There are several different ways you can choose to host your site. But the most common way to run most web sites and applications is shared hosting. It is considered one of the cheapest and most popular hosting methods for small sites and is usually resorted to by those with limited budgets.
But as the site grows, the volume of content hosted on it increases, and the number of its visitors and traffic increases, you will have to consider upgrading to a higher type of hosting that is better in terms of performance. There are of course several options that you can choose from to upgrade your site and obtain better hosting than shared hosting, such as hosting. Dedicated servers, cloud servers, or virtual servers (VPS servers). But in today’s article, we will focus on dedicated server hosting that achieves optimal performance for resource-rich sites.
In this article, we will explain to you in detail what dedicated servers are, how they work, and highlight their most important advantages and disadvantages. We’ll also compare dedicated servers to other hosting solutions to help you choose the right option depending on your site’s situation.
The concept of dedicated server hosting
A dedicated server is a computer that hosts a website or application, and this server is dedicated to only one client. The client does not share the resources of this server with other users and has exclusive control over the server settings, but this control will also come at a higher cost.
When a company provides dedicated server hosting for you, this means that it provides you with a complete physical server for your account on which to host your websites and applications, and no other client will share the server resources with you, exactly the opposite of the case of shared hosting.
Therefore, a dedicated server is a type of web hosting that provides a fully capable computer with all its physical parts to work exclusively for you, where you will have exclusive and complete use of the following parts of the server:
- Random access memory (RAM).
- Central processing unit (CPU).
- Bandwidth.
- Storage media allocated to the server (Storage resources).
- Internet networks available on the server.
This way you can provide optimal performance for websites and applications that require high data traffic when you host them on dedicated servers.
Note : The phrase “dedicated server” is synonymous with all of the following terms: Dedicated hosting – Dedicated Server Hosting – Managed hosting, and when we use any of them, we usually refer to the same term.
Types of dedicated servers
Dedicated servers are divided into two types according to the entity responsible for managing the server:
1. If the company providing the hosting is responsible for managing the server, then the dedicated server is called a Managed Dedicated Server. In this case, the service provider undertakes all the technical tasks of the server and manages the programs and networks necessary to host the client.
2. If the client or tenant is responsible for managing the server without the assistance of the providing company, then the dedicated server is called an Unmanaged Dedicated Server. In this case, the client must have sufficient technical experience and the ability to set up the server himself.
This type of server is usually cheaper because the provider has fewer responsibilities, while the customer is responsible for managing the server, installing scripts, managing server updates, resolving compatibility issues, creating security protocols, managing the network, and other tasks.
Uses of dedicated servers
There are many uses for dedicated servers, the most prominent of which is the customer’s need for hosting with high resources and a dedicated environment, but there are other factors that make some people resort to this type of hosting, such as the privacy and security factor, as some resort to using dedicated hosting for their sites even though they do not need hosting with resources. High, in order to increase the security of hosting by applying practices that are only permitted in dedicated hosting, and to avoid the security risks that other types of hosting suffer from.
If you have one of the following conditions on your site or application, you need to use a dedicated server for that site or application:
- Running your website or application requires high traffic.
- Running your website or application requires heavy resources.
- Your site or app handles sensitive data and it’s important to keep it secure
- You want your site to be fast
- You want complete control over the hosting that runs your site.
Dedicated hosting features
We also explained that the previous uses are the most popular uses for dedicated servers, and these stem from the advantages that these servers provide to website owners, making them a reliable option for hosting their sites with huge data. Below we review the most prominent of these features.
High bandwidth and performance
Dedicated hosting provides higher bandwidth than other types of hosting, because you are not sharing resources with any other site. In shared hosting , for example, your site will share one server with other sites belonging to other customers, so if one of those sites consumes a large amount of server bandwidth, your site will not get enough bandwidth to run properly, and this will affect its performance. This situation cannot happen if you have a dedicated server.
High security
In the case of a shared server, it is the responsibility of the hosting company to install security software such as firewall, anti-malware software, and all other server security software. Whereas when running a dedicated server, it is your responsibility to install the security software you want.
Since you are the only user on the server, it reduces the possibility of viruses or a security breach from other sites if you set up the server and install security software correctly.
Complete server control
The ability to fully control the server is one of the most important advantages of dedicated servers. In shared hosting, the company providing the hosting selects and installs the basic applications for the server’s operation, and this may not be suitable for all sites, which may make your site not work perfectly.
If you choose to purchase a dedicated hosting plan, the hosting company will allow you to install the software you want on the server, so you will have the flexibility to customize and configure the server environment optimally depending on what your site or application that the server will run needs.
Disadvantages of dedicated hosting
Although the disadvantages of dedicated servers are not many, and most of the time they can be tolerated when you need the advantages that these servers provide, you should have knowledge about them. Let’s say there are two main drawbacks to dedicated hosting:
High price
In fact, anyone who knows the meaning of dedicated hosting can expect this drawback to exist in it. If you use shared hosting, you will share the costs of operating the server with the owners of other sites that the server operates, while in the case of dedicated hosting you will pay the cost of operating the server and the costs of software upgrades. Maintenance staff fees and other server management costs.
