Growing companies are walking a delicate tightrope between not spending enough to run successfully and pouring too much money into overheads. Whether those are staff, office space or their website.
If your IT team faces this tricky balancing act, a dedicated hosting service will give you the benefit of a server. Which that is dedicate to your business exclusively for a single purpose, such as your website. Like any technology, some use cases lend themselves better than others to a dedicated server. But there are many myths surrounding dedicated hosting that need to be dispelled so that you can make a more inform choice of provider.
Myth 1: They are Expensive
Historically dedicated servers have been coming at a price. But like so many things, technology advances and increased competition have driven down the cost of dedicated hosting services, with a consistent monthly subscription now well within the average website owner’s affordable scope. You certainly get what you’re paying for, so don’t pinch pennies if your hosting service underpins your business ‘ future profit and sustainability.
Myth 2: You will need to be a Tech Expert
Sure, a basic knowledge of servers does no harm, but with a hosted solution, you won’t be responsible for upgrading the hardware. What’s more, different levels of managed support are available – from basic monitoring right up to OS maintenance, upgrades and security patches. You’ll also have an expansive, functionally rich control panel to help you easily operate and make full use of your service without needing a background in IT.
Myth 3: They are Unreliable
Shared environments will suffer from disputed bandwidth, processing power and I / O access, resulting in lumpy output for other tenants. On the other hand, a dedicated server is resistant to the question of the ‘ noisy neighbour ‘ since its resources are exclusively for your use. You will also not be subject to the soft resource limits which are sometimes apply on shared servers to so-called ‘ unlimited ‘ plans.
Myth 4: Any Host Will Do
Quality and service vary widely, so extensive research is required-compare hardware and price alone are not enough. There is no point in having a dedicated server that is sometimes unattainable due to over-selling or weak infrastructure. Or where understaffed support subsides an apparently good deal. Neither rely too heavily on review sites – almost every hosting provider is likely to get the odd negative rating, so that shouldn’t be your sole reason to discount a potential partner.
Myth 5: You will Lose Control
The hypervisor limits your choices when operating on visualize resources, and the extent of your control. But you get administrator-level access to the bare metal computer with a dedicated server, so you can configure your favourite settings and have free rein to install, customize and upgrade software whenever you like.
Myth 6: The Support is Minimal
If you cut corners with free web hosting, you’ll be on your own when complications inevitably crop up. But most reputable providers offer priority technical support to dedicated server clients due to the criticality of their applications. Often with a choice between phone, live chat and email. Others offer the facility to submit a ticket through the control panel and get a response within a guaranteed SLA.
Myth 7: Uptime is just a number
There’s no point pushing thousands of visitors to your site just for them to be met with an error code. And you’ll only be able to claim credits if your site is down longer than the host’s uptime guarantee headline. Remember this: with uptime of 98 percent, the site can be down for nearly half an hour a day or just over 7 days a year before the guarantee kicks in. While that level decreases to 1 minute 44 seconds a day or just 8.8 hours a year at 99.9 percent.
Myth 8: They are not Secure
If a shared hosting server is reconfigure, then there is a chance that your data may fall into other users ‘ hands. You are given sole administrative access by a dedicated server, so that your data remains private. The company should also use stringent security measures to protect you from overbearing attackers, spammers, hackers and other malicious activities.
Myth 9: Server Specs don’t matter
The right spec can mean the difference between a visitor falling off your site in the first ten seconds. Or investing a considerable amount of time and, in the end, money. Which means finding the right balance between RAM, storage, and bandwidth to match your planned needs. Do your homework so you know exactly what you get from your program.
Myth 10: A Dedicated Server is the same as a Virtual Private Server (VPS)
Nope. With a VPS, the server’s resources are split between different websites or hosting accounts. Plans may come with unlimited bandwidth and storage. But there may be no guarantees when it comes to compute power and memory. So you could find yourself restricted from installing and running CPU- or memory-intensive modules or software. Which could ultimately stifle your growth.
