10 Benefits of VPS Hosting for SMBs

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Over the last few years, VPS has become the hosting solution of choice for SMBs. Offering all the benefits of a small, dedicated server but at a fraction of the cost, its features far outstrip those of shared hosting and give small and medium-sized companies an affordable way to expand their capabilities. In this post, we‘ll look at the benefits of VPS and why you should consider it.

What is a VPS?

A VPS is a virtual private server which has been created using virtualisation software. Sort of a ‘ghost in the machine’, it is housed on a physical server but remains completely independent from it. Unlike shared hosting, it is also completely independent of any other VPS which may be housed on the same physical server.

Benefit 1: Improved reliability

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The independence of the VPS from other virtual servers on the physical hardware means it does not share its resources. Compared with shared hosting, this makes VPS far more reliable. On shared hosting servers, the traffic and computing activities of other customers can impact on all the others – if two or three customers are experiencing heavy traffic, for example, everyone else might be affected. This can’t happen with a VPS.

Benefit 2: Dedicated resources

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Just like with a dedicated server, all the resources of your VPS are dedicated entirely to you. What’s more, the amount of disk space, CPU and RAM available for a VPS is significantly more than you get with a shared hosting account, meaning you can handle more traffic and run more apps.

Benefit 3: Increased performance

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With more resources dedicated entirely to your business needs, you get far better server performance. Improved processing power and capacity means your website can load quicker on users’ browsers which has been shown to improve user engagement, increase conversion rates and boost your search engine ranking.

In addition, it will mean any processes you run on your server will also run quicker and have less impact on other operations taking place. Your website won’t run slowly, for example, while you back up your files or send out bulk emails.

Benefit 4: Software freedom

When you use shared hosting, you have no choice over the type of operating system you can run, everyone on the shared server has to use the same one. With a VPS, you are free to choose the operating system which best suits your needs.

At the same time, some shared hosting accounts limit the types of software you can use. Some apps are not acceptable because they may be resource heavy or because they may cause conflicts with other applications. With VPS you are free to run any applications you choose.

Benefit 5: Root access

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Opting for VPS will enable you to have root access to your server. This gives users full access to your VPS account giving you greater control over how your server is configured and over any application installations. These actions can be undertaken via your control panel.

Benefit 6: Fully managed service

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If you thought updating to a VPS meant having to manage your own server, you’ll be pleased to know that most hosting companies offer managed VPS hosting where they undertake this responsibility on your behalf. A good provider will maintain and update your hardware, the virtualisation software and your operating system. They will also apply any security patches on your behalf.

Benefit 7: Comprehensive technical support

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One of the main advantages of some VPS hosting is that it comes with 24/7 technical support, this means that should you have an issue with your server or require assistance with some of the more technical aspects of hosting, a technical expert will always be on hand to deal with the issue. At eUKhost, our support team also provides security and application performance consultancy to help keep your VPS running optimally.

Benefit 8: Server monitoring

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With the increased need for security against cyberattacks, it’s good to know that some VPS providers will actively monitor your server and associated hardware for any threats. Server monitoring ensures that threats such as hacking, malware and DDoS attacks are dealt with swiftly before they can do any damage.

Benefit 9: Multiple domain hosting

Many companies run more than one website and although this can be achieved on shared hosting accounts, it often means that already limited resources are stretched even further. The more websites you run on a shared hosting account, the less reliable each will be.

The much greater resources available on VPS means that multiple domain hosting can take place without any performance issues arising.

Benefit 10: Cloud data backups

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Backups should be an essential part of your disaster recovery plan, so it is important that any VPS hosting provider offers a backup solution that lets you configure automated, scheduled backups to meet your business needs. Solutions such as R1Soft enable you to safely back up your entire VPS server in the cloud meaning that in the case of a disaster, you’ll be able to recover in no time at all.

Conclusion

VPS hosting provides an affordable way to upgrade from shared hosting to a solution that offers many of the features of a dedicated server: more resources, increased control and greater flexibility. Add to this the managed services and technical support that comes with a VPS and it’s the ideal solution for small and medium-sized businesses looking to improve their IT capabilities.

