The following are some links for installing the Drupal content managmenet system on a virtual private server (VPS) hosted by Linode.com. Please feel free to comment or add links about your own experience of installing and maintaning a CMS (doesn't have to be about Drupal) on a VPS or even a dedicated server. If the reference is good, I'll add it to the list.

• Victor Kane's aWebFactory: VPS! Getting Drupal up and running on a linode
• Jeff Beeman: Just got rolling with a VPS on Linode (Part 1)
• Jeff Beeman: Just got rolling with a VPS on Linode (Part 2)

By the way, CMS Report is hosted on a VPS at Dakota Hosting (a reseller account I own). I've had very good luck with the virtual server at Dakota Hosting and would recommend them any day over shared hosting.

During the past couple years I have recommended to people that they host their Drupal sites on a virtual private server (VPS) instead of a shared hosting plan.   While a large number of people do not have problems running Drupal under shared hosting plans, I have always felt that there are less headaches with using a VPS to host your sites.  For example, with a VPS I don't have to worry whether the shared hosting plan gives me the necessary MySQL privileges needed by Drupal (especially CREATE TEMPORARY TABLES and LOCK TABLES).  From time to time, you also hear from people with "Drupal friendly" shared hosting plans eventually find that their hosting company isn't so friendly toward their Drupal site.  Planet Drupal contributor, Clancy Ratliff, is one of the most recent  examples for having a host provider not really happy she is using Drupal.  So I often ask myself, is shared hosting for Drupal really worth the trouble?

I don't know if shared hosting is worth the trouble but a chain of events have brought me to giving shared hosting another chance for my Drupal sites.  Last month, I pushed my VPS so close to the bleeding edge that it became unstable.  While I was able to get my sites back online, the downtime clearly told me it was time to move my sites to a new server.  While most visitors observed a performance improvement  for my Drupal sites since the server migration, it's only now that I'm letting the cat out of the bag.  For the past week, CMSReport.com has been under a shared hosting plan and not a VPS.   I'm currently running my site using a budget shared hosting plan through my reseller site which is comparable to the hosting plans offered by GoDaddy.

I don't know how long I'll keep my site on a shared hosting plan but I am currently enjoying a break from the work, worry, and experimentation that comes with administration of a VPS.  While I may go back to a VPS, I thought it would benefit some newbies and other Drupal users my experiences and thoughts on migrating my sites from a VPS back to a shared hosting plan.

First, let me say thank you for everyone that stops by to reads my blog as well as seeing the latest articles I bookmark on content management systems.  You people are the greatest and this has been a very fun year for me!  Secondly, let me say you may not be able to read this post through the weekend.

I'm moving CMSReport.com off of the server it has been running on for over for the past year.  The server currently runs on Fedora Core 4 and really need to be upgraded to a more current and better supported operating system.  I'm also trying something new so the up/down time for CMS Report will be more sporadic than with a typical server move.   I expect most of the changes to take place on Friday but I'm not sure how site performance will be next week.  What I can say is that I'm excited about the gamble I'm about to take and if it works...I may have a new recommendation for how best to host Drupal.

When I'm done...I should have plenty to talk about server administration, site support, and web hosting.  I also have  quite a few new ideas for future discussions.  Hint?  Perhaps the "C" in CMS Report is for more than just content?  Stay tune...