Introduction
What if you have a website or application with a large amount of data or very high traffic? Well, you obviously would need a powerful solution to meet its specialized hosting needs so that it does not slow down or crash. This blog offers a suitable answer for such a case i.e. to have dedicated servers. It provides extensive details on ‘What Is Dedicated Hosting?’ for the same.
It covers everything including dedicated web hosting definition, how it works, who needs a dedicated hosting server, how to find the best provider, and what Cantech Networks offers. Read on to get into the intricate details to reach the conclusion about choosing the dedicated hosting features for your website or applications i.e. if this type of web hosting solution is for your website or application needs.
What Is Dedicated Hosting?
To define dedicated hosting, it is essential first to explain who needs dedicated hosting in general. Meaning to say, when a business has cases such as below, they must consider this hosting option:
When Should I Use Dedicated Web Hosting?
- Have high-traffic or variable-traffic websites, complex applications, or huge data storage requirements
- Requires strict security environment and data protection
- Have complex and high workload computational needs such as high-volume data analytics or deep learning tasks
- Needs custom software installations
- Have to control and configure the server resources
- Have unique technical or server requirements
- Requires optimum speed and performance with reliable and consistent performance
- Huge backup storage for secure and custom recovery
Use-Cases
A few examples of those who use Dedicated Hosting for some of the above requirements are as below:
- Ecommerce platforms have security compliance and data protection requirements to protect sensitive information such as customer credit cards.
- Healthcare and Finance platforms need to protect the clients’ confidential health and financial records.
- Gaming platform with heavy performance
- Mission-critical applications communication, railways, airlines, etc. need to maintain speed, and performance and cannot afford to suffer slowdowns or downtime.
- Web hosting companies to form server clusters
Dedicated hosting’s crucial role becomes clear with the above scenarios and it can easily support the heavy tasks listed above.
Understanding Dedicated Hosting
Before discussing dedicated server hosting, it is essential to cover ‘What is web server?’ and ‘What is server hosting’. Well, a web server means a machine that stores websites and sends them to your browser when requested. Whereas, server hosting is where you rent this powerful machine to keep your website live and running smoothly all the time.
Thus, it is to host your website or app to make it available through the internet to your visitors. You must select the web hosting type suitable for your resource requirements as per your website or application needs. So, dedicated hosting is one of the web hosting types.
So, what is dedicated hosting? The hosting type is in which one client or business rents a complete dedicated server for his website or application. That client will have full control of the server for the operating system, hardware, and software and can manage and configure everything as per his customized requirements. Thus, large enterprises, ecommerce websites, gaming servers and other mentioned complex use-cases prefer to implement the benefits of dedicated hosting in which the server’s complete power and capacity including CPU, memory, and storage can be used by that one client. All in all, you will get complete control over the speed and overall performance of his platform to control downtime even during high traffic.
You might also want to know ‘What is a Bare Metal Server?’ It is basically a physical server fully dedicated to a single client so it is just like dedicated hosting.
Then what is the difference? Both dedicated and bare metal servers don’t have virtualisation layers. However, the key difference lies in how they are managed.
Bare metal servers provide direct access to the physical hardware and there is no third-party management. Therefore, you have total control over the system setup and management.
Whereas, dedicated servers may come with some level of services from the hosting provider.
Moreover, if you are considering starting a venture in the web hosting business, you may want to know how to start a dedicated server business from India. There are various aspects to it such as knowing the benefits to the users, tips on starting the business, and more.
How Does Dedicated Hosting Work?
Now that we have covered the section – ‘What is a dedicated server hosting’, let us discuss how it works.
An individual or business rents a dedicated hosting server to fulfill the specified needs for processing, speed, storage, and more of a single website or application without sharing the same with any other website or application. The whole server would serve the sole purpose of a single client when you get it from the best of the Dedicated Hosting providers.
You need to start by searching for an ideal provider and they will equip the dedicated server with custom server resources such as CPU power, RAM, Bandwidth, hardware, and more as per your website or application requirements to ensure the best performance. Also, the dedicated hosting provider will need to manage and update the dedicated server. They need to oversee regular installation, software updates, server performance, security patches, and routine maintenance tasks. Moreover, the task list also includes regular backups and security checks.
Additionally, you have complete control of the server resources, configurations & settings, hardware, etc. You can manage the tasks with the root or administrative access to install software, manage accounts, and more. Further, you get to use prevailing per-socket or per-core software licenses or per-virtual-machine (VM). This way you can virtualize and run multiple instances (or virtual machines) on your dedicated server. You may hire a system administrator for these tasks to ensure the technical experience for optimal server performance is met.
