What is a virtual dedicated server?

From www.GoDaddy.com

Last Updated: June 21, 2007 3:53 PM
Occupying the space between the shared and dedicated hosting formats, a virtual dedicated server offers many of the capabilities and features of dedicated servers, including administrator (root) access and dedicated IP addresses, but at a much lower price. Users share a server, but because each virtual dedicated server is effectively isolated from other accounts, the user has full control over the server space.

Also, virtual dedicated server plans feature very high performance and available disk space and bandwidth.
We partition our servers in such a way that each virtual dedicated server operates almost entirely independently of the other accounts that share the server space. This means that with a virtual dedicated server, you will enjoy consistent, high performance, even when usage peaks on the main server.

Virtual dedicated servers are particularly useful for companies and individuals that run higher-traffic Web sites or complex applications and thus need the bandwidth, consistent performance, and flexibility of a virtual dedicated server.

About Virtual Dedicated Servers
Virtual dedicated servers offer many of the capabilities and features of dedicated servers, including admin (root) access and dedicated IP addresses, but at a much lower price. However, as a virtual dedicated server is, indeed, virtually dedicated, the customer in fact shares the server space with a small number of other customers. But because each virtual dedicated server is effectively isolated from other accounts on the server, the user has full control over the server space. As well, virtual dedicated server plans feature very high performance and available disk space and bandwidth.

Virtual private servers, which enable hosting providers to offer virtual dedicated servers, are based on the concept of partitions on mainframes that allow each division to function as a virtual standalone server dedicated to a single customer. To ensure high and reliable performance for all accounts, our server boxes are partitioned in such a way that each virtual dedicated server operates almost entirely independently of the other accounts that share the server space. This means that with a virtual dedicated server, you will enjoy consistent, high performance, even when usage peaks on the main server.

Virtual dedicated servers are particularly useful for companies and individuals that run higher-traffic Web sites or complex applications and thus need the bandwidth, consistent performance, and flexibility of a virtual dedicated server.

Dedicated Linux
Dedicated hosting reserves a Web server for a single customer where the customer has exclusive rights to their server's bandwidth, memory, and storage space. With a dedicated server, traffic and usage patterns of other customers do not affect performance.
Because of their available bandwidth, versatility, and consistent performance, dedicated servers are used for a variety of purposes, including gaming, database management, and traffic-intensive Web sites.