Unmanaged Dedicated Servers

Monday, 31 January 2011

A dedicated server is a server which is designed to have all of the available resources belonging to a single entity.  The server is not shared with any other party and the available options for the server are all inclusive to the client.  With this control means a lack of support for the server as what the client chooses to use in terms of software is not covered unless it is provided by the web host.  This can be an inconvenience to clients which may not fully grasp the concept of self managing the server.

What is unmanaged dedicated hosting?

Unmanaged dedicated servers are an option which can be available with most hosting providers and offers complete control over the server in every aspect.  Clients using an unmanaged dedicated server need to provide all of the necessary configurations, operating system, updates to the server and perform their own tech support.  Unmanaged plans with a dedicated server will often be affordable and provide a great amount of customization to get the exact usage from the server as needed from the client based on their specifications and control of the system.

If tech support is necessary, various unmanaged dedicated server hosts will provide this support option on a charge per hour basis and at a minimum amount of time with the support.  This means that support will be charged for the full minimum amount even if it only takes a few minutes to resolve the issue.  Stability of the systems is under the control of the client and uptime of the server depends on how they manage it.  This can provide a wide array of difficulties if clients are unable to perform the necessary management of the servers with the selection of hardware and software that they have chosen to use with the service.

The infrastructure must be maintained and kept in working order for the server to run smoothly and without problems.  Control over the server includes having access to the hard disk and being able to partition it as necessary.  It is important for the client using the unmanaged dedicated server to provide all of the latest updates for their servers to ensure security.  With these updates the client will also have to perform routine reboots of the server to ensure that the updates finish installing and are loaded with the server.

In essence, a client will need to have the skills necessary to maintain the server from the bottom up or have a team which could perform these tasks for them.  The infrastructure and manner in which operations occur with the server is also the complete responsibility of the client.  The client may or may not have the added ability to choose where the server resides in the world.  Most of the dedicated server hosts make it possible to choose from server clusters located in various countries, states and otherwise selectable locations.  Some services will offer limited management such as providing hardware upgrades or handling replacements when there has been damage to the system.