How to choose a dedicated server

Choosing a good, dedicated but affordable server can be a complex and time-consuming task. However, making the right decision will definitely pay off in the long run.

Here is a guide on how to choose a dedicated server that best meets your needs, taking into account technology, budget and business requirements.

Why choose a dedicated server

Perhaps the most important decision you can make for your online business as a webmaster is to know what type of web hosting to choose. In general, there are three main options:

• Dedicated server
• Shared hosting
• Server collocation

If you do not want to share your server with others (shared hosting) or you can not afford to buy and maintain your own server hardware, the ideal for you is to have your own dedicated server. In simple terms, a dedicated server is a machine with all its hardware and software resources that is entirely at your service. In addition to the basic operational services that are available in a data center such as a reliable connectivity network. Most dedicated hosting offers exclusive features to their customers, among these features are the management of servers, backup servers and more.

The dedicated hosting is an ideal choice for both large companies and SMEs. There is a wide price range that varies depending on the hardware and software features you choose for your server. Another great benefit of dedicated servers is that only one person who has to the server, you thus enjoy additional security since no one else shares the server with you.

Decision making

Choosing the right dedicated server depends on your technical requirements, financial constraints and business needs are not so easy. Plus, dedicated hosting services are not so affordable. Therefore, it is important to keep in mind that choosing a trusted and proven dedicated server provider is critical to your long-term success. Because he will be able to offer you reliability, flexibility, and great customer support which are crucial and necessary.

1. Characteristics of dedicated servers: Technology

There is a list of criteria that you must consider before choosing a dedicated server.

Processor: This is the power and performance of the server

for websites that use processor-intensive scripts, such as SQL servers, video-transcoding servers, servers used for virtualization, or specialized servers such as games or instant messaging servers. You will need to have a fast and solid server with multiple processors such as Dual Xeon servers.

Memory: It determines the speed of loading applications of your site.

RAM is the available data storage capacity that allows a user to access a "memory" on the server. The more RAM you install on your server the more your server will run faster and your site will load faster. You may need a server with a lot of RAM, especially if the architecture relies on Windows, Java or Ruby which are known to be the eager for RAM.

Disk Space: If your site uses large amounts of data or small amounts of sensitive data you can have multiple hard drives on your dedicated server. If your site contains highly sensitive customer data or other unique information, then you may have a primary hard drive while the other hard drive acts as a backup (mirror disk). If you wish to have a larger storage capacity, you can opt for a Raid 2 configuration in which there is one main hard drive with another one that is enabled one the main storage is full.

Bandwidth: How much traffic do you need?

Your server bandwidth determines how much data can be transferred from your website in a specific time period. For a popular website with a large number of visitors, the bandwidth required is significantly higher. In addition, if you plan to host high-quality images, streaming media files on your website or run database scripts with important queries, you must also have a high bandwidth capacity.

Operating System: What programming language you need to use to develop your website?

If you are using ASP.NET or MS SQL Server, you will need to have a Microsoft platform, such as Windows Server 2003 or 2008. This is because the ASP language is intended to run only on Windows servers. However, if your site is built using open source scripts like Apache, PHP, MySQL, or Ruby On Rails, you will probably need a Unix/Linux server like CentOS, Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, etc. When it comes to maintaining your server, you should discuss with the person who manages it to know which of the operating systems he masters the most.

Server Administration: If you do not have the expertise of a system administrator to manage your server, consider a dedicated, managed server. A good web hosting company should be able to offer you expert advice on how to do load balancing, clustering or in a bespoke environment.

Network: You must carefully examine the location of the data center and compare it with the location of your demographic target. It is preferable that the vendor network is audited by Netcraft and consistently provides 100% uptime. It is also recommended that the dedicated server host guarantee you 100% availability in his SLAs.

2. Budget dedicated accommodation

It is clear that the more the dedicated server is advanced, the more money you spend! So you have to find a balance between your dedicated server needs and your budget.

Monthly Price - Check if monthly traffic is included in the price.

Installation Fees - Some hosting providers will be able to notify you if there is a charge for installing and configuring your server. Often fees are required.

Software license fees- such as operating system, database software or virtualization. If you use an open-source environment, these criteria do not apply.

Fees for updates and parts- such as additional memory or additional hard drives. Also, keep in mind the maximum upgrade capability of the original chassis and the motherboard.

Management Plans and Additional Services: Most hosting providers offer packages that include several hours of support or unlimited support per month. Additional support is usually billed at a fixed hourly rate.

Additional traffic charges: Some providers offer unlimited traffic, but in this case, traffic is usually limited by other means (such as bandwidth). Check how much traffic is included in the monthly rate, compare it to your expected traffic, and then see how much additional cost. It could cost you a lot if you exceed your traffic limit.

Once you have calculate these fees, you will realize that prices between hosting providers vary greatly, perhaps as much as a factor of 10.

By having a good idea about the expected duration of your hosting needs, the extra costs you may incur during this time helps you to predict the total cost of ownership, which is the key to finding the best value for your money.

Make sure you understand what is included in the price. Not only the limits are shown, but the limits of traffic and performance imposed by RAM and bandwidth among other factors.

Finally, remember that it is useful to do business with a reliable and proven web hosting company. Consider how much you are willing to pay to minimize risk and give you peace of mind. And remember that reliability, maintenance and investment in new technologies is essential to ensure long-term sucking and avoid the backlog of host changes in the future.

Teacher-turned online blogger, Shirley is a full-time backyard homesteader based in Virginia. When she doesn't have her face buried in a book or striding in her garden, she's busy blogging about simple life hacks of the daily life.