The magic number to look for is 99.5% uptime. Anything less would be asking for something below industry standards. If you saw a 99% guarantee on the uptime, you should not be impressed.

The good thing is that most major dedicated servers do better than 99.5%. In most cases, servers are up 100% of the time. This is as expected since more and more website owners are looking at reliability for their webserver selection criteria. Aside from that, dedicated server providers also rely on reputation and recommendation for new clients. Good dedicated server hosts make it a priority to keep their servers and network up all of the time.

There are cases where this 99.5% number is just marketing fluff. One way to ensure that you’ll get what’s advertised is to look for a guarantee in the terms of service or TOS. Good dedicated server hosts would have no problems indicating this in the service contract. Companies that also have confidence in their services also provide refunds or credits should the downtime exceeds the maximum that they specify. Finding these in the TOS would make the companies obligated to provide their promised uptimes.

But that is not all. There are occasions where things just look good on paper but not in the real world. You can search the web for customer comments about a particular server host and check for positive and negative feedback. Since they’ve been there and done that with that particular host provider, their feedback carry considerable weight. Connected with this, a good hosting company would also be happy to refer you to their list of satisfied clientele for reference. But be sure to weigh in the good and the bad; a couple of good or bad experiences is not enough to give you the whole picture.

But seeing 99.5 is not enough; you also need to be certain whether that refers to the hardware, network, or both. This is because the hardware or the server physically might be fine, but it’s not connected to the net. You also need to verify whether the downtime standards set in the TOS includes routine maintenance. As we all know routine maintenance is unavoidable; the next thing to know is how long is their allowance for the downtime and what they will do if they can’t make the deadline.

A site that’s down is tantamount to having no site at all. An almost impeccable uptime is essential for your revenue and your business operation. This is why going for a dedicated host provider that can guarantee that reliability should be one of your primary criteria for your web host selection.

At the basic, the server should have a RAID system installed. There are several RAID configurations available depending on the number of drives that a server uses. In simple terms, RAID is the use of several hard drives where the other drives are used as backup or redundancy storage.

But having RAID is not enough. This is because if the server itself fails, no matter how well data has been backed up, these won’t be available if the server is down. Though the case of this happening is slim, it is for these remote possibilities that you install a redundancy system. For this, having a mirror server becomes essential. A mirror sever is just like RAID, only at the server level. So even if the main server went down, hosting responsibilities would just be switched over to the mirror server thus preventing downtime for your site.

Aside from a mirror server setup, there is also a cluster setup. This system involves dividing and allocating different server functions into several servers. For example, you would have one server for POP, another server for downloads, and a different server for database, and so on. By dividing these functions, if one server goes down, only a part of the website is down, not crippling the whole site itself. Though there would be downtime on one or more services, the site and its other functions would still be available to online visitors and customers.

The redundancy system that might be provided to you can be one or a combination of these redundancy systems. Of course, the more complex and sophisticated the backup system gets, the more the price for the service goes up. Data protection and uptime assurance does have its costs, and they’re not miniscule.

Selecting the best system for your website would depend on the needs of your site and your budget. If you have a site that has heavy traffic, process online transactions, and have mission-critical functions that must be accessed at all times, then having the best redundancy system is advisable. Of course, this would be relative to the amount of revenue that your site is bringing in.

Dedicated servers should provide you more than just increased traffic and bandwidth capacity. Data security is also an essential feature that you should look for in a dedicated server provider. In this digital age, information is almost the same as revenue. And since your site works on that principle, it is but natural that you protect your site with a solid and reliable redundancy system.

Guaranteed uptime should be one of your top requirements. The industry standard now is 99.5%. Meaning, the server provider should be able to guarantee you that their server would be up and connected 99.5% of the time. This guarantee should also be backed up by a refund policy that can be seen in the service agreement.

Sufficient bandwidth and disk space should also be another of your priority. There is no set figure here that you should look for since the amount you need would be dependent on the content of your site and the number of visitors. The services that you provide should also be one of your criteria in selecting disk and bandwidth amount. For example, if you host a lot of video files and also has a download server, then the number of disk space and bandwidth that you require should be enough to handle to load.

