Here are some considerations to keep in mind when purchasing a VPS server:
Terms of Service (TOS)
Before purchasing a VPS, carefully review the service’s Terms of Service or Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) to understand what activities are prohibited or not allowed on the VPS.
This will help you avoid any potential issues or account suspensions. Common restrictions may include network abuse, hardware abuse, downloading copyrighted content, engaging in P2P activities, or hosting adult content.
IP Change Policy
If you plan to use the VPS for creating a VPN service, it’s important to check if the VPS provider supports IP change services.
If IP change is not supported and your IP gets blocked, you may need to purchase a new VPS. The IP change policy is usually mentioned in the Terms of Service (TOS), but the policy regarding IP blocks might not be explicitly stated. You can contact customer support or check official communication channels, such as official groups or announcement channels, for more information.
Refund Policy
The service provider’s Terms of Service (TOS) should clearly state the refund policy. If you cannot find any information about refunds in the TOS, it means that refunds are not accepted.
Even if refunds are not accepted, it should be clearly mentioned. If the provider does offer refunds, be aware that there might be certain limitations or conditions, such as a requirement to contact customer support within a specific timeframe, limits on data usage, non-refundable payments after IP blocking, or non-refundable payments for violations of user policies.
VPS Virtualization
The commonly used virtualization technologies for VPS are OpenVZ, KVM, Xen, and VM-Ware.
OpenVZ is often associated with overselling resources, which means that it is more prone to resource contention. However, other virtualization technologies can also oversell resources to some extent.
OpenVZ does not support TCP acceleration software, while KVM, Xen, and VM-Ware can be used with software like ServerSpeeder, “LotServer,” or to change the kernel and enable BBR.
Unless you have a tight budget, it is recommended to choose a VPS using KVM, Xen, or VM-Ware virtualization.
Differentiation of Virtualization:
Xen virtualization can be divided into xen-hvm (full virtualization) and xen-pv (paravirtualization). Only xen-hvm supports changing the kernel.
To determine the virtualization type, use the “virt-what” command as the root user.
If it only displays “xen,” it is xen-pv (paravirtualization).
If it displays both “xen” and “xen-hvm,” it is xen-hvm (full virtualization).
Traffic Calculation
VPS providers may have different methods of calculating traffic. Unidirectional calculation may only consider outbound traffic (VPS uploads) or both inbound and outbound traffic, with the higher value being counted.
For example, if you download a 100MB file using a VPN software running on the VPS, the VPS first downloads the file (100MB outbound traffic) and then uploads it to you (100MB inbound traffic).
If the VPS traffic calculation is unidirectional, the consumption would be 100MB, but if it’s bidirectional, it would be 200MB.
If you intend to use the VPS for proxy software, VPN, port forwarding, or relaying, bidirectional traffic calculation may result in higher traffic usage.
Avoid Using VPN Software during VPS Purchase
When registering for a VPS account, if you select the United States as the country and region but use VPN software or proxies that indicate a different country (such as global proxies or using a proxy for accessing the IDC website), it may lead to inconsistencies in the information provided.
This could be seen as fraudulent activity, and your VPS may not be provisioned, resulting in loss of money without receiving the VPS.
If you accidentally use proxies during the VPS purchase and get flagged as fraudulent, you can submit a support ticket to explain the situation, and there might be a chance to get your account unblocked or obtain a refund.
