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Why choose a dedicated server for your web site

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Vanessa
December 22, 2010


Vanessa

This article is done by Vanessa. She writes for Web host Gear, where you can get useful information about top web hosting companies. She has written articles on almost all aspects relating to web hosting and web development.

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The web hosting industry has developed many solutions for web businesses looking to create an online presence. Many different solutions exist based upon the needs of the business in growth, space or bandwidth needed, and ability to self administrate. The dedicated server hosting solution is best used for businesses on a growth spiral, who need full control of their administrative privileges, with an audience or customer base large enough to justify the expenses of full server maintenance.

What is a dedicated server?

A dedicated server means that a business has the full resources of a web server all to itself. Most web hosting solutions today are shared hosting, which means that a web site shares a server with many other web sites. Bandwidth is shared. This means that the problems, or even the successes, of one web site can become the problems of another. If one of the web sites on a shared server experiences a sudden spike in activity, other sites lose bandwidth and may suffer negative consequences, up to and including down time, through no fault of their own. A dedicated server negates this problem. Dedicated servers also give the user much more administrative control. There are managed web hosting solutions available for business owners who may need technical assistance with administration.

Why choose a dedicated server for your web site?

A dedicated server is absolutely essential under certain circumstances. If your business requires daily updates, has frequently dynamic streaming content, or relies on user generated content or any type of submissions for its business model, a dedicated server may be your best bet. In such businesses, memory usage is not constant and can fluctuate wildly. Administrative privileges will be necessary to keep up with the constant pressures that new information will have on the base web site.

If the audience of a business is large enough that any down time would adversely affect sales, a dedicated server may be the best solution as well. Audiences on the web are notoriously fickle, and if they cannot obtain the product, or service, your business advertises as soon as they need it, they will simply find the competition and buy from them. Also, if your business brand is already well known, there are considerations of reputation to consider. On a shared server, another site could be responsible for your site's shutdown, but your customer base sees it simply as unprofessionalism on the part of your business.

Managed vs. Unmanaged Servers

With dedicated servers, the business is given complete administrative control of the server. Unless a business has a dedicated division for server administration, the best solution is probably a managed server solution. A managed server solution means that the company owning the server is fully responsible for server maintenance and troubleshooting.

Unmanaged server plans are less expensive, but provide even more freedom for the technologically prepared. Full in house control of a server gives a business unlimited access to bandwidth needs, administrative privileges, and troubleshooting problems. Though most businesses choose a managed solution, if a business grows to the point where it can afford in house help, the unmanaged server plans can help a business grow even faster.


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