What cloud hosting is and when it beats a VPS.

“Cloud” has become a word stuck on everything, from photo storage to accounting software. In hosting, though, it has a precise meaning. Cloud hosting means your server doesn't depend on a single physical machine, but runs on a group of connected servers. Below you will find what a cloud server is, how official sources define it, how it differs from a VPS and a dedicated server and when it pays off for your business.

What cloud hosting is

With an ordinary server, everything sits on a single machine: if it fails, your server stops until it is repaired. In a cloud, several physical servers pool their processors, memory and storage. Your virtual server runs on this group, and if one machine has a problem, another takes over its load.

The US standards institute NIST gave the definition used across the industry today, in its SP 800-145 document. In short, a service is cloud if it has five characteristics:

• on-demand resources — you get computing power and storage when you need them, without waiting for manual work on each request;
• broad network access — the service is used over the internet, from any device;
• pooled resources — several customers use the same group of machines, with resources allocated dynamically;
• rapid elasticity — resources grow and shrink as needed;
• measured service — usage is tracked, and payment follows what you use.

Cloud, VPS or dedicated server?

• VPS — a virtual machine on a single physical server. The resources are yours, but if the physical server goes down, so does the VPS.
• Cloud server — a virtual machine on a group of servers. It starts with more power and stays up when a machine in the group fails.
• Dedicated server — an entire physical machine, yours alone. The most power on a single server, but without a group to take over the load.

For a small site, a VPS is enough. When every minute of uptime matters and you don't know how much you will grow, the cloud is the safer choice.

When cloud hosting pays off

• you run an online store or an application that drives sales every hour;
• traffic grows in ways that are hard to predict, for example during campaigns or holidays;
• you run several sites or applications on the same server and want room to grow;
• you can't afford a hardware fault stopping your server for hours;
• you want to add processor and memory without moving everything to another server.

What to check with a cloud provider

1. Where the servers are — a cloud in Romania responds quickly to visitors in the country and keeps data in the European Union.
2. What happens during a fault — whether your server really moves to another machine on its own.
3. Uptime in the contract — a written percentage, not just a promise.
4. How you grow — whether you add resources on the same server or have to move everything.
5. Backup — whether it is included and whether there is also a copy outside the cloud.

Cloud hosting at RDN Network Data

Our cloud hosting servers run on a group of machines in our own data center in Romania: 26 to 256 Xeon vCores, 55 to 512 GB of RAM and 1 to 4 TB on SSD or NVMe, with a 1000 Mbps uplink and unmetered traffic. Prices start at €302.29 per month.

You get root access, Linux or Windows Server, cPanel or VirtualMin, backup included and 99.80% uptime written into the contract. Resources grow on the same server, without reinstalling, and we move your sites for free.

Frequently asked questions about cloud hosting

What is the difference between cloud and VPS?

A VPS sits on a single physical server. A cloud server sits on a group of machines, so if one fails, another takes its place and your server stays up.

Can I increase a cloud server's resources later?

Yes. Processor, memory and storage can be increased on the same server, without moving your sites and without reinstalling.

Is cloud hosting safe for company data?

Safety depends on the provider: where the servers are, who has access to them, how backups are made and what protections the network has. A cloud in Romania keeps data under GDPR rules.

Do I need technical knowledge for a cloud server?

Not necessarily. You can manage the server yourself, with root access, or leave administration to the provider.

In short

Cloud hosting gives you the power of a large server and the safety of a group of machines that cover for one another. Write to us about what you run today and we will tell you whether you need the cloud or a VPS is enough.

Official sources

• NIST: SP 800-145 — The NIST Definition of Cloud Computing