Improved Efficiency with Dedicated Server Architecture
A dedicated server architecture is one that dramatically improves the efficiency of client-server systems. This is done by utilizing a single server for every individual application that exists within a given organization. Indeed, this could turn out to be a very cost prohibitive venture depending on the size of the company, but in the end, it will help to troubleshoot and maintain many of the issues that could arise when using a wide range of technologies.
Common Examples
An example is a company that specializes in developing widgets. Imagine if they were to purchase a server that will be strictly used to handle email communications. For the sake of this example, let’s say the company also manages a financial application that facilitates order processing and inventory management, which the organization installs on a powerful, brand new dedicated server. By utilizing two servers, the organization can enjoy greatly enhanced efficiency as each application is processed entirely independent of one another. If there happens to be a problem with one of the applications, it will have absolutely no bearing on the other. Now keep in mind that this doesn’t mean that some features will not be impacted by issues such as a power outage, but their general operation does not rely on the server resources being occupied by the other application.
Using the widget developer as our example, it is very likely that an issue with the mail server could have a slight impact on the ability to email files generated by the financial application. However, it will still be able to produce documentation and process orders despite the problems occurring on the second dedicated server. By running these applications on their own servers, you are creating a dedicated architecture that can work wonders in terms of the performance of your organization.
Dedicated Web Hosting
The most common example of a dedicated server architecture describes the typical operation of a web hosting service. Several web hosts allow customers to purchase dedicated server plans in which only their website and data is stored on the machine. Doing so enables the customer to considerably improve performance for the simple fact that website traffic is limited to a single group. This is the exact opposite of a shared server which hosts numerous sites for different customers, an architecture that generally results in less efficiency because the hardware is forced to process and serve more requests from more visitors. Although website data is usually small and can perform in either a dedicated or shared server environment, this gives you good idea of how a dedicated server architecture can be used to improve data and application efficiency for both the server owner and end-user.
Summary
The goal of a dedicated server architecture is to maintain a single server that will be dedicated to a single application. Since this could be a very costly move, you may want to consider making the transition slow to see how things work out. For instance, you can allocate a piece of hardware for your FTP server and if efficiency notably improves, slowly migrate to other dedicated servers as your time and budget allows.
