Managed Web Hosting versus Dedicated Web Hosting
Managed hosting is a dedicated server that is accompanied by a full suite of technical support, maintenance and monitoring services. This differs from dedicated Web hosting, where customers are provided with their own servers but are still responsible for virtually all administrative and maintenance duties.
Managed hosting are meant for those websites that are designed to host busy e-commerce sites and dynamic, database driven Web pages. Perfect for organizations that dont have the time or capital to invest in server administration.
MANAGED SERVER = DEDICATED SERVER + COMPLETE SUPPORT TO SERVER ADMINISTRATION
A managed server will come equipped with all the features of a dedicated server, plus instead of leaving most of the administrative tasks to the customer, a managed provider will typically handle that as well.
Many companies will often assign you a dedicated service representative who will cater only to you and a handful of other accounts. This support also comes in the form of proprietary control panel technology that enables the inexperienced administrator to easily set up and maintain sites on a server. This is achieved through an intuitive and user friendly point and click method rather than by typing complicated commands at a prompt line.
Hosting companies offer a supplementary suite of features and services that related to managed hosting, including application and database management, high-availability services and load balancing. These hosting companies will back up their services with performance guarantees and Service Level Agreements.
Unmanaged services, on the other hand, give the customer complete remote server administration capability and freedom. The downside to this is that unmanaged servers require a large amount of time and technical expertise, as the customer is ultimately responsible for the instillation and management of the server - not the Web host. For this reason, unmanaged servers are only recommended for individuals and companies with extensive server administration resources or expertise, as well as a significant amount of time available to take care of the server.
Conclusion on managed hosting
If you're unsure about which service to choose, give serious consideration to choosing a managed server. While taking the managed route is more expensive, it is also much more reassuring for the inexperienced administrator. Remember, you can always downgrade your account to an unmanaged service later, once you've acquired some expertise in server administration. Though once you opt for the personal attention you will receive through a managed host, you might think twice of turning into an unmanaged service later on.
About The Author
Nitin Jain - author for (http://www.best-in-web-hosting.com). To find what web hosting is all about visit (http://www.best-in-web-hosting.com).
Managed Hosting - What's it all about?
A new trend, appearing in the Web Hosting industry, is the concept of Managed Web Hosting. Web hosts have been offering dedicated servers for a while now, however, because dedicated servers can be difficult to operate technically, there has been a demand for web hosts to provide extra services such as: reporting and monitoring; managed load balancing; managed security; managed storage; and, managed databases. These extra services are referred to as 'managed hosting'.
Do you need it?
Before you think about managed hosting you will first need to decide whether or not you need a dedicated server. You will need a dedicated server if you have a high-traffic web site. If you only have a small web site with low traffic levels then a shared hosting arrangement should be fine. A dedicated server is more expensive to rent and more difficult to operate than a shared hosting solution but if your business depends on a steady service then you should seriously consider renting a dedicated server.
The only disadvantage with dedicated web hosting is that you will have to do a lot of the server administration yourself, and to do this you will need to possess some technical skills; hence the demand for managed hosting. If you fall into this category of needing a dedicated server but you need your host to provide system administration services such as security, firewalls, monitoring and reporting services, and data backup then most likely you will need managed hosting.
How do you find Managed hosting packages?
Many web hosts who once provided only shared and dedicated web hosting are now beginning to offer managed services too. A good place to start looking for managed hosting is through web hosting directories and search engines, by doing a search for managed hosting you should receive a good list of managed hosting providers. Another key place to start is by contacting hosts who are offering dedicated hosting and ask them if they can provide a managed hosting arrangement as well.
Companies providing managed hosting will either offer managed hosting per item or in a pre-configured plan. Per-item managed hosting gives you the freedom to pick and choose what services you need or do not need; on the other hand, a pre-configured plan will include the dedicated server and the managed hosting services at a monthly fee.
What should I look for in a managed hosting provider?
When choosing a managed hosting provider it is a good idea that your host provides the following qualities:
· Reliable and fast support - a good way to find out the response rate and the quality of the services offered by a web host is to send them an email before you sign up with them. If you receive a good response from your web host then this should give you a good indication of the services they are offering.
· Freedom - its important to have as much freedom as possible and having the ability to choose from a wide range of services is essential. With managed hosting you might decide that you don't require firewall support, its important that your web host will provide you with the option of selecting exactly what you need and what you don't need. Also having the ability to pay monthly is a huge advantage. It will be less of a drain on your budget and you can avoid any expensive yearly contracts.
· Fast and reliable connection - You should find out exactly what sort of connection the web host has to the Internet. By asking the web host they should be able to send you their network and connectivity details, you might even be able to find this out on their web site. Also find out where the web hosts Network Operations Center (NOC) is located, it is an advantage for the web host to have its NOC located in the USA as the USA has the fastest and most reliable internet connection in the world.
· Competitiveness - When searching for a managed hosting provider it is important to do your research. Each web host will be offering different managed hosting services all at different rates, you might find that one web host may offer one attractive managed hosting service while another doesn't. However, as many more web hosts are beginning to offer managed hosting, a new competitive market is developing and the prices for managed hosting are becoming much more affordable with many more services being offered.
Managed hosting is ideal for the new online businesses person, looking to build a large online business, and wanting to avoid the extra time and resources spent in-house on managing their dedicated servers. In-turn, managed web hosting has provided a profitable outcome to many online businesses by preventing a waste of valuable resources spent on high skilled employees; months of staff training; and, costs of hardware and software.
Written by Candice Humbley
(http://m6.net)
Fast, reliable and affordable Windows 2000 web farm hosting.
Make the Move to Virtual Dedicated Web Hosting
By John Edwards
Most webmasters on the net today are familiar with what the industry calls "shared" web hosting accounts. A shared hosting account is where you rent a small amount of space on a server which is shared among many other users.
This is a cheap way to get started online but it has many disadvantages - you will encounter email delivery problems because of spam complaints against other sites on the same server. You will find your site's grinding to a halt when someone else does some heavy database work on your server. You might even find your site going down because of a denial of service attack against someone else hosting hacking or piracy related material on your server (these type of sites attract antisocial elements!)
How can you avoid all of this drama?
By upgrading to a virtual dedicated server. A virtual dedicated server lets you run your sites as if you had your own "dedicated" server, except it is cheaper because you are really just using part of a server that has been split into multiple virtual dedicated servers.
You can find out more about this by searching Google for "virtual dedicated hosting". Virtuozzo is the main commercial software that web hosts use to run virtual hosting services.
You will find virtual dedicated server accounts starting at just $30 a month. You'll get a much larger chunk of bandwidth compared to shared hosting, and none of the problems that go with a shared host. You can also get multiple IP addresses that are exclusive to your sites.
So what's the catch? Not much. You'll probably spend a bit more on hosting each month. The main disadvantage of upgrading to virtual dedicated hosting is that you will need to be more technically proficient so that you can administer the server.
This requires a bit of time learning the necessary Linux skills to make sure your server runs smoothly.
Many hosting providers will have a "premium" support offering that includes a bit more hand holding - this is definitely recommended if you don't have much experience with Linux, or are new to virtual dedicated hosting.
With the increased speed and bandwidth that a virtual dedicated host offers, and none of the shared hosting headaches, the move is one you will never regret. So, the question now becomes, are to ready and willing to take-on the challenge of virtual dedicated web hosting and save yourself some hard earned cash? The choice is yours...
About the Author
Author: John Edwards
Don't fall for the victim of expensive web host which charges a lot but provides poor service.
Learn how to choose the best web hosting company for your website:
http://www.e-web-site-hosting.com
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