An easy to use control panel is also a must. It would be better if you can get screenshots or a sample of the control panel that a server provider gives out to clients. The control panel should be easy to understand and use. By selecting an intuitive control panel, you would have an easier time managing your site and spend less time on learning the software.

Support for different online applications and platforms should also be a consideration. The server should have support for web publishing integration should you want to add a blog or a forum to your site. Different programming language support such as PHP, Perl and MySQL should also be included in the service that the company provides. This would make it easier for you when you choose to expand your services or add more customized content based on your needs.

Efficient support staff should always be a requirement. The support staff should be easy to reach and quick to respond to your questions or issues. The less time you spend waiting for support, the better. The tech support team should also be able to fix problems quickly.

Next would be reputation. Some services may sound good on paper, but reality is still the best test. Feedback from existing and past customers is a good standard to measure a company’s reliability and quality of service.

These are just general guidelines to look at when selecting your dedicated server provider. These are just barely scratching the surface, but it’s a good headstart to get you in the right direction. By keeping these in mind, you can easily weed out less credible companies and help you select the right provider for your site.

Because of this, it is essential that you choose a control panel that best suits your needs and level of knowledge. Control panels range from the simple and intuitive, to the complex and esoteric. As such, you need to select one that matches your level.

Whatever the level, one feature that will sure be appreciated is ease of use. A control panel with a good GUI is preferable since it’s easier to manage as compared to having to remember and enter shell commands. Some control panels, notably cPanel, allows you to do site management functions in just a few clicks. An intuitive control panel also decreases the learning curve which means you will spend less time learning the software and more in actually maintaining your site.

Another important consideration is platform compatability. Your control panel choice would also depend on your server operating system. This is because some control panels work only with a Windows or Linux environment. But then, there are some control panels that are compatible with all platforms. If you prefer flexibility, then these types would be good to try. But if you’re pretty much decided on a platform to use, then choosing one that’s designed specifically with that platform would be a better choice.

The number of features and functions that you can control is also essential in your control panel selection. You should be able to control email servers, databases, FTP access, security accounts, and other site content from the control panel. It’s also best to get one that can provide automated install of other functions. For example, cPanel’s Fantastico allows you to install CMS applications like Joomla and WordPress easily. Should you want to add blogs or forums to your site, having that in your control panel would make it easy to accomplish.

Performance is another feature that a control panel must have. Speed and stability are crucial elements to look for in any software. This is especially true if your site requires constant updating and real-time updates.

Usually, control panel choice is left to the dedicated server provider. But should you be given the chance of selecting your own control panel, then these are the points to consider. Some of the big names that you can look at are cPanel, Plesk, and H-Sphere. These are noted for their ease of use,their wide list of functions, and good user feedback. So, if you’re stuck at what to select, then you can try one of them for starters.

As your site grows in popularity, its bandwidth needs also increases. Especially if you offer your visitors lots of services that is bandwidth-intensive, such as online streaming, file downloads, and database search, increasing your site’s bandwidth capacity is essential. If you get a dedicated server, you get a range of 600 GB to 1500 GB of data transfer rate a month. That should be sufficient for your site’s purposes.

Related to bandwidth is disk space. You would also get a range of 60 to 150 GB of storage space when you get a dedicated server. Most sites don’t need that much disk space, but as mentioned, if you do a lot of file hosting whether for downloads or streaming, the numbers can add up easily.

Room for expansion is also another reason why you should switch to a dedicated server. Should you decide to create additional sites, dedicated servers allow for the creation of additional domains. If you already own several sites, then getting a dedicated server would be the next logical step for you. Aside from that, you can also use your own dedicated server as a hosting platform for other sites. You can run a hosting service of your own. This can be another source of revenue for you if you have ample of unused disk and bandwidth left over in your subscription plan.