Dedicated Hosting Pros and Cons
Individuals and businesses looking for an ideal hosting solution for the optimal performance of their platform must learn the Dedicated Hosting pros and cons. Hence, after understanding what is dedicated hosting, check out – why you need dedicated server and rent an allotted server for a single platform. That is, what are the advantages and disadvantages of dedicated server hosting?
Advantages of Dedicated Hosting
Control
Complete administrative or root access from the hosting service provider enables you to customize and control the server environment as per your specified requirements. You can configure settings, install the required software, select the operating system, and more to meet your website’s or application’s performance and speed requirements.
Flexible
As per the change required in your dedicated server, you can scale its resources and thus ensure optimal performance. The control over the type of operating system, hardware, software, apps, etc. ensures this flexibility because the server is allotted to that single website without the need to share the same.
Performance
The dedicated access and monitoring of the CPU, RAM, storage, bandwidth, hardware, etc. for a single website or application makes the page load faster and more reliable. The high-traffic website speed excessive data or any other critical performance-oriented goals can be easily met with this one of the most essential Dedicated Hosting pros.
Security
The single website optimizing the complete server will ensure its full security control and server configurations for the same. Also, as a dedicated hosting, there is no shared website on the server i.e. no threat to your website security. Encryption, firewalls, security updates, etc. can easily be managed and implemented as per your business or industry compliance requirements such as healthcare, ecommerce, etc.
Uptime
Due to the unshared resources of your dedicated server, reliable uptime is one of the benefits of Dedicated Hosting. There is no other user on it, so Dedicated hosting providers can guarantee minimal downtime.
Support
You have the best dedicated hosting service including 24/7 support for speedy resolutions to any technical or other server assistance from experts of the hosting providers.
Disadvantages of Dedicated Servers
When deciding on choosing the best dedicated web hosting services, you need to also consider what is Dedicated Hosting in terms of its Cons.
Cost
Due to being a single user of the server resources and resultant excessive management delivery requirements, high cost is one of the dedicated hosting cons. Thus, small businesses, startups, or other entrepreneurs with limited budgets may not be able to benefit from this type of hosting service. Also, when the resources that are meant to be for a single website are not properly utilized or managed, it proves to be relatively higher in cost.
Technical
You need technical expertise to independently manage the server resources and configuration. The tasks such as installation of required software, updates, storage, backups, server setup, security patches, monitoring, troubleshooting, compliance, etc will need expert administrators to ensure the required and optimal performance goals for the website or application. Hosting providers would manage the physical infrastructure but hardware maintenance will be your responsibility.
How Does Dedicated Hosting Differ from Other Hosting Types?
This section is all about – comparing ‘What is Dedicated hosting’ with other hosting services meaning. The above section on Dedicated Hosting Pros and Cons makes it quite clear how it ensures the best performance with complete control and security. At the same time, it is also costly and requires technical expertise. However, in comparison to others, it does not need to share server resources like VPS hosting or shared hosting. Also, it defeats cloud hosting in terms of the performance of high-traffic applications. Read on to see the dedicated hosting features with others.
Shared Hosting vs. Dedicated Hosting
| Feature | Shared Hosting | Dedicated Hosting |
| Resource Sharing | A single server has multiple websites in shared hosting. | It has a dedicated server for a single website. |
| Cost | In shared vs dedicated hosting, the shared server type has the lowest cost so small businesses or websites can highly afford this type. | It is expensive due to extensive server resources for a single platform. |
| Control | Settings and configuration control become limited due to shared server. | It offers the entire control over installations, OS, hardware, settings, configuration, and resources of the server. |
| Security | A shared environment can result in the threat of security breaches. | Security and compliance are at its best as there is no other website or application on the server |
Shared Hosting vs. Dedicated Hosting comparison states how shared servers are good for small site or app and dedicated servers meet the needs of platforms with extensive resource needs. Resultantly, the dedicated hosting type is more expensive but also offers comprehensive control and better security.
VPS Hosting vs. Dedicated Hosting
| Feature | VPS Hosting | Dedicated Hosting |
| Resource Allocation | It is to divide one physical server into more than one virtualized server. Resources are shared but every virtual environment has its own allocated resources. The hypervisor is the software layer that creates, manages, and allocates these resources.
It can be easily scaled for additional resources. |
It provides an allotted server dedicated to a single user. All the resources are allocated to this single user.
