Dedicated, managed, colocation, and more: All variants of servers and data centers at a glance

Byjames brown

If classic web hosting is no longer sufficient to store data in the cloud, it’s time for your server. These come in several sizes, from the tower server under the office desk to the distributed data center, which bundles servers in several locations into a huge data center. But servers do not only differ in mass, size, and scope – there are also different variants slumbering under the housing of a server host.

No wonder data centers offer more than just one product. Each server variant has its advantages, and each customer needs servers for different purposes. But do you choose a virtual or dedicated server? Managed, or do you prefer colocation as a variant? Below you will find out what these different shapes are all about. With us, you will quickly find the right product.

Dedicated Hosting: A dedicated server for the customer alone

When dealing with the subject of servers for the first time, a single device is often expected that is used by one customer alone. As you progress through this guide, you will find far more server variants. Nevertheless, there is the possibility of relying on so-called dedicated hosting. A dedicated server is used for this.

There are two variants of dedicated servers: Either it is entirely available to a single customer (Dedicated to a customer), or the server deals exclusively with just a single task – such as B. Administrative tasks, the provision of an e-mail service, or for gaming (Dedicated to a service).

The special feature of a dedicated server is that the customer (or the task) does not have to share the physical IP address, the main memory, and the line connection of the device with others. It is an advantage, especially for demanding computing processes that require a lot of RAM or high processor performance. The customer has unrestricted user rights, which can be helpful when installing software. A dedicated server is also considered to be particularly secure.

Furthermore, a dedicated server can communicate exceptionally well with search engines. A signal is sent to Google and Co. that the respective web project is on a dedicated server. It sets you apart physically from many dubious websites.

By the way: NAVICOSOFT also offers Windows Vps Australia.

Advantages:

  • Hardware resources do not have to be shared
  • individual adjustment of working memory
  • secure and extremely high availability of the data
  • better conditions for SEO

Disadvantages:

  • Resources are limited to the size of the server

Managed servers

 

The managed server variant is a good choice, especially if you want to use the services of a data center for the first time. What this means: You, your administrator, or your developers no longer have to set up the server. The service provider – for example, NAVICOSOFT – takes care of it.

The advantage is that you don’t have to worry about the hardware. Installation errors are avoided from the outset thanks to the expertise of the data center employees. A website that is too slow due to incorrect settings is a thing of the past.

You no longer have to worry about maintenance or updates. This increases the security and, above all, the longevity of your data. And should there be a technical defect, the service provider takes care of the procurement of spare parts and emergency resources. A managed server is usually located on-site in the data center. This variant is possible for both dedicated and virtual servers.

Advantages:

  • High-quality hardware
  • impeccable installation and maintenance
  • ideal for customers without an experienced IT/EDP department

Disadvantage:

  • Limited administration

Colocation: Own hardware with the best infrastructure – thanks to the server housing

You either use your hardware in your company building or external servers at a data center or web host. The perfect combination offers the so-called colocation or colocation, also called server housing or server homing. Your server is used here, but it is operated in the server rooms of a data center such as NAVICOSOFT.

The advantage is obvious: On the one hand, you rely on your proven hardware. Your server is the best choice, especially about security and data protection, e.g., B. has to do with a lot of sensitive data. On the other hand, you rely on the professionalism of another hoster. The high-quality infrastructure of a data center is challenging to implement in your own company. In addition, data centers are far more secure – against both burglars and data thieves. Thanks to high-quality fiber optic connections, emergency power systems, and redundancy concepts, your hardware is optimally hosted. Good data centers offer server housing, preferably on a separate and secure server area. NAVICOSOFT offers Australian Vps Hosting.

Advantages:

  • Use your hardware with the high-quality infrastructure of a data center
  • high performance and security

Disadvantage:

  • Possibly longer journeys for repairs (exception: hands-on service)

More about redundancy

The maintenance at Server Housing usually works remotely without any problems. As a customer, you can also assign remote maintenance to a service provider. But what if repairs or maintenance are required on-site in the data center? For this purpose, the data center’s hands-on service (also called “remote hands”) can be used: A technician is hired on site for the work. It saves trips to the data center. In addition, the repairs are done much faster.

Virtual Server: Virtual Private Server as a better alternative to web hosting

Do you use a shared web host for your web projects or a private cloud? The disadvantage here is that all customers who share the server have to use identical software versions. Updates or other settings are also only possible for everyone together. The computing time of the service cannot be distributed fairly. On the other hand, the better alternative is Virtual Private Server (VPS), also known as Virtual Server, vServer, Private Server, or Managed Cloud Cluster.

A virtual server is the opposite of a dedicated server: multiple customers or tasks share the same hardware because this server variant is far cheaper and more flexible than using a dedicated server.

The difference between shared web hosting: Each customer receives their virtual server. Such a virtual machine (VM) is far more dedicated than a shared web hosting storage space because a VPS behaves like a standalone server. Computing time and memory can be allocated much more fairly and better than shared web hosting. In addition, all instances such as web servers, databases, and the like are entirely separate and can also be managed individually. Storage space and main memory work entirely separately from each other. This is not only useful for security reasons.

Advantages:

  • More independent than shared web hosting
  • flexibly adjustable
  • high security and performance

Disadvantages:

  • Restarting the hardware affects all included vServers
  • a website penalized by Google and Co. can have a negative effect on the SEO of all other vServers on the same hardware

Cloud data center: Virtual servers are used in different ways – from the private to the public cloud

Some data centers rely entirely on virtual servers. In such a case, one speaks of a cloud data center. Not only the servers themselves but also the entire infrastructure can be completely virtualized. Instead of proprietary processors, standardized components based on Intel x86 are used. The hardware is compatible, and the software has long been multi-client capable. The cloud data center is fully operational and can be used individually in such a case. Navicosoft is offering Cheap Australian VPS.

A cloud data center can be used in very different ways. These are the different forms of a cloud data center:

Private cloud

A cloud data center operated by a company itself is called a private cloud.

Managed Private Cloud

A data center that is also used entirely by a company but is not operated by itself is a managed private cloud. The cloud data center comes from a service provider who makes it available to individual customers.

Public Cloud

If the IT infrastructure is used not only by one but by several customers, this is a public cloud. The service provider can only provide the hardware infrastructure (Infrastructure as a Service, IaaS). Or the operating system and possibly the middleware are also included in the scope of delivery (Platform as a Service, PaaS). Or complete software services are offered (Software as a Service, Saas).

hybrid clouds

A mixture of public and private cloud is the so-called hybrid cloud. Here the customer decides for himself which variant he prefers.

Choosing the right product

The right server product must be decided individually from company to company. The provider’s employees will be happy to advise you. As a rule, a provider with a large bandwidth is recommended. For this reason, NAVICOSOFT, for example, offers a hybrid cloud; the customer decides for himself how he uses and implements the IT. Navicosoft is offering Cheap VPS in Australia. But in addition to virtual servers, the Dortmund service provider also relies on dedicated and managed servers. Server housing (colocation) is also offered. The more extensive the offer, the more flexible the customer, can decide. Our detailed guide tells you how to find the right data center.

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