Dedicated
Web Hosting Explained
Why is dedicated hosting such a big hit on the business
web hosting market? If you look at the costs it involves, usually
ranging from $150 - $1000 per month, another question comes into
your mind: Does it even worth it?
Why is dedicated hosting such a big hit on the business web hosting
market? If you look at the costs it involves, usually ranging from
$150 - $1000 per month, another question comes into your mind: Does
it even worth it?
When you have one single web server is rented to a single customer
by the web hosting provider, you have dedicated web hosting. There
are two similar solutions quite common too in the web hosting industry:
virtual dedicated servers and co-location web hosting.
To make it easier to grasp the concepts, a virtual dedicated server
shares the resources of a web server computer with other customers
of the web hosting provider. You don’t get an entire computer
just for you in virtual dedicated server hosting plans.
Co-locating web hosting also shares some similarities with dedicated
web hosting. The main difference is that while in dedicated web
hosting the web server computer belongs to the web-hosting provider
and is only rented by the customer, in co-locating web hosting the
customer owns the web server computer. The web-hosting provider
only houses the web server computer and sells bandwidth to the customer.
Real dedicated web hosting a single web server is rented to a single
customer.
Dedicated web hosting is the ideal solution for businesses that
work with high traffic. The functionalities of your web site as
well as the application required for its operation will fall under
your precise control.
But with dedicated web hosting there are even more advantages.
Your hosting provider handles all concerns regarding the maintenance,
the security, and the reliability of your web server. As your rent
the computer, not purchasing it you don’t have to bother yourself
with maintaining the hardware and the connectivity of the computer.
This frees you from replacing the component or solving the problem,
as all these fall into the provider’s responsibility. Many
web hosting providers will even offer you compensations as part
of the Service Level Agreement (SLA).
Usually, in the event of such failure you will be reimbursed with
the cost of your hosting plan for a month or a fraction of it, depending
of the severity of the failure. Looks quite good compared to having
to pay for the component and for the technical support required
for actually replacing the component, all this while your web site
in not online. At the end of the day you will only pay for functional
hardware.
Think what your business could do with all the resources you have
just saved on the above maintenance issues.
As the costs of administering and maintaining the web server you
have rented vary depending on your web hosting provider, you can
choose between “managed” or “unmanaged”
service levels.
Should you feel uncomfortable with the technical expertise required
by the management of a web server computer, you could opt for “managed”
dedicated hosting. This means that you will have available a “control
panel”. The control panel allows you to perform all the essential
tasks required by the proper functioning of your web server via
a simply point-and-click user-friendly interface.
This way you won’t need to know or type any command lines,
or poses no in depth knowledge of the operating system, while still
being able to setup, administer and maintain all the web sites on
your web server.
The “unmanaged” option is recommended only for those
with great degree of technical expertise in mastering a web server
as it provides root access to the server. This in turn, offers complete
server administration, thus the possibility to configure every service
on your web server. Of course, not having the necessary services
are configured properly, may result in serious system failure.
These are the reasons that make unmanaged dedicated hosting only
recommendable for people with solid server administration background
or for web developers that need custom applications for their web
sites, or a customized environment.
Having a dedicated server means that the stability of the computer
will not be prone to the plagues affecting shared web hosting solutions.
Just think at overload, server being crowded with applications and
components required by the other customers, or even errors in programming
usually made by the beginners. Add to that the fact that on a shared
web server the processor time and the installed memory is shared
with the software applications needed by the other users.
Managed or unmanaged, dedicated web hosting makes it easier for
you to provide instant support to your own customers when it is
required. This would not be possible on a shared hosting plan or
you will be faced with delays and possible additional technical
support fees. Needless to say a prompt support service on your side
also means happy customers and business growth.
For those running a business in web design for example, the advantages
of having their own dedicated web server are invaluable. This is
true not because his studio will be able to offer pure hosting services,
but because he will able to offer them packaged with the web design
activity.
Modifying a web site for a customer or uploading a new one is a
matter of minutes when you have around-the-clock access to your
web server. Another advantage comes from the fact that once a complete
web presence solution, design and hosting, is offered by the studio
to a customer, there is a higher chance for having that customer
become a regular.
The benefits of a good dedicated web hosting solution for businesses
translate into sales growth, better customer relationship, improved
company image, reduced cost compared with in-house web hosting solution,
and the list could go on. A dedicated web server means that you
can run a better business and better business reads profit.
About the Author Calin Indre is editor
at HostPinPin a Cheap Web
Hosting Directory. HostPinPin.com is a resource for webmasters and
consumers looking to find a web hosting company.
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