Hyper-V VPS Hosting

Hyper-V is a component of the Windows Server 2008 operating system and is used by web hosting providers to offer Windows Server 2008 VPS server hosting services. In the web hosting industry, Hyper-V’s predecessor was Virtuozzo, which was used widely on Windows Server 2003 servers to offer reliable Windows Server 2003 VPS server hosting services; however, Virtuozzo hasn’t quite caught up yet and is unable to support Windows Server 2008 virtual machines at this moment in time. Hyper-V is a popular choice amongst web hosting providers because it comes as part of the Windows Server 2008 operating system meaning that they don’t have to pay extra for any other applications to create virtual machines. Hyper-V helps to keep the cost of Windows VPS hosting down when it is already an expensive form of web hosting when compared to Linux VPS hosting; Windows is a commercial operating system whereas Linux is an open source operating system, meaning that you have to pay for a Windows operating system license whereas Linux distributions are free to use. As Hyper-V is relatively new on the scene, web hosting companies are still adapting to using it meaning that there is a lack of control panel when purchasing Hyper-V hosting from some web hosting companies; however, there are third-party solutions such as DotNetPanel available to fulfill this purpose.

Windows Server 2008 is the latest incarnation of the Windows operating system in a server environment and offers many new features over its predecessor as well as improvements to the security of the operating system. Hyper-V is not only a component of the Windows Server 2008 operating system, but it is also the only virtual machine application available to host Windows Server 2008 virtual machines that is acceptable within a web hosting environment as higher end commercial applications tend to be expensive and costly to implement. Windows Server 2008 has bought many improvements to the Windows family operating systems and default applications; one of the most popular additions is the update to Microsoft’s web server application, IIS, with the introduction of version 7 with Windows Server 2008. IIS web hosting is specialist in the way that the application is the only web server capable of hosting certain scripting languages.

The management of a Hyper-V VPS server is very similar to that of a standard Windows Server 2008 dedicated server. Any web hosting provider will provide you with Remote Desktop access directly to the desktop of your Windows VPS server so that you are able to manage your VPS server properly using the Windows GUI. Although there is no official control panel available for the management of Windows Server 2008 VPS servers, some web hosting companies have opted to use the third-party DotNetPanel control panel as this can provide users with an easy-to-use and web accessible control panel that will allow you to manage your Hyper-V VPS server from any computer that has access to the internet and a web browser. It is important to remember that in order for a server to be managed properly, you are going to need to have some sort of previous experience with server management; if you lack this experience or don’t have the time needed in order to make a proper go of server management, you can always consider fully managed Hyper-V VPS server hosting.

VPS servers can help you to save money as you are able to host a number of separate virtual machines on a single high-specification dedicated server, where previously you may have been using multiple dedicated servers in order to make sure that your web hosting requirements are met appropriately. However, when using virtual machines you will still need to pay for the Windows Server 2008 operating system meaning that unless you have a license that can be applied to several machines, you will need to purchase a single Windows Server 208 license for each individual VPS server; the main reason for this is that any OS vendor will regard a single VPS server as a single server, virtual or not, since a VPS server will be mimicking the characteristics and resources of a physical counterpart.

If you wish to offer your own web hosting services using your Windows VPS server then you will be able to do so using a web hosting control panel, something that you are usually given the option to add to your VPS server during the order process. Plesk is the most popular control panel for use in virtual hosting environments, although some web hosting companies are able to offer a cut down version of DotNetPanel for those who wish to use an application that can offer a bit more. Although web hosting control panels cost extra, for the most part they are a worthy investment, especially if they can offer you a decent return.

Other standard features of Hyper-V VPS server hosting include dedicated IP addresses and pro-active monitoring of the hosting node. Dedicated IP addresses are a necessity if you are looking at conducting a large-scale SEO campaign or need to install an SSL certificate for your website; any dedicated web hosting service will provide you with dedicated IP addresses, with the normal assignment usually being 2 IP addresses per server although you can usually purchase more on demand. Your web hosting company is also likely to be pro-actively monitoring not only the hosting node but also individual VPS servers to ensure that they are meeting any uptime guarantees that they promised.

In conclusion, Hyper-V VPS server hosting is a recommend form of web hosting if you are looking at being able to use the latest technologies available from Microsoft with the introduction of Windows Server 2008. Unlike standard Virtuozzo hosting services, Hyper-V is a core component of the Windows operating system which in turn will be offering you higher levels of reliability and security and since these are the two main factors that you should be looking at in web hosting, especially with the more expensive web hosting services, it is hard to go wrong with Hyper-V hosting.

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