Virtual or physical servers: what should I choose? 8 arguments in favor of clouds

The days when a significant part of office space was occupied by physical servers go to the past. Fewer companies want to clutter their offices with hardware. However, this has not completely become a part of history yet. Since the myths about clouds are hovering around, some users are still in the arms of physical servers. If you are also in doubt about whether to choose a virtual server in the cloud or a physical server in the office, we recommend you familiarize yourself with the specifics of each approach.

Let us look at what thoughts most often encourage you to look in the direction of physical servers:

• The desire to have your server "nearby", keep everything "under control" and "be independent".
• Concerns that someone might access the data in the cloud.
• The belief that the clouds are "superfluous" because you can look for an IT specialist who will administer the physical server and solve all the problems at the same time.
• The desire to pay once and the hope that your own IT infrastructure is a profitable investment "for the future".

Are these and other thoughts valid? How can one decide which approach is the best and which one is the best for a particular company? First of all, collect as much information as possible about all the advantages and features of each type of server. Then compare them. And after that, make a decision. We have simplified the task and gathered the main information here.

1. Reliability and availability.

Virtual server: data centers that host virtual servers have a specific security level: Tier 1, 2, 3, or 4. The higher the level, the more reliable the data center.

All Tucha capacities are located in Tier 3 security level data centers or higher. This helps ensure smooth operation and high availability of the services since all the important communications in the data centers such as power sources, Internet, cooling systems, and so on are duplicated. Even in case of failures, the data center does not stop operation, and its performance is guaranteed even during repair or maintenance work.

Guaranteed availability of TuchaBit service with the platforms in Ukraine is 99.0%. TuchaFlex+ service with data centers located outside Ukraine (mainly in Germany) has this indicator at the level of 99.9%.

Physical server: does not have by default such indicators as the level of security, guaranteed availability, availability of backup communication channels, regular servers. You have to take care of all these things on your own.

2. Security of data placement.

Virtual server: a reliable provider that takes care of the security of its customers' data, provides additional tools for protecting information, including system snapshots and the ability to create and safely store backups of important data.

How do we work? The price of our services TuchaBit and TuchaFlex+ already includes snapshots. They help restore the system to the state it was in the moment of the snapshot creation in case of critical changes. The service for creating and storing backups TuchaBackup will help you provide additional protection for individual files. Also, we provide the ability to encrypt communication channels and data and offer special virtual machine templates with disk encryption enabled.

Physical server: snapshots are not available. You can set up regular backups by using programs that automatically create backups. However, this does not guarantee your data security if you keep backups on the same physical servers.

3. Stability and availability of access.

Virtual server: access to the cloud requires an Internet connection, and an access device requires a stable power supply. But an important advantage of the clouds over the physical servers is mobility: if these communications are delivered with failures, you can move your laptop or tablet to the nearest place with the Internet and electricity, and you are back in touch.

Physical server: operation also depends on the availability of the Internet and power supply. But if the server in the office and communication there is unstable, the entire company operation will stop; because it is only possible to work with the data on the physical server within the office.

4. Protection of data against access by unauthorized persons and force majeure.

Virtual server: information is securely protected from physical access by unauthorized persons or intruders since data is stored on the remote servers. Often — overseas.

Physical server: important and confidential company data is stored right in the office, close to employees` workplaces. In the best-case scenario — in a separate room Is this enough protection for the servers that provide the entire company operation? This is a rhetorical question since anyone can access the data. Besides, the physical servers are not protected from damage and force majeure that can occur in any room (water ingress, fire, etc.).

5. IT-resources scaling.

Virtual server: if the business is growing, its requirements for IT hardware are changing. With the cloud, you can add the necessary resources in a matter of minutes. To do this, you do not need to wait and stop the entire company operation for a long time. So, you can choose the exact amount of resources that you need for quick and stable work. Consequently, you will not spend extra money on excess equipment. You can also easily reduce the number of resources if your needs have changed. So, it allows you to save money.

Physical server: even at the initial stages of work, hardware requires large investments. At the same time, the resources are usually selected with the future growth of business in mind. However, with a significant increase in the scale of the business and its needs, it will be necessary to purchase equipment again. If instead, some part of the resources remains unused over time, they are an extra expense on the hardware infrastructure.

6. Mobility.

Virtual server: if an individual employee or an entire team needs to work remotely, it is easy to do so thanks to the clouds and a configured remote desktop with all the necessary programs and data. And changing the location of the office when working in the clouds is not so terrible since relocation does not lead to large-scale downtime that might happen during the relocation of the server.

Besides, the clouds are the most profitable and convenient solution for startups and small businesses. Startup projects do not need to invest heavily in IT equipment right away. It allows you to optimize resources: invest finances in the growth, development, and promotion of the project, and not spend a significant part of the funds on hardware. Also, it is very convenient if the specialists are in different parts of the country or the world. Also, the clouds allow you to save money on the arrangement and maintenance of premises for work.

Physical server: if the office relocates, you will have to take all the IT equipment with you. And the bigger it is, the longer the relocation will remain in your memory. ;-)

7. Server operation support.

Virtual server: depending on the type of technical support you have selected; the provider is partially or completely responsible for the quality of the server operation. For example, we monitor server health, the physical infrastructure of the data center, the virtualization environment, and other equally important aspects that are in our authority within a specific type of technical support.

Physical server: you independently need to search for IT specialists who will monitor the server's performance and fix any problems that occur.

8. Financial investments.

Virtual server: the clouds do not require large financial investments in the IT equipment, even at the initial stages of the company's operation. Payment is made only for the selected resources, and you can start working immediately after creating and configuring virtual machines.

We will help you choose the right service and configuration in advance. You will only have to pay a fixed price for the services and enjoy all the benefits of the cloud.

Physical server: hardware requires significant investments for purchasing at the very start of the business. Over time, you will still need to update your IT resources: buy new equipment and upgrade what is already in use. Besides, you should consider the cost of hardware maintenance by specialists.

We defined the main advantages that the business, its owner, and all the employees get thanks to the clouds. Summing up, we want to highlight the main thing: the virtual servers — reliable business operation, secure data storage, and simple scaling of resources. The clouds, unlike the physical servers, easily adapt to business needs and also allow you to work from any corner of the world.

If you are still afraid of the clouds and use only the physical servers, perhaps it is time to use modern technologies and make your work easier. You can test our services for free for 7 days. We will be happy to answer any questions and find the most accurate solution. Contact us 24×7 and see for yourself all the advantages of the virtual servers!