Advantages of a Dedicated Server

August 1st, 2009

Any dedicated server can offer you the benefits that you need in order to sustain a reliable and secure web hosting environment, something which businesses that are using shared web hosting services are likely to require for one reason or another. The pricing of dedicated server hosting means that it is only suitable for you if your website is able to offer you a source of income, otherwise there is no point in you having a dedicated server; such websites could include business websites or online shops, but in all cases you should ensure that your website can offer you enough money to meet your hosting costs. Some may argue that because of the cost of dedicated server hosting, it doesn’t necessarily offer good value for money; however, if you are able to configure your dedicated server during the order process so that your resources reflect your requirements then there is no reason why you can’t class that as good value for money. It is also important to note that you will have full access to your own dedicated environment, meaning that you can use your dedicated server how you wish.

What are the main advantages that a dedicated server will have to offer?

There are several different advantages that using a dedicated server can offer, but for the most part the main advantages that most people are likely to consider in a dedicated server are the levels of reliability and security that are fairly easy to achieve. Dedicated Servers can be very powerful which means that they only usually attract users who have a specific need for dedicated web hosting services; this is where the advantage of reliability kicks in, because users who normally require dedicated server hosting for the hosting of large websites will normally want high levels of reliability – this is usually because their website offers them a source of income. Owners of such websites will also want to be sure that their web hosting environment is as secure as possible; this doesn’t necessarily mean that their website is processing personal data as this may be for another reason, i.e. if a server is insecure and gets hacked then this will cause downtime which in turn will mean lost revenue if the website concerned offers the owner a source of income.

How can I make the most of these advantages?

Making the most of the advantages offered by dedicated server hosting is pretty simple; all you need to do is make sure that any websites that you are hosting on your dedicated server warrant the need for extra security and reliability, otherwise you will find that shared hosting or VPS server hosting will be more than fine for such websites. But in all seriousness, to achieve the high levels of reliability and security that are discussed you will need to put in some work on your half. In order to achieve a highly reliable dedicated server you will want to optimize all the applications that you have installed on your dedicated server so that they use up less resources; the more resources that you have available on your dedicated server, the more reliable it is likely to be. You will also need to follow a similar plan if you wish to achieve a highly secure dedicated server; you will need to install several applications, including a firewall, so that you can make it a safe bet that your server is pretty secure – however, you will need to configure these applications correctly to achieve the highest level of security possible.

In conclusion, a dedicated server can offer you many advantages in terms of reliability and security; because dedicated servers are aimed mainly at businesses, you will find it beneficial to be able to make the most of the reliability and security that your dedicated server has to offer. However, for the advantages of dedicated server hosting to be effective you will need to actively maintain your dedicated server which includes ensuring that all the applications installed on your dedicated server are updated on a regular basis.

Dedicated Server

July 24th, 2009

What is a dedicated server?

A dedicated server can help you to boost the reliability and security of your website through the means of the dedicated hosting environment that you are provided with when you purchase a dedicated server of any kind. Dedicated servers are offered by many web hosting providers and are seen as the best possible form of web hosting available for the average consumer, mainly due to the fact that it is the only form of general web hosting in which you aren’t forced to share any portion of your resources with other users. Although dedicated server hosting may be unaffordable for some, it is designed for businesses with large web hosting budgets and need to host mission critical websites that offer them a source of income. Dedicated servers are easily customizable during the order process in most cases, and this can help you to ensure that you get a dedicated server which will be able to meet your requirements fully; this will also allow you to ensure that you are getting good value for money from your chosen web hosting provider.

Would an unmanaged dedicated server be more appropriate than a managed dedicated server?

Most web hosting providers are able to offer you the choice between unmanaged dedicated server hosting services and managed dedicated server hosting services, although specialist dedicated server hosting providers may only offer managed dedicated server hosting services. Unmanaged dedicated servers are ideally suited to users who are upgrading from VPS server hosting and have a good level of server management knowledge since you are launching yourself into a completely dedicated environment which you will be responsible for managing. You are best suited to managed dedicated server hosting services if you are an individual or business that needs to host a mission critical website, as by using your web hosting provider’s support team as and when needed you will be able to make sure that everything is setup on your dedicated server properly without any problems. So in short, if you have any previous experiences with managing servers in any way then you may be able to consider unmanaged dedicated server hosting services if you can choose the right server operating system for your needs; fully managed dedicated server hosting services are more appropriate for businesses who don’t have the time to manage their own dedicated server, and perhaps for individuals with no server management experience.

Which server operating systems are on offer for dedicated server hosting?

Most web hosting providers are able to offer a large number of Linux distributions for users who require Linux dedicated server hosting as well as all the editions of Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008 that are available for Windows dedicated server hosting customers. Because most Linux distributions are open source which makes them free to use, you will find it more beneficial to use Linux dedicated server hosting services if you are on a low budget. Most Linux distributions are designed for a specific use, and the best to use on dedicated servers are CentOS and Ubuntu. As Windows Server 2003 is older than Windows Server 2008, it will be cheaper for you to have Windows Server 2003 installed on your Windows dedicated server; however, if you wish to take advantage of the latest Microsoft technologies then you may wish to consider Windows Server 2008 for your dedicated server. In any case Windows dedicated servers are going to be more expensive than Linux dedicated servers because of the licensing costs that are involved with using the Windows operating system.

In conclusion, a dedicated server can offer you a wide variety of choices when it comes to the server operating systems that you are able to use – although you can get a similar variety with VPS server hosting, it isn’t likely to be as wide as the variety of operating systems that are available for dedicated servers. You should seek advice on whether you should choose managed dedicated server hosting or unmanaged dedicated server hosting; you don’t want to end up paying extra for a managed dedicated server when you are more than capable of managing your own dedicated server.