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Dedicated Server Price Check
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Visited: 1978 |
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| 4.0/5.0 (2 votes total) |
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by Paras Shah
June 28, 2006
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The price of dedicated hosting services has really come down in the
past couple of years. In fact, prices have dropped so much for the
"budget dedicated server" market. While competitive conditions in both
the hosting industry and the computer hardware industry have
contributed to the reduction in dedicated hosting costs, don't think
that prices were that inflated in the first place. Budget servers are
fantastic but it takes more than a competitive market to offer services
at such great prices.
Much thanks to the great overbuilds of
networks, data centers and computer hardware in the dot-com days,
companies with a bit of buying power can acquire the hard-resources it
takes to provide a good quality un-managed dedicated server for a great
price. Finding a dedicated server for $199 a month or less these days
is not that difficult. When shopping for your dedicated server,
consider more than just price.
Managed Services
Before
just lining up the amount of ram, the processor speed, the data
transfer and the price ask yourself - what else can this company do for
me that I need now, or may need down the road. While there are plenty
that do it, a 1 person effort to maintain a mission critical or high
traffic server is no easy task. It helps to have others helping look
out for your interests as well. Check to see if your host provides
managed services such as backups, monitoring, firewalls and intrusion
detection. Sometime they may be included in the plan but nearly always
can be negotiated in at a reasonable price and can be well worth the
investment.
Technical Support
The level
of support received with your dedicated services is important as well.
Some dedicated hosts offer email only support in order to keep costs
down while others flat out charge a fee for a support ticket. Your
preferred method of receiving support plus the level and frequency in
which you will need it should certainly be considered.
The Quality of Your Network
Most
dedicated hosting providers these days have pretty substantial internet
connectivity. Nonetheless, it is something you should be aware of. Look
for a host that has redundant connectivity via multiple providers
insuring as much connectivity uptime as possible. Some of the major
connectivity providers these days are Sprint, UUNet, Savvis, AT&T,
Qwest and Cogent.
Summary
A very cheap
server deal does not simply mean you are dealing with an overly
generous hosting company or that another provider is ripping you off at
a higher rate. While some hosts do price more competitively than
others, there are associates costs that must be covered. When shopping
for your next dedicated server just keeps in mind you may not always be
comparing apples to apples. |
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Paras Shah
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