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Dedicated Servers, Use and Abuse

Dedicated Servers, Use and Abuse

The remarkable difference of having a Dedicated is the sheer amount of overall resources and total control available for use according to everyone’s specific needs, but this freedom of choice not only the whatever software the customers desire, but to abuse sometimes.

Even when you are paying for the server, some companies may condition the use of the resources in direct relation with their policies, such as when the server providers do not want their names involved with adult content or gambling, or to limiting the run of IRC, BNC, BitchX, XiRCON scripts, torrents, eggdrops or other unauthorized shell programs, either for security, policies, terms and conditions. Etc.

Sometimes such limitations are directly proportional to the price you pay for the server. Some companies offer Dedicated Servers at affordable prices but with limited resources and support as a way to make you think twice and get another configuration or a custom-built Dedicated Server for particular use, such as Adult Dedicated Servers, Gaming Dedicated Servers, Streaming Dedicated Server, Shell Dedicated Servers, etc, that obviously cost much more.

The use of a dedicated server may improve your presence on the internet whichever be your business niche or if you want only to run a personal or family page but with optimal resources, however one of the most common forms of abuse the same in Shared Virtual Servers, Virtual Private Servers and Dedicated Servers is the illegal or blatantly offensive material, but particularly the Unsolicited Commercial Electronic Mail, best known as Spam.

Pay for your own server do not give you the right to jeopardize the name of the server provider abusing of your own resources, running forbidden or risky scripts, sending unsolicited messages or hosting specific content if there is a clause in your contract on this matter.

Most of the times a customer found not abiding the terms of a contract, may have the server leased or rental terminated without recourse and billed including penalties. If the customer has paid for the ownership of the server these activities can be grounds for termination without recourse, and in both cases further pursued to the fullest extent of the law, including but not limited to lawsuits against you as the responsible.

A Dedicated server should be used to give you total but responsible control, and if it is true that you get what you pay for, cheap prices on Dedicated Server may become a disguised Virtual Private Server approach, and their use and abuse will be directly related to both, the customer and the terms of a contract that must be understood to get the best performance without take the risk to lose the investment for abuse.

Dedicated Servers vs. Virtual Private Servers

Dedicated Servers vs. Virtual Private Servers

When it comes to moving from Shared Virtual Hosting service to your own server the question arises, which is better? Dedicated Servers or Virtual Private Servers and is there any difference between choose one or another?

Obviously, the first and more notorious difference you will see at first glance in the price because Dedicated Servers refers to a computer assigned exclusively to you, either purchased, leased o rented, while a Virtual Private Server (VPS) is a computer with specific amount of resources that are guaranteed to the application of 2 or more customers but generally just a few ones.

The number of customers assigned to a Virtual Private Server depends on the service providers and vary from one to another but always being a number below the number of customers on their Shared Virtual Hosting plans. In average, most VPS host 4 customers per server, few others from 6 to 10 customers but large hosting providers may host thousand sites on their shared servers and 100 to 200 assigned to each Virtual Private Server.

With a Dedicated Server you have always the certainty of a unique computer with all its resources assigned to you, avoiding the mistake of many people not paying enough attention to the number of customers assigned per Virtual Private Server. Most commonly, the service providers make a note of it, but some others remark the “unbeatable” price against the price of a Dedicated Server, distracting the potential customer’s attention.

If price does matter to you besides of resources and full control of your own server, it is important compare prices of both Virtual Private Servers and Dedicated Servers analyzing as well the resources granted to you in each case. As unique owner of a Dedicated Server, the configuration and resources assigned is up to you, but going for a VPS the price guarantees you root access to remote computer but sometimes the resources, whether bandwidth or disk storage, are reduced for the low price that you will not be able at all to run or install your customized software packages.

As with Dedicated Servers, you can always upgrade your Virtual Private Server but for the price, at the end it worth the careful analysis and comparison of the services and benefits any server variant offers and your own requirements, asking if the technical support is also included or charged, otherwise add another charge to the total price. Always verify how many customers are hosted per Virtual Private Server but if you need total control with guarantee resources a Dedicated Server are your best value for each additional dollar you pay for it.

What Is a Dedicated Server?

What Is a Dedicated Server?

For web hosting, web caching, proxy or streaming media, the single computer on the internet, local area network or LAN dedicated to just one client acting as storage location for files or shared applications online, is best known as dedicated server. It may be purchased, leased or rented and housed in data centers with optimal conditions to ensure the uptime and integrity of both, equipment and data stored on it.

When it comes to dedicated servers, the service provider is in charge of monitoring the network connectivity, routing equipment and the computer’s hardware to guarantee their proper functionality, while the customer has total control to install and maintain the server software, and depending on the provider, the customer may have remote access rights to certain hardware functions such as reboot the computer when needed.

Dedicated servers are higher than average performance computers and more often used as massive hosting facility for web hosting services needing large amounts of data space and bandwidth, but also as a solution for other kind of companies or individuals with special needs requiring full control over every aspect of their own hosted files without the limitations or the overload slow down performance of a shared virtual hosting provider where a website is hosted on a server with hundreds or even thousands of other websites on it.

Whether for corporate or multi-hosting use, a dedicated server offers both the reliability and flexibility having your computer (server) online all time when it supposed to be, upgrading the software and other services or hardware if necessary when the demand increases or when there is a need to upgrade them.

Depending on what you need servers for, you may find a wide variety of models, pricing and configurations, including custom-built using the components the customer specifically wants for it, such as fast processors, amount of memory, additional storage space and even custom software installations, besides of the facility to hire additional services such as managing and co-location.

Although a dedicated server provides service for only one account or domain name, this account is the customer’s superuser or root access, which grants him all the administrative rights to create as many other accounts or virtual hosts inside his server as he wants and only limited by the hardware or the software license in some control panels. However both hardware and software can be upgraded at any time to meet the customer requirements.

Dedicated servers are recommended for corporations, business companies, multimedia-related organizations, gaming clans or individuals who need to maintain a large web site or a number of smaller web sites requiring special software support, close monitoring and flexibility to grow, but making sure whether you have the expertise and resources to operate and maintain the server or get the right people administrating the server, otherwise you can put in risk your data and your investment.