A ‘dedicated server’ is a computer that typically sits in a data centre and is specially designed for that purpose.
As your business grows and develops you will inevitably come to a point where you’ll be re-evaluating the technologies that drive your business and its operations. It is now more important than ever with advances in technology and fierce competition in the marketplace that your website or other server application is reliable, efficient and performs when needed.
There are many uses for a dedicated server and one of the most commonly associated uses are to host websites or to handle web traffic to an application or software. There are two ways in which a dedicated hosting service can be set up, internally (in-house) or externally such as in a data centre.
There are various benefits of using a dedicated server, some of which are outlined below:
1. Security & Reliability
As the sole user of the hardware you have control of your security and reliability. A good dedicated server provider will have designated technical staff at a data centre to monitor the equipment and ensure that everything is running smoothly on your behalf.
2. Control
As you have complete control over the server, you are also in control of its security and deployment of use, including its resources, storage, memory, CPU and bandwidth. This is quite an important requirement if you are a business which has a specific level of standard you need the servers to work to.
3. Performance & Flexibility
These include being the sole user of the hardware. Dedicated servers are highly configurable and can be built to specification. For example, they can be configured with either Windows or Linux operating systems.
4. Cost
Typically, dedicated servers come at a higher cost than shared hosting. When looking for dedicated servers, it may be a good idea to look for one that is local to either you or your market. There are performance benefits from doing this, as well as the type of support you will receive.
5. Management
To manage and maintain a server effectively it is important to ensure the presence of necessary technical knowledge and expertise (especially if opting for a dedicated server which does not come with any support). Some organisations offer a fully managed dedicated service, click here to read more about our fully managed dedicated servers.
If you would like any further assistance on dedicated server hosting options or have some concerns over server side security, don’t hesitate to pick up that phone and give us a call. We’re always happy to help – 0161 464 6101.
