It is important to keep your eye on your resources when you have a dedicated hosting plan so that you know when and if something is about to or has gotten out of hand.  Here I hope to give you a few handy tips when it comes to monitoring your site resources and statistics in Plesk.

First thing you need to do is login to your Plesk control panel, and click on Limits.  As you can see Limits displays the resource limits allocated to your account.  It lists such details as:

• Maximum Number of Subdomains
• Disk Space
• Bandwidth
• Maximum Amount of Traffic
• Maximum Number of Web Users
• and more…

Now click on Up Level at the top of the Limits window for your domain, and click on Report.  The Report will show you all account resource limits & usage, as well as users and a full list of all available scripts, utilities and resources.

FTP Stats will show you a history of FTP activity on your site - both in upload as well as download. 

Traffic History will display information on traffic usage by Months and Years on your dedicated hosting account.  To view the detailed traffic statistics used by various services at the domain, click on the Traffic button.  The page will open displaying the traffic usage table.  You can send a copy of the report to an e-mail address you specify too at the bottom of the Report screen.  You can also set up a schedule for automatic delivery of the reports. 

The last detail about monitoring dedicated resources inside of Plesk is the Web Statistics Preferences screen.  From here you can set some of the preferences that will dictate the display of refers in your stats.

Now you should be a little more handy when it comes to stats and resources inside of your Plesk control panel via your dedicated web hosting account.

Via Web Host Manager (WHM), upgrading and downgrading a package or site you have installed is an important aspect to master.  To start off, login to WHM.  Occasionally, you will want to upgrade or downgrade your hosting packages inside.  This is how you get that done.  Click on “Account Functions” and then go to “Modify an Account”. 

From the Modify an Account page you can select the exact account you wish to modify.  All you have to do is click on the domain for the package and click the “Modify” button.  Here you can see several things you can change. 

You can change the domain name, the cPanel theme, the language, the user name, the max e-mail accounts, the max ftp accounts, the max mailing lists, the max subdomains, the max SQL databases, the max parked domains, the max addon domains and if you can, you can add or remove shell access.

Once you are done changing the settings, hit the “Save” button on the bottom of the screen and you should be all done.  Now you can login to the cPanel for the account you edited to confirm all was changed correctly.

This dedicated server hosting checklist is designed to help you understand what it takes to run a dedicated server. After all, it’s not just about purchasing a box - you need to know how to manage and work with it too. So here’s what it takes, your checklist for running a dedicated server:

• A powerful web hosting platform
• Managed Hosting
• 24/7 technical support - through email is best, so you can document errors and solutions
• State of the art data centers - the more data centers a provider runs, the better chances of redundant uptime for you and your server
• Guaranteed RAM
• Easy upgrades
• Great dedicated hosting deals - amazing coupons to help lower your monthly costs or incentives for staying longer
• Ability to perform website backups

As a webmaster, you know the importance of a good spam blocking and virus protection program, and maybe you have learned from our dedicated server tutorials how to set con jobs for scheduled tasks, how to protect your system or administer backups, but did you know that there may be things you are unaware of trying to hack your server?

One of these necessary evils of dedicated server hosting is called a rootkit. A rootkit is simply a program usually designed by hackers who attempt to take control of your dedicated server without authorization. They can gain complete access to your system or install themselves as drivers, kernel modules, or other malware. They often go undetected and can seize control of your operating system and obscure the presence of potentially harmful viruses, commands, or Trojans.

Oftentimes, once a rootkit has hidden utility programs in your system, they open a backdoor to your server at any time of the day and can thus be severely harmful to the health of your dedicated server.

If your dedicated web host has a Managed Hosting option, you should look into it, as they often perform rootkit checks to ensure the security of your dedicated server. Remember, a good dedicated web hosting provider doesn’t want your server brought down either and will do everything in their power to keep you a happy customer.

