Dedicated Server Hosting Definition

Dedicated server is one of the terms used to describe a manner of internet hosting whereas a user leases a server rather then sharing one with others. By using a dedicated server, also referred to as a managed hosting service or dedicated hosting service, an organization can make decisions concerning which operating systems and hardware to use for their web hosting needs.

Leasing a dedicated server shares some similarities to a colocation facility; they are will likely be off-site in a data centre where a redundant power source and HVAC will help insure the system’s continual operation. In fact it is not uncommon for a dedicated server to guarantee 100% uptime. The guarantee is possible by the server being multi-homed and utilizing multiple providers which in turn multiplies redundancy while offering more routes to destinations.

Dedicated Server Management and Support

The level of operating system support available varies by provider and is a consideration when choosing a website hosting plan. Which dedicated service provider you ultimately decide upon, will depend to a large degree on how much server management you, as the lessee, are willing to shoulder? Some dedicated server providers’ support can provide security fixes or patches as well as application updates to be automatically added to the system when available.

The difficulty is that without industry standards the lessee needs to do careful comparison shopping to know what will or won’t be included in the matter of system support. There are standard industry terms but their meanings vary from company to company. Ideally the following levels of sever management support will be available to you: fully managed, managed, self-managed and unmanaged.

Sadly every dedicated service hosting provider will not make each of the levels available to you and how they define any of the levels that they do provide will be decided by them.

Dedicated Server Hosting Limitations

Regardless of the level of support agreed upon, most providers will place some limitations on how the client can use the system. Because of the danger of DDoS attacks by rogue IRC users, many dedicated servers will not permit IRCs. Hosting material that is copyrighted to someone other then the client will usually not be allowed as well adult content. The quarrel with adult content could be a question of legality that the provider does not wish to deal with or the extraordinary bandwidth it consumes.