One of the most important decisions you’ll have to make when choosing a virtual private server (VPS) is whether a Linux or Windows-based option is right for you. While dedicated IT professionals will often swear by one system or another, it is often less clear which one provides a greater benefit for small and medium-sized businesses.

Whether you are a developer, business owner who runs a large website or network, or a web hosting reseller, it is likely that you are looking for ways to save money or increase efficiency. The perfect solution to this dilemma is the use of a VPS Server.

Once you've made the decision to move from a shared hosting service or local server to a virtual private server (VPS), you're bound to have some questions. One of the most important is what VPS platform you should choose in order to get maximum return on your investment, as well as the best performance. This VPS guide will give a general overview of some of the most popular VPS platforms on the market, giving you the data you need to make an informed decision.

Reseller VPS hosting can be a lucrative market, but the key to your profitability lies in being able to control both what is offered and keeping track of when and how it is paid for. If your business is looking to make the jump to reseller hosting, or already has the groundwork in place with a Plesk or cPanel/WHM control panel and stable VPS server, there are a number of ways that you can make better use of your time by automating portions of your billing process.

Making the jump from a shared hosting plan to VPS or VDS hosting comes with an instant performance increase for your business, and will allow you the ability to both create a dynamic web presence and broaden the range of the applications that you can both install and use concurrently.

If you’re considering a move from a shared to a VPS server, you’re bound to have questions. Despite the improved performance you can see thanks to the use of a VPS server as well as the ability to install whatever apps or OS you prefer, it can be daunting to consider the leap to a self-managed server. Many small business owners wonder about how complicated it will be to administer their server and if they will have the technical expertise necessary to ensure that they get the most from their new virtual environment.

Once you've reached the edge of what shared hosting can do, you'll be left with two options: a VPS server or a dedicated server. Though both offer a number of advantages over a shared web host, VPS server hosting can often be considered the "better" choice. Here's why.

Once you've identified a VPS provider that can meet your needs as a small business, you'll be faced with the next big decision in getting the most for your IT dollar – choosing your VPS control panel. Some VPS providers, especially if they are reseller hosts, will come with a VPS control panel like cPanel or Plesk already installed, but you may also have the choice in which control panel you want if your hosting provider does not prefer one to the other. The real question for your business is cPanel vs. Plesk – which one is better?

According to Microsoft, the cloud is coming, and the company is making sure that they are able to not only cash in on the many businesses that will be using it, but that they can provide the kind of functionality companies will want from their cloud provider.

As server hosting evolves, a more clearly-defined gap between virtual private servers and dedicated hosting has begun to emerge. For many small and medium-sized businesses, a VPS has become the hosting platform of choice, and there is some evidence to suggest that VPS hosting may be on the way to replacing dedicated servers as the go-to hosting solution.