Virtual Private Servers, or VPS for short, can be used in many different ways. Some of them might let you save money, improve productivity or security or just have fun with your friends. Here are some of the thing you can do if you have some extra space on an existing virtual machine.
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Web Server
Running a web server on a VPS is probably the most common thing to do. VPS offers better performance than other web hosting plans. You can easily install a web server and WordPress to create and host websites. You can get your money’s worth from VPS with a web server.
Cloud Storage
You can turn your VPS into a cloud storage solution for yourself easily. This will make you save money. Instead of paying storage services, you can install Nextcloud to share and collaborate on documents. If you want to keep it simple, you can also use it as an FTP server.
Mail server
Even the most basic servers can serve as a full-stack email server with MailCow suite that can support up to 75 users. It can allow you to save a huge amount of money. You can have increased control over the incoming and outgoing emails which can save your IP address from getting blacklisted.
- You may be interested in: Best Linux Mail Servers
VPN
If you are concerned with your online security, you probably already know how important VPN services are. There are many VPN providers you can choose but you can also free self-hosting VPN solutions that can turn your VPS into a VPN, such as OpenVPN. This also eliminates the risk of your information getting shared by a VPN company or even worse, getting stolen.
Self-hosting apps
There are many online apps we use every day and most of them are not free. You can set up a free alternative version of these apps on your own VPS. This may be an alternative to popular communication apps, such as Zoom, ERP software or unified workspace. This way you won’t have to pay for them every month.
Game Server
If you are a part of a social group that shares a common game choice, you can create your own server instead of paying for it. Most games don’t require a high-end server or additional GPUs. For a small group of friends, around 10, your VPS can be your own game server that no one can interfere with.
Testing
If you want to improve yourself in this area, try new things or learn how to manage a VPS, your VPS can be your own learning place. Without the fear of destroying a project, you can test anything you want on your own VPS. You can also test the changes you want to apply to a server on VPS to see if they are ready to go live or not.