Quote:
Originally Posted by usearchme
I was talking about unlimited bandwidth really
|
Sorry for misunderstanding that! Unlimited bandwidth is still not realistic though.
There are plenty of providers out there offering unrealistically large amounts of data transfer ("bandwidth"), but when you attempt to get close to that limit in your usage then you usually fall foul of a hidden clause in their TOS which states you cannot use more than x amount of CPU or something similar.
In reality, there is only a certain amount of bandwidth that can be sustained by a particular type of hosting plan due to the other limitations that have to be imposed in any kind of shared environment (that includes everything bar a dedicated server).
Therefore unlimited bandwidth is unfeasible for any provider to provide you with, and any provider offering it isn't worth dealing with IMHO - they're lying to you... (or worse
, don't know what they're on about!)
Quote:
Originally Posted by usearchme
and yes i did want uk based servers really as i am currently running a shared hosting package for my site which is based in the usa and the speed is unbearably slow, i have been looking into vps servers, are vps servers significantly faster than shared hosting ?
|
UK servers are likely to be quicker for you and other UK users, but worldwide US is probably better - so it depends on your audience.
VPS servers are usually no faster, and potentially slower than shared hosting - as with anything else, it depends on the provider and how good they are at providing a decent service.
In theory, shared hosting
should use high specification servers which mean there is more processing power (and RAM etc.) available for the server to use in processing your site (executing PHP scripts, database queries etc.). However, some providers have found a way to "increase" their profits by overcrowding their shared hosting servers to the point where the whole thing slows down.
VPS's require even higher specification servers to run well, and must be carefully managed by a provider who knows what they're doing in order to ensure the hardware nodes (i.e. physical servers) aren't overloaded by too many VPS's (by which I mean, too intense utilisation - obviously
number of VPS's isn't forced to be the same thing).
The underlying fact with a VPS is that it has
less processing power and memory etc. available to it than the shared hosting server - this means that
potentially your site could run slower on a VPS. However, this factor may be negated by the fact that your site has dedicated resources available to it - e.g. if your VPS has 100MB memory spare during normal operation, your site has 100MB memory available to use during its execution... maybe the shared server doesn't have this level of availability due to aforementioned overcrowding.
To be clear, a VPS is generally seen as a good step between shared hosting and dedicated server. This is partly due to the cost, partly the practical similiarities between VPS/dedicated server, and partly the relative levels of performance. However, a
small VPS
may not be as effective for your site as decent shared hosting; a medium/large VPS will likely be more effective for your site.
In short - it depends entirely on what you're running, and what you're comparing with what.
Quote:
Originally Posted by usearchme
What is ur site that offeres fast uk servers damien and do you do vps services too ?
|
Our UK site is
http://uk.layershift.com (hosted in the US, but should still be snappy for UK visitors)
We offer shared/reseller hosting, VPS's, and dedicated servers/colocation. Plus the usual other suspects such as domain registration and SSL certificates.
Quote:
Originally Posted by usearchme
I have found some decent deals between £15-£18 a month which isnt bad
|
It depends on what that includes... with VPS's the popular option that most providers are offering is the unmanaged variant. This means that you effectively have the responsibility of running a dedicated server - including all patching to keep it secure, and fixing any problems which may occur. It depends on the provider as to the level of support and assistance they may offer you by way of monitoring etc. to avoid the need for 24/7 availability at your end.
We offer managed and unmanaged VPS's - we let the customer decide if they want to pay us to make sure everything's fully operational, secure, etc. or pay less and do it all themselves.
If your £15 - £18/month is unmanaged, it
may be expensive... our cheapest managed VPS is £15.95/month; cheapest unmanaged is £10.95/month.