Do you want to keep yourself updated to know what you’re using on your dedicated server and when? This kind of information can be especially helpful if you are allotting a certain amount of disk space, bandwidth, or email accounts to specific clients on your dedicated server. Plus, knowing what you are using and how often will assist you in keeping your server up to date and if you need to upgrade, you will know before any issues arise.

In Plesk, via Windows or Linux hosting, you can find this information easily.

First, click on Limits

Limits displays the resource limits allocated to your account. For example, it shows you the maximum number of subdomains allowed, disk space, maximum traffic or bandwidth, maximum number of web users, maximum number of databases, maximum number of mailboxes, mailbox quota, maximum number of mail redirects, maximum number of mail groups, maximum number of mail autoresponders, maximum number of mailing lists, and a ton more.

To see account resources limits and usage, click on Report.

Report options will display all resource limits and usages, as well as users and a full list of all available scripts, utilities, and resources. For example, you’ll see Web Statistics, Web Stats, Web Stats SSL, FTP Stats, Traffic History, and can manage Report Delivery.

If you click on FTP Stats, this will show you a history of FTP activity in your website, both in upload as well as download.

If you click on Traffic History, this will display information on traffic usage by Months and Years.

To view detailed traffic statistics used by various services at the domain, click on the Traffic button.

If you’d like to keep yourself updated, you can also choose to send a copy of the report to any email you specify.

Or, you can setup a schedule for automatic delivery of reports by clicking on Report Delivery.

Accessing this information can assist you in self-managing your dedicated web hosting.

You may be wondering why we would be talking about “small business web hosting” on a dedicated server website. You may think to yourself, if you’re only a small business, why would you need such a big server, storage space, RAM, or bandwidth?

Well, our answer to you is that small businesses can be just as resource-intensive as fortune 100 corporations! It might surprise you to know that millions of small businesses are purchasing dedicated servers every day, because even if they appear to be a small business to some spheres, in their local or national markets, they play like the big boys.

Think, for example, about your local supermarket. Hundreds if not thousands of people shop there daily. Maybe the supermarket has a couple sister supermarkets placed around the county or nearby cities, or maybe it’s a chain supermarket but only for the Eastern, Western, or Midwestern United States. If they need a website, they are not going to be using shared web hosting – they are going to be sitting on a dedicated server, because those thousands of customers will be visiting their website to print directions, get contact information, request the newsletter, or search for deals and discounts.

Small businesses may be ‘small’ by nature, but they can eat up resources just like the big boys. Consider the following things as a small business owner:

* Do you have more than 100 employees?
* Do you require a custom Content Management System to be developed for your website management needs?
* Do you have more than 100 customers?
* Do you offer more than 50 products? Or if you offer services, do these services include web-based services like email, management, design, SEO, or logo creation?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you should consider dedicated server hosting.

You’re shopping for a dedicated server. You need not only the best price available but the best dedicated hosting discount, features, and billing cycles. And if you’re not sure where to begin, requesting a dedicated server quote from the provider of your choice is a great first step!

A dedicated server quote needs to contain specifics about what you are purchasing, the reliability of the web host you are choosing, and any terms and conditions that you are required to abide by in order to receive the pricing available. For example, you may only get the best pricing by purchasing a 1-year billing cycle.

So what exactly should be included in a dedicated server hosting quote?

1. Price & Discounts

Price is very, very important. If one provider can get you the server for $500 while another can only offer $1500, that’s a huge difference that needs to be addressed. Oftentimes, the difference will be due to equipment used (i.e. the more expensive company uses more expensive or better-performing servers).

Dedicated hosting discounts are also equally important. Many providers who use top-of-the-line equipment but might be slightly higher priced can get you discounts depending on contract term and length, features, and add-ons. Be sure to ask your dedicated host what discounts they can offer.

2. Technical Specs

How much bandwidth per month do you get? What about storage? Do you get a free domain name or free setup?

