Web Hosting Reviews & Ratings

January 09, 2012

Top Reasons to Use a Dedicated Server

At various points during our reign as technology critics, we’ve held and maintained a mountain of beliefs—these tend to range from a deep and passionate hatred of Beats headphones all the way to a raging support for cloud-oriented media. However, no other tenant of our whacked out system has done us more good than our steady belief that shared hosting just plain sucks: For business use, that is. One could make an argument that cheaper is better, but if you’re relying on the Web for your livelihood, we sincerely pray on our knees that you’re willing to consider dedicated hosting. If you’ve never heard of the service before, much less thought about integrating it into your current working method, then let us be the first to enlighten you. Dedicated server management is a beautiful thing, and when done correctly, it can save you a mountain of headaches further down the road. With that in mind, may we introduce our top reasons to immediately ditch your crappy shared hosting plan in favor of a dedicated server system!

What is It?

First and foremost, we feel we owe you a brief description of what dedicated server hosting actually is. The best way to think about it is this: Imagine web hosting as one of those you-store-it locations, where garage space is leased out of a single location. Users purchase a small portion of the lot that comes with a specific amount of space, and in return they’re given free-reign and a key. This is, more or less, how shared web hosting works, and depending on how much the lot itself has been subdivided, purchasing a plan that runs on this schematic could land you in a position where your data rubs elbows with thousands of other users.

Now, let’s imagine instead that you yourself own the entire lot. Not just a portion of it, but the entire bloody acreage. There’s no extraneous traffic from other users bogging you down, nor is there nearly as much concern about security: Provided no intruders pop-in, you have little to worry about within the confines of the lot itself. In other words, this land isn’t their land: It’s your land. And you get to do what you want with it. By owning the entire server—that’s the dedicated part of dedicated server—you open up a world of possibilities that can make a real difference in your Web presence. Conveniently, we’ve listed a lot of these potential points of interest below for your perusal. No need to thank us, just keep reading, Pilgrim!

1.  Total Control: As mentioned, by sanctioning an entire server for your use, instead of just a portion of one, you’re guaranteeing the most possible control. Never again will you have to worry about your provider’s software, nor beg them to finally update their plug-ins. Instead, all of that is in your hands, allowing you to do what you want with the server itself when you want to do it. This is particularly important if you have an entire host of web applications you’re looking to install. With a shared hosting plan, you’d need to first contact the provider to ensure your application is compatible with the system. If not, you’re straight out of luck. If it is, then you either have to install it using the included framework—which can often be a pain in and of itself—or have the provider do it for you: A process that can be slower than molasses in January. In comparison, a dedicated server grants you immediate access to all the files and potential of the server without a middle-man. It’s your car, and you’re completely free to drive it!

2.  Raw, Magnificent Horsepower: Another benefit of using a dedicated server is the sheer performance it allows you. With shared hosting, you’re using only a portion of the total potential of the server underneath. This includes bandwidth, processing power, and storage space, all of which can be quite heavily subdivided amongst thousands of unique users. All in all, you’re not guaranteed to get much out of the bargain, and if you choose particularly poorly, you’ll likely find your website sluggish and lag-ridden. However, with dedicated server hosting all of this can be completely avoided. Because you are the sole proprietor of the server, you have unrestricted rights to its entire bandwidth, disc space, and processing potential. There’s no need to share with others, guaranteeing you the most in raw performance every time. And, again, if there’s an aspect of the server’s potential you’re not happy with, you’re free to customize it to your heart’s content.

3.  Scalability: On a similar note, let’s assume your website suddenly undergoes a period of stark demand, in which many more hundreds of users than are typical want the same content from your plot on the lot. With shared hosting, you’re ordinarily working with a restricted budget in terms of disc space and performance. When peak demand periods arise, your shared hosting value plummets dramatically, as the portion of the server you control simply can’t keep up with the requests. At some point, the website either slows to a crawl, or stops working all together. But with dedicated server hosting—you guessed it—none of this is a problem! You can set your server to ordinarily roll at a slower pace, saving power and money when peak demand isn’t present. And when things do heat up, your server can then expand to meet the needs of the masses, guaranteeing you and your website the utmost in performance and up-time.

4.  Security: And lastly, having a dedicated server is simply more secure than a shared hosting experience. There are no other users to worry about, and as you own the server in its entirety, your only concern are hackers and break-ins, alleviating many an headache before they even appear. It’s a wonderful bargain, and if your business relies on the Web for its success, there’s really no better option than dedicated server hosting.

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