A virtual private server, also known as a VPS, acts as an isolated, virtual environment on a physical server, which is owned and operated by a cloud or web hosting provider. VPS hosting uses virtualization technology to split a single physical machine into multiple private server environments that share the resources.

VPS hosting is similar to using virtualized OS software. For example, let’s say you have a MacBook Pro, but you really need to use the Window OS for a certain program to run. Instead of buying a separate Windows PC you could use software like VirtualBox or VMware. This software will allow you to run a virtualized version of the Windows OS on your Mac machine.

The same can be said for VPS. On the same single physical server, you can run several different virtualized servers. Each of these virtual servers will act as if they’re separate dedicated servers.

With VPS hosting you have much more control over the software that your server is running. Typically, the only limits placed upon the software you can run are the operating system the server runs on and your total memory allocation.

VPS and dedicated server hosting are reliable upgrades from shared hosting, but they have some important differences. A dedicated server gives you exclusive rights to an entire physical server. By contrast, a VPS only allocates space to you on a server.