What is virtualisation and VPS?

Virtualisation provides the ability to partition a single physical server into a number of individual and quite separate virtual private servers (VPS). Multiple virtual private servers then run on the physical server, sharing the resources of that single server.

You can safely run a different operating system on each VPS and choose different levels of RAM or hard drive for each VPS. Each VPS is allocated a sufficient computing resource and additional capacity is always built into the physical or host server.

Virtualisation allows hosting providers to reduce the amount of energy used in its data centres but also to provision new hosting services faster as new virtual private servers can be built online.

As a result of NetBenefit’s recent integration with PEER 1 Hosting, one of the most innovative and dynamic global hosting providers, our customers will enjoy great technical advantages in the field of virtualisation.

For more information about what is virtualisation visit http://www.peer1hosting.co.uk/cloud-hosting/what-is-virtualisation

How does virtualisation work?

A thin layer of software is installed on the host server. The software allows the user to create virtual private servers and contains a virtual machine monitor or “hypervisor" that allocates hardware resources dynamically and transparently so that multiple operating systems can run concurrently on a single server.

Each virtual private server (VPS) has access to a dedicated amount of RAM and hard disk together with a virtual NIC (Network Interface Card). It also has access to an allocated amount of CPU resource to ensure continued performance.

Benefits of virtualisation

There are many advantages to using virtualisation. Here are just a few:

• By separating a server into virtual private servers, you can run multiple applications and multiple operating systems on the same physical server reducing hosting costs and increasing power efficiency.
• Resources are allocated dynamically on demand ensuring more efficient use of resources at all times.
• Virtual private servers can be cloned within minutes allowing fast and flexible deployment of additional virtual servers for testing or production.
• Business continuity is improved because the server (VPS) and hardware layers are separate providing additional resilience.