As a video game designer or a game streaming platform host, you have several web hosting platform alternatives. However, the most popular currently are dedicated and VPS hosting. In VPS {virtual private server} hosting, multiple sites will use the same platform, but they have their set resource limits on elements like bandwidth and RAM. You will also borrow resources from other sites using a hypervisor when your server is maxed out. In dedicated hosting, you will get a whole server to yourself. You choose your resource limits, have total control over your games, and have virtually no downtimes. Dedicated hosting is generally used by big and medium sites, but it is also ideal for small gaming sites aiming for the best user experiences. Though investing in it might initially seem too expensive, it saves you on upgrading costs as your site grows.

Here are a few elements that differentiate VPS and dedicated hosting to help you make the right choice for your site’s hosting.

Resource allocation

Resource allocation

It is easy to think of dedicated and VPS web hosting like pizza. With dedicated hosting, you have a whole pizza along with the sides and drinks. On the contrary, with VPS, you will share the pizza, sides, and drinks. Though the people you share the pizza with might leave some such that you get something extra, this is not guaranteed.

With VPS, you and other users will share some physical resources like RAM, CPU, and disk space. You, however, will get to enjoy your control panel and private server, so you are still in charge of your configurations or settings to make any necessary adjustments to your game. In terms of resource allocation, dedicated hosting wins because you get as many resources as you need to keep gamers happy.

Security

Security

In terms of security, think of dedicated and VPS hosting as owning property. VPS is much like having a block of flats, so if someone leaves the door open, your unit is at risk of a break-in. Dedicated hosting is much like owning your property. While thieves might still break-in, the risk of this is reduced because there are not many people who might carelessly leave the door open.

Web hosting platforms invest in the highest levels of security for the players on their platforms. Though VPS hosting is secure, dedicated hosting has more security for your computer or console than the best VPS solution when playing a multiplayer online game.

Performance

In web hosting, good performance depends on how quickly and how well a site loads for its users. Consider a bus route. When only a few passengers get on a bus, a driver stops occasionally because only a few routes will have drop-offs. If there are too many people on the bus, the driver stops at almost all drop-off points on the way.

VPS hosting starts as a full bus, meaning it will not be as quick getting to its destination as dedicated hosting in which you are the only passenger. Unsurprisingly, dedicated hosting is the best choice when you do not want lags and loading delays that might affect your game’s enjoyment when hosting a multiplayer game.

Customization and configuration

Customization and configuration

You can pick managed or unmanaged plans when you have VPS or dedicated hosting. With unmanaged plans, you will build then maintain everything you need, while with unmanaged plans, everything is maintained and built for you. When looking for a hassle-free option, managed dedicated or VPS hosting is the ideal choice.

As concerns customization, both dedicated and VPS hosting will let users adapt their resource limit monthly according to their payment schedules. As such, there is not much customization difference between the two. However, with VPS hosting, you can borrow resources from other sites when you exceed your monthly limit.

Hopefully, the aspects covered in the above article have cleared up your confusion on what will work best for you between dedicated and VPS hosting. If you are aiming for the highest number of gamers, dedicated hosting will give you unrivalled performance and infinite resources to support them. Partner with a dedicated hosting provider with the best bandwidth and uptime rather than the cheapest plan.