Everything you need to know about dedicated server hosting
Choosing the type of web hosting for a website is one of the most important decisions a website owner will make. This is because there are several different types of web hosting. Each type has its own advantages and disadvantages. It is important for the website owner to know more about these types and choose the one that will benefit their business the most. One of the most popular types of web hosting is dedicated server hosting.
What is dedicated server hosting?
Dedicated server hosting is a type of hosting where a single server is rented to a website owner or organization. This means that the client will have full control of the server. In addition, all server software and hardware resources are fully used by the client’s website. This type of hosting has many benefits, and this is what makes it so important for certain types of businesses.
Benefits of Dedicated Server Hosting
1. This type of hosting is more reliable. The website will have more uptime because it does not share its bandwidth with any other website. Thus, the website owner can be sure that the website visitors will never have any problem with the bandwidth.
2. Improved scalability. Startups are usually smaller and require fewer resources on a server. However, every website owner would like a server that allows them to grow their website over time. Dedicated servers tend to have more scalability. This is because all the resources belong to the particular website. Thus, they can increase the size of their website whenever they need to.
3. More flexibility and control. When a server is shared between multiple websites, no one website has access to all of the features. This is because changing certain features on the server could affect other websites on that server. However, this is not a problem with dedicated hosting. Since the client has the entire server to himself, he has more control and flexibility.
4. Dedicated hosting offers greater security to the client. A dedicated server is not shared with any other website. Therefore, it is more difficult for anyone else to access files, passwords or information. This fact, combined with regular security patches and updates, makes this one of the most secure hosting options.
How to choose a dedicated server hosting service
All websites are different and the needs of one website may not be similar to the needs of another website. Therefore, every website owner should consider certain hardware and software specifications when choosing their dedicated hosting service. Some of them include:
The server processor
The first question that all website owners who want a dedicated server should ask themselves is: How powerful should the server be? This generally depends on the type of website one has. Websites that need very powerful servers often have CPU-intensive scripts, virtualization servers, specialized game servers, video transcoding servers, and SQL servers.
Website memory needs
Before choosing dedicated server hosting, the website owner should consider the website’s memory requirements and how this will affect their loading speeds. This is in the form of random access memory. RAM is the data storage capacity that is available that will allow website visitors to access any information on the server. Therefore, the more RAM a website has, the faster it will load.
storage needs
A website owner can choose the type and number of hard drives to have on their dedicated servers. This usually depends on whether they are dealing with small, sensitive data, or massive amounts of data that is not overly sensitive. A website that handles unique or sensitive customer information may have a single hard drive that stores the information and other hard drives that store the backup. In this way, sensitive information is never lost. However, customers who simply want more storage without backup can have one large hard drive that stores data and a secondary hard drive that will only be used when the primary hard drive is full.
Bandwidth needs
This usually depends on the amount of traffic the website will have. This is because the bandwidth will determine the amount of data that can be transferred from the server to the website, and vice versa, within a given period of time. This period of time is generally called the billing cycle. A website that has many visitors requires more bandwidth. Also, a website that will have images, videos, and scripts that require intensive communication with the database will require higher bandwidth.
Operating systems
Typically, there are two main operating systems used on a server: Windows and Linux. The choice of a Windows server or a dedicated Linux server will depend on your website and your particular needs. Websites that were programmed on an MS SQL or ASP.NET server will need to be hosted on a dedicated Windows server. However, if it is built with PHP, Apache, MySQL or even Ruby on Rails, it will need to be hosted on a dedicated Linux/Unix server running Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora or CentOS. It is also important for the website owner to ensure that they can use the control panel and other administrative areas on the server when choosing the operating system to work with.
How to choose the best web hosting company
When choosing any web hosting company, there are a number of factors to consider. They include:
Technical support
It is always important to ensure that the technical support team will be available at all times to respond to customer needs. In this way, the client will have peace of mind since they will have the security that their website will always be taken care of in case there is a problem.
activity time
Every website owner would prefer their website to be up at all times. This is because every time it’s down, they lose customers. It is always better to ask a web hosting company about their uptime percentage. It is best to work with companies that have an uptime percentage of at least 99.99 percent in a year.
Customer Reviews
Many web hosting companies often promise to do many things for the customer. However, only past or current customers can provide an honest testimonial of their experience with a business. It is always important to work with companies that have positive reviews. If past customers are satisfied, chances are the potential customer is too.
hardware and software
It is important to choose a company that has all the hardware and software requirements that your business needs. This is the only way that the dedicated server will be perfect for the business.
Price
You should always consider the cost of hosting with a particular company. While it is not advisable to compromise quality with price, it is always better to host with a company that has reasonable prices. Dedicated hosting is often more expensive than shared hosting or VPS hosting, but the price shouldn’t be unreasonable. The potential customer should shop around to make sure the hosting company they choose offers great value at a reasonable price.
Conclusion
Dedicated hosting has many benefits, and there are a host of factors to consider when choosing a dedicated server and web hosting company. However, a person who finds that a dedicated server is not what he needs can still choose shared web hosting. This type of hosting involves sharing a server with several other websites. It is quite inexpensive and is suitable for small websites and blogs that do not have sensitive information.
