6 things you can do when using VPS

As early as the 1970s, IBM introduced an operating system called virtual machines or VM. The VM operating system took the application of shared access of a mainframe to the next level by allowing multiple distinct computing environments to live in the same physical environment. By leveraging the VM technology thus virtual private server or VPS was born. The most common use of a virtual private server (VPS) is to host a website. But when using VPS, you can do more than just that. So what really can you do with a VPS?

1. Web hosting

Perhaps one of the most common VPS use is web hosting. While most people use shared hosting, some companies find that they have outgrown the limitations of this hosting model. They need more resources, but not to the point of needing their very own dedicated server. The middle ground between shared hosting and dedicated hosting is VPS.

Since VPS offers more resources, you will find that they are ideal for hosting high-traffic websites. These days, many people, especially mobile users, need a page that loads in three seconds or less. In fact, according to Google, 53% of people browsing on mobile devices will abandon a website if it takes more than three seconds to load.

2. Using VPS to back up data

If you have a lot of data that needs to be backed up, then buying a VPS would be overkill. It is much cheaper to use cloud services if all you want to do is backup data.

But if you are using a VPS for other things and happen to have some extra space left over, there is no reason why you can’t use it to back up your data.

3. Mail server

If you are serious about your business, you would have already subscribed to email hosting for your company email address. But, here is some cost-saving tip, if your company is using a VPS to build a website, you can set up a self-hosted email server at the same VPS.

For cPanel servers, Horde and Roundcube webmail applications are among the common ones that you may use. Unmanaged VPS Hosting administrators can install either one separately.

Having an email server on a VPS gives users full control over outgoing emails while letting them set up advanced filters. Not to mention you can also harden the security for potential spam emails.

4. Virtual Private Network (VPN)

It is getting popular among internet users to mask their location and IP address due to the rising security threats.

With VPN, it creates an encrypted tunnel between the location of your computer and a remote server. All of your Internet traffic is routed through this tunnel, effectively masking your real location since your computer will seem to have the IP address of the VPN server.

If you are looking for a free and secure way to set up your VPN using VPS, OpenVPN might be the one to consider. Well-supported by its open-source community, regularly updated, and highly customizable are some of the benefits of using OpenVPN.

Although setting up your VPN using a VPS might be a challenge especially if you are not tech-savvy, having a more secure browsing and lower cost may be worthwhile in the long run.

5. Software testing

If you are a programmer or software developer, you would need to test your application in different environments to know what works and whatnot. A VPS is able to let you do that, with a virtualization environment, you are free to install any OS or any application to test your work.

VPS allows you to create a sandbox. A sandbox is a virtual environment that many use to build, test, and deploy software before going to production. Doing testing in a virtual environment can simulate a real-life scenario, that can help to reduce the risk of downtime from misconfiguration errors on your live setup. When you are done, you can always revert to default in VPS.

6. VPS for Proxy

As you can see, there a quite many VPS uses. Although it can be intimidating to give it a shot when you first hear about it, you stand to benefit a lot when you use it.

All you have to do is get through the learning curve, which is not that steep. Once you have it up and running, you can use it for any of the reasons mentioned above and more. To get started with a VPS hosting plan where you have complete control without the added expense, check out the Green Cloud VPS today.