Game server hostingPosted by mustak on December 12th, 2020 Cheapest dedicated hosting: A Comparison Between Physical, VPS and Virtualised/VMware Based Hosting Dedicated hosting has been around since web hosting pulled itself out of the primordial sludge in the 90s, maturing through the start of the millennium and finally commoditising in the last few years. The biggest change to dedicated hosting has come in only the last year with the introduction of virtualised hosting, but most importantly, the introduction of VMware based virtualised dedicated hosting. The essential point to note here is that, in order of effectiveness and features, the following order is the case. Best: VMware Based Virtualised Dedicated Hosting Next Best: Old-style Physical Dedicated Hosting Least Good: VPS (Virtual Private Servers) Before people leap off their chair and start wailing and gnashing their teeth, let me explain and enlighten. This table allows you to easily and quickly compare your requirements against the pros and cons of virtualised and physical dedicated hosting infrastructure. High Availability VMware Based Virtualised Dedicated Hosting: Yes. High platform availability with automatic hardware failover is built into the VMware-based virtualised environment Old-style Physical Dedicated Hosting: Only available in clustered farms Managed Infrastructure VMware Based Virtualised Dedicated Hosting: Yes. The hardware underlying the virtualised infrastructure is monitored and managed by skilled engineers 24x7x365 Old-style Physical Dedicated Hosting: Optional and costly VPS: Yes Fast Deployment VMware Based Virtualised Dedicated Hosting: Yes. Hours to Days Old-style Physical Dedicated Hosting: Weeks to Months. Physical infrastructure needs to be specified, ordered and delivered VPS: Yes. Hours to Days Dedicated Resources (CPU, RAM) VMware Based Virtualised Dedicated Hosting: Yes. VMware Infrastructure 3 allows precise and accurate control over resource allocation, ensuring you receive what you pay for as a minimum. Old-style Physical Dedicated Hosting: Yes. VPS: No. Dedicated Performance VMware Based Virtualised Dedicated Hosting: Yes. VMware Infrastructure 3's precise resource control guarantees your performance cannot be impacted by other customers Old-style Physical Dedicated Hosting: Yes. VPS: No. Resources are shared and customers can affect each other's performance. Independence from underlying OS VMware Based Virtualised Dedicated Hosting: Yes. Only the true virtualisation of VMware Infrastructure 3 allows complete independence from an underlying OS Old-style Physical Dedicated Hosting: No. VPS: No. There is always a relationship between the underlying OS and the virtual machine. Fast and Painless Migration from existing hosting environment VMware Based Virtualised Dedicated Hosting: Fast & Efficient. P2V (Physical to Virtualised) tools can be used to smooth the migration path Old-style Physical Dedicated Hosting: Possible using cloning, not P2V, tools. VPS: Possible with the same P2V tools, but not widely included in the services offered. Upgrading Processor Speed VMware Based Virtualised Dedicated Hosting: Fast & Efficient. Old-style Physical Dedicated Hosting: Non-trivial. Parts need to be ordered and installed. VPS: No. Upgrading cannot be performed if there is not tight resource control in the first place. Upgrading RAM VMware Based Virtualised Dedicated Hosting: Fast & Efficient. Old-style Physical Dedicated Hosting: Non-trivial. Parts need to be ordered and installed. VPS: No. Upgrading cannot be performed if there is not tight resource control in the first place. Upgrading HDD VMware Based Virtualised Dedicated Hosting: Fast & Efficient. Old-style Physical Dedicated Hosting: Non-trivial. Parts need to be ordered and installed. VPS: Yes Cloning VMware Based Virtualised Dedicated Hosting: Fast & Efficient. Old-style Physical Dedicated Hosting: Yes, but requires third part tools. VPS: Yes. * VPS providers offer differing service levels Food for thought rather than F.U.D... Like it? Share it! More by this author |