Two decisions shape everything else about your Fast Hive VPS: how much of it you buy, and which operating system it runs. Both are changeable later - resources scale from the panel, and the distribution is reinstallable at any time - but changing the OS means rebuilding, so it is worth getting right. This guide covers both honestly, including when a VPS is the wrong answer.
Is a VPS actually what you need?
| Choose shared hosting if | Choose a VPS if |
|---|---|
| You run websites on standard software - WordPress, a shop, a brochure site | You need software that shared hosting cannot run - Node, Python, Go, Docker, a custom daemon |
| You want cPanel and updates handled for you | You want root, and control of the whole stack |
| Your resource usage sits inside the plan's ceilings | You have genuinely outgrown those ceilings after caching and cleanup |
| Nobody on the team administers Linux | Someone will keep it patched and monitored |
A slow website is usually a slow application. Moving an unoptimised site to a VPS often makes it slower, because you lose the tuned shared stack and inherit responsibility for replacing it. Fix caching and plugins first; upgrade if the numbers still justify it.
The plans
| Plan | vCores | RAM | NVMe | Network | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VPS 2 | 2 | 4 GB | - | - | A single site or app, staging, a small service |
| VPS 4 | 4 | 8 GB | 75 GB | 1 Gbps | Busier applications, a few sites together |
| VPS 6 | 6 | 12 GB | 100 GB | 2 Gbps | Databases and multi-service stacks |
| VPS 8 | 8 | 24 GB | 200 GB | 3 Gbps | Demanding or memory-hungry workloads |
Every plan includes full root access, daily backup, 1 dedicated IPv4 address and unlimited traffic. Check the current pricing and exact specifications on the VPS plans page before ordering.
Sizing by memory, not cores
Memory is what usually runs out first. A rough guide:
- 4 GB - one CMS site with a database, or a small app. Comfortable for most single-site uses.
- 8 GB - several sites, or one busy one with caching layers such as Redis.
- 12 GB - a real database workload alongside the application.
- 24 GB - in-memory caching, search indexes, containers, or a database that must hold a large working set.
Cores matter for concurrency and for anything CPU-bound such as image or video processing. Note that Fast Hive vCPU is dedicated - allocated to you rather than drawn from a shared burst pool - so the core count you buy is the core count you get.
Choosing a distribution
Ubuntu, Debian, AlmaLinux, Rocky, CentOS Stream and Fedora are all available, and all reinstallable at any time.
| Distribution | Character | Pick it when |
|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu LTS | The default choice. Long support window, enormous amount of documentation. | You are not sure. Nearly every tutorial you find assumes it. |
| Debian | Conservative and very stable. Older package versions by design. | You value stability over newness and are comfortable with Linux. |
| AlmaLinux / Rocky | Enterprise-compatible rebuilds, long lifecycles. | Your software expects an enterprise Linux, or a control panel requires one. |
| CentOS Stream | Tracks ahead of the enterprise release. | You are developing against what enterprise Linux will become. |
| Fedora | Newest packages, short support cycle. | You want current software and accept frequent upgrades. Rarely right for a production server. |
Before you order
- Decide the plan on memory, then check cores are adequate.
- Choose an LTS distribution unless something specifically requires otherwise.
- Have your SSH public key ready to supply at deployment - far better than a root password.
- Confirm who will patch and monitor the server. Unmanaged means that person is you.
- Plan the first thirty minutes: updates, a non-root user, SSH hardening, firewall. The VPS security article is a checklist for exactly this.
Troubleshooting
| Situation | What to do |
|---|---|
| You bought too small a plan | Resize CPU and memory from the panel. One short reboot, billing adjusts hourly. |
| You chose the wrong distribution | Rebuild with the one you want - but a rebuild erases the disk. Back everything up first. |
| Disk is filling and you cannot shrink it later | Find the consumer first with du -sh /* | sort -h. Runaway logs and old backups are the usual cause, not genuine growth. |
| The site is no faster than it was on shared hosting | The bottleneck was the application. A VPS gives you room, not speed. Profile the slow pages. |
| Nobody has time to administer it | Ask Sales & Solutions about the managed patching and monitoring add-on, or move back to shared hosting. |
Frequently asked questions
How quickly is a VPS ready?
It deploys in around 55 seconds. You can be connected over SSH within a couple of minutes of ordering.
Can I change plan later?
CPU and memory scale from the panel at any time, with a short reboot and hourly billing. Disk usually grows but does not shrink.
Can I change the operating system later?
Yes, by rebuilding - which wipes the disk entirely. It is not an in-place upgrade, so treat it as starting fresh and back up first.
Does the VPS include cPanel?
Only if you order it alongside the server. A plain VPS gives you a bare distribution and SSH.
Do I get a dedicated IP address?
Yes, one dedicated IPv4 address is included with every plan.
Is there a bandwidth limit?
Traffic is unlimited; the network speed differs by plan, from 1 Gbps up to 3 Gbps.
What does Fast Hive support on an unmanaged VPS?
Our engineers are on call 24/7 for the hypervisor, network and storage beneath your server. What runs inside it is yours. The companion article on VPS support scope sets out the line in detail.
