Fasthosts offers customisable virtual servers

Virtual servers will become more widespread for hosting, according to Fasthosts

UK hosting provider Fasthosts has introduced a range of virtual server options that allows customers dynamically to adjust the configuration to meet changing business needs.

Available now, Fasthosts Virtual Servers offer a Windows Server 2008 R2 instance that can be configured with up to four virtual CPUs, from 1GB to 16GB of memory and up to 1TB of storage.

Customers can select from a range of suggested configurations, or design a server by choosing capacity, processor power and control settings, the firm said, all of which can be dynamically adjusted without losing data or functionality.

Readjusting the server means that the user pays only for the resources they need, according to Fasthosts.

Prices start at £29.32 per month for an entry-level package with one CPU, 1GB RAM and 80GB disk space. All packages have 100Mbit/s connectivity, with unlimited bandwidth.

Fasthosts is using a datacentre infrastructure based on quad-core Intel Xeon kit and Microsoft's Hyper-V platform to deliver its new service, while customer deployment control of the virtual server is provided by Parallels Plesk 9.

Fasthosts chief marketing officer Steve Holford expects to see virtual servers become a popular choice for even the most demanding users.

"As a long-standing expert for Microsoft web hosting, we have taken our time to invest in and develop a range of virtual servers that deliver the performance and strength traditionally seen only with dedicated server hardware," he said.