Dedicated Hosting Definition

When we speak of hosting web servers, there are three main varieties - shared web hosting web servers, VPS (virtual private web servers) and dedicated hosting servers. Shared servers host lots of clients and so the system resources per web hosting account are restricted, virtual private server plans offer more configuration freedom, but also influence other VPS web hosting servers on the hardware node if used unwisely, and dedicated servers give you the autonomy to do everything you see fit without interfering with anyone else.

Why would you require a dedicated hosting server?

Dedicated servers are normally much more expensive than shared servers or VPS web hosting servers. Why would anyone, then, want to use them? The explanation is rather simple. If your company has a resource-absorbing web site, or just has very explicit web server architecture requirements, the most intelligent option would be a dedicated server. For someone who is willing to invest in safety and reliability, the higher price is of no importance. You are bestowed with root access and can use 100% of the hosting web server's system resources without anyone else using these system resources and intervening with your online portals.

Hardware specs

Most shared hosting service providers, including us at Host Volcano, provide several hardware architectures you can choose from in consonance with your requirements. The configurations offer different types of microprocessors, a different number of cores, different RAM and server hard disk sizes and different traffic quotas. You can choose a hosting CP, which is a useful software tool if you would like to use the hosting server for web hosting purposes only and choose not to resort to a Secure Shell client for all the changes you will be making. We offer 3 types of Control Panel software - Hepsia, DirectAdmin and cPanel.

The Control Panel of your choosing

If you are a self-confident Linux user (our web servers are powered by Linux or other Unix-based OSs), you could administer your dedicated server via an SSH client only. That, though, could be awkward, especially if you decide to grant full server root privileges to somebody else who has less technical knowledge than yourself. That is why having Control Panel software pre-installed is a fine idea. The Hepsia Control Panel tool that we provide does not include root-level access and is mostly suitable for somebody who runs a lot of online portals that demand lots of system resources, but would like to manage the web portals, databases and email box accounts through an easy-to-use web hosting CP. The DirectAdmin and cPanel hosting Control Panels, on the other hand, give you complete server root access and offer 3 levels of access - root, reseller and user. If you intend to resell hosting accounts instead of using the hosting server only for yourself, you should select one of these two.

Server monitoring and backup procedures

Last but not least, there is the issue of monitoring the dedicated hosting server and of backing it up. In the event of a problem with your server, like an unresponsive Apache or a network downtime, it is advisable to have some kind of monitoring system enabled. Here at Host Volcano the system administrators monitor all dedicated servers for ping timeouts, and, if you order a Managed Services upgrade, they monitor the individual services on the dedicated hosting server as well. Backups are also a bonus option - the hosting company offers you data backups on our own backup web servers. You could select a type of RAID that would permit you to store the very same data on two server hard disks as a precaution in the event of a disk drive failure, or in case someone whom you have given complete server root access deletes something unintentionally.