Posts Tagged ‘dedicated server’

How Dedicated Servers Are Different From A Basic Personal Computer

Thursday, June 23rd, 2011

There are many people who wonder if there is any difference between a dedicated server and their home PC. This question will obviously arise for those considering own hosting from their home or office desktop. The hardware used in both cases could be similar though most dedicated servers will have significantly high specs. Though the home PC can be used as a server, it will not be able to deliver the same capabilities as a dedicated server. There is a notable difference in performance, capabilities and reliability. Comparing dedicated servers and home PCs when considering hosting options is similar comparing walking to driving. The main reasons is, even though you will get to your destination, one of the options will be less effective and inconvenient.

Essentially, home PCs are meant to be used as work stations to assist in working on projects either by an individual or by a number of people using it at different times. This means that most home PCs will have specs that support this kind of operation. Their design also allows accommodation of specific functions and applications. Dedicated servers on the other hand will normally come with very high specs and will be capable of taking on much greater workloads. They will also be more accommodating and easily scalable which makes them suitable for use in server hosting. This difference in capacity is the first significant advantage that dedicated servers have over home PCs. It means that the home PC will not be able to deliver the same quality of service as the dedicated server.

The other main difference besides the specs of the hardware used in home PCS and dedicated servers is the location of the machines. Mostly, a plesk dedicated server for example is located in a server room designed specifically for server hosting or in a data center. The server room or data centre provides sufficient security, power backup, temperature, bandwidth, controls and all other server requirements. This is to ensure that the people hosted on the server enjoy high quality and uninterrupted service. Most of these facilities are not liable to be found in a home PC. This therefore means that they experience frequent downtime and this leads to a lower quality service. The environment in which the dedicated server operates is one designed for high quality hosting.

Not many people will comfortably agree to have their websites hosted on a home PC. For anyone seriously looking to host anything substantial, this option is not viable. Its only use would be best for testing hosting services but not for anything else beyond that. Most home internet connections cannot handle the required bandwidth for effective hosting. All those trying to access sites hosted on your home PC will definitely get frustrated due to the slow connection to your server. There are many other differences between the two though most will relate to capabilities and functionalities of each. These differences are mostly contributed to by the environment in which the dedicated server and home PC work under.

The Different Forms Of Server Hosting

Saturday, April 2nd, 2011

There are a number of various specifications to think about when deciding upon a dedicated server. It is vital to think about each carefully. Included in the factors are technical requirements, the business needs, and finances. Server hosting and the dedicated server is important to the success of a business. The business rents a complete server. It has on-location tech support. Many features are offered by dedicated hosting. Purchasing equipment is not necessary. The server attends to maintenance and updates. Services are packaged and called bundles. This makes it simple to pick one that is appropriate for the business’s requirements. Capacity, speed, and power are included in this.

There are several various hardware specifications. The processor is the first thing to consider. Some websites need specialized servers that are quick and powerful and have multiprocessors. Specialized servers include those for games or chat. Next, think of how much memory is required. Random Access Memory is the RAM. This is the storage capacity for data. Larger memory means the server runs quicker and the website loads faster. Another element is storage. Websites with particularly sensitive information might need to use one hard drive for primary use and another for backup. Some websites require a large quantity of storage. In this case, when the primary hard drive is at capacity, the website begins to use the secondary hard drive. Bandwidth is the final element. This indicates the amount of information may be transmitted to and from a website per billing period. A website with a large amount of visitors requires higher bandwidth. A second example is websites that contains streaming multimedia. These need a higher bandwidth too.

Software specifications are another consideration. Operating systems are offered by two main providers. These are Windows and Linux. The operating language used to develop the website is the determinant. If a website uses MS SQL server or ASP.NET, it requires a Microsoft platform. A website that uses an open source stack requires a server such as Linux. The server administrators should be consulted about this. These individuals are trained and informed. They can guide individuals through the process of deciding what needs must be met. Dedicated web servers may be configured for any company. Multimedia, data handling, secure transfer of information, and web based hosting are all included. It is important to consider the specific needs of the business.

A couple other factors should be considered. The company’s financial plan is first. A server that is more advanced is more expensive. There are some common fees associated with dedicated servers. There is a monthly fee for the amount of bandwidth chosen. It is important to estimate usage accurately. A business that uses more must pay a penalty charge. Certain types of upgrades are needed for hardware and software. This may also incurs additional fees. Included in this fee is purchase price and set up costs. There is a fee to train staff for technical tasks. It is extremely important to assess all of the business’s needs. Asking the administrator many questions is also important. Do this to ensure all business needs are met. Success is dependent upon this.