Important Points to Consider When Choosing a VPS Hosting Package

Tips for Finding the Best VPS Hosting Package

VPS is widely considered the natural progression for companies upgrading from shared hosting. Affordable, high-performance and inherently more secure, it provides exceptionally more resources for just a small increase in price. While VPS might be the right decision, finding the best hosting provider and package needs some consideration. Here are some important tips to help you make the right choice.

What are you going to use VPS for?

VPS hosting comes in a range of packages, each offering differing amounts of resources, such as storage, CPU and RAM. The needs of your business should dictate what resources you’ll need now and in the foreseeable future and this should be a key consideration when looking for a VPS package, otherwise, you might restrict your company’s development further down the line. Here are some of the main things VPS is used for.

Large and busy websites

Busy websites — Siteinspire

The extra storage and processing power offered by VPS makes it ideal for companies with large or multiple websites with heavy traffic. The additional resources enable your website to handle large numbers of simultaneous requests without affecting the speed and performance of your site, ensuring fast loading times, continuity and availability.

Deploy other applications

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As businesses grow, they tend to deploy more applications for business use. Aside from a website, you may want to utilise applications for remote working, employee tracking, access control or some of the many others which businesses now make use of. Not only does VPS give you the storage and resources to run these workloads; it also gives you the freedom to manage and configure your server in a way that best suits your needs.

Remember, the more apps you use and the more data you store, the bigger the package you’ll require.

Other common uses of VPS

A VPS can be utilised for a wide range of purposes. It can be used for developing apps and testing new environments, private backup solutions, hosting servers for streaming and advertising platforms, indeed, even some individuals use them to host gaming servers so they can play their favourite games with their friends online.

Whichever purposes you have in mind for your VPS, make sure you look carefully at the resources you need now and for growing space in the future.

Latency and location

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One issue that many businesses don’t fully consider is the location of their VPS server. This, however, can have an impact in a number of ways. As data has to travel from a server to a user’s machine, the further the two devices are apart, the longer communication takes. This latency can have big implications. Firstly, it can make your website load slowly on more distant browsers. This has been proven to increase the numbers of users who will abandon your website and, consequently, lower conversion rates. Secondly, it slows response times on your site, so when someone carries out an action, there is an unnecessary delay before the expected result occurs (a major issue for gaming servers) and, thirdly, when search engines measure latency times, they may downrank your website because it isn’t fast enough. As a result, your organic traffic can diminish.

Another vital consideration is compliance. To comply with regulations like GDPR, you have to guarantee that the personal data you collect about UK and EU citizens is kept secure. While you can ensure this in countries which are signed up to GDPR, like the UK, the bulk of the world’s servers are hosted in the US where the data on them can be accessed by US law enforcement for national security purposes. In such instances, companies cannot guarantee data privacy and, should the data be accessed, your business could be in breach of regulations.

The tip here is a simple one: for speed, responsiveness, SEO and compliance, ensure your VPS is physically hosted in the country where the vast majority of your users are located. Be careful though: just because your web host operates in your country doesn’t necessarily mean their servers are based there. This is why, at Anteelo, all our datacentres are based in the UK.

Expertise

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As your business develops its use of IT, you will start to need more in-house expertise to manage your system and make use of the applications at your disposal. Upgrading to VPS is a critical time for having IT skills in place, as you may need to learn how to use the new platform, migrate your website and other apps to it and deploy any new apps that you want to take advantage of.

IT expertise, however, is in short supply and training can be expensive. Even with it in place, there may be issues that you need help with. This makes it crucial that when choosing a VPS solution, you opt for a vendor that provides 24/7 expert technical support. A good host will not only set up the VPS for you and migrate your website; they will also manage your server so you can focus on your business and be there to deliver professional support whenever it is needed.

Security

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The proliferation of sophisticated cybercrime together with increased compliance regulations means every business needs to put security high on their priorities. While moving from a shared server to a VPS with its own operating system makes your system inherently safer, you should not overlook the security provided by your hosting provider.

Look for a host that provides robust firewalls with rules customised for VPS, intrusion and anti-DDoS protection, VPNs, anti-malware and application security, SSL certificates, remote backup solutions, email filters and email signing certificates.

