Choosing a dedicated server provider matters just as much as choosing the server itself, and the two decisions are closely linked.
What Is a Dedicated Server?
When companies need servers but do not want to manage infrastructure in-house, they usually turn to a data center. There, they can either colocate their own servers or lease dedicated servers. A dedicated server is leased to a business and accessed remotely over the internet. You do not need to send a technician for routine issues, since the data center’s own technicians manage the server, and it is built to your specifications and connected to a private VLAN.
How to Choose a Dedicated Server
Choosing the right server can make a real difference, and getting the benefit of a dedicated solution depends on your dedicated server provider customizing it to your specifications, including memory, hard disk space, bandwidth, and operating system. Consider the following before you decide:
Technology
- Confirm your provider supports the operating system you need. Popular choices at Vault Networks include Windows, CentOS, Red Hat, LAMP, and custom builds.
- Make sure the server has enough RAM to support what your company actually runs.
- Confirm you have enough bandwidth, especially if you are hosting a site or accessing your server constantly.
- Ask about the level of management included, since it varies by provider. Vault Networks keeps expert technicians on-site 24/7/365 managing your dedicated servers, which saves you the cost of sending your own technician to handle issues.
- Weigh the quality of the network connection, since it can mean the difference between working efficiently and struggling to reach your data. Vault Networks uses an optimized routing tool that selects the best network path for your data, which means steadier uptime and a faster connection.
Your Budget
- Get a clear final monthly price from any dedicated server provider you consider. A server you cannot afford months down the road puts a real cramp in your operations.
- Ask about setup fees, software licensing fees, and upgrade fees before you sign anything.
- Check which package gives you the most value, including how many hours of support it covers each month.
Backup Services
- Losing your data can mean serious problems for your company, so confirm your dedicated server provider also offers backup services.
Power Redundancy
- A provider can check every other box and still fall short on uptime without power redundancy. Vault Networks provides power redundancy backed by on-site generators that keep servers running through a power outage.
Before you make a final decision, answer these questions:
- How powerful of a server do you need?
- How important is access time to you?
- Do you handle large or sensitive data?
- If you are hosting a website, how much traffic do you need to support?
Comparing dedicated servers this way helps you find the right specifications for your company.
Tips for Choosing a Dedicated Server Provider
Choosing the right dedicated server provider matters as much as choosing the server itself. No two providers are alike, and what they offer varies widely. Confirm your provider has the servers and resources you need, and that the server sits in a genuinely safe facility, not someone’s makeshift garage. Look for:
- Reliability – your uptime can mean the difference between seconds of downtime and days. Your data center should guarantee uptime through an SLA. Vault Networks, for example, offers 99.999% uptime for dedicated servers, meaning downtime is limited to a little over 5 minutes a year when it happens at all, backed by network and power redundancy plus strong security measures.
- Flexibility – your company will keep growing, and your server needs to keep up. Confirm whether your data center lets you increase resources as you grow, including custom applications, added disk space or bandwidth, and hard drive upgrades.
- Network – most data centers work with multiple network providers for stronger connectivity. Vault Networks partners with multiple tier 1 service providers and uses a network routing system to keep you connected through the highest-performing path available.
- Security – ask, and see for yourself if possible, how secure the facility really is, and whether firewalls are available for your server. Vault Networks uses multiple checkpoints, biometric authentication, locked cages, and combination-locked lockers, so unauthorized personnel cannot reach your data or your server.
Trusting a data center with your infrastructure frees up your IT team for more pressing work, and it means you skip the cost of purchasing hardware and software or building an in-house data center. The right dedicated server provider makes that trade-off pay off.
If you are interested in learning more about Vault Networks dedicated server and hosting services, call us at (305) 735-8098, option 2, or send us an email at sales@vaultnetworks.com.