Security guaranteed

In relation to other types of server, dedicated hosting server is considered the most secure and reliable option for any type of business out there. When it comes to information, secure environment is paramount. Without such a mechanism in place the whole system may be compromised exposing sensitive information into hands of people who were not intended.

Enjoying what the server presents

Other hosting solution involve sharing of bandwidth with some parties which might need huge web space, this puts smaller data users at an awkward situation since they may be charged for something which they do not use especially if the charging system does not put into consideration the size of the web space in place. When a client is given the freedom to use a whole spectrum as they please there is enjoyment of what the server presents as well as all the other useful features, which are part of the package.

Ideal for business

If one has the intention of having a large control of the computer system and facilities the ideal web hosting solution is the dedicated server. The server is known for its flexibility and absolute security especially for the clients who generate sensitive information and heavy traffic. One more benefit that the users of this system get is high performance. The fact that one is not sharing the bandwidth with any other person minimizes the chances of overload and eventually slowing the operations. This means that there will be a high performance all round the clock. It is very ideal for people who are engaged in activities, which might require huge transaction, or flow of information at one given time, one such activity is the e-commerce. In a nutshell employing a dedicated hosting server provides the client with security, control high performance and email stability, benefits he or she would not get if opted for a shared server or any other type for that matter.

Security: Security is one of the things people are looking for in a dedicated server. Since the server is locked to outsiders, the organization gets to have a better degree of security.  The company also gets to have features such as customized firewall protection which is configured to serve the needs of the organization. The server can also be enhanced which is great for any business.

Stability: Dedicated servers give extra stability to the business. This is because the business can control what is carried out by the server. The business can decide on the activities that are carried out online and also only allow certain scripts to run. This is great since shared servers tend to affect the up-time your business gets since the activities that other people engage in are beyond the control of the business owner.

Customization: The business server is customized to meet the specific needs of the business. Administrative functions can be synchronized to have more productive systems especially when dealing with different departments. The POS software is customized to become uniform across the different units in the business. When it comes to customization of the dedicated server, the business owner has a wide array of options and great leeway which is important in making the business as efficient as possible.

Storage facilities: The storage facilities are great and the organization can upgrade the storage available according to their growing needs. If more processors are needed, they can be added, more space in disks as well as other requirements the business may have.

Businesses that opt to have a dedicated server have made a great choice. This is especially so if the enterprise has a great web presence in terms of the amount of traffic received. Dedicated servers mean that you do not have to worry about down time or business performance going down due to interruptions.  In case you experience a problem, this is solved immediately. The support services a business gets is provided 24/7 by the host.

When looking for a web host for your server, the following are things you need to consider:

Costs: The costs that come with having a dedicated server are more expensive than shared servers. This is because there are a variety of expenses such as set up, bandwidth, security just to mention a few.

Processor: Your processor must be powerful. A large organization may need to have a couple of processors so as handle all their needs.

Before you can go about this, there are certain things you need to put in place so as to have a server that is dependable and useful to your needs.

Consider the following:

Storage

Servers are meant to be efficient in data storage. This means that your business continuity is not threatened by loss of data. It should also not duplicate your data as this may be very difficult to sort should you need to recover; de-duplication is therefore a feature that is a must. In order to have a server that serves your storage needs, you need to identify what data is being stored. Will you require to store documents as well as your media collection? How large is the data and do you need internal expansion of hard drives or external expansions?

When building your own home server, you must think about the future expansion possibilities.

Type of Server

After you have analyzed your needs, you need to figure out what kind of server will best suit them. You will have to select a RAM and processor that will accommodate your computing activities and tasks. Below are key points to factor in:

• Will you need to have add-ins that will enhance the features in the server?
• Is basic set-up going to be enough to share files and allow you to network or do you need more?
• What sort of power do you need?

The amount of power that you need will determine the processor and RAM that you acquire for the server. The processors we have nowadays are compatible with most servers, however, should you decide to go for older versions then you have to ensure that that you check out the site of the manufacturer for more details. The RAM should also be compatible with the motherboard you have selected. Look out for slots available as these will direct you on the ideal RAM.

Networking

Networking is obviously a big part of your needs and you must to have a fast, reliable connection for this. Most of the new motherboards that are available now come with a standard Gigabit Ethernet. Be sure to look for such since Gigabit Ethernet provides great connectivity and speed. However, the routers and devices in your network must have the ability to support Gigabit Ethernet.

Building your own server has many advantages. For starters, you can develop your own local network and develop it have great speed.

Upon installation of server, one gets an IP address, which enables him or her to connect to your server from a remote place and, automatically, enable your customers to get access to your website. In situation where you have several loads of traffic and several of high-density files which are being downloaded, at the same time from your site, then your bandwidth will therefore be high. By connecting the bandwidth access to the server colocation provider, you automatically refrain from paying an extra charge for it. In this case, the provider will only charge for the space taken by server. In some cases, the charge for the space taken is actually higher than hosting the server yourself. However, the expenses incurred with server colocation are generally low.

