Cloud Hosting vs. Dedicated Server Hosting
With numerous new websites emerging every day, there’s a huge demand for web hosting services. As with any other product or service, customers have different needs and wants when it comes to web hosting solutions, especially when it comes to flexibility and options that fits allocated budgets.
Cloud Hosting – Should You Put Your Website in the Clouds?
One of the most popular types of web hosting today is cloud hosting. Although quickly becoming a modern industry favorite, the principles of cloud hosting date back to the 1960s. The concept of the “cloud” metaphor is illuminated by the fact that the computing processes are initialized in the “clouds” with the following layers: server, infrastructure, platform, application, and client.
The precise processing location is cloaked in mystery and usually not limited to one or more known specified servers. End users are not required to purchase physical infrastructure; instead, selected services are purchased from a third-party provider at a much more affordable rate when compared to other hosting environments.
Another huge advantage of cloud hosting is enhanced security and reliability. Cloud hosting typically involves many layers in the “clouds” and does not rely on a single known host, which significantly reduces the chances of security breaches. Although it means less responsibility for the end user, it is a much more complex method of web hosting that many are still unfamiliar and uncomfortable with; however, it’s a force to be reckoned with, leading web hosting into the 21st century.
Ease of maintenance, reliability and redundancy (in case of loss of data), tight security and lower costs are other advantages leading to cloud hosting’s popularity.
Dedicated Servers – A Devoted Choice?
While cloud hosting is starting to gain momentum, dedicated servers have been the backbone of hosting for years. Dedicated servers are ideal for websites that demand a high level of disk space and bandwidth, as well as businesses that need flexibility and customization in their servers. Unlike cloud hosting, dedicated servers reside in only one physical location.
With dedicated server hosting, a server is leased by the individual client and not shared with any other users. Dedicated hosting offers extreme flexibility, since none of the hardware or software is shared, allowing the end user to have ultimate control over features, such as software and the preferred operating system. The hosting company can also provide maintenance of the server, usually as an add-on service.
The level of support available obviously varies with the service plan, but dedicated hosting typically includes updated patches, which protect information on the server against hackers.
If you are considering dedicated hosting, keep in mind there is no set standard for dedicated service providers to follow. Although each dedicated service provider may use the same standard terms, the way each defines them will likely differ.
For instance, some providers may view a fully managed server as one with a control panel that is web based. Others may see it, however, as providing system engineers who are dedicated to all network and server components and operations of the provider.
Conclusion
While the physical location of cloud hosting is wide and varied, with dedicated servers, you know exactly where your server operates. While you have full access to the complete resources of a dedicated server, you only get one server. In contrast, with cloud hosting, should you need to scale beyond one server, you can easily pull resources from other parts of the “cloud.”
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