A dedicated hosting arrangement is hosting that a server is dedicated to a specific organisation or purpose such as a website. This is different from shared hosting where a server serves multiple clients. A dedicated web hosting service can be either set up in-house, or externally. It is usually available as a service within a datacenter. Let’s take a look at some benefits.
Customisation:
Dedicated hosting offers a level of freedom and control that other hosting options are not able to offer. Because the server is only available to one client, and there are no cohabitants, the server (and overall hosting solution), can be customized to meet the client’s needs. This allows them to choose and pay for the features they need.
Uptime:
It is crucial that websites are always functional in a world where convenience is all around and customers don’t like waiting. Customers could move on to other sites if the website is down. Dedicated hosting is a great way to make sure websites and other business functions work almost 100% of the time. It usually has a 99.4% uptime. Providers should provide server monitoring and back up facilities along with support services (described below), to ensure that functions run as smoothly as possible.
Congestion:
A dedicated server is less likely to experience server congestion than shared hosting options. The latter can lead to congestion because of the concurrent traffic and use levels of other websites and applications that are hosted on the same server. This is not an issue because dedicated hosting is a service that doesn’t allow for this. It can also work the other way. If the website is resource-intensive, dedicated hosting might be an option to protect other websites.
Security:
Clients who use a dedicated platform can deploy security measures such as firewall configurations and anti-virus that are more specific to their needs. This will also help to avoid security vulnerabilities that could be caused by neighbouring clients using shared hosting platforms. Dedicated servers that are located in data centers will also benefit from the security measures such facilities usually put into place. These include mantraps, security guards, biometric authentication and security guards.
Support:
Some dedicated hosting services include a level of support. This is crucial as dedicated hosting customers often use the service for mission-critical or critical computing functions. Site disruptions can be minimized by providing effective support. For example, fully managed hosting providers may provide support 24/7, 365 days per year.
The service level agreement (SLA) usually contains details about support levels and reliability statistics. These documents are often a good indicator of the quality of a service and should be carefully reviewed when choosing a provider.
It is important to have the knowledge and skills to effectively manage and maintain servers, even if you are choosing a service that is not supported by any other support.
