dedicated server

Why Buy a VPS or Dedicated Server

by James on June 18, 2010

When a forum gets too large it will soon become unusable and have a lot of lag to users who participate in the forum. With all the SQL query’s being made and the server processing your php files it will really slow the forum down. That’s why you should move to a dedicated server when the time is right. They are so much faster and reliable and will make your forum more user friendly.

What is a Dedicated Server

Wikipedia defines a dedicated server as:

A dedicated hosting service, dedicated server, or managed hosting service is a type of Internet hosting in which the client leases an entire server not shared with anyone. This is more flexible than shared hosting, as organizations have full control over the server(s), including choice of operating system, hardware, etc.

It’s basically like owning a computer over the internet which will keep all your website’s files.  Just like shared hosting but you own the full server and can have more control over the customizations.

Advantages of a Dedicated Server

  1. You don’t share the server.  This means if a virus is dropped into the server on somebody else’s website you are not effected.  It is much more secure to have a dedicated server as you don’t have to rely or worry about other web masters screwing up and leaving security holes.
  2. Much more computer resources.  Due to it not being shared and being a more powerful computer you will have more computer resources to use.  This means that your forum will be much more user friendly as it will run much faster and not throw errors as it is temporarily being strained.
  3. You are able to install your own software. You are able to install software that a shared hosting account would not allow you to do therefore allowing you to add extra functionality to your website.
  4. There are fully customizable. This means you are able to choose what you want on your server even down to the operating system.  Some people are more familiar with Linux to Windows therefore giving them a huge boost as you can choose your OS.

I recommend trying HostGator’s dedicated servers. They are absolutely reliably and the HostGator hosting have great customer support which is great incase you run into any problems regarding your server.

What’s Your Say?

Do you own a dedicated server? When do you recommend to move to a dedicated server? Any more advantages? Post them below I would love to hear them.

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