Also, additional drives can be added for scalability but it can be costly and time-consuming. |
| Performance | VPS hosting is better than shared hosting as each virtual environment has no interference from others, but the resources are still shared. | With exclusive access to the complete physical system, it has the best performance. |
| Cost | Its cost is more than shared hosting. However, it is less than dedicated hosting. However, you can pay as per your resource requirements. | Dedicated Hosting Service cost is high as it offers full control of the resources for a single website. |
| Control | You have restricted control over installation as the server is shared. It is secure but with limited custom compliance. | You can control and customize the complete server. It is completely secure. |
So, what do you mean by dedicated hosting in comparison to VPS hosting? VPS Hosting vs. Dedicated Hosting table states just that. VPS shares a physical server and gives you a dedicated virtual server. Whereas, dedicated server hosting allocates the dedicated resources of an entire physical server to one user.
Cloud Hosting vs. Dedicated Hosting
| Feature | Cloud Hosting | Dedicated Hosting |
| Resource Utilization | It is a type of hosting in which the resources are shared in a virtualized environment that is managed by the cloud hosting provider. | The complete physical server resources are dedicated to a single user. |
| Control | It has limited control compared to dedicated hosting but still, it is customizable to the limit provided by the hosting provider. | It offers extensive customization and control of hardware, software, settings, and configurations of the complete server. |
| Security | Due to the shared environment, it may impose certain risks. | It is completely secure due to the dedicated environment for a single user. |
| Performance | It is possible to optimize and scale as per the workload and variable demands. | It offers high and consistent performance – best suitable for I/O-intensive applications. |
| Cost | It is cost-effective as you pay as per your use of resources. | It is costly due to the dedicated resource allocation of the entire server for one user. |
Well, the cloud hosting vs. dedicated hosting table explains that cloud hosting has shared interconnected virtual servers whereas dedicated hosting offers a dedicated physical server. Moreover, the dedicated server is better than cloud hosting in terms of security, control and performance. On the other hand, cloud hosting is more affordable and also known for better scalability than shared and VPS servers.
However, you can also opt for a dedicated cloud server that provides dedicated resources within the cloud without sharing with others. It offers more control and performance for specific needs.
What to Consider When Evaluating Dedicated Hosting Providers?
Once you have decided upon using the benefits of Dedicated Hosting, it is then essential that you opt for an ideal dedicated hosting provider. You must consider at least the below factors when choosing one:
Reliability
The performance of your website or application is very much dependent on the provider that you choose. It must support your traffic and resource requirements. Also, you need to make sure that they have a good track record and ensure 99.9% guaranteed uptime. You may check their performance metrics and uptime statistics on the website. Also, they should be capable of handling and resolving reasonably happening downtime and its issues.
Support
Quick and reliable support service for any server or technical issues must be available 24/7 through multiple channels. They must be reliable and responsive in their support services.
Security
A dedicated hosting provider must offer robust security measures. You need to check for firewalls, malware detection, and other data and website protection settings and management.
Control
It is important that you have complete control and can customize the hardware, software, server configurations, settings, and more. Also, the provider that you choose has enough resources to enable scalability. Thus, it must have the capability to allow you to upgrade its resources as your demand grows.
Management
The provider must have the option that you choose for dedicated server management. That is, if you want them to manage your server then accordingly they must have adequate capabilities and expertise for the same. The managed dedicated hosting option is beneficial if you do not have the technical expertise for your server management and maintenance. Also, they must allow you if you need to do the server management on your own.
Cost
Among various comparisons comes the costs of Dedicated Hosting services offered by different providers’ plans. The right comparison would consider flexible pricing plans along with the value and scalability that they provide through the features, resources, support, performance, and additional services such as backup and recovery services, load balancing, content delivery networks (CDNs), etc. You need to make sure your needs for a dedicated hosting server are met at the right price and you are not paying wrongfully for regular downtimes, slow services, and unmet SLAs. In contrast, it may be worth it if the provider is reliable and you need not have to worry about anything. Well, the cost of a managed dedicated server is higher due to additional and expert services with its plans. So you might want to consider managed vs unmanaged dedicated server hosting cost.
Service Level Agreements (SLAs)
The dedicated hosting provider’s SLAs should be convincing and easy to understand. It should show the commitment to the best quality of their services. Also, it needs to include a reasonable credit schedule as per the service dimensions. SLAs show if the provider is reliable and trustworthy.
Reputation
What do the community and the users tell? You must understand what is a dedicated hosting provider’s credibility through the other user reviews. Also, you must ensure that your requirements are fulfilled promptly, you can have this idea by contacting the sales team. It will show if they are responsive and reliable.
How to Choose the Right Dedicated Server Plan?
You need to select the right dedicated hosting plan for your website’s smooth operation and efficiency. You must understand what you require and that is the first step towards choosing the ideal plan for you. Also, you may have custom needs as per your website or app type. Here are key factors to consider when choosing a dedicated hosting server:
Processor Power
Determine the processor power as per your needs. For example, if you use custom applications or handle video transcoding, you must opt for a more robust processor.
