This article covers the top 10 benefits of dedicated servers for organizations and website owners with advanced server resource requirements. Read on to find out the potential of dedicated hosting and how it is superior to shared and VPS hosting.
10 Benefits of Dedicated Servers
Depending on your budget, you can choose to deploy your server on-premises, rent it, or go for colocation hosting. A dedicated server brings plenty of benefits for an organization, no matter which deployment option you consider. So the below-listed dedicated server benefits are available to all website owners using them regardless of the way they deploy them.
1. Availability of dedicated resources
The most evident benefit of a dedicated server is the resources it comes with. You will receive dedicated server resources, including CPU usage, disk space, RAM, and bandwidth. For instance, the “Power Server” plan from HostGator offers the following dedicated resources:
With this exclusive right over the server resources, you won’t face issues that are quite common in the case of a shared server. You are, therefore, free to use these resources any which way you like without sharing them with other website owners. Ultimately, it positively impacts your website performance, brand image, and customer experience.
2. Offers reliability
A dedicated server offers reliability for any application or website you will be running on it. In the case of a shared server, your website might experience downtime during peak traffic hours. But a correctly configured dedicated server can very well manage sudden traffic spikes. So you can expect better uptime with a dedicated server, thereby leading to low bounce rates. It will also prevent any loss of revenue resulting from website downtime. Additionally, a reliable host like Liquid Web will provide you 100% uptime guarantee for power and network availability at all times:
3. Provides full root access
You will receive full root access with a dedicated server, unlike a shared server that generally doesn’t offer SSH access. Though you might get lucky to find an SSH shared hosting provider offering limited access to the server via jailed SSH, you still won’t receive the power of a dedicated server. With full root access, a dedicated server allows you to perform direct server customizations without any restrictions. You can, therefore, adjust your hardware specifications, deploy several security tools, install server-wide applications, set up multiple backups on your server, and do much more. This control over the server allows you to quickly work on new opportunities by adding new components to your dedicated server. You can alter the scripting language or the hosting setup as per your changing needs. For instance, DreamHost provides full root access with its dedicated server hosting and allows you to manage everything from the same place:
4. Results in a faster-loading website
One of the biggest benefits of a dedicated server is a faster loading website. Since all the resources of your server are reserved for your website’s use, all elements of your site load faster. The fast speed of your website brings in some additional benefits:
Google ranks faster websites over and above the slow ones. So a dedicated server will provide an SEO boost to your website by drastically improving its speed. Your website speed is directly related to the conversions you get. A faster-loading website leads to more conversions and vice-versa. A website with great speed offers an excellent user experience. So a dedicated server is capable of reducing your website’s bounce rate and bringing in repeat visitors. The speed offered by a dedicated server allows you to include custom elements, like animations, videos, etc., to your website without slowing down its speed.
Test the speed of your website built on a dedicated server and the one built on a shared server on Think With Google to see the difference yourself!
5. Enhances website security
Website security is a major concern for online stores or other websites that are required to comply with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) or Payment Card Industry (PCI) regulations. A dedicated server is the most ideal choice for such website owners.
A shared server can be a source of malware from another website on the same server. It might also lead to website downtime when there is a Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attack on a neighboring website. But a dedicated server overcomes all the security shortcomings of a shared server. There are many security benefits of dedicated servers that you should learn. Apart from that, a dedicated server offers you two important security benefits:
It allows you to completely customize your server security settings. So you can set up new firewalls, limit admin access, install an Intrusion Detection System (IDS), use your preferred malware protection program, and create a disaster recovery plan for the security of your website and data. You can physically protect an on-premises dedicated server for preventing unauthorized access to it. When you rent a server or choose colocation hosting, the dedicated server provider takes care of the physical security aspect. A data center typically has biometric locks, surveillance cameras, and armed guards for server protection.
