Dedicated Remote or Physical Server

You have an Internet based business that is growing and you want to expand your offerings and do more with you web based services. You have a dilemma: do you go and buy the hardware yourself or do you go and rent a remote dedicated server to fulfill your needs? These are tough questions and ones that the owners of BACK Consulting have had to face up to ourselves. BACK Consulting also has a sister company named BACK inContact which is a low cost legal services provider driven on the Internet but linking with different systems around the world. We designed all our own software for this web offering and have an ASP.NET application working alongside dedicated web services all with a SQL Server 2005 database in the background.

This got us thinking. We can go out and buy another bigger server and have total control over our destiny - or should I say configurable. But then we thought about it some more and also on the shopping list came:

• a dedicated leased line with guaranteed up time
• sorting out the backups
• adding SQL Server 2005
• anti virus
• anti-spyware
• obtaining and configuring a top hardware firewall

These are just a few of the issues we came up with. If you are a dedicated systems person then it makes sense to have complete control of your own destiny and therefore the purchase of a physical server is right up your street. For our own operation we decided to have a look at dedicated servers online and see if these can provide what we need. After a a spot of research we have found a good option that ticks a lot of our boxes. For example we have a dedicated and configurable firewall, a fully managed server, 24/7 support, guaranteed up-time and the server can be configured how we please. The downside here of course is that we can't get our hands on this server and just get stuck-in like we are used to but if this is not a major problem then maybe your company should have a look at this option.

In terms of pricing a dedicated remote server varies considerably dependant upon such items as the speed of connection, the level of support and the spec of the server. A good provider will give you easy options to upgrade as you get further down the line and your business grows. With a physical server you can literally crack the box open and throw in some more memory, HDD, etc. but you have to know what you are doing. Either way you give yourself some good options.

In summary the idea of having a dedicated remote server is one we have taken up for our own business needs and should be something you at least consider if you happen to be in the same predicament. Our particular example happens to be a Windows 2003 Server based system but this option makes even more sense if your seeking a Linux option for the likes of a PHP/MySQL setup. Linux is a bonafide pain the backside unless you are deeply in touch with your inner geek and have confidence in your abilities.

Hopefully you now have a short taste of what your options are in terms of the choice between physical and remote dedicated services. Good luck.