Advantages of a Dedicated Server

August 1st, 2009

The advantages of a dedicated server will allow you to make the most of your dedicated server with ease, meaning that it is very easy to achieve good value for money regardless of what your requirements are or who your chosen web hosting provider is. Most web hosting providers will allow you to customize your dedicated server during the order process, allowing you to create something that fits around your requirements perfectly; this includes the resources of your server as well as the server operating system that you wish to use, meaning that you can have a server which is as powerful as you need it to be without paying too much. It is important for you to make sure that you choose the right web hosting provider for your web hosting requirements, as you don’t want to find a few months down the line that you have to move web hosting providers for one reason or another. There are many decisions that you will need to make when purchasing a dedicated server; not only do you need to consider the server operating system that you are going to use, but you will also need to choose between an unmanaged dedicated server and a managed dedicated server.

How will dedicated server hosting benefit me?

Dedicated server hosting will only benefit you if you are sure that dedicated server hosting is the only form of web hosting that suits your requirements; in some cases users will find that a high specification VPS server may be able to meet their requirements, which will also save them a lot of money in the long term. Although a dedicated server will be able to benefit in certain areas such as security and reliability, you will need to put some effort in to optimize and secure your server to such an extent that these two advantages will benefit you for the long term without the need for any additional input. Dedicated Servers tend to be best suited to larger websites, including ones that receive many visitors each month; this is because larger websites tend to be load intensive, and although this means that they aren’t fit for hosting in a shared web hosting environment, you will be able to save yourself some money by working out exactly which resources your website will require so that you don’t end up paying for what you don’t need.

Which resources should I consider in a dedicated server?

All the resources that come with a dedicated server, except bandwidth, are physical resources because you are paying for a physical server; this is unlike all other forms of web hosting with which you are just paying for virtual space on a physical server that is shared with many other users. The main resources, and probably the most expensive one, that you should look out for in a dedicated server is the CPU/processor; this will be the brain of your dedicated server, so the more powerful it is the more you will be able to achieve with your dedicated server. The second resource to be aware of is the amount of RAM that you have available; all applications on your dedicated server will be using up a certain amount of RAM, meaning that the more RAM you have installed on your dedicated server the more applications you will be able to run at once. And finally there is the size of the hard drive that you have installed in your dedicated server; the bigger your hard drive is, the more content you will be able to store on your dedicated server.

In conclusion, choosing the web hosting provider that you are going to use for dedicated server hosting is as important as choosing the dedicated server itself. Just as you need to consider the resources that each dedicated server deal has to offer, you also need to consider what a web hosting provider has to offer in terms of customer service, security and network reliability. If you are sure that dedicated server hosting is right for you then you will probably find that purchasing a dedicated server is the best move you have made in terms of web hosting.

Dedicated Server

July 24th, 2009

What is a dedicated server?

A dedicated server is the one form of web hosting which has the ability to meet the requirements of everyone who uses web hosting services in one way or another, the only downside to this fact being that not everyone who uses web hosting is able to afford dedicated server hosting services. A dedicated server is able to meet the requirements of businesses and individuals in more areas than any other forms of web hosting are able to; the dedicated environment that you will have access to regardless of whether you choose Linux or Windows means that you will be able to achieve greater levels of uptime and reliability and will also be able to secure your dedicated server to a level which suits your requirements, allowing you to fulfil the requirements needed to ensure PCI certification.

Should I choose a specialist web hosting provider for my web hosting needs?

Dedicated servers are also offered by specialist web hosting providers who offer more practical website hosting services to larger corporations, but a dedicated server from a specialist web hosting provider is likely to cost more than it would if you were to purchase it from a regular web hosting provider. A specialist web hosting provider is likely to be able to offer you a greater level of customer service and support than a regular web hosting provider will be able to, and if you have multiple servers with them then you may also be assigned a personal account manager which will mean that you can expect an even greater level of customer service from then. Most specialist web hosting providers focus the scope of their operations on the reliability of customer servers and their own network; although they can’t be held responsible for any actions on the customer’s part which could bring a dedicated server down, specialist web hosting providers do try to ensure that their external network is as secure and as reliable as possible so that they can say that they are doing all they can to offer near enough to 100% guaranteed uptime. You should only really choose a specialist web hosting provider for your dedicated server needs if your website is of that much importance and you are able to justify and afford the extra cost.

How can using a dedicated server benefit me in the long term?

There are several different ways in which a dedicated server should be able to benefit you in the long term, although this does rely on you keeping your server in good order which means that you should update all the software that you have installed on your server on a regular basis. A fully managed dedicated server should be reliable for a long time to come, especially if you ask your web hosting provider to optimize a majority of the applications that you have installed so that you can count on the performance of your dedicated server to be good. Your dedicated environment should also remain highly secure if it is secured in the first place; if for example a hacker does get access and lets a virus loose or installs a rootkit then your only choice will be to reload your dedicated server with a fresh operating system installation, but if secured correctly in the first place then this shouldn’t happen to any dedicated server.

In conclusion, a properly secured dedicated server purchased from a web hosting provider that offers full support for its dedicated server customers is the best route to go if you wish to have a dedicated server that you will be able to count on for a long time yet. If your website is of particular importance to you for one reason or another then you may also wish to consider specialist web hosting services; although a dedicated server from a specialist web hosting provider is going to be more expensive, you can at least be sure that you are going to be offered a very high level of uptime.