What is a vCPU?

A shared vCPU (or Shared Virtual Processing Unit) is a system where the physical central processing unit of a device is assigned to a virtual machine, and it’s called a vCPU or Virtual Central Processing Unit. Shared vCPU is a time-dependent entity which can be assigned to many virtual machines in an organized time slot for individual or shared use.

In most cases, one virtual machine is allotted a one shared vCPU each if there are many vCPU cores present. Each core of a vCPU is monitored by a Hypervisor which is a kind of monitoring device.

Many users can access the allotted logical partitions on the shared virtual processing using according to the given time and volume of use.

Advantages of Using Shared vCPU:

● One vCPU can process the request quickly.

● These CPU units maximize resource utilization.

Shared vCPU machines provide one virtual CPU that is allowed to run for a portion of the time on a single hardware hyper-thread on the host CPU running on your behalf. Using Shared vCPU can be more cost-effective for running small, non-resource intensive applications better than for running standard, high-memory or high CPU intensive applications and tools.

Which Types of Functions can Shared vCPU Perform?

Let us have a quick analysis as to which functions can be carried out using Shared vCPU at present –

● Low traffic web servers

● Discussion forums

● Content Management Systems (CMS)

● Blogs

● Small databases

● Dev/test servers

● Microservices

VPS Hosting vs Dedicated Server Hosting

What is Dedicated server hosting?

Dedicated server hosting means that you will get a whole computer for your hosting needs. All of the components will work just for you. All the cores of the computer, all the memory will not be shared with others. It is the option when you need the best performance and complete control.

It is suitable for big companies that want to provide fast loading for their users. It is also ideal for e-commerce sites that get hundreds of thousands of visitors.

Having complete control allows you to better tweak the device to your needs. You can add more functionality, extra filters, different types of servers (not just website hosting), better monitoring, and more.

Premium quality comes at a higher price. You will need an IT person to manage it and react in case of problems.

What is VPS hosting?

VPS is a slightly cheaper alternative to the dedicated server for hosting. It works in a similar way. The user gets a device with an installed OS for their needs. The big difference is the word VIRTUAL. By choosing VPS hosting you will only get a virtual machine, a part of a bigger real server. You will have a piece of the whole computer, just like the rest of the users. You can expect less performance in comparison to using the whole server just for your needs. You would be able to fix the performance issue by easily updating it to a more expensive plan.

Here again, you will have more control in comparison to a shared hosting solution.

It is faster than the shared hosting. Superuser access, which allows you greater control.

Easy to scale. Usually with just a few clicks you can upgrade it.
It is more expensive than a shared option and a bit cheaper than a dedicated server solution.

You will have less control than the dedicated server and again will need an IT professional for managing it.

What is a VPS, and what is it used for?

A virtual private server (VPS) is used for hosting websites (e-commerce, content, visual media) and software applications (portals, extranets, collaborative solutions, wikis, CRM). Unlike shared hosting, the data is isolated onto a virtual machine which is dedicated to the user.

The VPS is a perfect compromise between web hosting plans and physical servers, combining reliability with the high performance of a dedicated server — but without the difficulty of managing a server’s physical hardware.

Who can use a VPS?

Using a VPS requires basic knowledge of server administration. It is essential for managing the operating system (Linux, Windows or WordPress) installed on the machine, and configuring the applications.

What are the advantages of a VPS, compared to a dedicated server?

The advantage of a VPS is that you don’t have to worry about hardware management — so you would not need to monitor the status of hard disks, RAM, and CPU.

I recommend using a dedicated server if you want to manage the hardware aspects yourself, build more elaborate architectures, create an infrastructure that includes a private network, and deploy other complex solutions that are not web services.

As a general rule, users with a growing volume of web activity either move up to dedicated servers, or Public Cloud solutions. These services offer more complex, flexible infrastructures that can adapt to a high level of growth.