Web hosting companies developed the virtual private server to provide features usually reserved for a dedicated server at a more affordable price. An increasing number of web hosting users needed more flexibility, custom configurations, and root access, and the concept of a true virtual server fit their needs perfectly.

With a virtual private server, each web hosting account receives their own operating system. The most common operating system is a highly specialized version of Linux, a Unix-like open-source initiative. The user's operating system runs the typical web hosting software, including an FTP server, a web server such as Apache, and an email server. Users can configure these components without affecting other users on the same physical machine because they are working within their own operating system. They are usually given the option of "root access," meaning they are allowed to use the root account on their server. The root account is required if you want to compile your own programs, change ownership of files and directories, or start services on ports below 1024.

We also use an architecture that speeds and simplifies deployment of new software versions, enabling us to stay current with the latest technologies. The virtual private server used by many web hosting companies lack this capability.

PHP web hosting often requires root access. Many of our customers use VPS hosting with PHP.

The engineers and support staff at Spry believe rising support costs due to missing functionality within the virtual private servers are a major cause for the rapid increase in price. A virtual private server may allow a user to configure their system in almost endless ways, but it does not always include essential web hosting tools and multiple-user management. This makes it especially difficult for resellers or other individuals who support many user accounts on their server. Our virtual dedicated server gives you the benefits of the virtual server technology coupled with powerful user management and virtual host tools.