What is the difference between a shared hosting plan with LVE limits and a KVM VPS?

“What is the difference between a shared hosting plan with LVE limits and a KVM VPS?” is a question many website owners will ask as they search for the hosting solution that suits their needs.

Here’s an overview to help you decide which is best for you.

Shared hosting with Cloudlinux LVE limits

Many web hosting providers use Cloudlinux to make their shared servers more stable and secure.  According to its provider, the Cloudlinux software is used on more than 60,000 servers (and hence powers more than 20 million websites) across the globe, with technology called LVE allowing the control and monitoring of resources allocated to clients.

Note: The Cloudlinux team also built the Imunify 360 platform that Zen Hosting uses on its shared hosting servers because it is very effective at finding and removing malware.  KernelCare is another product from the Cloudlinux team that Zen Hosting includes with a managed Australian VPS or managed Australian dedicated server, so it’s not necessary to reboot the server after a kernel update.
Let’s assume that the web hosting provider uses Cloudlinux on their shared hosting servers, just like Zen Hosting does.

On the shared hosting plan, your account would be assigned LVE resources, such as CPU Usage, IOPS, I/O Usage and Number of Processes.  Each has a limit and you cannot exceed those limits.

You can monitor usage from your cPanel account.

LVE limits from the cPanel interface
LVE limits from the cPanel interface.

Also, your host can see a history of your account’s usage from the WHM LVE Manager.

The LVE history of a cPanel account, from the LVE Manager, in cPanel
The LVE history of a cPanel account, according to the LVE Manager.

If your website is loading slowly and spooling for a long time, it may be an indication that your account’s resources need upgrading.

Note: There are a number of reasons why your website may be loading slowly.  For example, if the home page is larger than 5MB, it may take an unusually long time to load.  Be sure to consult with both your website developer and webhost to troubleshoot the issue.  Additionally, use tools such as Pingdom’s Speed test and GTMetrix.

KVM VPS hosting for reliability and performance

When it comes to a VPS, all of the server’s resources are dedicated to your portfolio of websites (assuming it’s a KVM VPS and the host doesn’t oversell cores). If you opt for OpenVZ instead of KVM virtualisation, each VPS instance doesn’t have its own kernel. With KVM virtualisation, each VPS has its own kernel, which is what you want.

Note: It is possible to oversell KVM virtualisation, however, Zen Hosting does not.  Your hosting provider should be honest with you about their policy.

If it’s an unmanaged VPS, you will be able to set up via root access your own webserver such as Apache, NGINX or Litespeed, control panel such as cPanel or DirectAdmin, and security platform such as Imunify 360, CXS or maldet.

Note: The Zen Hosting team doesn’t recommend using a control panel that hasn’t passed the RACK911 audit.

If you’re hosting a lot of sites from your VPS, you might opt to use Cloudlinux to define hosting packages with LVE limits.  You might also choose to use Cloudlinux to make your server more stable and profitable.

If it’s a managed VPS, the flexibility you have will depend on the host that is managing the service for you. They may or may not provide you with root access.

In conclusion, there’s no doubt that you have more power, control and flexibility with a VPS but it depends on the provider you choose and whether you opt for a managed or unmanaged solution.

If you’re not sure of your needs, contact Zen Hosting.

Thanks for reading! 

The Zen Hosting team