Dedicated Hosting is a type of web hosting service in which you have full control of the web server located in the web hosting company’s premises. A Dedicated Server simply means that the physical web server machine is used exclusively by you. Dedicated Hosting is required if your site outgrows the resources offered by shared and VPS hosting. If your site receives immense amount of web traffic ranging in millions per day, you will require a dedicated hosting service to handle such amount of traffic. A dedicated server is installed at the web hosting company’s premises and administered by your system administrators. Many web hosting companies these days offer system administration packages with their dedicated hosting solutions.

When you search for a dedicated hosting service, the web hosting company will offer you with choice of several systems. You can refine your search and install a server that is best fitted for your needs. Note: In a dedicated hosting service, you rent a server (you do not own the server), so you can make hardware upgrades or even relocate the server to other data center facility. Many web hosting companies offer a client to purchase its own dedicated machine and install it on the host company’s premises; this type of service is termed as collocation or managed web hosting.

In a dedicated web hosting service, the web hosting company installs a dedicated server with stated amount of resources like RAM, Hard Disk, CPU, etc. You can upgrade or downgrade your server anytime with resources.

Dedicated Hosting Advantages:

• Reliability: In a dedicated web hosting service, you own full resources of the web server machine; they are not shared with anyone else. As the whole server resources are allotted to you, your web server can handle big amount of traffic.
• Security: You can install custom firewalls and security applications to harden your server and operating system.
• Speed: With a dedicated machine, your applications run very fast as you own all the resources of the physical machine. You can also make custom changes to the physical machine to give best performance.

Dedicated Hosting Disadvantages:

• Costly: A dedicated hosting service can cost several hundred dollars per month. It is not best suited for starters with very less traffic. You should opt for a dedicated server if your website is already established and have outgrown the resources allotted by shared hosting or VPS hosting.
• Technical: Dedicated hosting service requires system administrators to manage the server. You are fully responsible for installing security applications, firewalls and operating system in your web server. The technical side of a dedicated server can be confusing for a newbie, so it’s a must to hire a system administrator if you don’t know how to manage a dedicated web server.

Some Dedicated Hosting Facts:

• A dedicated server is just like owning a big house on a hill. Nobody bothers you with anything; you own full resources like RAM, CPU, Hard Disk, etc. You can make custom changes, or do whatever you like.
• There can only be 1 user using a dedicated machine. It means you exclusively own all the resources of the web server machine.
• In a dedicated hosting service, Resources are determined by the server capacity. In order to increase your resources, you need to upgrade hardware.
• Separate OS: A user has complete control of their operating system.
• Multiple IPs: A dedicated server enjoys multiple unique IP addresses.

Who require dedicated hosting?

• A dedicated server is required if you have already crossed the limits set by shared hosting or VPS hosting.
• You require a dedicated server if your website receives exponential amount of traffic.