At what point would you need a dedicated server instead of shared hosting? (in terms of monthly visitors?)
It doesn't always depend on monthly visitors. The way your script (if any) works has a lot to do with deciding if a dedicated server is the best choice for you. Of course many things factor in as well, so try to optimize your site(s) as much possible before making the switch. Once you see that a dedicated is a must then you make the switch.
It really comes down the resource management and preference anymore. I personally like running DEDI for all my sites. I like high performance boxes, with RAID I array, plus back ups. This makes sure my business and boxes are double protected. I also set up my network using different C Class IP and A-B-C link strategies to Google/SERPS/SEO. Again, I prefer DEDI for this. There are some other quirks with scripts I use that I prefer a DEDI environment for, but one of the absolute biggest and number on reason for me is storage. I run a lot of video heavy, and higher end performance sites. So disk space, and RAM is really in demand. Some still like going other options, and that's fine. I prefer DEDI. As for "when" to go that route, really comes down to what you are wanting to do, and how you prefer to manage your resources. /2ct
A large amount of traffic to any particular site could seriously slow down the web server's response on a shared hosting server. This can become a serious headache for your web host if you're on a shared server. If you are and if this happens, your web host will most likely notify you that such a problem exists or even temporarily suspend your site and ask you to consider moving to a VPS or dedicated server. Another thing to go by is your site's stats and bandwidth consumption. If you find yourself having to upgrade the alloted bandwidth for your site on a regular basis because it keeps going over quota, then you're probably beginning to outgrow your shared server's resources already and should consider moving to a dedicated option.
To be frank, if your hosting files exceeds 50000 files in total or the total bandwidth goes upto 50 gb per month, hosting provider will stop /suspend your account if you are in a shared hosting environment, Once you reach a traffic of about 7000- 10000 visitors per day you can move to VPS hosting, thats better choice and importantly you should know the bandwidth if you have a video sharing website, this guideline will be totally wrong.
when you thick your tied of shared hosting slowdowns, reboots, outages, and account suspensions for over usage or cpu/mysql/memory if you have a really simple site (no database - static or flat file driven), it can withstand lots of traffic before hosting company will start to complain
Good Advise...well done mate I'm sure taking it in consideration if I have like 10 thousand visitor to my website everyday...
It's when you need full customization of a dedicated server, however as cloud computing enhances every other week soon enough we will be able to save money going to cloud hosting rather and the aspect of manual dedicated servers will begin to phase out within the next 5-10 years. I decided to move to a dedicated server when I was earning enough money to have one, and because I'm extremely knowledged on all aspects of dedicated servers it's such a massive benefit for me, however for the less fortunate of the experience and knowledge you will probably be better to stick to cloud hosting or virtual private server instances. The best way I can point to you, is it's not visitors but it's more like this: website resources used x visits Remember, all other options are shared (VPS with up to 10 customers, Shared with up to 3,000 customers) so when using them, you're even more limited. And, also, when you're on dedicated you get the maximum speed possible by your server so it makes life a bit more better to enjoy for the odd nerd (like me!).
Server resources such as the number of active processes your account runs at any given time, MySQL usage and server load are an important factor when it comes to determining whether or not you need to switch to a dedicated server. Even if you don't have too much traffic coming to your website(s), if your account frequently causes the server to overload, your host won't mind suspending your account temporarily or even permanently if they see fit. If you're unsure of how much server resources your website uses, you can easily ask your webhost to let you know if it's causing any problems or you could just wait for them to notify you if any such issue arises.
I'm sure your shared host will let you know when you're using enough resources to warrant a dedicated server Aside from that, going for a dedicated (or VPS) gives you greater control over your server.
One of my accounts on a shared server was recently suspended because it was hogging more traffic than its fair share. Don't let that happen to you. If you suspect you might get a boost in traffic, you might want to plan ahead with a plan with more bandwidth or with a dedicated server.
@hiero: it depends on site load to be fair...I suggest most medium IT biz have their own dedicated box
when your site has grown huge , when ur ram usage , is more , when ur server loading time takes much time , or when u need security and want to use more resources