A Comparison Between Physical, VPS and Virtualised VMware Based Hosting

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...
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