Moving from shared hosting to dedicated

Why you should consider dedicated server hosting instead of shared. You can read a brief overview about dedicated servers here. This article will demonstrate in a more detailed approach why and when you will need to move on to a dedicated server from a shared hosting environment like Cpanel, Plesk, Directadmin etc.

In a dedicated hosting arrangement, the hosting service provider supplies a physical server dedicated exclusively to your applications. Top reasons to consider renting a dedicated server can be found below:

1. More physical security: Only you and the hosting provider have access to the physical server on which your applications reside; the physical server you rent is literally kept under lock and key, in addition to other physical security measures like surveillance cameras, armed guards and biometric access control systems.

2. More virtual security: Because you do not share a server and operating system with others, no one else has the remote logon password to your rented server unless you have a managed server. That means that only you and the ISP have access to your machine, nobody else.

3. More reliable bandwidth: if you lease a 1000 Mbps connection to your server, you will get all 1000 Mbps all the time. If other tenants shared your server, you would lose bandwidth to them during their high-demand times. Also quality of bandwidth cannot be compared with any ADSL solution. It is like comparing Ferrari with bicycle in terms of speed.

4. More reliable processing: Like bandwidth, processor power availability can vary widely on a server shared by several tenants. If some CPU-intensive application moves into a shared server, everyone else’s applications may slow down.

5. More uptime: When a sink in one apartment leaks, it may be necessary to temporarily shut off the water supply to all tenants until the problem is fixed. The more tenants there are in an apartment building, the more frequently the water supply will be shut down. Likewise, in a shared hosting arrangement, one tenant’s application or operating system problem may require shutting down the entire physical server for a while, putting tenants who have no problems out of commission. That doesn’t happen in a dedicated hosting arrangement.

6. Usage-only cost savings: The hosting service is responsible for maintaining connectivity, an optimal physical environment for the server, and perhaps basic operating system patches and updates. You will pay for these services, but often just a fraction of what it costs to perform them in-house. You don’t pay for an entire server room, just for the portions of them that your server uses. You don’t pay a full-time system administrator, just the cost of someone’s time to download and install patches occasionally. The cost of patches approaches zero when a hosting service deploys patches across thousands of servers automatically. While this might not be ideal there is always a custom manager server solution package where you can have an experienced system administrator from Guru-host to support your server.

7. Economies of scale: Guru-host buy hardware, software, and connectivity services for many of tenants at a time, and pass part of the cost savings of large-volume purchasing on to their tenants.

8. Control of applications: You get to decide what site management tools and other applications you will use, within broad constraints about what the host will allow on its property that might affect other tenants or cause the host maintenance headaches. You’re not limited to a preconfigured Web server or the tools the host’s administrators prefer. You don’t have to wait for the host to buy new applications and make them available to tenants. You can install anything you like as long as the server specifications are ok. From simple web servers up to load balanced Oracle databases.

9. Better disaster preparedness: It is a rare company whose disaster preparedness equals a hosting service provider’s. Hosting facilities are often fortress-like buildings painstakingly situated in locations of minimal natural disaster potential. Server rooms may be mounted on huge shock absorbers in case of earthquake. Frequent remote backups over high-speed connections protect all tenants against data loss in the event of a local disaster. Having said that it is always smart to have another backup local in your machine.

10. Focus on improving, not maintaining: Your IT staff’s time is freed from routine maintenance chores, allowing them to pay full attention to developing and fine-tuning profitable applications. Do you want your staff mindlessly applying patches to operating systems or squeezing the last ounce of performance out of your web shopping cart?
Dedicated hosting costs a few hundred euros per month. It is ideal for companies whose revenues can support such an expense, and whose growth demands the reliability and performance of dedicated hosting.

11. With Guru-host any customer can upgrade after 3 years to a much better server without extra cost; You can move on from a Core 2 Duo machine to QuadCore without paying extra as long as you hit the 3 years with us.

Posted on: 03/08/2009