What is Virtual Server Hosting

Virtual Private Server (VPS) or Virtual Dedicated Server (VDS) on Hyper-V technology is a virtual machine with guaranteed set of resources, which can be specified by Virtual Server Hosting program.

Management

The VPS Hosting is unmanaged hosting. The customer has allowed full management of the guest operating system. Loading software, patching, backups, and such would be handled by the customer.

The VPS can be accessed via Terminal Services - Remote Desktop. There is only allowed access for management with administrative rights.

The customer also can install a control panel on the guest to manage the hosting environment on the VPS.

From an end-customer perspective, a VPS looks and feels like a dedicated server, where patching, software loading, and so forth do not affect other guests on the server.

Software Licenses

All Microsoft products licenses for the guest must be reported by the service provider (Quantasoft). An end customer can't bring in their own Microsoft products licenses.

• VPS hosting has anonymous license for Windows Server 2008 Standard Edition - the operating system can't be a part of Active Directory (AD) and/or use Windows Authenticated Services (WAS) to authenticate end-users.
• The operating system can be used only for public services as webhosting, ftp hosting where the end-user is not authenticated by AD or WAS.
• The anonymous license can't be used for Microsoft Exchange Server, Microsoft Office SharePoint® Server, or other applications that require end-user authentication.

The customer can install non-Microsoft software if:

• Software is required to run webhosting services - web server, ftp server, statistics, logging, managing, backups, ...
• The customer has licenses for installed software or software is freeware.

Running Microsoft SQL Server 2008 with VPS

There are five different SQL Server 2008 editions available: Express, Web, Workgroup, Standard, and Enterprise. Where applicable, SQL Server 2008 is licensed per processor.

SQL Server 2008 Express

SQL Server 2008 Express is a free, downloadable version that has most commonly used features but limitations on size of database (4 GB), number of CPUs (1), and amount of RAM it can leverage (1 GB). SQL Server 2008 Express is a good option for starter Web sites and for development-related activities. There are no limitations or restrictions on the number of instances that can be run on any physical or virtual server.

SQL Server 2008 Web

SQL Server 2008 Web is a new version specifically geared for the hosting industry. It may be used only to support public and Internet-accessible Web sites, pages, applications, and services. SQL Server 2008 Web is also licensed on a per-processor basis. The licenses required are based upon the number of processors used, up to a maximum of four processors per server. To run instances of SQL Server 2008 Web on VPS, a license is required for each virtual processor that each of those guests uses. For actual price list check Additional services for VPS Hosting.

SQL Server 2008 Standard

SQL Server 2008 Standard is licensed on a per-processor basis. The licenses required for the host are based upon the number of physical processors used, up to a maximum of four processors on a server. To run instances of SQL Server 2008 Standard on VPS, a license is required for each virtual processor that each of those guests uses.