Full hardware, no neighbours
A dedicated server is a physical machine used only by your organisation. All CPU cores, memory, disks and network capacity are available to your applications, which makes performance predictable under load.
Typical workloads
- High-traffic websites and online stores
- Large databases and reporting systems
- ERP, CRM and other line-of-business applications
- Hosting many client sites for an agency or reseller
Linux or Windows
Pick Linux for open-source stacks (PHP, MySQL, Node.js, Python) and Windows Server when your applications depend on .NET, MS SQL Server or other Microsoft technologies.
Planning checklist
- Estimate peak CPU, RAM and storage needs with headroom
- Decide who will manage patching, monitoring and backups
- Plan a backup and disaster-recovery process before going live
- Secure access with SSH keys or strong passwords and a firewall
If your needs are smaller, a VPS often gives enough control at a lower cost.