VPS Hosting Scenarios
Virtual private servers (VPS) are highly flexible and can be customized with a wide variety of options. Generally, a VPS will be more secure than a shared hosting environment, but there are many factors that can impact the security of any given hosting scenario. Security factors can also be dependent on the location of the server, amount and type of traffic in the data facility, operating system, content management system, how often updates are performed, and many other factors. Below are three primary configurations possible with a VPS protected by a firewall.
Dedicated Firewall with Private Subnet
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Dedicated Firewall
- Manages only your network traffic.
- Better security because it eliminates the possibility of unauthorized access from another user sharing the firewall.
- Fully customize your configuration and settings to include a private subnet, VPN, etc.
- Firewall appliance provides greater reliability and security compared to a software or VPS-based firewall.
- A firewall provides basic protection against common attacks but cannot block zero-day attacks or dynamically adjust to new threats. (Add Intrusion Detection to have this protection)
Private Subnet
- Using a private subnet keeps your traffic separate at the server level.
- Helps protect against attacks that could come from another VPS on the server if it were compromised by hackers.
- When using a dedicated firewall, you always want to use a private subnet to maintain the advantages of separated traffic.
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Shared Firewall with Private Subnet
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Shared Firewall
- Firewall appliance provides greater reliability and security compared to a software or VPS-based firewall.
- A firewall provides basic protection against common attacks but cannot block zero-day attacks or dynamically adjust to new threats. (Add Intrusion Detection to have this protection)
- Firewall settings may not be as customizable since it is shared with other users.
- Increased risk that another user sharing the firewall could gain unauthorized access.
Private Subnet
- Using a private subnet keeps your traffic separate at the server level.
- Helps protect against attacks that could come from another VPS on the server if it were compromised by hackers.
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Shared Firewall Shared Subnet
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Shared Firewall
- Firewall appliance provides greater reliability and security compared to a software or VPS-based firewall.
- A firewall provides basic protection against common attacks but cannot block zero-day attacks or dynamically adjust to new threats. (Add Intrusion Detection to have this protection)
- Firewall settings may not be as customizable since it is shared with other users.
- Increased risk that another user sharing the firewall could gain unauthorized access.
Shared Subnet
- Traffic to your site is mixed with traffic to other VPSs on the server.
- VPS is more vulnerable to attacks that could come from another VPS on the server if it were compromised by hackers.
- VPS offers greater security and flexibility compared to shared hosting.
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