Dedicated Server Hosting: What should you look for?
Written by wwwhostingdirectory.com
The very first thing you need to do is see if you really need dedicated server hosting. If a shared server will be sufficient, you can significantly cut costs. If your website will have heavy traffic, you will have to opt for dedicated server hosting. Is there some reason why you need exclusive use of system and network resources? If so, shared server hosting won’t be enough. Some other factors that will help you make this decision are whether you need multiple IP addresses, whether you need a back-up server and whether you want to run more software than the shared server provides.
Once you have made your decisions, you have to choose your provider wisely. There is plenty of choice, but you have to choose the dedicated server provider that’s right for you.
You have to be willing to pay for good service. The dedicated server hosting provider will give you a server on lease. This is the principle behind dedicated server hosting. Unless you opt for managed hosting, you will be responsible for all administration and software. However, your provider will be responsible for the hardware. So this is your primary concern when choosing a dedicated server hosting provider. The hardware has to be good enough for your website to run the way you want it to.
The motherboard is the foundation of a system. This has to be of good quality. This is one aspect that many dedicated server hosting providers ignore, but without this, the system will not function properly. Next, the processor. A multiple processor configuration would be ideal, but watch out. You will need a special motherboard for this, which might be expensive. And all the processors must be the same model and the same brand. Memory is equally important. A 512 MB memory is usually enough, but if you want your server to hold very large amounts of information, you will need 1 GB. The choice of hard disk is also important. Choose something with a relatively high RPM, or Revolutions per Minute. Your storage system must have the option of recovery of data in case of system failure. Mirrored drives is a good idea to ensure this. This means that there will be two hard drives that simultaneously recording your data. So, if one is down, the other provides immediate back-up with no down time. Having multiple servers is another wise option. This will leave each server to deal with one thing, like database management and processing requests.
The dedicated server hosting provider is responsible for the hardware. You have to find out just how good their maintenance is. If your hardware breaks down, will they replace it quickly? They must have enough hardware components in stock for them to do that, so finding that out is a priority, too.
Even if you have the requisite hardware, if the dedicated server hosting provider does not have a connection that can make full use of them, they will just be wasted. Specifically ask for speed and connectivity details, and ensure that they’re adequate and what you’re looking for.
The operating system loaded on the dedicated server must be something that supports the software that you need so that your website will have the features you want. However, UNIX is more economical than Windows, because installing extra software is free on UNIX and Microsoft charges license fees. The bandwidth is another big factor. If your website will have a lot of traffic, you will need a high bandwidth. Be extremely careful of providers who offer you unlimited bandwidth. I have never come across such a thing. There might be providers who really can offer unlimited bandwidth under specific conditions, but these are far and few between. This is mostly an advertising gimmick.
You will be responsible for all administration of the website with a dedicated server. So see if your provider will offer any support, because you will most likely need it. Good service is not cheap, so if you want the desired results from your website, don’t forget that the dedicated server hosting you need won’t come cheap. |
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