Some other features you’ll want to know about ahead of time:

* Type of Processor
* Amount of RAM included
* Managed or UnManaged Hosting
* Linux or Windows Web Hosting

3. Support Options

Does the dedicated webhost provide 24/7 support through telephone, email, and/or ticket help desks, forums, etc? More often than not, dedicated support should be handled via email so that everything is documented.

Overselling occurs when a webhost offers more storage per account than can actually fit on a single server. In shared web hosting, you host your website alongside 300-500 other websites on the same web server, housing all your content, pictures, files, music, as well as the contents of those 300-500 other websites. So if each person hosting on a shared server gets 2500GB, that’s 75,000GB of storage space necessary per server.

About 90% of the web hosts out there cannot support this. As mentioned previously, Lunarpages is one of the few exceptions, as their technology allows them to join servers and cluster them or move webmasters to new servers if they outgrow the space in shared hosting.

Above all, you should not only compare basic features like storage space but think about the technology backing up your choices. If you are really going to require 2500GB of storage space, you need dedicated server hosting.

Also remember that dedicated servers aren’t as expensive as they used to be and you can easily find dedicated hosting coupons everywhere, so if price is another reason you want to start out shared, give dedicated web hosting a try for a price you can afford.

One of the main things web hosting customers tend to compare from webhost to webhost is the amount of storage space the web hosting provider is offering. In a shared webhosting environment, it seems incredibly important, because most web hosts are similarly priced. For example, if one webhost offers 1500GB storage space and another offers Unlimited for the same price, you would tend to go with the one offering bigger storage allotments.

However, you need to know that webhosting storage space is limited. Unless you are hosting on a dedicated server (or several dedicated server clusters RAIDed together), there really is no such thing as unlimited storage space.

What these webhosts are offering is called overselling and most of the time it’s common practice. There are some web hosts who have been in the business for years and are actually technologically able to provide what they are preaching. For example, Lunarpages Web Hosting sells their Basic Hosting Plan with 1500GB Storage Space. This company has been in business since 1998, and they own thousands of web servers, so they are more than capable of backing up this kind of promise. However, most web hosting providers cannot support the amounts of storage space they offer, and they oversell their space.

If this is your first time purchasing a dedicated server, you are probably already aware that the industry is very competitive. Every dedicated web host wants to provide you with the best services, the best prices, the best features, and the most compelling uptime statistics.

So how do you find the best dedicated web host? Here are 5 tips you should consider when researching and comparing web hosting providers.

1. Compare, Compare, Compare

If you are looking for media server hosting, you are going to require different features than if you are searching for game server hosting. That’s why you should make a list of the most important features you require for your dedicated server and then call a list of web hosting providers you have compiled to compare features.

2. Contact the Dedicated Server Hosting Company

Do not be fooled by their online presence – every potential customer should call the dedicated hosting provider and talk to them to ask questions. If you are going to be putting your money into their services and products, you should know 100% what you are purchasing and that it is exactly what you want. If it’s not, there are other dedicated hosts out there.

Also, email them, use their ticketing system, use a demo if they provide one, and really make sure you are ready and that the service is perfect for your standards.

3. Research their Reputation

Once you’ve narrowed the dedicated web hosts down by features, research the company itself, both on the Better Business Bureau, through online web hosting review sites, by calling them, or via testing customer testimonial websites. There are many companies that have a beautiful website but horrible reputations. That said, also make sure to balance the good with the bad. For example, someone might complain and give a bad review to a company who didn’t register their domain name. If that’s a huge issue to you, it matters, but for most people, it’s not as big of an issue as the reviewer can make it sound.

4. Check Out Their Support

Is it 24/7? For your dedicated server, you should require 24/7 support, whether that be via email, phone, or ticketing. But you also should see dedicated server tutorials, contact information, FAQs, web hosting articles, and even hosting forums.

5. Get the Lowest Priced Dedicated Hosting Deal

You don’t have to pay full price, and no web host should make you do so! Call them up and ask for the best dedicated hosting coupons available. Odds are the hosting company will be happy to provide you with a dedicated hosting quote based solely off your needs.