In this economic hard times, innovative ways to cut cost are quite important .Therefore, you should not t feel sorry for the server colocation provider for enjoying the benefits of his or her bandwidth server. It is prudent to note that server colocation provider takes your money and that of others. They give a large amount of discount for their service and gain much by hosting several servers.

One of the main benefits of server colocation is that the provider of such a service is normally well equipped to handle challenges that arise in the normal operation of servers. Power outages are normally a server’s top threat and therefore mitigation strategies should be in place to efficiently handle it. A server colocation provider should have power backup. In this regard, generators are very much important.

Another main benefit of server colocation is that the provider has a more secure location for your and other people’s servers than you might have yourself. This gives the assurance of security which is quite important. Server providers make profit from providing server service, and therefore, it is in their best interest to protect their business. You may have the opportunity to provide the security of your own server at your home or office, but the security of your business address in the hands of server colocation provider is generally better. On the contrary, one main limitation to server colocation is the process of accessing a different physical place while upgrading your server or its software. However, the fact remains that advantages of server colocation outweigh the disadvantages.

1. Keep backups of everything. Even if you have already made it clear to clients and users that the server will soon be gone, you should still keep backups around for a while, just in case.

2. Announce the shutdown well in advance. Do not wait until a few days before such a major change. Give anyone else involved time to prepare.

3. If you are migrating to a new server, have everything set up on the new server before you pull the plug on the old one. There should be minimal downtime.

4. Help customers adjust. If you were running some type of reseller or hosting business, refer your customers to another good host and help them move their sites. You never know when you may want to do business with those customers again.

5. If your website was particularly valuable in terms of content, consider selling it intact or passing off the content to someone who may want to use it and preserve it.

6. Keep or sell your domains. If they were at all valuable to you, they might be valuable to someone else or to you in the future. Do not just let them expire.

7. If you know of any places that recommended your site or advertised for you, make sure to notify them that you are closing.

8. Accept that change is part of life and move on with your life.

Photo Source: Flickr

1. Always use a remote backup server. Although there are some benefits to local backup, it will be useless when the entire server crashes.

2. If possible, avoid using your home computer as your backup server. Use a dedicated backup server or lease backup space from a web host.

3. Use rsync or similar program to perform remote incremental backups.

4. Automate the backup process with a cron job.

5. Backup all website files and databases.

6. Periodically test your backups to make sure the process completed correctly.

7. Make sure users or clients also perform their own individual backups for added protection.

Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons

1. When possible, opt for the quality, server-grade CPUs (i.e. 64-bit Intel Xeon dual or quad core)

2. The more RAM you have, the better. You can never go wrong by adding memory to your system.

3. Get large, fast hard drives, especially if you plan to run virtual private servers (VPS).

4. For large-scale sites, server redundancy is a good thing, if you can afford it.

5. Multi-core processors improve performance, but correlate the amount of processing power you get with your actual needs. In other words, there is no point in having a 64-core processor for a couple of blogs.

6. Find ways to save power, especially if you have to pay for it. Green servers will save you money and save the environment.

7. Remember that technology is constantly evolving. Plan on needing to upgrade in the future.

Photo Source: Flickr

1. When possible, rely on the distribution updates and repositories. Only add third-party software when absolutely necessary.

2. Periodically run fsck to check the file system.

3. Monitor system and service logs.

4. Disable unused services.

5. Periodically optimize MySQL databases.

6. Monitor CPU and RAM usage.

7. Optimize RAM and swap usage.

8. On larger servers, run the database server on a separate machine, optimize the servers for scalability, and consider using a CDN (Content Delivery Network).

Photo Source: Flickr

1. Keep backups of all data, both account storage and databases. If possible, keep the backups on a remote server and schedule regular incremental updates

2. Update the kernel and other software regularly.

3. Use a script installation service to help users install web applications

4. Provide a web-based control panel to help users manage their sites

5. Enforce strong passwords and encourage users to update their passwords regularly

6. Use a monitoring service for the web server, mail server, database server, and any other critical services

7. Maximize disk and memory usage only to the point of ideal performance and do not over exert the server

8. Always announce any changes, updates, reboots, or maintenance, giving users plenty of time adjust.

Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons

Question

Answer: There are few tasks more important than backing up your server. Because of the nature of computers and especially the nature of the Internet, you are bound to have problems. They may or may not cause data loss, but that is not a chance you want to take.

Rsync is a tool that simply syncs the files in one directory with another. What makes it ideal for backups is that 1) it can archive files and compress them and 2) it can use SSH to perform the backups to remote servers.

To run an rsync backup, just execute the command like this:

rsync -avz ~/public_html username@hostname.com:/home/user/backupfiles/

This will backup, archive, and compress the files found in public_html on your server. Finally, it will send those archives to the remote server in the directory specified. The best part about rsync is that, the next time you perform a backup, it will only backup the files that have changed (i.e. incremental backups), saving you bandwidth and time.