Benefits of Dedicated Servers

Dedicated Servers are designed mainly for business hosting customers who want to be ensure a reliable web hosting service since for most businesses, their website is one of their main sources of income which makes it a mission critical asset to the business. However, many businesses tend to think that a shared web hosting package will be more than sufficient for their needs, when in fact their website is facing more downtime than they actually realise. It is because of this that many businesses need to be bought around to the idea of how dedicated servers are able to benefit them both in the long term and the short term. Dedicated servers also have their advantages for the individual who is looking to host a few websites on behalf of others, although the cost of renting a dedicated server is daunting for most, whether it is paid yearly or in monthly installments to your chosen dedicated server hosting provider. Regardless of whether you are a business or individual, it is important that you know how dedicated servers can benefit you since you may end up seeing dedicated servers as a wise investment because of the added reliability that comes with them as well as the fact that you won’t have to worry about downtime.

The main purpose for the purchase of a dedicated server by most people is because their requirements are now too much to ask of any other form of web hosting, such as shared web hosting and VPS server hosting, especially when it comes down to the size of their website. However, in most cases people find that their budgets aren’t large enough to cover the cost of a dedicated server, and so find that they need to use other sources fo finance in order to be able to afford a dedicated server. However, in terms of security and reliability, a dedicated server can improve on a shared web hosting package or a VPS hosting server in the following ways:

• uptime - since you aren’t sharing your dedicated server’s guaranteed resources with anyone else unless you wish to, the resources of the server are your to use as you wish meaning that they are unlikely to be completely used by allowing for a greater amount of uptime since you don’t have to worry about other users taking the server down
• security - with shared hosting and VPS server hosting, you have to rely on other users which are hosted on the same server as you to keep their own websites and virtual servers secure so that they can’t be compromised by anyone else, but with dedicated server hosting you only have to worry about your own server being secure
• dedicated environment - unlike shared web hosting packages, dedicated servers provide you with your own dedicated environment in which you can run any programs you wish to since the server is yours to do with as you wish, but a majority of web hosting providers don’t allow the hosting of IRC servers since this can lead to their networks being attacked.

All of the above factors that come as part of a dedicated server should benefit anyone who is using a dedicated server to host their website on. More or less every web hosting user strives to find a web hosting package that is able to provide them with a more than satisfactory level of uptime in the context of a secure web hosting environment. If your website needs specialist configurations to allow it to run correctly, then it would be better for you if you were to use a dedicated server since the server is yours meaning that you are provided with your own dedicated environment which you can do what you want in.

As well as being able to benefit you in terms of reliability and security, dedicated servers often come with a high level of support to enable you to get on with the business of running your website whilst your web hosting provider looks after your dedicated server on your behalf. Support is always important, especially if you haven’t used a dedicated server before, since it provides you with a way that you can get in contact with an experienced support team who should be able to answer your questions in a timely manner. As is the case with a majority of web hosting providers, the following advantages come along with dedicated server support:

• 24×7 support - dedicated server providers can now offer 24×7 support for a majority of customers, meaning that if you have an issue with your dedicated server at any time of the day, you can easily get in contact with a knowledgeable support team who will be able to answer your questions and solve your problems in a timely manner
• full support - most shared web hosting packages and VPS hosting servers don’t come with full support meaning that you are expected to have a certain amount of knowledge on server management when it comes down to fixing problems, but with dedicated servers you are normally offered full support meaning that youcan contact your dedicated server hosting provider about any issue which you may be having with your server
• multiple contact methods - whereas with shared hosting packages and VPS hosting servers you are restricted to using web based ticket support, with dedicated server hosting you will find that your dedicated server hosting provider also offers you an emergency phone number that can be used at any time of the day if for example your dedicated server is experiencing some serious downtime.

If you haven’t used a dedicated server before and feel that the task of managing it may be too daunting for your needs, then you should consider a dedicated hosting provider that is able to offer you all of the above support advantages, since you will find that they can benefit you in the long run when it comes to managing yoru server. Be able to make use of multiple contact methods along with 24×7 support also means that your server is likely to be more reliable and that problems are likely to be sorted quicker than if you were using an unmanaged dedicated server.

Although shared web hosting packages and VPS hosting servers may offer you control panels that allow you to manage your web hosting accounts with ease, dedicated server hosting provides you with access to control panels that allow you to manage not only your web hosting packages but also the dedicated server itself. Control panels now form the central point of all web hosting businesses since they are used by web hosting providers to manage their customers and servers, but are also used by customers to manage their own web hosting accounts. Although when using a control panel from the client side you may not notice many advantages than not having access to a control panel, you will certainly notice a difference when you are using a control panel from the server side. Such advantages that you may notice could include:

• hosting multiple accounts and websites - when using a control panel, it is easy for you to be able to host multiple web hosting accounts and websites on your dedicated server since control panels make it easy for you to create multiple logins for users who can then manage their own web hosting accounts through the use of a client side control panel
• dealing with support requests from your users - if you are hosting multiple users and want to provide them with support then a majority of control panels now have built in support systems that allow users to contact you using an email form that is built into the control panel system itself, eradicating the need for a third party support desk
• web based management from anywhere - a majority of control panels are now web based meaning that you can manage your server using a web browser from any computer that is connected to the internet, the same is also possible for your users meaning that they can manage their web hosting accounts from any computer that is connected to the internet.

If you feel that having a control panel installed on your dedicated server is going to benefit you much then it is important that you have the skills to manage a server which doesn’t have a control panel installed on it. However, if you do choose to take the control panel route then you may come in contact with the cPanel control panel if you are having your dedicated server based on Linux, and the Plesk control panel if you are basing your dedicated server on the Windows operating system.

Of course, the decision on whether or not a Dedicated server hosting will benefit you is down to you and how a dedicated server will affect your requirements. Everyone who has a web hosting package has different requirements, and some individuals may want a dedicated server but it isn’t really what they need in reality. For example, if you only want to host a small website which doesn’t receive much traffic then it isn’t even worth considering a dedicated server for the main reason that it will probably be out of your budget and will be nowhere near cost efficient.

In conclusion, there are a number of factors that can effect the decision on whether or not a Dedicated server will be able to benefit you in the short run, but more importantly in the long run. The largest factor to think about when considering a dedicated server is whether or not the price you have been quoted for a dedicated server that meets your needs falls within your budget. As well as that you should also consider whether a dedicated server comes with too much for what you need; for example, if you are running a small website, do you really need the advantage of full support? Although control panels are all the rage at the moment, it is not worth considering one if you feel that you have the knowledge and skills to manage a server in general since they normally come at an extra cost on top of what you are paying for your dedicated server. However, forgetting all of that, Dedicated servers are probably the most reliable form of web hosting available.