6. Offers value for money
A dedicated server is costlier than a shared, VPS, or cloud server but it offers excellent value for the money you spend on it. From complete server control to enhanced security and reliability, you get to receive a lot of benefits from a dedicated hosting solution. Moreover, you have the option to rent a dedicated server at a fraction of the cost you would pay to purchase it. In my opinion, a dedicated server can fit well at all budget levels depending on the deployment method you choose. Here are the options you have when deploying a dedicated server:
Renting: It is the cheapest way to deploy a dedicated server and avail of its benefits. You can rent a dedicated server and adjust its configuration according to your needs. Your provider will take care of the deployment and maintenance tasks. Colocation: When you have the funds to purchase a server but do not want to invest in other related aspects, colocation is the way to go. You can set up your server in a colocation provider’s data center that will provide you with a rack on rent, power, and physical security for the server. On-premises: It is the most expensive method of server deployment where you are responsible for all the server-related aspects. You own a dedicated server, provide a space for it, power it, secure it, and hire IT staff for its functioning and management.
All the above deployment methods offer good value for your investment, so you can choose any of these depending on your website’s growth stage. Keep reading our article there are many other benefits of dedicated servers for your business website.
7. Comes with high scalability
It is always important for a business to expand its resources as it grows. But you won’t be able to do that with a shared server. A dedicated server, on the other hand, comes with high scalability options. Your provider will allow you to ask for additional bandwidth, storage space, or processing power whenever the need arises. The company might require some time to build the desired server configuration, so you must talk to your provider well in advance. Some hosts, like OVHcloud, might also offer further scalability options by allowing you to connect your server to their cloud infrastructure:
Along with scaling up, a dedicated server is flexible to allow scaling down the resources too. You can use this flexibility when you are into a seasonal business or scaling down your operations otherwise. I’d recommend you schedule your scaling plans carefully and inform your regular website visitors and business customers about the same. It will minimize your business loss from website downtime when custom server configurations are deployed.
8. Availability of managed services
Dedicated hosting providers offering servers on rent and colocation facilities offer managed services. Such managed hosting generally includes server deployment, regular maintenance and monitoring, timely software updates, maintenance of backups, and handling data recovery. These server management services are ideal for website owners with no to minimal technical knowledge who do not want to hire any IT staff for this job. By renting a dedicated server or hiring a colocation facility for your server, you can leave the burden of server management completely on your host. In another scenario, you might not be willing to let your provider completely manage your server. You can consider choosing semi-managed hosting services in such a case. Here you can let your provider handle some server management tasks and take control of the remaining ones. You can also skip using these managed services at all if you don’t need them. But I’d recommend you to forego managed services for your dedicated server only when you or your IT team is capable of managing the server extremely well. Here’s the difference between managed and unmanaged dedicated hosting offered by A2 Hosting:
9. Provides a unique IP address
A dedicated server comes with a unique IP address for your website as against a shared server that provides all its clients with the same IP address. The problem with sharing your IP address with other users is the penalization that you might have to bear for others’ actions. When a person using the same IP address as yours begins to perform spam activities or black hat SEO, Google and other search engines will ban or otherwise penalize your IP address. But with dedicated hosting, you don’t have to worry about the wrong actions of your server neighbors since you receive a unique IP address for your business. You might find dedicated servers with multiple unique IP addresses that you can utilize for different applications. For instance, the entry-level managed dedicated hosting plan from InMotion Hosting offers 5 dedicated IPs exclusively for your use:
10. Comes with 24/7 on-site support
Customer support might be a concern when you choose to buy a shared hosting plan. With so many website owners using the same server, your problems will not be a priority for the server provider. On the other hand, the top dedicated server providers offer 24/7 on-site support to their customers. You can contact them via different means, including live chat and phone, whenever a technical issue arises. Since you are the sole owner of the server, your issue will be resolved on a priority basis within the shortest possible time. Here’s what you get with a Bluehost dedicated hosting plan – a 24/7 dedicated assistance:
Conclusion
Dedicated hosting is not suitable for all website owners but brings in plenty of benefits for eCommerce stores, reseller hosts, and high-traffic websites. It offers superior performance than any other hosting type, including cloud hosting. If you are facing a shortage of server resources constantly, rent or purchase a dedicated server to avail of its benefits. You will certainly see a boost in your website’s performance with the power of a dedicated server.
What is a dedicated server?
A dedicated server is the one whose resources are fully available for your website or application. You are allowed to use the server the way you want.
Are dedicated servers better than shared servers?
Yes, dedicated servers deliver much better performance than a shared server. They are faster, secure, scalable, and provide full-root access.
Is a dedicated server worth it?
Yes, dedicated servers are worth the money you spend on them. Considering the above-mentioned benefits of dedicated servers, your website will experience a considerable improvement in its performance.
