Dedicated Server Hosting for Large Enterprises: Learn Important Aspects of Dedicated Servers Option for Your Business Website.

Large businesses, especially those that have been on the Internet for a long time, reach a point at which they need more control and stability over their web sites due to increased traffic. At this point they require dedicated servers to accommodate large bandwidth consumptions by their company websites. In other words, the signs of e-commerce success, such as large volumes of customer visits and transactions, may signal that it’s time to look at Dedicated Server Hosting (also known as dedicated hosting). Big corporate entities like Wal-Mart, Best-buy, Tesco (UK) and Carrefour all use dedicated servers to host their websites. This enables them to enhance their website navigation speeds while they accommodate very large traffic volumes. However, it is recommended that you read dedicated server review before buying a dedicated hosting package.

Companies that have been using Shared Hosting or Virtual Private Server Hosting most likely are acquainted with the term “Dedicated Server Hosting,” but may not understand fully what this option means. Making a decision about moving up to this level of web hosting requires careful consideration of its advantages and disadvantages.

In simple terms, Dedicated Server Hosting means that a company rents or leases a computer and network connections for its website from a web hosting service. The business acquires sole use of the server without having to share it with other users. The business customer also doesn’t have to buy the actual hardware in order to use it.

In addition to Dedicated Servers, a business may opt for what’s known as “Managed Hosting” or “Unmanaged Hosting.” With the managed dedicated server hosting, the business customer contracts with the web hosting service to take care of all the operating and software administration of the leased server. With Unmanaged Hosting (which includes the cheap dedicated servers category), the company takes on responsibilities for server administration, either by assigning an employee to the task or by contracting with some other computer services company.

Now that these alternatives are defined, let’s explore their benefits and drawbacks.

First, with Dedicated Servers, a business gains two major advantages for its web site: stability and control. A company’s web site stability will increase because there’s no other web hosting client using the dedicated server, so that there’s no need to compete for computer resources as with Shared Hosting. In addition, the company gets more control over how the dedicated hosting server functions to maintain the business’ online presence. With a Dedicated Server, a business web hosting company has the option to install a different operating system, possibly one that’s more compatible with the OS it uses at its office or plant. In addition, the business customer can install the types of software that make it easier to update the web site and to transfer transaction information into the company’s computer network. This can result in greater efficiency for filling product orders, track customer behaviors for marketing, and responding to customer service issues. There are two further dedicated hosting options: Linux dedicated server and the second one is Windows dedicated server, with former being the most popular.

Online security is another advantage to Dedicated Servers. Often, a company that has been using a Virtual Private Server set-up, in which one computer is partitioned for use by several customers, finds that certain safety protocols such as firewalls and anti-virus protections don’t work as well. However, a Dedicated Server makes it possible to set up the company web site with a singular Internet Protocol address shielded by filters and firewalls. These security issues, especially for businesses who transact sales over their web sites, are often one of the big motivations for moving up to Dedicated Server Hosting. It’s crucial for a company to make every effort to protect its confidential data and that of its customers, including such information as credit card numbers and client contacts.

Until now, the biggest drawback to Dedicated Server Hosting has been its cost. However, the proliferation of a large number of good and reliable dedicated server web hosting companies over the past 10 years has forced stability into the market, so prices have come down from previous highs. What’s more, large enterprises are finding that not having to compete for computer resources for its web site is proving to be well worth the investment in leasing a server.

Technical skills pose another disadvantage to leasing Dedicated Servers. A business that wants to control its own web hosting server has to hire computer technicians capable of maintaining the server. This includes configuring the operating system, installing and monitoring software, upgrading software, preparing data files, uploading data files, testing web site operation, monitoring security issues and many more administrative details. In addition, since the Internet operates around the clock, most businesses want their web sites accessible at any time, day or night. This ’round-the-clock operation requires more than one technician to keep watch on the web service. The costs related to hiring and retaining such highly skilled personnel could be considerable.

Other issues to consider when looking at Dedicated Server Hosting involve the web hosting provider’s terms of service, the physical location of the server including backup power, the building’s environment, the number and size of the web host’s telephonic connections to the Internet, and the service’s technical staff that maintains the hardware.

For instance, say your company opts for non managed dedicated web server hosting. What does the web hosting provider’s terms of service say about backup in the event of a power outage? Can the customer’s technicians physically access the server to make software updates in the event of telephone outages? Are there sufficient environmental controls in the building where the servers are housed? What about a disaster plan in the event of a natural catastrophe such as an earthquake, tornado or hurricane?

These considerations may spur a company to think that bringing its web hosting in-house would be the best option, but the truth is that it’s not necessarily so. The most competent web hosting firms house their servers in climate-controlled “server farms” or “data centers” that have high levels of security and multiple back-ups. What’s more, web hosting services that offer Dedicated Server Hosting also install the largest telephonic connections they can to ensure an efficient data exchange rate (bandwidth). In other words, it isn’t just the cost of adding a computer for the web site that’s at issue in Dedicated Server Hosting, but a host of other technical issues that require both specialized skills and financial investment. That can be more risk and investment than a company focused on other types of business cares to assume.

The big picture of what goes into Dedicated Server Hosting makes clear that a large enterprise gets a lot more than sole use of computer for its web hosting investment.