What are Cloud Servers?
Every new technology that is developed always brings a wide and sometimes confusing array of new concepts and names, and the Cloud technology is no exception. However, the cloud technology at its heart is easy to understand and learn. Cloud servers offer tools that may be simple, but have a significant impact.
Cloud servers (http://www.atomicvps.com/) run on a technology called hypervisor. The hypervisor software allows users to make a single computer appears as powerful as a dozen or more computers. A single cloud server is only one of those processes. It appears to the user as a server, but it is actually a collection of hardware that is not its own.
What are Dedicated Servers?
Simply put, a dedicated server is a collection of its own hardware. It is an entire computer, complete with a processor, RAM, power supply unit, hard drive, and other computer components.
Which type of servers are better?
The time for traditional dedicated servers has passed. The new cloud computing technology that utilizes virtualization delivers a much more powerful performance. In addition, cloud servers are more scalable, offer more features, more reliable, and cost less.
Another advantage to cloud servers is that it can be scaled down or up only by using software. This makes it a good deal more convenient and easier. Furthermore, you can increase the hard drive space, RAM, and CPU power through a software interface. On the other hand, dedicated servers require more work and fussing with hardware when you want to scale the server up or down.
Perhaps the only major disadvantage of cloud servers is that they are at the mercy of their hypervisor software and the hardware platforms they are operating on. The performance can sometimes be unreliable, as it is essentially a virtual server.
Which type of server is easier to back up?
Cloud servers can be completely backed up with little fuss. On the other hand, dedicate servers require a little more work. To back up dedicated servers you will have to do more initial setup such as scripting. Both types of servers require little or no maintenance when the automated backups are properly configured.
What are the differences between the servers?
Cloud server software will either be a VMware or Citrix XEN virtual server. Both of these virtual server software allows the provisioning of typical server resources like CPU, Hard drive space, and RAM. Users convert virtual servers into cloud servers by making the software and hardware provide fault tolerant solutions and giving it the ability to easily extend resources. There are many other advantages such as quick provisioning and server snapshots.
In comparison, dedicated servers seem antiquated. Dedicated servers have fixed capacity and numerous single points of failure. Dedicated servers are also not as powerful as cloud servers. However, both servers are used for the same purposes.
Which type of server is safer?
If you have a dedicated server, then you are in sole control of the software and hardware security. On the contrary, if a vulnerability was found on a cloud server software that allows unauthorized users to gain access and capture network traffic, then it would compromise every cloud server on the same physical hard drive. Thus, it is important to make sure that the cloud computing software is completely secure before you use cloud servers.
Cloud servers are a win-win. Because, not only are these servers more flexible, stronger, and more scalable, but they are also typically cheaper than dedicated servers. Of course, there are also some advantages to dedicated servers, but cloud servers are by far the better choice.