Need for technical expertise
Because you have to set up and manage the server yourself in dedicated server hosting, you must have technical and technical knowledge in handling the server. Of course, you can hire an expert to manage the server, or purchase a dedicated hosting plan that is managed by the service provider (Managed Dedicated Server), as we mentioned before, but that means paying more money.
To learn about the best hosting companies, and the criteria that you must take into consideration when choosing a hosting company, read our guide on: How to choose a hosting company and 12 criteria for choosing the best company , and also if you want to host WordPress, see this comparison that we prepared about: The best 8 WordPress hosting fits different website sizes .
How does dedicated hosting compare to other types of hosting?
The following table shows the similarities and differences between dedicated servers and other types of hosting (shared – virtual VPS – cloud).
| Hosting type | Dedicated hosting | Shared hosting | VPS virtual hosting | Cloud hosting |
| the performance | High and stable performance | Poor performance Poor performance is due to limited speeds and multiple tenants | Good performance if the service provider does not run too many virtual machines | Excellent performance as the cloud server can scale to handle any traffic |
| Customization | Fully setup and customizable | No customization available, or very few customization options | There are no restrictions in customizing software and programming languages | There are plenty of customization options, but there’s no support for legacy apps and software |
| Safety | High security and privacy, especially with unmanaged servers | Security is entirely the responsibility of the hosting provider | High security and privacy | Security responsibility is shared between you and the provider, but is high due to the security of the cloud |
| the price | High prices, especially managed ones | The cheapest type of hosting | Its price is high, but it is cheaper than a dedicated server | Its price is moderate to high, but you won’t pay for resources you don’t use |
| Maintenance and setup requirements | Medium for managed plans, high for unmanaged plans | Little or no maintenance requirements | The company handles server tuning and maintenance operations | Maintenance responsibilities are shared |
If you want to learn more about other types of hosting, and compare them more broadly with dedicated servers, we advise you to read these following articles in which we explain each type separately:
- What is shared hosting? Why do we not advise you to rely on it?
- What is the concept of a virtual server (VPS)? How does it work?
- Explaining cloud hosting that you pay for consumption
Frequently asked questions about dedicated servers
We have explained all aspects of dedicated servers in the previous paragraphs, but there may be some ideas that we did not ask or questions that we did not answer, so here we list the most important questions that can come to your mind about dedicated servers.
Can a single dedicated server be split between multiple sites and applications?
Yes, a dedicated server can be divided between several sites, as some companies divide one server between more than one site to provide multiple services linked to each other.
Is it possible to merge more than one dedicated server together, and why would we need to do so?
In fact, yes, it is possible to merge multiple servers together virtually to provide higher levels of performance. But although the server that we get as a result of grouping dedicated servers together is a virtual server, it will be different from the type of virtual hosting (VPS), and will be more similar to cloud hosting.
Are the dedicated server plans offered by hosting companies different from each other?
The dedicated server plans that you can purchase from a hosting service provider are certainly different from those that you can purchase from another hosting service provider. In fact, hosting providers usually offer more than one plan within the dedicated hosting plans, and each plan has a server with certain specifications commensurate with the price.
The most prominent feature of the different dedicated server hosting plans is (the capacity or storage space of the server and the amount of available memory). The storage capacity is usually what essentially determines the monthly price. The user can increase or decrease the capacity according to his requirements. You’ll usually pay for the total capacity you chose regardless of whether you use it all or not.
Notice in the following image the different dedicated hosting plans offered by one of the hosting companies.
How long does it take the hosting company to configure your dedicated server account after purchasing and paying for the hosting plan?
There is no specific time period for all companies, but this process usually does not take a long time. Rather, it takes between several hours and two days , depending on the hosting service provider and the specifications of the dedicated server you requested.
Is it possible to upgrade and increase the storage space and RAM of the dedicated server?
Yes, hosting companies provide the ability to upgrade parts of a dedicated server, including the size of storage space and the size of random access memory (RAM).
Is it really true that the longer you rent a dedicated server, the better?
Hosting companies usually reduce the price of the hosting plan the longer you rent the server, so if you want to save money, buy the hosting plan for the longest possible period, but after in-depth study of what you need and what the company offers you within the framework of that hosting plan.
Is it possible to deploy malicious or hacked applications or illegal materials on your site hosted on a dedicated server?
Answer: Although renting dedicated hosting means that you have an entire server for yourself alone, and what you share on your sites will not affect the sites of other clients, hosting companies usually prevent publishing malicious or hacked applications or illegal materials on your hosted site, and you must What you post on the Site will be in compliance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).
Thus, in this article, we have explained the concept of dedicated servers, which give you dedicated hosting for your website on a web server and complete control over this server. We learned about its advantages and disadvantages, when it should be used, and how it differs from other types of hosting, and finally we answered the most important questions that may come to your mind about it. You should now be able to know whether you need a dedicated server for your site or not, and what performance and price you should expect when you want to get one.
