I was just wondering about this... how powerful are the typical servers used by a shared host? Is it possible to get your own dedicated server (with less ram, etc, so it fits your budget) and then have it be slower than when your site was on a host's server full of 200 sites?
Full, dedicated servers start at around USD$90 per month. The only thing between a dedicated server and shared hosting is a VPS or virtual private server. It is on a computer with other users, but each is guaranteed a minimum amount of RAM and CPU time. Those start at around $15 per month and can range up to $100 per month, depending on the configuration.
Shared hosts typically use powerful servers as they are more efficient and cost effective than using many less powerful servers. However, most hosts oversell and dont allocate enough resources for your sites. If you have a site that is a resource hog, you should use your own server, as shared hosts usually focus on space and gb, while neglecting CPU and RAM usage.
Shared hosting servers would use more powerful dedicated servers, since they need to host 200+ web sites instead of just 1 or 2 sites. Typically, you would get more power if it was hosted on your own server with nobody else even if it is less powerful. Shared hosting -> VPS -> Semi Dedicated -> Dedicated server -> Grid of servers -> Your own datacenter
Well, it depends. I've seen those offering shared hosting using the standard lower end servers while others do use the higher end ones. Some do oversell while others would monitor their server load and usage. So it is hard to say. Of course, generally speaking if you host a few standard sites on a dedicated server of your own, it would generally outperform that if it is on a shared server. With your own server, you determine what goes on it while a shared hosting, you are generally just got to live with all your 'neighbors'. It is kindda like living in a dormitory (shared) as opposed to living in your own house (dedicated).
It depends really. You could have a cheap server that has 200 sites on and it still could have an alright performance. It really depends on how active the sites are that are on the server.
The ammount of sites is not really important when we are talking for server capabilities. I have a dedicated server which I use for my sites and my clients, and the 90% of the resources are used by one site Talking of shared vs dedicated hosting there is another important factor that haven't been mentioned : customization. For instance you can easily have custom php.ini or other configuration files for each of your sites, or use modules that other servers don't have (eg. custom compiled php libraries or mod_perl) Of course those are important mostly to developers.
Yes another thing is that as mentioned above you have more power to do what you want to do with a dedicated server. In other words, if you only want one site on the server then you can, if you want to put some software on it that is needed for your site then you most probably can. I have a dedicated server and I can practically do what I want with it apart from break it off course.
I doubt you will find many shared hosts that only host 200 sites to a server. The main problem with a dedicated server is that if you break it through the use of scripts, etc. then you must pay somebody to fix it unless you are technically capable of fixing it yourself. It can be expensive paying a tech, even a data center tech, to fix problems that are not server related problems. I would advise staying with a shared host for most people. gene
The biggest problem with being on a shared server is that you have no idea as to what resources the other sites are actually using. Shared hosting is typically on high-powered servers, and if you have a moderately succesful site (making say $200+ per month) then forget about trying to run it on a shared server - time to go dedicated. While on the Plus side, with shared hosting you don't need to know jack about running a server, just about your site. When you do go to a dedicated, you know exactly what is running on it and what resources the sites are using etc. Even if you only get a moderate dedicated for yourself, you can use 100% of the CPU if that is what your site needs to do. If you use a lot of CPU on a shared host you are very likely to get your site suspended, whereas this will never happen when on your own server. IMO, don't bother with a VPS. If your site is growning, and shared is not good enough, don't waste your time getting a VPS working only to outgrow it in a couple of months time. Get a dedicated box from a good provider that will allow hardware upgrades (such as adding RAM and an extra Hard disk).
I would also consider your Internet presence If you have a solid domain name and a well-developed web site, people wanting to seriously partnership with you may look at services such as whois.sc, in which further details about your domain, website and hosting service are displayed. Domains hosted on shared hosting services usually include a remark stating "there are other thousands of domains hosted on this server" Otherwise, information on your hosting or dedicated server accordingly.
I disagree here. If you really want to move and make a success online then the only way you can do it is by either having your own servers at your own datacenter or you will need dedicated servers. If you want to keep signing up to new shared web hosting providers just to host small sites then that is fine. But if you want to make a rather large site then dedicated is the way to go. I have a dedicated server and it's broke a few times and I have not paid anything. The reasons for this is because it is a managed dedicated server. So if you don't know nothing about dedicated servers or running a server then get a managed server instead.
I'm looking at managed servers. I'd be worried about security issues and such if I was the server admin