FreeBSD VPS2 FAQ
- What kind of hit volume can a Virtual Private Server support?
Our Virtual Servers are designed to handle a low to medium hit load (under 100,000 hits a day). If a site begins to receive
over 100,000 hits a day, web page response will begin to be affected. Those who have web sites experiencing over 100,000
hits per day should consider a Managed Private Server. An MPS can
accommodate well over 1 million hits a day.
- What VPS2 plans are available?
| |
VPS2 Basic |
VPS2 Standard |
VPS2 Pro |
VPS2 Pro Plus |
| Disk Space |
3.0GB
|
6.0GBGB |
10GB
|
20GB
|
| Data Transfer* |
No charge |
No charge |
No charge |
No charge |
| User Accounts |
Unlimited |
Unlimited |
Unlimited |
Unlimited |
| Mailboxes |
Unlimited |
Unlimited |
Unlimited |
Unlimited |
| Virtual Hosts |
Unlimited |
Unlimited |
Unlimited |
Unlimited |
| Root Access |
Unlimited |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Recommended upper bandwidth range:
VPS2 Basic: 20 GB's
VPS2 Standard: 20 GB's
VPS2 Pro: 40 GB's
VPS2 Pro Plus: 80 GB's
*Above this performance may suffer. These are recommendations, not hard limits.
- Where are the VPS2 plans available?
VPS2 plans will be available in the Sterling/Dulles, VA data center and the San Jose/Lundy, CA data center.
- What are the primary enhancements in VPS2?
VPS2 extends the advantages of control, flexibility, and isolation by overcoming many of the limitations
associated with our original VPS; VPS2 significantly narrows the functionality chasm between VPS and a
dedicated server. VPS2 is even more like a standard UNIX dedicated server.
- VPS2 offers the following key features:
- Root access, including the ability to bind to privileged ports and install third party applications
- Multiple shell accounts
- Traditional UNIX group and user management, which enables more secure subhosting and increased
flexibility over users and what privileges they have
- Access to the FreeBSD Ports Collection of applications
- Per-user disk quotas (versus per-service quotas on the original VPS)
- All services run under the VPS environment so there is no need for the “virtual” and
“non-virtual” modes required on the original VPS
- “Fair share” technology, which promotes consistent performance and security by protecting
the resources allocated to each VPS
- How many Processes are allotted to a Virtual Private Server?
Depending upon the account plan, the number of processes range from 64 to 350.
| Account Plan |
Memory |
Concurrent Processes |
Apache Daemons |
| VPS Standard |
8MB |
64 Processes |
10 |
| VPS Pro |
14MB |
64 Processes |
20 |
| VPS Pro Plus |
36MB |
96 Processes |
40 |
| Sun Solaris VPS Pro |
14MB |
64 Processes |
25 |
| Sun Solaris VPS Pro Plus |
36MB |
96 Processes |
40 |
| VPS2 Basic |
Fair Share |
64 Processes |
10 |
| VPS2 Standard |
Fair Share |
75 Processes |
12 |
| VPS2 Pro |
Fair Share |
150 Processes |
25 |
| VPS2 Pro Plus |
Fair Share |
375 Processes |
50 |
| Managed Private Server |
No Limitations |
- What is meant by “fair share” technology?
“Fair share” is the name given to the technology that protects the system resources allocated to each VPS. In
essence, it creates a sandbox (or a private and protected area) where any single VPS is limited from abusing the system
resources like processes, memory, and bandwidth. Our fair share technology is the best defense in keeping websites and
applications performing consistently.
- Are the same add-ons that are available on the original VPS plans available on VPS2 plans?
For the most part, the same extensions are available.
| Add-on (fee required) |
Rate |
| Additional Disk Space |
$$4.00/ 25MB |
| Domain Name (DNS) |
| $$10.00 |
One time fee for domain names not
registered through AlpineWeb. |
|
There are a few differences:
SSL
SSL is automatically included in each VPS2 plan, which means the one-time $50 fee for SSL does not apply. The ability to
use our shared certificate is also included. ONLY ONE SHARED CERTIFICATE CNAME (something.securesites.net) IS AVAILABLE
PER VPS2 ACCOUNT.
Miva Merchant
Miva Merchant is available with all VPS & VPS2 accounts. You can also install the software yourself with a valid license
key from Miva Corporation.
Other 3rd Party Applications
VPS2 allows customers to install and run most FreeBSD-compatible software exactly the same way it would be done on a dedicated
FreeBSD server. VPS2 supports a few methods to make installations easier: FreeBSD Ports Collection, vinstalls, and a shared
CGI Library. The widest variety of applications is available from the FreeBSD Ports Collection. vinstall is a custom tool that
makes the installation of more complex programs easy to do. Lastly, the CGI Library includes several popular CGI scripts that
can be copied from a shared library to the user’s cgi-bin. The support section of the website includes a list of the
applications that are available for installation via the methods detailed above.
