Editing Virtual private server (section)

{{short description|One of many virtual machines running on a single computer}}
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{{More citations needed|date=December 2024}}{{internet hosting}}

A '''virtual private server''' ('''VPS''') or '''virtual dedicated server''' ('''VDS''')  is a [[virtual machine]] sold [[as a service]] by an [[Internet hosting]] company.<ref name=":0" />

A virtual private server runs its own copy of an [[operating system]] (OS), and customers may have [[superuser]]-level access to that operating system instance, so they can install almost any software that runs on that OS. For many purposes, it is functionally equivalent to a [[Dedicated hosting service|dedicated physical server]] and, being software-defined, can be created and configured more easily. A virtual server costs less than an equivalent physical server. However, as virtual servers share the underlying physical hardware with other VPS, performance may be lower depending on the workload of any other executing virtual machines.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |last=Nguyễn |first=Thành |date=March 2017 |title=Virtual Private Server (VPS) or Virtual Dedicated Server (VDS) |url=https://searchservervirtualization.techtarget.com/definition/virtual-private-server |access-date=13 February 2019 |work=searchservervirtualization.techtarget.com}}</ref>