or looking for cloud-based solutions, Liquid Web can help with dedicated hosting solutions to keep your business online.