The majority of web hosting service offers that can be found fall into the category of "shared web hosting", which means that one website is sharing the facilities of one physical server that has been virtually divided into compartments through a very sophisticated software application. In exchange for a lower price on this kind of web hosting service, the subscriber will have to tolerate certain limits on the bandwidth, data processing speed, hard disk space, sometimes even security, privacy and total control.
The only way that a website owner can have absolute and total control over their site, as well as the hardware and software involved in it's administration would be to find a dedicated web hosting provider, some of which can even give them the option of co-locating. There are businesses that are big enough to have their own servers and Ethernet connections but still it is not a decision that should be taken lightly.
Having total control over the server means only one thing, and that is being totally responsible for it. A dedicated server, by any measure, is the property of the website owner, although it will be mounted in the web hosting service provider's data center (or not, such as in the case of co-location). The physical security of such a server depends entirely on the facility where it will be located, as is the power supply and environmental control. But the management and maintenance of the server, connections and accessories are the owner's responsibility.
There are several telltale signs that a website owner should gear up to get their own dedicated servers, which are:
If they notice that the response time for data processing is slowing down or worse grinding to a halt or the system keeps crashing no matter which shared server they use. This is a good indication that the server is at a data overload. A side effect of the speed that web surfing has become is that the average surfer has the attention span of about ten seconds, that means that if a site does not load in that period, the surfer will likely go find another related site, and that will be a competitor's site.
Sharing a server means leaving each subscriber to do their own thing without getting in each other's way, and free from intrusion from one another. But, sharing a server also means that each sharer will have to use the same operating system and platform. These programs and software may not be compatible with the website's own systems or they may not be enough to meet the needs of the company or person that owns the website. For example, a website that wants to sell their goods on line will need a software program that will allow the data for such a purchase to be processed. One can upgrade, but that also means an upgrade in fees.
Servers are basically immune to viruses and other types of destructive programs; they are immune to such intrusions. But they can be "carriers" of these viruses. They can pass it on to websites that can pass it on to the visitors. When the visitors start petering out, or complaining that the website is dangerous, that's a sign that the server does not have adequate security measures, and a subscriber to such a server can do little to protect him other than to switch to a hopefully more secure server.
The need to get a dedicated server lies in large part to the needs of the business, and its financial means to support one. Still, one must not forget the technical requirements that having a dedicated server would entail, and the jump in area of responsibility. However, if your business site crashes because you were only keen on saving money and not spend on quality hosts, then this would be a bad investment.
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