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

When talking about management of a dedicated server, there is a big tent of tasks and jobs that could fit under that description.  Nobody has ever said, “Ok, these 12 things are what server management is all about” because new tasks always seem to be added to that list.  Some of the rolls might include (but are not limited to):

Operating system updates, script updates, monitoring over the server, simple network and hardware monitoring, tech support for the dedicated server, security monitoring (including antivirus and firewall issues) DDoS protection and prevention and disaster recovery.

As you can see the job of anybody managing a server is a really big one.  That isn’t even counting things like load balancing, performance tuning, software installs and more.  As you can see I could go on and on with what is expected of a person or team who does the monitoring for any given server.  If these are things you really have no real desire to do or jump into with both feet then you might be a good candidate for semi-managed or managed hosting.

Virtual Private Servers have become a great resource for semi-dedicated web hosting and for webmasters who have simply outgrown the shared web hosting market but for whatever reason cannot afford or are not ready to upgrade to dedicated server hosting.

So what is a Virtual Private Server (VPS)?

VPS web hosting is simply a dedicated server that is split into smaller shared web hosting sections. It differs from a shared server in that in shared hosting, you could be sharing the server with upwards of 500 different webmasters, which means that you get 1/500th of the server’s CPU. This is normally divided into less than 1% of the CPU and if you go over, your account is likely suspended from the web host until you fix the cause of the usage or upgrade to a plan that can support that kind of environment.

For virtual private server hosting, you are normally guaranteed a set portion of the server’s RAM and in some cases, you can go over this amount if the others sharing your server space don’t use their portion. The best VPS hosting providers will only put 25 people or less on your VPS web hosting plan with you – this gives you added freedoms to install applications and run more resource-intensive scripts which could have been potentially dangerous in a completely-shared environment.

VPS web hosting plans are normally much cheaper than dedicated web hosting plans. You can plan to pay anywhere between $40-80/month for a basic virtual private server web hosting plan.

**UPDATE: Lunarpages Web Hosting is offering a HUGE discount on their Windows VPS Web Hosting Plan. Normally priced at $69.95/month, they have lowered the price to $39.95/month, a complete bargain in this industry. This is a limited time promotion and no coupon code is necessary.**

Dedicated server hosting can often be an insecure environment for your files – if you choose the wrong web host, that is. Make sure to pick a dedicated web host who has been in the industry, knows their products, and can support the security of your server 100% of the time.

One of the worst things any dedicated webmaster can hear is that you are having a DoS or DDoS attack.

But what is a DDoS attack?

DDoS stands for “distributed denial of service attack” and DoS stands for “denial of service attack”. Both of those mean about the same thing – it means someone is trying to bring your server down or make it unavailable over the internet. More often than not, this means they are malevolently attacking your machine to make sure no one can access the information properly.

Knowing how to prevent DDoS attacks isn’t quite enough – your dedicated web hosting provider should help you every step of the way and if you are attacked they need to be able to effectively communicate with you to see how best to resolve the attack. Knowing how to secure your dedicated server is very important.

Switching from a shared web host to a dedicated server hosting provider is not always a step webmasters are willing to take, but it is more often than not a required step in the growth of your website. While you are thinking of making the switch, look over the following 3 advantages to dedicated server hosting, and they should help ease your worries about this large step.

1. Optimal, Enhanced Server Performance.
   Imagine trying to carry 500 pounds in a box that only holds 10 pounds. Not only are you likely not able to lift this weight but the bottom of the box is likely going to give out from under the enhanced weight. Applying that same logic to the server that hosts your website, imagine the strain on the server when 400 websites are accessed 100x/day. And then think about the relief on that machine when you’re hosting on a dedicated server, where you are the only website there!
2. SSH/Shell/Root Access.
   This can be especially helpful if you need to install applications on your dedicated server or need to access the shell for command prompts, Ruby on Rails programming, or even to run your dedicated machine.
3. Customization!
   With dedicated server hosting, you do not have to worry about not having enough RAM, bandwidth, disk space, processor speed, or really anything you’d like to add to it. This is your machine, so create it how you need it! The best dedicated hosts like Lunarpages Dedicated Server Hosting will offer to help you get a customized quote going and to set up your server in less than 48 hours, an amazing feat for any web host.