What is a dedicated server?
You will likely be familiar with the concept of the server, a set of computers that underpin the vast majority of the digital systems within your organization. Servers provide the resources, data, and services used by all of the other computers on the network, and as such are a vital part of any IT infrastructure.
Designed to be highly reliable, they can serve a wide range of purposes within a business from hosting websites, storing files, managing databases and email systems, and many more. However, there are a variety of different ways in which organizations can choose to set up their server ecosystem, with a varied selection of server types to pick from. These include dedicated servers, shared servers, virtual private servers (VPNs), cloud servers, and more.
Dedicated servers are physical servers dedicated to a single business customer, hence the name. Synonymous with bare-metal servers, dedicated hosting services, or managed hosting services, all of which refer to the fact that the software and hardware encompassed by the server is managed by a company for a single client.
As a result, the client has total control over the server’s resources, including its CPU, RAM, or GPU. Organizations can optimize the hardware of the server and allocate these resources according to their needs, a very useful feature.
The benefits of using a dedicated server
The benefits of running a dedicated server primarily stem from the fact that you have complete control over the devices, its applications, and operating systems. Here are some examples of how you can improve your IT estate with the added control dedicated servers offer.
Performance
Firstly, having sole access to a server will help you unlock better performance, since the server’s resources are not being shared with other clients who could be hogging some of its computing power and slowing down your applications.
In addition, dedicated servers can be optimized according to the specific workload you plan on using it for. All of this can help your organization achieve faster load times and an improved user experience overall.
Flexibility and Scalability
Flexibility is a large part of the value proposition that dedicated servers make. They can be used to deploy a wide range of applications, and as the system is totally customizable, firms can alter the hardware and software as their needs change in the future.
For the same reason, dedicated servers scale very well as your organization expands. Firms can adapt to changing business requirements and increase their server’s memory, storage, and processing power whenever they need the extra headroom.
Security
Customizability also brings security benefits too. With total control over the server configuration, businesses can add whatever protections they want to their system. These could include firewalls, encryption, intrusion detection systems (IDS),
Since the server isn’t being shared with anyone else, there is also a reduced risk of being breached via a third party, further improving the overall resilience of your IT infrastructure.
Reliability
Dedicated servers also tend to be more reliable than their shared counterparts, largely because you are less likely to be affected by other users’ activities. This means by opting for a dedicated server firms can enjoy extended availability and avoid costly downtime.
What are dedicated servers used for?
As mentioned above, dedicated servers are incredibly flexible and can be used for myriad IT tasks you may have. Here are some of the most common use cases for dedicated servers.
Data backups
Dedicated servers can be used to simply store backups of sensitive data, perhaps if your business operates in a sector with particular regulatory obligations or privacy concerns. For example, many healthcare and financial institutions use dedicated servers protected with added security layers to store medical records or financial data.
Virtualization
Virtualization is a very handy technique for businesses to get more bang for their buck when it comes to hardware, and firms can opt to use the tool to get more with their dedicated servers. Virtual machines (VMs) can help an organization achieve more efficient use of their resources, as well as the ability
Organizations could run a series of virtual machines (VMs) using the hardware of a dedicated server, for instance, allowing them to run different operating systems and applications on each.
Development and testing
Firms with development teams can use dedicated servers as an isolated environment in which to test their applications, without the risk of impacting production environments. This isolation also ensures that the results from the testing are accurate and not influenced by any external factors.
Devs can also alter the specific server, changing the hardware or operating system to test how their application performs in different environments, leading to smoother deployments in the long run.
E-commerce platforms
Many companies use dedicated servers to process the large volume of transactions on their e-commerce platforms. The added availability these systems can offer is paramount for businesses that need to keep their systems up through periods of very high throughput, handling vast numbers of concurrent users, product databases, as well as transactions themselves.
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