Getting a dedicated server

streamingpete · 9th May 2008

Hi Guys, i am completely clueless when it comes to servers, however through research I have been told I will need a dedicated server to host my site, I have approached a few companies, and some have responded saying "as we are an un-managed provider we only provide the base server set up. You will need to configure and set up the rest." What does this mean. Thank you

JamieBeeston · 9th May 2008

Hi Pete,

it means they will give you the server (hopefully patched and live on the internet) and you will then simply need to log in and configure it to run the applications / services you want on it.

If you want someone else to do this, double your budget and look for managed servers instead.

J

streamingpete · 9th May 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by JamieBeeston

Hi Pete,

it means they will give you the server (hopefully patched and live on the internet) and you will then simply need to log in and configure it to run the applications / services you want on it.

If you want someone else to do this, double your budget and look for managed servers instead.

J

Hi Jamie, thanks for responding, in terms of managing the server myself, is this a hard thing to do, I know my way around computers. What kind of things will i be doing?

JamieBeeston · 9th May 2008

Hi Pete,

depends on the Operating System and your familiarity with it.

If it's windows and you know windows, then not so hard really
If it's linux and you dont know linux, but you have a control panel (Ensim/cPanel etc) then again, not so hard really
If it's linux and you dont know linux and you dont have a contro panel, then ouch!

burble · 10th May 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by streamingpete

Hi Guys, i am completely clueless when it comes to servers, however through research I have been told I will need a dedicated server to host my site

It might be an idea for you to give us a rough level of requirements for your site - we might be able to suggest an alternative to a dedicated server.

damien_ls · 12th May 2008

Yes, my first question is who told you that you need a dedicated server and how did they arrive at that conclusion? What are you currently using to host this site - shared/reseller hosting I guess?

In general you should be able to host a site on a VPS before moving to a dedicated server, which will save you a huge amount of money since the hardware costs (per VPS) are significantly smaller.

Beyond that, I disagree with some of Jamie's comments related to management as knowing how to use Windows / Linux as a desktop OS is completely different to maintaining a reliable/secure 24/7 server - for a start you'll be running software that you're unfamiliar with such as IIS/Apache and this means that the common (and uncommon) problems faced by administrators of these systems will be new to you.

Of course, everything's new to everyone at some point, but you should be aware of the potential problems you're letting yourself in for before heading off down the unmanaged route.

Also I would strongly advise against going shopping for dedicated servers before learning a lot more about the different options available to you, and the differences between various dedicated server offerings. Hopefully that's exactly why you're here now

streamingpete · 12th May 2008

Hi thanks for the responses, I have an online advisory website which will be quite information heavy (the site is not live yet), it has been built using the .NET framework (Microsoft visual studio (C#)), and has a backend database of microsoft sql server 2005. The site at the moment is in its basic form, but in the next few months we plan to roll out a lot of features, for instance Videos, Forums, blogs, and ecommerce capabilities.

TDMWeb · 12th May 2008

There are plenty of hosts who'd be only too happy to recommend a system and manage it totally for you, if that's what you need. Suggest you work out what edition of SQL Server you need (Express is free and will work fine for some applications, but has feature and performance limitations).

amdcomms · 14th May 2008

Maybe start with a decent vps , and as traffic to your site grows move to a managed dedicated server .

danushman · 16th May 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by streamingpete

Hi Guys, i am completely clueless when it comes to servers, however through research I have been told I will need a dedicated server to host my site, I have approached a few companies, and some have responded saying "as we are an un-managed provider we only provide the base server set up. You will need to configure and set up the rest." What does this mean. Thank you

I would really recommend you go Managed. Un-managed servers, for someone who is "clueless" is a disaster waiting to happen. The down side: You will have to pay management fees.

I've had customers before who were unmanaged and got into deep problems because of it. Out of date software resulted in them being hacked. Managed servers are updated for you by skilled, trained system admins.

Dan

LeaUK · 31st May 2008

Pete

Please, please don't get an unmanaged server, as others have mentioned this will be a disaster for someone who's a little green. Managed at the very least - unless you have time to invest or inclination in learning!

Do you really need a dedi? That's the question I would be attempting to answer if it was me..

What about a VPS... then do I really need a VPS?

What about powerful shared hosting with private IP, will this meet my requirements? Etc, etc..

Lea

Slackjaw · 14th July 2008

Yea you don't want any unmanaged server if you don't know what the hell your doing. I know Server Intellect has some managed vps servers you could start out with. It has the DNS, Control Panel, and OS installed from the start. Just add your domain name through the CP and your live. Also you might want a windows server over a linux server because there is generally more over all support for windows over linux.

WebbyCart · 15th July 2008

Yes, checkout Managed Server or you can get third party management service if you don't have experience in managing server. Your server needs to be setup, secured/hardened, optimized and monitored.... and a managed or third party management company can do this for you.

Regards,
Bobby

aXeR · 15th July 2008

Pete,

I'm sure someone else has probably covered this but only you know whether a managed service is right for you, you have several options I would imagine:

1.) If your needs are not business critical and/or you're trying to save cash but have basic knowledge on the O/S you've chosen then maybe an unmanaged server would be fine.
2.) If your needs are not business critical and/or you're trying to save cash but do not have basic knowledge on the O/S you've chosen then maybe you will be able to get away with management on a per incident basis. Remember you don't have to get this from the server provider; you could shop around and get the management side of things from another company.
3.) If your needs are business critical and your less conscious of cost then I would go for a fully managed service from the get-go purely for peace of mind. Make sure you are aware what your chosen host’s management covers you for to ensure you are not going to get a nasty surprise when it all hits the fan!