VPS services can be divided into two main types depending on who is responsible for the server’s operating system and the software running on it: managed or unmanaged VPS. In both cases, the provider is responsible for the hardware, the network and the virtualisation; the difference lies within the virtual machine itself.

Unmanaged VPS

With an unmanaged VPS, the provider supplies a functioning virtual machine with the selected operating system and root access; all other tasks are the responsibility of the customer: updates, firewall configuration, managing users and SSH keys, installing the web server, database and control panel, as well as monitoring and troubleshooting. This offers the greatest freedom and the lowest price, but requires Linux system administration skills and a regular time commitment.

Managed VPS

With managed VPS, the provider’s system administrators take on some or all of the operational tasks: system and security updates, security settings, web server and database operation, monitoring and troubleshooting. This comes at a higher price, but in return you can focus on your application. Exactly what is included varies greatly from provider to provider, so always ask for a written list of tasks and areas of responsibility before placing an order.

Who does what?

Task	Unmanaged (KVM VPS)	Managed (Managed VPS)
Hardware, network, DDoS protection, daily backups	aWh	aWh
Installing an operating system	automatic, upon ordering	aWh
System and security updates	You	aWh
Users, SSH keys, firewall	You	aWh, in consultation with you
Web server, PHP, database, SSL	You	aWh
Resource and service monitoring	You	aWh, with alerts
CI/CD, Docker environments	You	aWh on demand

Which one should you choose?

An unmanaged VPS is a good choice if:

• is confident in using Linux via the command line and knows how to secure a server;
• has time for regular updates and monitoring the logs;
• You would like a unique environment designed by yourself.

A managed VPS is a better option if:

• The server is important from a business perspective, but the company does not have its own system administrator;
• Developers want to spend their time on development, not on operations;
• You want to be in control of security updates and fault rectification, with clear deadlines and accountability.

Here’s a good test: if, in the event of an outage in the early hours, you wouldn’t know where to start troubleshooting, or if a critical security update were to be delayed for days, it’s worth opting for a managed solution.

Managed and unmanaged VPS at aWh

Our KVM VPS plans are unmanaged: featuring an AMD Epyc processor, NVMe SSD, daily backups, DDoS protection and full root access; you are responsible for managing the server yourself.

As part of our managed VPS service, our system administration and DevOps teams carry out Linux system maintenance, operate LAMP or Nginx-based web servers, implement security hardening (SSH, firewall, fail2ban), and, on request, develop CI/CD processes and Docker environments. Pricing is always bespoke, as it depends on the number of servers, the services running on them and the complexity of the tasks: ongoing operation is charged on a monthly basis, whilst larger one-off tasks are priced on a project basis. Following the assessment, we set out the tasks, areas of responsibility and price in writing, and you retain your own access to the server.

If you wish to run websites using the familiar cPanel interface, the dedicated cPanel server is the third option: a KVM VPS with a cPanel licence, managed by us.