A dedicated hosting service allows one to lease an entire server from a hosting company, dedicating all the resources of that server to the client’s needs.
The opposite of dedicated hosting is virtual hosting, wherein the hosting company configures one server to appear as multiple servers that operate on their own. Through virtual hosting, the hosting company is able to use one machine to serve multiple clients. Virtual hosting is commonly employed in order to offer low cost hosting to small and medium-sized clients.
The downside of sharing a server is that everyone on the machine must play nice together. If one of your server mates crashes the machine, your site goes down as well. A client who requires the entire resources of a server devoted to serving his content to the Internet will often choose to forgo virtual servers in favor of a dedicated hosting package. Additionally, a client who is storing sensitive data such as personal or financial customer information may not want to use hardware to which others have access.
Features of Dedicated Hosting
On a dedicatedd server, you make all the decisions. The owner of a dedicated server is able to choose what operating system is used, what software is installed, and how the machine is configured. With dedicated hosting, the client is able to set everything up in a manner that serves his needs exactly as he sees fit.
Since you are making all the decisions on your dedicated server, you are in charge of keeping things running. With dedicated hosting, the client chooses the level of service. If you have your own system administrators to take care of the gritty details, you can self-manage your dedicated server. If you do not have technical people on staff, many dedicated hosting providers offer various levels of management options.
Dedicated servers can be configured with various security software to create a secure server environment. The client can configure the system to scan for unauthorized entry, examine files for viruses and malware, and encrypt data. If the client has his own administrative staff (or hires security consultants), he can design a custom security configuration that suits his intentions for using the server.
Finding a Dedicated Hosting Provider
The process of finding a good dedicated hosting provider is very important — a business that depends on server uptime needs to find a reputable host who can meet its needs. I would suggest you start by talking to others in your industry. Find out which hosting providers have a good track record, and check out each of their offerings. Consider what level of server management and customer service you require, and make sure you pick one who offers a package that fits. Here are a few questions you will want to ask:
- How long has the company been in business?
- Where is the data center, and what is their disaster recovery plan? Is it in an area prone to natural disasters?
- What is building security like? If you need physical access to your server(s), how do you go about that?
- What are the tech specs on the hardware that is offered?
- What kind of bandwidth is available, and what is the exact process for handling bandwidth overages?
- When hardware needs to be upgraded, who is responsible for the maintenance?
- If you do not have your own tech staff, can the host put together a server management plan?
- How much uptime is guaranteed?
- What kind of data backup solutions are offered?
Photo by existentist.
