Should You Resell Hosting on a Shared or Dedicated Server?
There are a couple of options available to the entrepreneur who wants to try their hand at the reseller hosting market. The most common methods involve leasing an account on a shared or dedicated server. While some would recommend choosing a dedicated server, there are many reasons why a shared hosting platform could make a more viable solution. Let’s take a closer look to see how these two environments matchup and what they have to offer the reseller.
Flexibility
One cannot deny that a dedicated server is perhaps the most flexible hosting arrangement you can obtain. However, a shared server can provide a tremendous level of flexibility by allowing you to resell hosting packages on the platform of your choice, be it Linux, Unix or Windows. A reputable host will also give you a platform with enough capacity to support dozens or hundreds of customers.
Reliability
A dedicated server will give you the opportunity to run your reseller business in the most reliable environment. This stems from the fact that you are not required to shared disk space, bandwidth and various other critical resources. With that said, a shared server can be configured to provide you with a superior degree of reliability and the peace of mind needed to comfortably maintain a reseller account. By leveraging a world-class infrastructure and data center, you will have access to advanced features such as load balancing and end-to-end redundancy that makes sure both you and your customers enjoy an optimal performance.
Functionality
When it comes down to it, a dedicated server can be as functional as you desire. For example, you have the power to install your own web applications and services as well as software packages that allow you to unleash powerful programming technologies like Cold Fusion, PHP and Ruby on Rails. While this potential cannot be matched, you can still obtain a great deal of functionality by reselling packages on a shared hosting platform. It is not uncommon to find a host that offers highly sought after features and services such as Microsoft Exchange, support for databases and programming, website creation tools, web stat utilities and one-click installers that give your customers the power to enhance their presence through software such as Joomla, phpBB and WordPress.
Ease of Use
The area in which shared hosting towers over the dedicated variety is ease of use. Instead of dealing with all the complexities that come along with dedicated hosting, you can sit back and run your business while the host takes care of all server administration tasks for you. A reputable host will provide you with an intuitive control panel that offers powerful branding options and all the features you need to service your customers with the maximum efficiency.
Conclusion
As you can see, reseller hosting has its pros and cons whether it is situated on a shared or dedicated server. A shared server would definitely be the more simple and cost effective option, but the dedicated variety would give you the best performance and reliability in the end. Therefore you should determine your needs and what you set out to accomplish as a reseller before making a decision.
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