Conclusion

VPS hosting offers growing business the ideal opportunity to grow its website, handle more traffic and deploy a wider range of business applications – and all at an affordable price. However, its important to choose a VPS package that offers enough resources, is located close to your customers, is managed on your behalf, comes with 24/7 expert technical support and provides the security your company needs.

7 Ways to Make Your Linux VPS More Secure

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Offering superb performance, greater storage and increased reliability for a minimal increase in costs, Linux VPS has quickly become the go-to hosting solution for those upgrading from shared hosting. Just like with any other hosting solution, it’s vital that you keep your VPS secure. In this post, we’ll provide some important tips on how to do that.

1. Set up and configure a firewall

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Firewalls are essential to keep your VPS secure. They protect you against cyberattacks by blocking malicious network traffic and prevent malware from accessing your server via the internet. To work effectively, they need to be correctly configured.

Anteelo firewalls provide robust security, offering custom firewall rules and application defence, together with protection against DDoS, intrusion and malware.

2. Disable root logins

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Hackers love default usernames which is why brute force attacks always begin by trying the username ‘admin’. With a Linux VPS, there’s also the default username ‘root’ which hackers are familiar with. Disabling logins that use the username ‘root’ prevents it from being targeted by a brute force attack. To do this, first create a new admin-level user with a different username and then disable the ‘root’ login.

3. Keep your OS software updated

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While vulnerabilities in operating systems are usually found and patched very quickly, not everyone updates to the latest version swiftly and this leaves their VPS at risk of attack. Cybercriminals use sophisticated bots to seek out those vulnerable servers so they can be targeted.

Unless your applications require you to run a legacy OS, it is essential that you update your OS as soon as an update or patch is released as this will remove any vulnerability. If you are a customer of Anteelo, our managed service means we’ll take care of this on your behalf. We’ll also update your control panel and the virtualisation software that the VPS runs on, too.

4. Take control of your software

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Just as with your operating system, hackers will seek out vulnerabilities in all the software you use. One of the ways to minimise risk is to delete any unnecessary applications that came bundled with your server and only install apps and add-ons that you actually need.

For the software that you do need, setting up automatic updates from within your control panel will ensure that, should a security patch be released by the developer, your server will have the latest, secure version as soon as it is available.

5. Use strong passwords

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Brute force hackers now use AI-enabled software that accesses databases of stolen usernames and passwords to help them find the right login credentials. A weak username/password combination can be cracked in seconds. Forcing users to choose strong passwords is the easiest way to prevent these advanced techniques from being successful. Even better, implement two-factor authentication.

It is also worth remembering that this type of hacking will need multiple login attempts before it is successful. A further layer of protection can be achieved by using the ‘faillog’ command to limit the number of attempts a user makes before they are locked out. Hacking software will make continuous and very quick attempts to log in, so setting a limit will prevent this from happening.

6. Partition your server

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Security can be enhanced by partitioning your server’s SSD. This will enable you to separate the operating system from applications, files and other data. Essentially, this means that if one of your partitions is compromised, the damage that is done is limited. It also means any restoration needed can be carried out quicker.

7. Back up your VPS regularly

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Aside from data theft, the other major issue caused by a cyberattack is not the attack itself but how long it keeps your business offline. With your applications down, you will be unable to carry out the operations that your business relies on, such as your website, email, manufacturing or other critical IT processes.

The key to swift recovery is having an up-to-date backup in place which can quickly restore all your affected applications, files and data. Without a backup, some data could be irretrievably lost and restoration of services could take too long for your business to survive.

At Anteelo, we provide a backup solution that stores your data remotely, encrypts it for security and checks it for integrity so you know that it works. What’s more, you can schedule backups to occur automatically so that you always have an up-to-date copy of your files or even your entire server.

Conclusion

A VPS provides exceptional hosting for growing businesses, but like all hosting solutions needs to be protected from the growing number of cyberattacks. The seven tips discussed here should help you make your VPS far more secure. Of course, with the right web host, much of the security will be taken care of on your behalf and you’ll have 24/7 technical support to provide expert assistance if the worst happens.

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