Bandwidth Needs
Your bandwidth requirements would vary as per the traffic. For instance, for high traffic volumes or frequent use of HD images and multimedia, you need a higher bandwidth.
Memory Requirements
Sufficient and more memory ensures faster site loading times. You may not need more memory now but adequate & extra RAM is beneficial.
Operating System
What is your OS preference? Choose between Windows or Linux and ensure the dedicated server plan supports it. Windows servers are essential for hosting Microsoft IIS, MS SQL, or ASP.NET.
You need to compare the additional features such as backups, type of storage, capacity, and more as per your custom preferences. Another important aspect is budget comparison.
Why choose Cantech for dedicated hosting?
After understanding what is dedicated hosting, its pros & cons, and its comparison with other hosting types, it must be clear that dedicated hosting is all about the best performance, security, scalability, and control. Well, Cantech can offer you all these possible benefits of dedicated hosting with our advanced infrastructure as one of the best dedicated hosting service providers in India.
Complete Control
The complete server is dedicated to you with no virtualization layers with Cantech’s dedicated hosting. Complete control over the resources ensures maximum performance and reliability. We offer all major control panel options such as Plesk, cPanel, Webuzo, Proxmox, and Virtualizor for easy server management. Also, you get complete root access and bare metal servers, and you can fulfill your server needs by making custom configurations through our technical support team.
Storage
We offer various storage options such as NVMe storage drives and enterprise SSD drives. Also, they are configured with RAID which means it ensures data protection and prevents data loss. Further, it can be easily accessed and securely stored using ‘Mirroring’ i.e. storage on two different drives.
Best Security
Our dedicated servers are equipped with the best security measures including DDoS protection, bulk IP resource management, and more. It maintains the heavy traffic of your website while protecting the website, applications, and the complete network from malicious attacks.
Affordable Pricing
Our costs of Dedicated Hosting services are flexible and affordable. We offer custom plans as per your needs starting from around ₹ 5,800.
Moreover, Cantech offers 24/7 Technical Support with hardware and network monitoring with immediate resolutions and uninterrupted server performance. We operate from world-class Tier 3 and Tier 4 data centers.
Then what is the difference? Both dedicated and bare metal servers don’t have virtualisation layers. However, the key difference lies in how they are managed.
How to Set Up a Dedicated Server?
Setting up a dedicated server is complex. You can choose to do it yourself or go with the right professional assistance. Below is a brief overview of the process:
Self-Setup
Configuring a dedicated server includes downloads of necessary software and handling extensive server configuration and implementation for smooth server performance and optimization for the same. It demands high technical knowledge and can be time-consuming.
Third-Party Setup
This is a more advisable option if you lack server expertise and resources. A good dedicated server hosting provider will handle the setup for you. Choosing a professional setup service can simplify the process and provide added support. This managed option often includes professional support for ongoing maintenance. Also, it offers flexibility to tailor your server to specific needs and reliable performance to ensure consistent availability. Further, you have access to a user-friendly control panel.
Once your server is set up, you might need to know how to check host name in Command Prompt (CMD). Well, it is easy and there are various ways through which you can do this quickly.
Conclusion
So, what is dedicated hosting in summary? Well, when you choose a dedicated server, it is like having a server completely dedicated to or for your website or application. It ensures that all the resources are yours to use without sharing with anyone else. Thus, if you invest in this type of hosting it gives complete control with a dedicated server and offers all required resources to withstand the traffic and workload demand of your website or application. Thus, it offers the best performance and user satisfaction.
Moreover, reliable and optimal performance is only possible when you have an ideal dedicated hosting provider. Also, you need to check them for their uptime guarantees, customer support, server resources, configurations, and other factors discussed in this blog. Cantech covers all the aspects and offers cost-effective custom solutions as per your business server requirement. Get in touch with us to discuss your customized plan today!
FAQs
Is dedicated hosting expensive?
In comparison to other hosting types such as shared or VPS, the Dedicated Hosting service cost is higher. Its features and resources are advanced and a single user gets the dedicated server. So, how much does dedicated hosting cost? Well, the pricing depends on the providers and plans that you choose as per your budget and server requirements. Thus, it is not always expensive but meets your customized needs.
Can I upgrade from shared hosting to dedicated hosting?
You can easily upgrade to dedicated hosting by transferring the files, databases, and configurations. Your hosting provider can provide technical assistance for the same.
Who Can Use Dedicated Hosting?