Reliability and support are also reasons why you should make the switch. Dedicated servers have almost perfect uptime rates, which means your site would be always up most of the times. Management of the hardware and network resources would also be left to the provider, which frees you up from maintenance costs and admin duties. Aside from that, you can be sure that the admin and support staff have the expertise in network and information technology. You can also use the provider’s expertise in implementing new services in your sites. Dedicated servers also have good backup systems in place so you can rest assured that your data is safe. This is all the more important if you keep important customer and sales information in your website.

These are the reasons why making the switch over to dedicated servers is a good idea. But as mentioned above, it would still depend on the cost-revenue ratio. But in most cases, making the switch leads to more revenue for your site. With increased capacity, added services, and a more streamlined site, your customers are more apt to visit and frequent your site. Once this happens, you increase the chances of generating additional revenue for your site.

Also known as a dedicated hosting service or a managed hosting service, dedicate servers provide the client with flexibility in terms of space, the amount of bandwidth, as well as control over a variety of elements used within the server. These elements include the kind of hardware used in the server and even what operating system is to be used for it.

Most people are probably aware of the term “dedicated server” from their experience playing multiplayer games such as Counter-Strike. Those dedicated game servers are essentially a computer unit that hosts the game for the other players in a network.

This is more efficient because that single computer isn’t actually running the game, allowing more processing power to be used to receive and redistribute data into the other computers. This also saves one player the hassle of hosting the game, which means he or she will not have to with a slower computer.

That same principle also works for internet hosting. Instead of utilizing one’s own space and hardware to host a web site or a network of web sites, having dedicated hosting servers allow site owners to house their site on a dedicated platform that can handle high amounts of bandwidth and data storage.

Since the owners of the server provide hosting as a service, they also have dedicated resources to handle the hardware. This includes data centers with emergency power systems and ample HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) support for the sensitive hardware. This minimizes or even eliminates the risk of downtime for the web sites hosted on the servers.

Lastly, compared to shared hosting, dedicated servers allow site owners full control over the server—from the setup to implementation. As a bonus, some hosting services also provide technical support and software updates as well as security such as antivirus and firewall programs for the benefit of the client.

Dedicated servers indeed offer a wide range of benefits for site owners, whether they are individuals or businesses. Those looking to have secure and optimized web hosting would do well to look into renting a dedicated server.

Full-Time Administration

Usually, dedicated hosting providers have full-time system admin that can oversee the maintenance and upkeep of the dedicated servers. Additionally, these system admin are well-versed in the troubleshooting aspect of server maintenance, knowledge that won’t necessarily be present in in-house IT admin.

Tech Support

Technical support is a must for a managed dedicated server, especially for outfits without the resources to handle their own technology-related stuff. This is especially useful for stuff like server migration, application deployment, and troubleshooting.

Software Updates

Since the servers and essentially the software are all owned by the provider, updating this software falls on the provider’s shoulders. Whether it’s content management software or specific applications used by the web site, the provider itself can implement the updates, saving clients the hassle of updating the software themselves. Software updates can also cover updates for the respective operating system used within the server.

Data Protection

Since a wide variety of sensitive data are stored in these dedicated servers, it is important to keep them protected at all costs—whether it’s for personal protection or protecting the interests of your business. This is why dedicated server providers offer data protection in the form of firewalls and a host of antivirus programs, as well as constant security scans. These programs also help counteract spamming, as in a blog’s comment section.

Database Management

Many businesses resort to dedicated servers because of the sheer amount of information needed to be stored. This includes the quantity of entries for databases. Dedicated server providers may offer the option for database management, which entails the use of computer programs made specifically for the creation and management of databases. Maintaining databases is also part of this package. There are even dedicated servers that specifically only handle databases and the related programs needed for the database system.

Those are just some of the primary services one can avail when renting managed dedicated servers. With all the extras offered by dedicated server providers, clients can really save a lot of time and money, as well as the resources and manpower needed for this specialized field. With dedicated servers becoming more and more in demand, there’s always a need for high-quality and reliable managed dedicated server providers.