Difference between VPS and Cloud Server
There are several options for hosting a website. Among them, VPS and cloud computing are two options that are often compared. But what are the differences between them? Which should you choose?
Posted at: 2023.3.1
What is "cloud"?
There was a time when people said "cloud computing is the trend in servers." The reality is that both VPS and cloud computing are server services built on physical servers. In other words, both are servers and both are the cloud.
The difference is that VPS is a service that provides only virtual computing as a service, while the cloud is a service that provides multiple groups of servers including virtual computing.
Here, cloud is basically a comparison of "virtual computing services in the cloud".
What is the difference between VPS and cloud?
First, let's look at the difference between VPS and cloud (virtual computing services in the cloud).
| VPS | Cloud | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | low | high |
| Subscribe | Only VPS | Multiple servers, including virtual servers |
| scalability | scale-up is labor intensive scale-up options are limited | scale-up is easy and options are wide |
| Availability | Low system stability due to existence of single point of failure | High availability, no single point of failure |
| Control | Basically, self-manage server internals. | Self-management of network and other non-server areas |
| Customizability | Within plans and options | Customizable down to the smallest detail |
| Security | OS, Network | It has its own dedicated security features. |
| Root Access | ○ | ○ |
Isn't cloud computing less expensive?
However, if you compare VPS and cloud computing on the basis of service fees alone, VPS is less expensive.
For example, if you build a cluster and automatically increase or decrease the number of servers according to the server load or automate replication, it is much easier and cheaper to operate than VPS. If you are building a cluster, for example, and automatically increasing or decreasing the number of servers according to server load or automating replication, it is much easier and cheaper to operate than VPS.
On such a scale, it can be said that "the cloud is cheaper than VPS (in the sense that there is no need to sign up for unnecessary plans or build them)," but if you are signing up for virtual computing on its own, VPS is definitely cheaper.
Is scalability that different?
Recently, there are many VPS and rental server services that allow easy plan upgrades, but the scalability of VPS is capped at the "number of plans".
On the other hand, in the case of the cloud, the number of CPU cores and memory capacity can be customized, so although there is an upper limit, there are many more options compared to VPS, and moreover, you can build specifications that are not available in VPS.
In this sense, it can be said that "cloud computing is more scalable.
However, for general server applications such as web servers, the scalability of VPS is more than sufficient, so it cannot be said that VPS is necessarily less scalable.
In fact, you could say that the scalability of the cloud is too high.
Is the cloud more secure?
Cloud servers are superior in that security can be configured in detail on a per-network, per-instance, per-user, per-application, etc. basis, and can be done via GUI from a browser. However, security is not high unless properly configured.
VPS has limited items that can be configured for security, but with proper OS side and network settings (which some VPS providers do not have), security can be as high as that of the cloud.
Let's compare the advantages and disadvantages of VPS and cloud
Then, let's look at the advantages and disadvantages of VPS and cloud computing.
| Advantages | Disadvantages | |
|---|---|---|
| VPS | Can be started at low cost Simple server construction and functionality | Limited scalability High operational load and management difficulties for large scale |
| Highly scalable and easy to expand Able to use a combination of different dedicated function servers | Costs can be high High dependency on service providers (vendor lock-in) |
"Vendor lock-in" cannot be overlooked in long-term use
As the use of cloud computing expands, so-called "vendor lock-in" is becoming increasingly problematic.
Vendor lock-in refers to a situation in which a company becomes so dependent on a particular vendor's products and services that it becomes difficult to migrate to other vendors' products and services. Since cloud services often use proprietary designs, server configurations and programs will need to conform to the vendor's specifications.
When vendor lock-in occurs, the situation becomes "you can't easily move to another vendor's server," and even if the vendor raises prices or makes a troubling specification change, it becomes difficult to move and you have no choice but to accept the vendor's changes.
On the other hand, VPS is a simple server, so vendor lock-in almost never occurs.
VPS cannot be configured in complex ways
The cloud allows you to quickly assemble a high-performance server by combining various server service groups, but trying to do the same thing with a VPS can be quite time-consuming, and depending on the configuration, the same thing may not be possible with a VPS.
The image I have is that "the cloud has a fairly broad range of uses" and "a VPS can't do many complicated things."
Some VPS providers can also do things such as dynamically increase the number of servers in response to access, but it is probably correct to say that the cloud is easier to build.
Choose the one that best suits your needs and size
So far we have compared the differences between VPS and cloud computing and their advantages and disadvantages.
As we have already opened, they are both similar services but used in different ways (usage). Therefore, it is best to choose the appropriate one depending on the usage and scale.
In most cases, VPS will be sufficient unless the scale is very large, but there are also cases where you dare to choose cloud computing from the start because you expect "explosive growth in the future.
Compare cost and growth to choose which is better for you.
