Dedicated Server-worth it?

[younghistorians]

Hi all-
Is a dedicated server worth it? Besides being fun, I mean

I'm asking because a guy gave me a really great deal on one, and its alittle more than I need, but I can always lease off space.

Thanks,
YH

[jamble]

they're generally expensive to set up (relatively speaking) but I guess if you're getting a good deal and it's within your budget, there's nothing to stop you getting it. Yes, you could also look at getting some of your investment back by renting space on it too

[younghistorians]

Well, my host, www.xstreamhost.com offers dedicated servers:
http://www.xstreamserver.com

Since they like my cause, and ive been a customer for so long, they waived the setup fee AND reduced the price to $55 a month for 20GB!

[Musicman]

Hi,

we are paying a similar price for an online store featuring almost 50000 products. The machine is a 1.8 Gig athlon
Before, we were paying about the same price for hosting on a shared server (running only a P 850 Mhz)
The actual reason to switch was a performance problem that, due to some sad coincidences, could not be resolved within a couple of weeks.
Now, on the new server I could add such fine things as ming and real media, incoming mail is free from virus and relatively free from spam, and outgoing mail no longer has to be sent in batches of 100 -- so I would definitely say it was worth changing. To be honest, however, setting up everything was two weeks ... compared to that noone was really concerned about a setup fee

Musicman

[younghistorians]

Originally posted by Musicman
Hi,

we are paying a similar price for an online store featuring almost 50000 products. The machine is a 1.8 Gig athlon
Before, we were paying about the same price for hosting on a shared server (running only a P 850 Mhz)
The actual reason to switch was a performance problem that, due to some sad coincidences, could not be resolved within a couple of weeks.
Now, on the new server I could add such fine things as ming and real media, incoming mail is free from virus and relatively free from spam, and outgoing mail no longer has to be sent in batches of 100 -- so I would definitely say it was worth changing. To be honest, however, setting up everything was two weeks ... compared to that noone was really concerned about a setup fee

Musicman

I'd be intrested to know who you bought from..ill PM you.

[MG315]

we were looking for a dedicated server a while ago, but we figured out that to get a good dedicated you need a lot of money. you can either get a cheap, not-so-good dedicated server or a great shared/VPS account. We got the VPS. If we ever need a dedicated we will upgrade to it, but I'd rather share a great server than own an ok one.

It all depends on performance. The end user doesn't see a difference between a site on a dedicated server than one with a shared account on a server with the same specs (assuming its not overloaded or anything). But if you have the money and think its good, go for it.

[OddDog]

not quite true that.

on a shared server all site owners can reset the server.


on a dedicated on only you can.

[enemem]

there is something else to consider - depending on the level of support the hosting company offers, you will probably be responsible for everything concerning day-to-day running of the server, including:

- backup
- virus protection
- security
- OS updates/patching
- software installs
- email handling
- server monitoring (if the server goes down, it's up to you to sort it out)

and more. Most hosting services offer the option of a control panel that helps with a lot of these tasks but you still need to invest the time, have some knowledge of system administration, etc.

All these add to the cost of running a dedicated server.

If you are going to rent out space, you also need to make sure that security is tight - and in the end, you'll end up running your site off a shared server again, with the exception that you are responsible + making some money out of it.

Personally, I wouldn't go for it at this stage. Invest the time and money to get your site up and running properly, then, when the need arises, upgrade your hosting.

- n.

[OddDog]

we just signed a contract for a dedicated server (20 gigs blab blah blah).

Will post experiences here.

[hurricaneone]

Good luck, OD.