- Are the original VPS plans going to be discontinued?
VPS2 plans will be sold concurrently with the other VPS plans (original VPS and Solaris-based VPS). While the long-term goal
is to replace the original VPS platform with the VPS2 platform, we will proceed extremely cautiously and conservatively in
this area so as not to negatively impact our existing customer base. We will not proceed with an end-of-life plan for the
original VPS or a forced migration from the original VPS to VPS2 until our customers’ feedback on VPS2 can be reviewed
and the feasibility and impact of a migration can be assessed. For the foreseeable future, the original VPS platform will
continue to be supported in the following ways:
- Maintenance: major bug fixes and security patches
- Moderate enhancements on the operating system, core services (Apache, ProFTPd, Sendmail, Popper, IMAPd), and key
add-on applications (Perl, PHP, MySQL, etc.)
Although the original VPS plans will continue to be available, we strongly encourage customers to purchase VPS2 plans to meet
their hosting needs. Significant product enhancements will be applied to the VPS2 platform only. See VPS2 Future Development
Plan below.
- Can I migrate my existing VPS plan to a VPS2 plan?
Yes. In fact, we would encourage migrations since VPS2 represents the latest and greatest in Virtual Private Server technology.
VPS2 was designed from the direct input of our customers. These plans offer more power and flexibility, which ultimately gives
customers more control over their Web presence. The recommended migration path from the original VPS plans to VPS2 plans is as
follows:
- VPS Standard TO VPS2 Standard
- VPS Pro TO VPS2 Pro
- VPS Pro Plus TO VPS2 Pro Plus
Following this migration path will help to ensure consistent performance. Migrations from Solaris-based VPS plans to VPS2
plans may not be suitable since there are likely specific reasons customers require the Solaris-based VPS plans (for example,
they require ColdFusion or Chili!Soft ASPs).
- What are the benefits of migrating to a VPS2 plan?
In addition to what’s been stated in the questions above, VPS2 offers additional disk space, root access, multiple shell
accounts, and more secure subhosting. Furthermore, VPS2 will be the target platform for significant product enhancements in
the future.
- Will I be forced to migrate my existing VPS plan to a VPS2 plan?
We do not currently have a forced migration plan. We will proceed extremely cautiously and conservatively in this area so as
not to negatively impact our existing customer base. We will not proceed with an end-of-life plan for the original VPS or a
forced migration from the original VPS to VPS2 until our customers’ feedback on VPS2 can be reviewed and the feasibility
and impact of a migration can be assessed.
- How does VPS2 compare to the original VPS and the Solaris-based VPS?
Original VPS vs. VPS2
VPS2 was designed to emulate the behavior of a dedicated FreeBSD server. As a result, VPS2 will appear and feel much more like
a dedicated FreeBSD server than the original VPS. The increased flexibility also presents increased complexity. VPS2
administrators take on some additional responsibilities including user, group, and file permissions management. Also, if
administrators choose to customize applications, additional responsibilities are incurred. There is a steeper learning curve
associated with VPS2 unless administrators are proficient UNIX administrators.
Solaris-based
VPS vs. VPS2
In a general sense, the Solaris-based VPS plans are based on VPS1 code, which means these plans share the same strengths and
weaknesses as the original VPS plans. The key differentiator between the Solaris VPS and VPS2 is the ability to run
applications that require the Solaris operating system (like ColdFusion and Chili!Soft ASPs).
- Will the VPS2 enhancements be applied to the Solaris-based VPS product line?
While it is thought that VPS2 features like multiple User IDs and root access will eventually be applied to the Solaris-based
VPS product line, no implementation schedule has been defined.
- What is the future development plan for VPS2?
We have the following enhancement objectives for the VPS2 product line:
- Improve the usability of VPS2 by adding features like a Control Panel, additional tools and wizards, and more
documentation.
- Develop tools that improve the ease of migration from the original VPS to VPS2.
- Apply significant product enhancements to VPS2 only (not the original VPS).
- How far from the Tier I Backbone will by Virtual Private Server Be?
In the United States, you will be Directly on the National Tier I backbone. All Virtual Private Servers are located in one of
Two Primary Networking Data Centers in the United States. One located in San Jose, California and the other located in Dulles,
Virginia. Both Data Centers are at the primary networking points in the United States Connected DIRECTLY to the Tier I Backbone.
See the Tier I Backbone Network map. In addition, we have our Data Centers in Frankfurt, Germany and London, United Kingdom.
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