VPS vs. Cloud Servers – A Head-to-Head Comparison

VPS and Cloud Hosting are two of the most popular forms of hosting today. The lower initial capital investment of these hosting options has led to this popularity. 

Both options are variants of shared hosting, but their similarities end there. The performance, redundancy, and reliability of your website or web app can vary greatly between the two choices. Knowing the differences between the two is necessary to select which option will best suit your needs. 

VPS vs. Cloud Comparison

Both VPS and cloud hosting divide a single server into multiple “virtual servers” through a process called virtualization. Access to the partitions is configured by the host and granted through a hypervisor. The host defines the server’s processing and memory that will be made available to the product or website. 

After the virtualized server is provisioned, it appears and functions as its own server, and is ready for use. While both VPS and cloud servers have that in common, here are the areas where they differ:

Processing / Memory

A Type-1 hypervisor is a separate hardware component that operates on top of the server. It controls the server’s virtualization, allocation of its resources, and scheduling processor requests. Both VPS and cloud servers can utilize a single hypervisor to accomplish this. However, a cloud server has the option of using a dedicated hypervisor to ensure other tenants do not infringe upon their resources. 

VPS servers can expose their hosted products to this leaching effect by the use of software-based, Type-2 hypervisors. Type-2 hypervisors, such as OpenVZ, cannot manage the server resources as effectively. Software-based options also carry lower costs. VPS servers use these due to the commodity nature of its service. This can also lead to a higher possibility of overcrowding and unbalanced resources.

Storage

A fundamental difference between VPS and cloud servers is where they store their data. VPS servers use a portion of a hard drive mounted on the physical server. This limits the storage to what can physically be installed a finite number of bays. Additionally, this storage space is shared among all VPS tenants. This also presents challenges when the time comes to migrate your product. VPS functionally acts like a dedicated server (see our expanded Hosting Comparison article) during a migration. The entire product will need to be moved and downtime will be experienced due to the use of a single server.

Cloud servers do not store any data locally on the server. Instead, they use a Storage Area Network (SAN) to house the operating system (OS) and its data. Decentralization of these files allows for nearly limitless expansion of a cloud server’s storage capacity. Additional storage can be instantly provisioned and accessed by the hypervisor to facilitate the client’s needs. 

System Uptime

As VPS-hosted products rely on a single server, they will experience downtime in the event of an outage of that server. The entire product will need to be loaded onto a new server from a backup. This restoration could last several minutes to several hours depending on the backup medium and the service level provided by the host.

Because cloud servers store their OS and data on the SAN, they will not suffer the same effects of a server outage. Type-1 hypervisors provide hot failover by instantly acquiring and utilizing an alternate server. This transition will be transparent and not be noticed by users. The new server will handle all incoming requests and prevent product downtime.

Data Transfer

VPS servers can reach data speeds nearing those of dedicated servers by storing its data locally. VPS speed is limited only by the hypervisor which needs to schedule requests to be processed through the server’s CPU.

Cloud servers will experience latency due to the back-end infrastructure of the data center. As all the data is stored in the SAN, the hypervisor must schedule a request, pass it through switching hardware, and wait for information to return before it can be processed. High-speed switching can reduce this time, but some latency will still be experienced. High-priority tasks can utilize local storage on the cloud server to eliminate this latency. However, this will make the product reliant on a single host.

Networking

All traffic to both VPS and cloud servers passes through the hypervisor and Network Interface Card / Controller (NIC). These choke points can lead to network throttling with multiple clients using them. Oversold VPS servers can exacerbate this problem.

Cloud servers may have the option of utilizing a dedicated hypervisor and NIC. These can bypass the shared and overtaxed hardware, and avoid congestion caused by other clients’ transit. The additional flexibility will necessitate a strong understanding of network administration and component configuration. However, this is the only way possible to achieve a private cloud architecture.

Scalability

VPS is limited by the resources available on the host server. With potentially over one thousand clients on a VPS, resources are in constant demand. When your product needs to scale with your company’s growth, it is unlikely that a VPS will have the resources available to accommodate the need. Although if extra processing, memory, or disk space is available, it can be provisioned.

