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?

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.

Calin Indre is editor at HostPinPin (http://www.hostpinpin.com ), a Cheap Web Hosting Directory. HostPinPin.com is a resource for webmasters and consumers looking to find a web hosting company. Providing web hosting articles, tips, web hosting reviews, compare web hosting plans, free web hosting guide, free hosting quote, web hosting glossary and more.

This article may be reprinted or published without the authors consent as long as the "About" and "weblinks" are kept intact.

RELATED ARTICLES

Will All The $1.95 And Free Hosts Survive?
The main thing wrong today with trying to find a host for most individuals and businesses is the shear number of them. Their prices range from free to hundreds of dollars per month. When you go out on the web today and do a search for hosting you will find page upon page of hosts. Some are well established companies with solid reputations and business plans that make sense. Yet some are beyond belief that anyone would host with a company that offers you a 100mb website for $.99. Yes I said that right $.99.

How Can I Get The Web Host Services And Support I Need, Hassle-free?
Choosing a host or switching hosts can be an agonizing experience. There are so many choices and price structures.

Effectiveness of Web Hosting Directories (WHDs)
John is very happy today, for the first time in his life he has created his very own website. Now he is looking for a web host so that he can put his identity on the net. Casually he asks his friend Mac about it. Mac tells him that web-hosting directories are the best place to look for a web host. Getting curious John then asks Mac what exactly a Web Hosting Directory is. Mac responds that web hosting directories are a web hosting marketplace where prospective hosts list their products, plans, prices and other important information so that according to their requirements, customers can choose a suitable plan. Along with the details, it also contains web hosts' rankings. John is now extremely happy as his dream is finally going to come to fruition. Like John, there are many beginners who are in search of a reliable web host and come across web hosting directories. Here a new question arises: Are these web hosting directories really trustworthy sources for novices like John? To find an answer it's very important to understand the working of WHDs.

Managed Vs. Unmanaged Dedicated Hosting
"Unmanaged dedicated servers" - this is a pretty uninviting term to many, especially the non-gurus, but in most cases is not as "non-servicing" as it seems. In fact, I think someone one day soon, ( who knows maybe me ) will coin a new phrase to replace the term "unmanaged" - similar to how "used cars" is now "pre-owned" or how "apartment complexes" are now "rental communities". The truth is that unless you just picked a lousy provider or have unreasonable expectations, unmanaged hosting offers more service and support than most think. The Difference While exact definitions vary among providers, generally speaking managed hosting means your provider takes complete or near complete care of your server. This can include anything from basic system maintenance and patches to applications maintenance, security, monitoring, etc. Someone that needs dedicated hosting and wants to rely on their host for pretty much anything and everything regarding their server needs to strike a relationship with a managed service provider. Full blown managed services involve lots of skilled people hours. Not only that, since every managed customer is unique, it's hard for a managed provider to be overly systematic. For this - expect to pay a great deal more than today's budget server provider but if your needs demand it, and you choose a solid provider it should be money well spent. Unmanaged dedicated hosting obviously refers to dedicated servers with less, little or none of the skilled people support you'd expect to find in managed. You signup, you pay, and in a few minutes to a few hours you get a welcome email with IP address, login, FAQ's, etc. - Beyond that you are pretty much on your own. Relax - you are not really as own your own as it seems. First off, most unmanaged providers do in fact offer technical support, and most that we've seen is very good. If you choose unmanaged dedicated service you do need to have someone on your team that knows the technical side a good bit, but they don't necessarily have to be experts. While you may have to wait 12 - 24 hours or you may even have to pay extra for it, nearly all the unmanaged providers I know do have high level techs available to handle serious issues. In addition most providers give some sort of immediate reboot service. Unless you've been tinkering with some critical config files or have a hardware failure, a reboot can help with a range of issues. Lastly, unmanaged providers may not support you or whatever you put on your server after you move in, but they do stand by the hardware and software they sell you. If a hard drive crashes they are going to replace it for you (although you had better be doing your backups) and if your system crashes most will fix it for you. Summary The bottom line is if you've got mission critical needs and don't have the in-house staff to efficiently keep your servers performing the way they should, then you are going to need managed services. Even still it's a more cost effective route that hiring your own staff and most likely you will receive a higher, more consistent level of service. If your needs are more basic, and or you or your staff has the time and know-how to perform 75% - 80% of your server's maintenance then an affordable unmanaged service should do you just fine. Please refer following web sites for useful resources related to web site hosting: http://www.vipwh.com http://www.thehostingguide.com

Importance of Educated Choice While Choosing A Web Hosting Provider
There are many attributes that makes a web hosting provider stand out from the crowd. But in this current highly competitive world the providers have become so adept in posing as the best out there that it becomes very difficult to choose the best for your business. Now it is the "knowledge" about what factors to consider becomes a must have, for your business. This is not an article about the factors themselves to consider but this makes the point for the need to have this knowledge and how to acquire this knowledge. In the services industry knowledge is almost everything. The knowledge about the technology behind the service, knowledge about the folks behind the service, knowledge of the customer service, quality of the hosting available and many more to list here. When you begin your search the first and foremost to decide is the budget allocation for the hosting. This may sound as something to decide at the end of the cycle, but it is important even before you acquire knowledge of the factors to consider. Let me put forward a small example if the budget you can allocate is less then 100$ then you ignore terms like dedicated servers collocation, etc. The more your budget the more you have to learn.

The Domain Name Gold Rush
All the good ones are taken. The really good ones, that is. But they don't always stay taken.

