Dedicated Server Hosting is the type which lets you have the complete server for your own use. The whole server is dedicated to meet your requirements.
Most websites begin their journey into existence with shared hosting. Shared Hosting is good for websites with a limited need of resources. It is for sites with manageable site traffic and no heavy applications to run.
We live in an era where content goes viral making previously unknown sites become conspicuous. There comes a time when things just click, tipping over the threshold to get viral.
The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips and spreads like wildfire, - Malcolm Gladwell
The Huffington Post, Buzzfeed are some of the sites which have become extremely popular flying on likeability and shareability of their content. They started off small and have millions of visitors now.
What is referred to here is when Webmasters have to decide the future course of expansion, the point where conditions ask for a transition from shared hosting to the next level. The available options are Virtual Private Server (VPS) or a Dedicated Server Hosting.
VPS is a type of hosting which segregates a single server making server partitions work as independent server units. Each partition acts like a virtual server. This gives the user complete control of the virtual server as it would with a single dedicated server. The obvious benefits are:
1. Low cost (as compared to dedicated servers)
2. Enhanced controllability (as compared with shared hosting)
3. Better scalability
4. Improved performance etc.
How Dedicated Hosting is better than VPS
Under VPS, you only get a second rated version of dedicated servers. Let's be true to the issue of illusion. A service provider is basically trying to maximize earnings from the same server and in the process counts on the small probability of high resource utilization occurring at the same instance across all the VPS within a single server. No matter what the probability of that event is, it is still possible and that leaves your business open to the risk of downtime, loss of revenue and what not.
Apart from this, VPSs are also prone to the problem of maintenance since each user has got its own OS, maintenance gets increasingly difficult for the service provider.
Dedicated Hosting comes with added advantages VPN's can't emulate. They provide better uptime, faster loading of application of heavy pages, better performance while handling high traffic influx, & enhanced ability to handle resource consuming eCommerce operations software. And also, if need be, the advantage of scaling operations by adding servers further.
You can choose different level of services depending upon your specific requirement, dedicated servers provide immense flexibility. Some of the types of hosting packages are:
Fully managed hosting- The service provider does all the management of running activities while you use it.
Semi-managed hosting- The responsibility is bifurcated, this totally differs by the level of agreement you reach with the service provider.
Managed hosting- Service provider undertakes all activities pertaining to server modification. You have control over your users and data.
Self-managed hosting- The hosting company offers minimum support here. You pay them less.
Unmanaged hosting- You hire engineers on your payroll to keep the back end up and maintained. The service provider has no role. You are on your own.
But as Robert Heinlein rightly said "Nothing of value is free"; dedicated server hosting comes with added cost. While taking that next step towards choosing between VPS and Dedicated Hosting, you may make an informed choice by quantifying the benefits and costs. Your requirements are unique and thus the choice you make would be specific and would serve your needs well.
Radhe