Cloud servers have scaling options that can take multiple forms. Additional storage space on the SAN can be instantly brought online. Extra servers can be secured by the hypervisor to handle the processing needs of unexpected traffic spikes or highly-intensive CPU requests. Cloud servers will generally be situated near a colocated or dedicated server environment. This makes a hybrid cloud solution attainable.

System Administration

Both VPS and cloud servers offer system administration but at varying levels. VPS administration is typically controlled through a Management Control Panel such as WHM/cPanel, Plesk, or DirectAdmin. These control panels offer intuitive and easy-to-use interfaces. Though they are easy to use, they often lack the more advanced configuration and security options needed to effectively operate the VPS.

Cloud servers require a more advanced understanding of system administration and network configuration. The network interfaces of cloud servers are generally less intuitive than their VPS counterparts. Additionally, less automation is present and configuration is more manual. If done improperly, security lapses and slow system performance could be the result.

Price

VPS servers are less expensive than their cloud equivalents for three main reasons:

Hardware

Both VPS and cloud servers utilize a hypervisor and physical server to host their products. In the case of VPS, this is all the hardware required. And as we previously stated, some VPS servers will use a less expensive, software-based hypervisor to virtualize its server’s resources.

Cloud servers have additional costs that are realized by using the SAN and the networking equipment to communicate to it. The power, cooling, and operational maintenance costs of these components increase the cost of cloud servers.

Redundancy

VPS servers employ less redundancy with their architecture. Streamlining the set up allows for less overhead, but presents reliability challenges. Since many of the server’s components are not redundant (i.e. the server, hypervisor, storage, etc.), a failure in any single piece will cause the entire product to go offline.

Cloud servers are designed to be resilient to many points of failure. Just as the hypervisor can provision additional resources to accommodate traffic spikes, it can switch servers in the event of an outage. Additional drives can be accessed to overcome failed storage devices in the SAN. The resources that cloud servers utilize are, generally, more reliably provisioned and use more robust hardware. This resiliency drives the cost of cloud servers higher than VPS.

Shared Expenses

An individual product on a VPS will have a lower cost than on a cloud server because of the number of tenants sharing the space. If a VPS and a cloud server have equal processing and memory, the cost of operating them will be nearly equal. As such, a VPS server with more tenants will have a lower per capita cost to support its operation.

Additionally, cloud servers may include a managed support add-on to assist operators with product maintenance. Genesis Adaptive provides comprehensive hardware replacement, application support, proactive monitoring, and more through Adaptive Support.

Conclusion

As we have explored, both VPS and cloud servers are branches of the shared hosting tree. By spreading operating expenses among many hosted products, individual costs can be kept lower than dedicated hardware. This cost advantage has led to VPS and cloud hosting’s popularity.

However, the differences between the two can greatly affect your product’s performance. Under optimal conditions, VPS servers offer system performance similar to that of dedicated hardware. Unfortunately, tenants can find that the resources they had been promised are being siphoned by other products on the server. 

Cloud servers have greater resiliency and scalability that cannot be attained with VPS. The instant provisioning of server and storage resources can keep your product operating during unanticipated traffic surges. That resiliency comes with a bigger price tag, though.

It is always wise to look at your organization’s goals when making your decision between VPS or cloud servers. If you anticipate your product will have a short lifespan and will not need to scale, a VPS option may be your best choice. But if you believe that your product will grow with your company and future scalability will need to be considered, a cloud server will best achieve your long-term goals.

While there are many options available for hosting your product or service, it is imperative to ensure your hosting provider has reliable support and robust offerings that are able to scale with your company’s growth. 

Genesis Adaptive’s certified IT professionals draw from a wide range of consulting, hosting, and IT experience to provide you with the best service and resources that will meet and exceed your needs. If you are interested in learning more about what Genesis Adaptive has to offer, feel free to explore our cloud servers, dedicated servers, managed services, and colocation offerings.