subject: What Are Dedicated Servers? [print this page] What Are Dedicated Servers? What Are Dedicated Servers?
Most businesses and operations can't afford to have their own web hosting servers, which is why server companies exist. There are tons of web hosting companies out there who host everything from huge sites to tiny blogs about single brick and mortar businesses. If you're running one of those little blogs, you probably work with a hosting service who has a shared server, meaning that you share space on a single server with other little tiny websites. If you're running or getting ready to start a larger site, on the other hand, you may want to use a dedicated server.
This is basically just what it sounds like. You get an entire server dedicated just to your business or website. You don't have the overhead costs of maintaining the server and keeping it in your own building, though, because you're just renting it. This type of approach has several advantages for medium to large businesses, including more flexibility.
One of the interesting things that you can do with this type of server is to hire as much or as little extra help from the hosting company as you want. Those who have their own techies on staff usually just rent the server, which they can then mess with as they choose. Normally, you can even choose your own operating software for whatever your needs happen to be so that you can more easily make your website according to your own specifications.
Some companies, on the other hand, have designers and web writers on staff but don't want to deal with all of the ins and outs of hosting. In this case, these companies often hire not only the server but also some services from the web hosting company. Normally, this goes no further than server administration, but many companies that offer dedicated servers will offer good packages of services to their clients and potential clients.
Before you choose a dedicated server hosting service, it's important that you check out all of your available options. There are hundreds of web hosting companies that can offer you a dedicated server, and the best way to choose the one that will work best for you is to compare and contrast them. You'll find that different companies have differences in price as well as service, so it's important to balance these two things in order to get an excellent web hosting experience.