Windows Hosting versus Linux Hosting ? Which is right for you?
There are literally hundreds of thousands of web hosting companies out there. Many of these companies offer both Windows hosting and Linux hosting plans. Windows plans usually cost more because of the license costs imposed by Microsoft. Knowing this, how can you know when you need Windows hosting and when Linux hosting will work just as well or better? Keep reading to find out.

Web Hosting: 4 Factors in Choosing a Hosting Company
When choosing a web hosting company there are a whole lot of different factors that should go into your decision making process. One of the biggest factors should be:

CHMOD - Undertanding File Permissions on a Unix-Based Server
The basic command for changing file permissions in unix based operating systems is the 'chmod' command. This command is executed with a set of parameters after it. With most FTP clients, you can simply select the filename you want to change the permissions of, right click, and choose the chmod command.

Managed Hosting Services - Who Benefits from It?
Managed Hosting Services are used primarily by companies that either don't have staff with the expertise to manage a dedicated server or don't have staff with the time to attend to the needs of managed hosting. In either case the option of having the host manage the server can be of great value to firms that have such needs.

Webhosting for Blogs - Free or Paid Service
Blogging is an abbreviation of "web-logging". The simplest definition of a blog is that it is an online log that is organized in reverse chronological order. It comprises of comments, declarations, links, or anything else of interest to the blog writer.

A Beginners Guide to Web Hosting
What is web hosting? Whenever you visit a website, what you see on your web browser is essentially just a web page that is downloaded from the web server onto your web browser. In general, a web site is made up of many web pages. And a web page is basically composed of texts and graphic images. All these web pages need to be stored on the web servers so that online users can visit your website.

Personal Web Hosting ? Free Or Cheap?
After you have spent some time and creativity on designing your personal web site now it's time to publish it on the World Wide Web for all to see it.

Choosing a Quality Web Host
If you are anything like me, you'd probably like to have a website on the Internet but you just have no idea how to go about it. All this talk of web hosting, bandwidth, disc space, and other jargon can cause one to say, "This is too complicated and technical, I just wanted to have a place to put all of my favorite skateboarding photos, cool information on ramp designs, and the best places to skate!" To get a website on the Web you have to go through a web host. The question is how do you find the web host for you? � If you type 'web host' into your search engine like Google you will get thousands of sites. Hit on one of these and like any product on the market you will see all sorts of persuasive propaganda to incite you to use their company; that is if you can decipher any of the technical jargon that only computer-heads can comprehend. Some web hosts offer free business cards with an account; some probably offer free watches?like all consumer industries you the buyer must beware. � I'm a writer so I'll use the analogy of a writer's journal. The journal I like must not be too big or small in book size. It also must have a good amount of space allocated to each day, again not a whole page but not just a few lines. Of course I also want it to be cheap but of a good quality that won't fall apart while I'm using it, and I hope it would last for posterity. I just want the diary, some nice pictures in it are O.K. but unnecessary especially if it adds to the price. � It's the same with a web host and web site scenario. You want to get the right deal for you, enough space and enough access to the public that you wish to associate with. As a novice who doesn't understand all the jargon this can pose a problem. Are you an individual, small business, blog, or a big time corporation? What do you need and how do you get it? � As far as I can tell the web hosting business is a lot like the fast food business. The big corporations have strict guidelines, will offer you special deals, and have monthly 'cheeseburger specials'. But, I've always been more interested in the 'Mom and Pop' small time diners who have that real caring human approach. You know you are a customer and a person, not just a number on a sales receipt. I believe the hosting companies are the same. � A smaller hosting company will probably treat its users with more honest integrity as well as having more flexibility in dealing with your individual situation. They can often tailor web site packages to accommodate exactly what you are looking for as well as the ability to update them quickly when your needs change. � My advice is to contact a few of the smaller companies. Look for ones with good reputations or just arbitrarily email them and compare results from different places. Which one do you feel most comfortable with? Go for it; ask as many questions as you can, see how the different hosts differ in their answers. Try one; if it doesn't work out try another, it's really easy to move around. Don't be afraid, you've got nothing to lose except the fear itself!

Hosting Your Own Web Server: Things to Consider
Are you disgusted or disappointed with your current web host? Have you switched web hosting companies too many times? Have you thought of hosting your own website(s)? Do you have the ambition to control and manage your own web server?

How To Host Several Websites Under One Account
If you operate several websites, each with its own domain name, signing up of separate hosting accounts can be an expensive proposition. Even if your hosting company offers the add-on domain feature (which will allow you to add different domains to the same hosting account) you will be charged a monthly fee for each domain you add, sometimes costing almost the same as your full hosting fee.

Use Your Hobby To Launch A Successful Website
When you study the really successful websites, you will quickly notice that many are based on seemingly strange subjects, many of which may not easily pass for a serious business.

Handling Your Email Addresses
--Company Email Addresses--

How To Choose A Web Host That Meets Your Needs
One of the most difficult choices you have to make when starting an online business is to choose the web host that meets your needs and budget. Throw in the search term "web hosting" into major search engines and you will see what I mean. There are countless web hosting providers out there offering great packages, and you will probably go crazy going through every one of them finding the real deal.

CGI Web Hosting ? 3 Essential Scripts for Your Business
If there's one thing that people love it is a web site that has plenty of automated features. Sites that are highly interactive tend to get the most traffic and generate the most business for the companies that run them. Automated features can also play a "behind the scenes" role, making your site easier to use, run smoothly and allow for things like online sales and password protection.

home | site map