Dedicated Servers - Facts and Fiction!

Dedicated Servers - Facts and Fiction!

I know not everybody has, but some of you have done a little dedicated server shopping. To many folks, dedicated servers might seem a little scary. Thinking about all that space and all that bandwidth at your fingertips is the good thing. The bad side comes in when you have to manage it all.

Some of the "terminology" is flawed as well. We have all seen Web hosts and data centers advertise unmanaged servers and managed servers. Common sense would tell you,"One is managed by the Web host and the other is not" but that isn't always the case. At least not to the extreme that you are thinking.

When you get a dedicated server, no matter if it is managed or unmanaged, you should always have at least one team member that will know how to run, setup and use that said server. This will keep you up and running a little longer, because you don't have to work with a middle man to get certain tasks done.

Now with managed servers, the Web host or data center you bought it from will handle a little more support than an unmanaged server. You will get somebody ready to answer your questions and help you with your tasks 24/7 (if you have found a good Web host, that is).

So with that said, you would probably think that an unmanaged server is just some Web host tossing you a box and saying, "Hey, have fun!". You get your login information and server details, then they let you loose on it. Well, it isn't really as much of a loner job as you might think.

As I said before, it is good to have somebody on the team who is skilled in running a server. You will receive less support than you would with a managed server, but you aren't all by yourself just yet. Many hosting providers will help you with your unmanaged server. The thing to remember is don't expect the same level of support you would get with a managed sever.

So as you can see, both sides have both good and bad points to them. Managed servers will cost a little more, but unmanaged servers will require you to know a little more about what you are doing. Which one should you pick? It really depends on your current company setup.

The thing to remember is to do your homework before you buy anything.