Web Servers: Dedicated Hosting, then and now

Servers are to the internet as blood vessels are to mammals. Servers are the connectors that make it possible for persons using the internet to gain access to a website. There are several different ways to access a server in an effort to bring a web domain online and one of these is Dedicated Hosting. Going as far back to when the internet started gaining traction, and way before Google, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram became the norm web hosting companies were supplying dedicated servers to the masses. The process was different back then, and individual machines (dedicated servers) were built, and services distributed on request. Dedicated hosting is the fore-parent of all web hosting solutions.

To date, it is still the most powerful web hosting solutions. Dedicated server is mostly used by large enterprises, which require the best in resources, functionality and performance.

Websites that started out with a less powerful hosting solution, such as shared hosting or VPS can upgrade to dedicated hosting once their website begins to attract high volumes of daily traffic. Dedicated Server is able to keep up with your website needs as it grows. If your website is getting more than a thousand visitors a day, it may be time to consider upgrading to a dedicated hosting plan. It provides your website with even more resources than you will need to expand.

See the most popular dedicated server plan on hosting.co.uk here.

What is Dedicated Hosting?

Servers are computers that are specifically built to handle and process large amounts of information. A Dedicated Hosting Server is like a bigger private computer that has numerous microprocessors, hard drive, RAM, CPU, etc. What makes this awesome is that this whole setup works only for you. That is because with dedicated hosting you are renting an entire physical server for your website alone. You can also configure it to meet your specific needs. Because it has a vast amount of memory, you will see this reflected in your site loading at lightning speed.

Two types of Dedicated Servers

There are two types of dedicated servers. One for the tech-savvy individuals and one for persons who are not very skilled in web hosting.   

1. Managed Dedicated Hosting

When you choose managed dedicated servers a different organisation of professionals, handle the task of managing the server for you. The only responsibility you will have is that of providing data through the server of what exactly you want. Managed dedicated servers usually come with 24/7 support, OS update, monitoring, virus scans, spam filtering, kernel updates and many other services. If you are not knowledgeable about programming and coding, this is the option for you.

2. Unmanaged Dedicated Server

This solution is the direct opposite of managed server. With Unmanaged server, you and your organisation are in total control of the running and maintenance of the server. This dedicated server option is also cheaper than the managed option. It is best suited for persons with adequate programming and web hosting knowledge.

Why You Should Choose Dedicated Server Hosting?

Dedicated Server Hosting offers a myriad of benefits. After all, dedicated server is not limited to only hosting websites. Additionally, you can use it for data storage, it can act as an email server and much more.

Whether you go the route of managed or unmanaged, a dedicated server hosting plan will definitely benefit your business. Here are some reasons you should choose a dedicated server.

1. High-Quality Performance

If you are seeking a high-performing web hosting solution, a dedicated server plan is the obvious choice. Dedicated servers perform exceptionally well because they provide exclusive access to a private platform with all its resources committed solely to your website. The result of this is an ultra-fast website, better uptime and pleasant user-experience.

2. Higher uptime

Dedicated server hosting significantly maximises your website’s uptime.  Not only that, but it also facilitates consistently high volumes of daily traffic. This means you can grow your website as much as possible because there is more than enough resources available to facilitate growth. Based on the fast speed of your website and high uptime with dedicated Servers, you also benefit from a high SEO ranking.

Check out this article for more on the importance of website uptime.

3. Security

With the evolution of cybercrime, having the best security is place for your website is crucial. Especially since one single attack has the potential to negatively affect your site’s SEO ranking, cause you to lose customers and plummet you website into downtime. Luckily, dedicated servers offer a high level of security one also fortified since you don’t share resources or space. When you share server space, your security system is exposed to the vulnerabilities of other tenants who may have been hacked. Dedicated Servers, also provide layers of additional protection and enhanced security. There are also security monitoring and firewalls that create greater protection from malware and hacks.

Need to secure your dedicated server? Go through this dedicated server security checklist.

4. Scalability

With dedicated servers, there is no ceiling as it relates to how much you can grow your website. You can easily upgrade your server resources as much as you need and will still not run out of resources. This makes it possible for your company to expand its visibility and reach exponentially. This usually results in an increase in visitors/customers and greater revenue. You will also be able to store large amounts of data effortlessly since your bandwidth allocation is unlimited.

5. Quick Customisation

With dedicated server, you can customise your server to meet the specific needs of your business. Thus making it even easier to grow your company. Dedicated Server also gives you the flexibility to manage, monitor and change software and programmes as you see fit. 

So, regardless of the kind of business you operate or the specific industry you are in, a dedicated server plan has the potential to help you to proficiently manage your workload according to the needs of your business.

6. Flexibility

Imagine being able to customise your server to meet your unique RAM, CPU, disc space and software needs? You can with dedicated server hosting. Dedicated servers provide a highly customisable server environment. With control over the configuration of your servers, you can choose the platform and software you feel more comfortable working with.

7. Unique IP address

Dedicated server hosting provides you with your own unique IP address. Not all hosting solutions provide this. For example, with shared hosting plans, tenants share the same IP address. This can create security system vulnerability and SEO issues. That’s because, a spammed server tenant can expose your website to similar attacks, slow down your website and cause your SEO ranking to decrease.

Dedicated hosting server removes this potential problem altogether, as your server is exclusively yours. You will have your own IP address. 

8. Value for money

Many persons see the cost of dedicated servers as a disadvantage. However, while dedicated servers aren’t the cheapest option, it offers value for money. It is an investment that you will definitely give you a great return. Dedicated server offers more resources, security, flexibility and performance when compared to other hosting options. These characteristics result in a high performing, fast and secure website. All the features that customers look for in a website and business. That is what you pay for and it is worth it. Plus, you are really benefiting from having an in-house server, but without the trouble of buying and maintaining it yourself.

In Summary

From the time when the internet just emerged to present day when just about anyone can and should create a website, dedicated server has remained true to the task. Throughout the years, dedicated servers have remained the go-to hosting plan that offers, top performance, high uptime, high-level security, reliability and scalability.

For the best hosting UK plans, peruse our website. We offer several high-quality web hosting plans including Shared hosting, VPS, and Dedicated Server Hosting. You may also find this article on ‘Web hosting for Beginners’ very useful.

If you need more help deciding what type of hosting plan to choose, let us assist.