With the full control, customization, reliability, performance, and other benefits of dedicated hosting, it is highly suitable for websites with high traffic, requiring optimal performance, specialized configurations, and security measures.
Is dedicated hosting good?
Dedicated hosting pros offer a reliable, secure, and scalable solution for websites requiring high performance and advanced customization options for the same. It is suitable to meet the essential hosting needs of the businesses.
How Do I Know if Dedicated Hosting Is Right for Me?
If you have optimized your website or application but still your current hosting plan is not meeting your performance requirements, then you must consider upgrading. Also, if you need specialized security or upgraded bandwidth, storage, and server control, dedicated hosting may be the right choice for you.
Who uses dedicated hosting?
Dedicated hosting is ideal for businesses or websites with high traffic and enhanced security requirements or those with specific custom server needs. Large-scale eCommerce platforms and data-heavy applications prefer dedicated hosting service.
When should I use dedicated hosting?
Dedicated hosting is the right choice when your website experiences high traffic, needs custom features, or high level of security. It is also suitable if you forecast future growth and require a scalable solution.
What is Dedicated Server Hosting?
Dedicated server hosting is a type of web hosting solution.
When a business is allocated a single server exclusively for its use, it is called Dedicated hosting. Well, that single user gets full control over server resources (CPU, RAM, storage, and bandwidth). Moreover, this hosting type is suitable for high-traffic websites, running complex applications, managing critical data, or specialized security and compliance needs. All in all, it can ensure high performance, enhanced security, and complete customization for your extensive business needs.
How Does Dedicated Server Hosting Work?
The working of the Dedicated server hosting includes assigning a complete physical server to a single client. This client will get exclusive access to the use of all its resources.
After you purchase a suitable dedicated hosting plan from the provider, they will set up the server according to your specifications. These dedicated server specifications would include the operating system, hardware, and software requirements. Further, you will get root or administrative access to the server for full control over its configurations.
Furthermore, the hosting provider maintains the hardware and infrastructure and ensures reliable uptime and technical support. All in all, the setup provides high performance and flexibility for businesses with demanding sites or applications.
How much does Dedicated Server Hosting cost?
The dedicated server hosting cost depends on different factors such as server specifications, resources, and other features.
Dedicated hosting plans are more expensive than shared or virtual server hosting types as they provide dedicated resources and higher performance.
What are the benefits of Dedicated Server Hosting?
Dedicated server hosting offers advanced benefits for high-traffic and resource-intensive websites or applications. It provides high performance as all server resources are available for the user’s exclusive use.
Moreover, this web hosting type also ensures the best security as there is no sharing of resources with other users on a dedicated server. This way, it reduces the risk of attacks and breaches. It also caters to the advanced security measures.
Further, dedicated server hosting also allows for full control and customization so you can configure the server according to their specific needs. The greater control over the server environment enables you to install software and manage settings as required. This hosting type is ideal for websites or apps with high traffic or complex applications that need reliable performance and specialized security & compliance.
What is the difference between a dedicated server and hosting?
A dedicated server refers to a physical server that is allocated to one user. On the other hand, there are different types of hosting and it can be shared with multiple users or can be dedicated. Dedicated hosting provides exclusive access and resources.
Which hosting is better: shared or dedicated?
Dedicated hosting offers entire server resources for one single user so it can give superior performance, security, and customization. It is the best option for high-traffic sites or customized server needs. Whereas, shared hosting shares the resources of a single server with multiple users and is suitable for a small or personal website or app.
Is dedicated hosting more secure?
Yes, dedicated hosting is more secure usually. It isolates your server from others so avoids the risk of security breaches. It also offers control over security settings so that you can implement customized and advanced security and regulatory settings.
What are the main benefits of managed vs. dedicated hosting?
When comparing managed vs. dedicated hosting, dedicated hosting offers complete server control and resources. Whereas, managed hosting specializes in expert management and convenience. Below is the evaluation of their benefits:
Dedicated Hosting
- Full Control – The management of the server and its resources such as hard disk space and RAM are in your hands.
- Customization – You can also customize the server configuration and settings, install any software or applications, and make unlimited backups.
- Exclusive Resources – The server memory and speed are dedicated to your website or app, so it is an ideal hosting option for high-traffic websites or the ones that need high-performance or custom security settings.
- Private Network – Companies that need a private network and large database access must choose a dedicated server.
Managed Hosting
- Easy Management – The hosting provider or the data center team handles server administration, updates, disaster recovery, and troubleshooting.
- Focus on Core Tasks – You are free from the server’s technical and management responsibilities and can concentrate on other important duties.
- Flexible Use – It offers professional management and easy hosting of multiple websites.
