Dedicated Hosting
From Website Hosting Wiki
Web hosting services come in a variety of forms and traditionally the most expensive type of service that gives users the most options and extras is a dedicated hosting service. This type of Internet hosting service involves the customer leasing an entire server that is not shared with anyone else. The customer has full control over the server, the choice of operating system that is installed on the server, the type of hardware that is used, and more. Web hosting companies may or may not include server administration duties in the monthly price, sometimes making it an add-on cost. Dedicated servers are owned by the web hosting provider and they make sure that redundant power sources and HVAC systems are provided in addition to support of the operating system and applications you request for your server.
Web hosting companies will offer you the operating system for your dedicated server based on availability, price, and employee knowledge. There are many open source operating systems available that companies can offer at no extra charge – such as variations of Linux – and there are also commercial systems that can be used that will have a monthly fee attached to it – Microsoft Windows Server and commercial grades of Linux. Operating system support by your web hosting company could include but are not limited to: updates to the core system; security fixes; patches; system-wide vulnerability resolutions; kernel upgrades; service packs; application update; and security patches.
Dedicated hosting services are chosen due to the high powered networks multiple providers have available, utilizing larger amounts of bandwidth that allows them to keep their pricing lower. They are great for e-commerce sites that are large and have major volumes of traffic on a daily basis. In order to do this, many companies are better off outsourcing to web hosting services instead of laying out a lot of money to achieve the same thing. When a dedicated hosting service is used, the providers include a service level agreement that is based on network uptime. Providers of dedicated servers usually guarantee an uptime of 99 to 100% and they can usually meet this by using multiple uplink providers to keep the websites up and running. Bandwidth today is usually priced on gigabyte usage and sometimes even terabyte usage.
There has been no industry standard defined on what things web hosting companies are required to manage in a dedicated hosting service. Managed services could mean anything from fully managed with customers working with their files and website only to simply have an engineer available to handle server and network functions only. Dedicated web hosting management can include but is not limited to: operating system updates; application updates; server monitoring; simple network management protocol hardware monitoring; application monitoring; technical support; firewall services; antivirus updates; security audits; DDoS protection and mitigation; intrusion detection; backups and restoration; disaster recovery; DNS hosting service; load balancing; database administration; performance tuning; software installation and configuration; user management; and programming consultation. Each level of management is based on the services each individual web hosting company offers and they can differ from company to company.
Dedicated hosting service companies provide extreme security measures of their servers in order to ensure that the data stored on the servers are secure at all time. They will use various software packages to scan the system and network for invaders, spammers, hackers, and viruses such as Trojans, worms, eggdrops, and crashers. Additionally the providers can provide specific software above and beyond the operating system for customers to use, usually at an additional price. They will provide companies with software licenses and gives the customers the choice of software to be installed.
