Switching from shared to dedicated server - please help

[markymrk22]

Hello,

I have been using oscommerce 2.2 for about 7 months now. Business is doing well, however the shared server I am on gives me constant problems.

I need to make the switch to a dedicated server.

Before searching around, does anyone have any suggestions for me? of either good or bad dedicated servers, or a good way to search and compare.

I would greatly appreciate any help.

Thank you,

Mark

[jpf]

You don't need a dedicated server - unless you have ALOT of hits every min..... Having said that - If you HOST is overloading EACH server with sites.... Ask to be on one that is not so busy (less sites per server).

Said that - if you host can't help you then MOVE hosts.... CHECK you hosts backbones - How many providers how many connections and what type?

My host has:
Fiber entry on two sides of the facilities (incase one end blow up). With at least 25 gigabit Internet connections. Redundant network cores (atleast 7 providers) and total of 30 redundant backbone routers. (and growing)

Total shares I own : 0 - yes that means I have no finacial intrest in the company.

It a hard thing but research - ask questions.

BIG people: EV1, 1&1 (but the charge BIG -there are many people co-located with this that use there backbone/facilities)

[Sander]

jpf is pretty right, if you dont have real serious load on your site, you don't need an dedicated server.

instead consider if your host is good enough for you if it puts your site on a seriously overloaded server?

Also on the other hand, a dedicated server does give you freedom of configuration..

[michael_s]

There are many reasons to go with a dedicated server, and only one reason not to : budget.

The facts are clear: Server uptime, stability, security, speed, flexibility all increase immensely on a dedicated server. When you weigh the benefits of a dedicated server against the price, there really is no compelling reason not to use a dedicated server.

Of course, some will say that there is also cost of management and administration of a dedicated server. While this is true, most of it can be automated or you can pay a few extra dollars per month for a fully managed solution, where security, updates and maintenance are handled for you.

Many of the discount dedicated servers that you can purchase are 'Unmanaged' or have only 'Basic Management' which means that you better know what you are doing, because if something does go sideways, you are pretty much on your own. Mid range to high end priced dedicated hosts ususally provide full service solutions that include administrative time each month and full security/maintenance.

Remember that when shopping around for dedicated servers, cheaper always means that you will have to do more management yourself.

For example, say a hard drive starts to fail, most all hosts will replace your hard drive for you and reinstall the OS and control panel (if you have one) at no charge. For unmanaged servers, that is it. Your data will still need to be restored from a backup, by you, or you will need to pay extra to have the host do it for you. Full service hosts will usually restore your data for you at no additional cost (But they will need you to provide the backup).