Managed vs unManaged VPS Web Hosting
The single biggest surprise unearthed by my research into the world of Virtual Private Servers was » you don't need to know how to administrate a Linux server in order to run a VPS. "Say what?"
Each web host defines the term "Managed" a little differently, so you need to clarify with them exactly what they will and won't do.
WiredTree (my VPS host) does everything I could ever want. They do eve more than Lunarpages did for me when I had Shared Web Hosting.
In fact, WiredTree even logged into my old account (at Lunarpages) and move my entire site to their server.
The only thing WiredTree would NOT do .. is tell me the average number of accounts they put on their VPS servers. Must be a trade secret. I give them points for not simply fabricating a number, or lying.
One of the guys who frequents the site (MrMagoo) administrates Linux servers for a living. Before I learned that I didn't need to know Linux in order to upgrade to a VPS, I was courting Magoo .. to see if he'd administrate the VPS for me.
It wasn't until I saw how much the tech support guys at WiredTree (Joe, Jake, Adam) were willing to do that I realized I wouldn't need Magoo's help. But of course I'm very grateful for his offer. (I feel fortunate to know Magoo.)
If you opt for an unManaged VPS, that means you're comfortable administrating a Linux server, and you don't need this guide. So everyone still reading will be opting for a Managed VPS.
All things being equal, you'll pay roughly double for a Managed VPS, over what you'd pay for an unManaged account. For example, $25 will by you a similar unManaged plan .. offering comparable features that cost me $50 (fully Managed). So you can $ave if you know how to administrate Linux.
Main thing you want with your Managed plan is periodic upgrades for things like » Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP, Perl, WHM/cPanel, Fantastico, etc. These are items that would be difficult to update yourself.
With an unManaged VPS, you get a power cord attached to the physical server, along with a network cable. You also get a standard software installation, like you would with a Managed VPS, but that's pretty much it.
You must do everything else yourself, such as back-ups, troubleshooting most problems, and software upgrades. So you can see only those comfortable administrating a server would attempt such a thing.
cPanel/WHM (WebHost Mgr) vs Plesk
Managed plans always come with a Control Panel .. usually either cPanel or Plesk (the two biggies). I heard cPanel was better. From the folks at ServInt (Virginia):
Our engineers strongly encourage clients to use cPanel/WHM. The first reason is that cPanel/WHM is updated more frequently than Plesk. This is due partly to the fact that cPanel/WHM has a LARGER USER BASE. Bugs and exploits are therefore identified and resolved more quickly.
The core packages for Plesk (PHP, MySQL, etc.) are not easily upgradeable. In fact, upgrading Plesk's add-on software tends to break things. Whereas, cPanel/WHM has an automated update tool that allows you to select your updates from a variety of update trees. This allows you to handle your updates manually, or automatically as new updates become available.
Reality of the situation is that no control panel software is perfect. In fact, most control panel software is relatively buggy and poorly programmed. Of the available control panel platforms on the market today, we feel the cPanel/WHM is the most complete, well written and supported.
I should also mention that end users, hosting companies, and cPanel's Support Staff use cPanel's forums heavily. There is a wealth of information that can be found there, whereas Plesk's forums are not nearly as populated or verbose. Having complete and updated information about bugs, exploits, and third-party software issues can be very helpful for administrating your VPS Account.
Ooh, I just noticed » same people who make Virtuozzo (VPS virtualization software) also make Plesk. I use WHM/cPanel (x3).
WHM = Web Host Manager. You can administer an unlimited number of sites using WHM, by setting up each account/site with their own cPanel interface/access.