The dedicated server market is one of the fastest-growing segments of the virtual server market. As a result of this growth, it has now become quite competitive, especially as most vendors promote their products and services as being suitable for use by enterprises. As enterprises rely more and more on the web for business, they are looking for ways to cut costs and increase efficiency. The dedicated server market provides a ready-made solution for enterprises that are looking to offload some of the tasks that are typically performed by their IT departments.

Why Dedicated Servers?

Dedicated servers are, at their most basic level, virtual machines that are designed for specific tasks or applications. They can be considered to be the “worker platoons” of the virtual server world. Typically, dedicated servers are purchased by businesses that need to perform a certain task and cannot do so efficiently as a virtual machine or a standard web hosting plan (which is effectively what a dedicated server is). For instance, a merchant bank may purchase a dedicated server to perform financial transactions. A travel website may opt for a dedicated server to boost its performance, as the volume of traffic that it handles usually requires more robust infrastructure.

In addition to this, dedicated servers are more flexible, as businesses can purchase additional servers of the same type and scale as before, allowing them to grow rapidly and withstand increased loads without having to upgrade or reconfigure their infrastructure.

Features and Capabilities

When purchasing a dedicated server, a business should consider a variety of factors, including but not limited to the following:

• the hardware and its speed
• the operating system (OS)
• the level of service (see below)

Beyond these considerations, businesses will also want to make sure that the vendor can provide them with the tools and support they need to efficiently operate their server. Tools like a good strong back-end, secure communication with customers, and knowledge-base articles are all very useful in this context.

Where Do I Buy My Dedicated Server From?

Although there is no “one-stop shop” for finding the best dedicated server for your needs, there are a few reputable vendors that are worth checking out:

• StarWind Solutions
• Hetzner Online Betreuung
• DX.COM
• Virtual Plus
• Liquid Web

Each of these companies has a good reputation in the market and, as a result, many enterprise customers. When selecting a dedicated server provider, make sure that you check out their portfolio and review their online reviews, as these are often the best indicators of a vendor’s quality.

What Type of Service Should I Purchase?

When selecting the level of service that you need, it’s important to keep in mind the characteristics of your dedicated server. In most cases, you can expect to find three distinct service tiers, ranging from entry-level to advanced, and each with their own benefits:

• basic: this is the cheapest option and, therefore, the baseline for most individuals and small businesses. It provides you with a standard Linux-based OS that can be utilized for hosting any kind of open-source or proprietary application.
• standard: as its name suggests, this is the standard choice for most enterprises. It provides you with a fully-configured and optimized OS with pre-installed applications, like a mail server, file server, and DNS.
• premium: this is the advanced level, offering an even more fully-configured and optimized OS, as well as a bigger resource pool, more advanced hardware, and a higher degree of technical support. As a result, businesses that purchase this option should have a significantly higher performance than those that opt for the basic and standard services.

If your business is just getting started and does not need that much performance, you may want to opt for the basic service. When it comes to selecting the standard service, you should ask yourself whether or not you will need additional resources in the future. Businesses that purchase this option should expect to have high volumes of traffic and should expect their infrastructure to grow rapidly.

Managed Or Unmanaged Services?

With dedicated servers, you have the option of whether or not to go with a managed service. Managed services provide you with a fully-equipped infrastructure that is optimized for high performance. While this can be a time-saver (as you do not have to set up and configure everything yourself), it comes at a cost that you must consider.

The advantage of purchasing a managed service is that you do not have to worry about security. Your dedicated server provider will take care of keeping your infrastructure safe and performing consistently at all times. In most cases, there will be someone available to help you at all times, which provides you with immediate and long-term benefits.

On the downside, you cannot scale up or down the performance of your server easily. Managed services usually come with a contractual obligation, so it is essential that you fully understand what this entails before signing on the dotted line. In most cases, the managed service’s SLA (service level agreement) will stipulate that you must notify them immediately in the event of a network outage or data loss, as well as what level of performance you expect and what this service level entails. In addition to this, most providers will have a network monitoring tool that will alert them to any potential issues that you may encounter.

Additional Considerations

Beyond the four considerations discussed above, you should also ask yourself the following questions:

• How much experience do they have with my type of setup?
• How knowledgeable are their support staff?
• What is their terms and conditions?
• How quickly can I get a solution to my problem?

If you are looking for a solution that is already pre-configured and does not require much of your own effort, you may want to opt for a liquid dedicated server. These types of servers are fully installed and configured on a remote server, which is then connected to your network via a private bridge. As a result, you do not have to worry about much other than getting your server up and running.

Liquid dedicated servers are usually purchased in bulk as part of an enterprise contract and are, therefore, quite cost-effective. The cost per month is usually around $2,000, plus you have to factor in the cost of the liquid infrastructure (storage, bandwidth, etc.). Like most other types of dedicated servers, liquid servers provide you with security, scalability, and performance.

If you are looking for a solution that requires a significant amount of your own effort, you may want to consider purchasing a physical server. These types of servers are installed and configured on your own premises, allowing you to have full control over the security and performance of your server. You will, however, have to deal with the added complexity of setting up and maintaining a physical server.

Summary

When selecting a virtual server option for your business, you should consider the four factors discussed above. If you have decided that a dedicated server is the best solution for your needs, you should opt for a liquid or physical server, since they are the most cost-effective and the most reliable alternatives. If you have decided that a virtual server is not the best solution for your needs, you may want to consider trying out one of the many other virtual server providers that are available.