Which is the best dedicated server for web hosting?

When you go shopping for a dedicated server, you will quickly discover that the options are seemingly endless. It is particularly difficult to choose when you are looking for a remotely hosted dedicated server provider. All web hosts say they have the best servers, and many of them offer very competitive prices. But the truth is, not all of them are equal.

If you have ever shopped for a PC or laptop, you might have decided to choose a less expensive machine knowing that you would not need the full power of a high-end computer. In some cases, that hypothesis turns out to be accurate, and you never have any problems. In other situations, however, you might later end up regretting going with the cheap option.

When it comes to servers, it is better to not take that chance. You should go with the most powerful option in your price range, since it will be less expensive and less time consuming than having to upgrade later.

A server is just a computer. Therefore, a web host can call any box a server without any technical or legal constraints. This means that you could potentially end up using low quality hardware and not even realize it until it is too late. Therefore, the first thing you should do when shopping for a server is look for server-quality hardware.

Processor – The easiest way to identify a server-quality processor is to look at the name. Chip manufacturers such as AMD and Intel have a distinct line of processors for servers. Intel’s Xeon line and AMD’s Opteron line are specifically designed for servers. You can then look at other features like the number of cores, hardware virtualization support, and caching.

Memory – On a PC, you might not even notice the difference between 3 GB of RAM and 4 GB unless you are doing something extraordinary, but on a server, every byte counts, especially when server-side scripting (such as PHP) and databases(such as MySQL) are involved. Memory is a lot less expensive than it used to be, so there is no reason to not get as much as possible.

Storage – Drive capacity is only the beginning. You should find out how fasts the drives are, if the storage capacity is expandable, and if your host offers special features, such as solid state drives (SSD).

Other factors – There are many other factors that you should consider, but most of them are host-specific, such as network speed, data center security, and power management. You should investigate all of these features and compare each host’s offerings to find the best one.

Image credit: Robert Kloosterhuis