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Dedicated Server Price Check
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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