Getting the Specifications Right For Your Dedicated Server

There are a number of issues to consider when looking at specifications for a dedicated server, these include:

1. The type of server? Should it be virtual i.e. VMware or a Physical Server

2. What resources do you need today and what resources will you need in the future

3. The platform

4. Managed Dedicated Server v. Unmanaged Server

These 4 key points will guide you into a final specification for your server, and help you plan for the future.

1. The type of server

Whether or not the server should be a physical or virtual server depends on a few crucial factors:

- Your Diskspace requirements

- How business critical your server is

- Whether not you are going to need to change the resources available to the server at short notice

If you have a relatively low disksace requirements i.e. less than 100GB then a virtual dedicated server is likely to be a great option. If however you have diskspace requirements that are higher than 100GB a physical dedicated server is likely to be a more cost effective option. There are other factors to take into account.

If your server is mission critical and cost is less a concern then no matter how much diskspace you require, having a virtual dedicated server on a VMware platform or similar is going to be the preferred choice, it will add additional reliability, redundancy and piece of mind as hardware failure would not be not be services effecting and the uptime likely to be very high.

Scalability and the option to increase resources quickly is another key reason to look at a virtual dedicated server. In this enviroment, additional memory, diskspace, processors can be added within minutes. This will not only allow your application or website to grow quickly but also allow you to handle short periods of high demand effectively.

2. Resources

You need to look at the resources you actually need / are likely to need rather than being sucked in by the marketing. Do you need 500GB of diskspace? Do you need *unlimited* bandwidth? If you are a busy e-commerce site, reliability and the support of your web hosting company is going to more important than these features. You need to forecast growth carefully and ensure you don't get caught short. If you do decide to go with a managed virtual dedicated server then a lot of this responsibility it taken on by the hosting company as they will be there to ensure you server is up, working and has the right amount of resources.

3. Platform

Deciding on the right platform should be relatively straightforward, it will very much depend on the application and database type that you are intending on running. If you application is PHP driven with a MySQL database then you would be best off running this on a Linux Platform. If your application or website is ASP.net and MSSQL driven then you would need to go with a Windows platform. Due to licencing costs you are going to see higher costs on any Microsoft platform.

4. Managed v. unmanaged

Whether to go with a managed or unmanaged solution depends largely on 3 things:

a) Do you have the skills to manage the server yourself?

b) Do you have the time to manage and administer your dedicated server?

c) If your server breaks at 3am on a Sunday morning do you want to have to fix it?

If the answer to any of those questions is "no" then a managed server is likely to be for you. Whilst you are going to see slightly increased costs to cover the additional time spent working on the server, it will give you piece of mind that someone else is monitoring the server, ensuring upgrades are done and is at the end of a telephone should you have any questions or queries.

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