digitalMAMMOTH


Managed Vs. Unmanaged Dedicated Hosting


"Unmanaged dedicated servers" - this is a pretty uninviting term to many, especially the non-gurus, but in most cases is not as "non-servicing" as it seems. In fact, I think someone one day soon, ( who knows maybe me ) will coin a new phrase to replace the term "unmanaged" - similar to how "used cars" is now "pre-owned" or how "apartment complexes" are now "rental communities". The truth is that unless you just picked a lousy provider or have unreasonable expectations, unmanaged hosting offers more service and support than most think.

The Difference

While exact definitions vary among providers, generally speaking managed hosting means your provider takes complete or near complete care of your server. This can include anything from basic system maintenance and patches to applications maintenance, security, monitoring, etc. Someone that needs dedicated hosting and wants to rely on their host for pretty much anything and everything regarding their server needs to strike a relationship with a managed service provider. Full blown managed services involve lots of skilled people hours. Not only that, since every managed customer is unique, it's hard for a managed provider to be overly systematic. For this - expect to pay a great deal more than today's budget server provider but if your needs demand it, and you choose a solid provider it should be money well spent.

Unmanaged dedicated hosting obviously refers to dedicated servers with less, little or none of the skilled people support you'd expect to find in managed. You signup, you pay, and in a few minutes to a few hours you get a welcome email with IP address, login, FAQ's, etc. - Beyond that you are pretty much on your own. Relax - you are not really as own your own as it seems.

First off, most unmanaged providers do in fact offer technical support, and most that we've seen is very good. If you choose unmanaged dedicated service you do need to have someone on your team that knows the technical side a good bit, but they don't necessarily have to be experts. While you may have to wait 12 - 24 hours or you may even have to pay extra for it, nearly all the unmanaged providers I know do have high level techs available to handle serious issues. In addition most providers give some sort of immediate reboot service. Unless you've been tinkering with some critical config files or have a hardware failure, a reboot can help with a range of issues. Lastly, unmanaged providers may not support you or whatever you put on your server after you move in, but they do stand by the hardware and software they sell you. If a hard drive crashes they are going to replace it for you (although you had better be doing your backups) and if your system crashes most will fix it for you.

Summary

The bottom line is if you've got mission critical needs and don't have the in-house staff to efficiently keep your servers performing the way they should, then you are going to need managed services. Even still it's a more cost effective route that hiring your own staff and most likely you will receive a higher, more consistent level of service. If your needs are more basic, and or you or your staff has the time and know-how to perform 75% - 80% of your server's maintenance then an affordable unmanaged service should do you just fine.

Please refer following web sites for useful resources related to web site hosting:

http://www.vipwh.com
http://www.thehostingguide.com

About Author:

Paras Shah

Chief Technology Officer
VIP PowerNet, Inc.
Phone: (713)787-6501
Email: paras@vippowernet.com
http://www.vippowernet.com


MORE RESOURCES:

Web Hosting R1Soft Provider Partner Program, Welcomes Uniserver ...
TheHostingNews.com (press release), OR - 11 hours ago
The company also provides domain name registration, shared Web hosting and dedicated servers, serving businesses large and small. ...


Web Hosting Offered to Non-Profits, with Ecommerce Software
WebSite Host Directory (press release), OR - 10 hours ago
Franklin, Tennessee - (Website Hosting Directory) - September 5, 2008 - Software provider, Sum Effect, is providing up to 20 free ecommerce hosting and ...


Web Hosting Tutorial Firm, DemoWolf, Releases PayPal, SmarterMail ...
WebSite Host Directory (press release), OR - Sep 4, 2008
Nova Scotia, Canada - (Website Hosting Directory) - September 4, 2008 - Web hosting industry tutorial firm, DemoWolf, has released 5 new tutorial series, ...


Port City Web Hosting Firm, Offers Edge CMS Solutions, with Ektron
TheHostingNews.com (press release), OR - Sep 4, 2008
Portsmouth, New Hampshire - (The Hosting News) - September 4, 2008 - Website hosting, design and development firm, Port City Web, has partnered with ...


Web Hosting Business Operations Management Software, Released for ...
TheHostingNews.com (press release), OR - Sep 4, 2008
Dulles, Virginia - (The Hosting News) - September 4, 2008 - Integrated business management software system for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), ...


Web Hosting, from Custom Design Service
HostingTech.com, KS - Sep 3, 2008
Orlando, Florida - (Cheap Web Hosting Directory) - September 3, 2008 - Vistrex LLC has launched a complete solution for businesses and individuals, ...


Web Hosting Green Services, Premiere at Hostivia
TheHostingNews.com (press release), OR - Sep 3, 2008
Founded in 2008 as a subsidiary of R and D Technologies, Inc., Hostivia is a leading provider of Shared and Reseller Linux cPanel Web hosting. ...


Web Hosting Companies Revealed, for Top Blogging Websites
WebSite Host Directory (press release), OR - Sep 3, 2008
Pompano Beach, Florida - (Website Hosting Directory) - September 3, 2008 - Researchers at WhoIsHostingThis.com have revealed the web hosts of the world's ...


News: Web Hosting Application, SmarterMail, Releases Upraded Web ...
TheHostingNews.com (press release), OR - Sep 3, 2008
Phoenix, Arizona - (The Hosting News) - September 3, 2008 - Developer of web log analytics and help desk applications, Smarter Tools, has developed and ...


Web Hosting Provider, 3FN, Premieres New Discount Program
TheHostingNews.com (press release), OR - Sep 2, 2008
Net, has launched a new discount program for all web hosting customers. A web hosting brand since 1999, Triple Fiber Network has instituted its new discount ...
Colocation Web Hosting Provider, ServerPoint, Deploys Integra ... TheHostingNews.com (press release)
Dedicated Server Hosting for Businesses, Debut at SSA Host TheHostingNews.com (press release)
all 4 news articles

Web-Hosting - Google News

home | site map
© 2006