Dedicated servers and cloud hosting are key elements in the complex infrastructures of modern businesses. While both are capable of carrying out similar workloads, the choice of which one to use often comes down to factors like price, scalability, security, software requirements and performance. Nor is it a choice of either or – businesses frequently make use of both solutions, using the most suitable depending on their particular needs. With this in mind, we take a closer look at both dedicated servers and cloud hosting so that you can make more informed decisions.
Scalability
With businesses increasingly relying on digital services, the demand for storing and processing data has rapidly increased. What’s more, as companies make greater use of AI, this demand is set to increase exponentially. When it comes to choosing between dedicated servers or the cloud for these kinds of workloads, scalability becomes an important factor.
With dedicated servers, there are two options when it comes to scaling: horizontal and vertical. Horizontal scaling, where additional servers are used to handle increased loads, is the quicker and less disruptive option; however, it is inherently costly in that new hardware needs to be acquired. Vertical scaling, where a server’s components are upgraded to give it more resources, can be less expensive, however, it takes longer and requires the server to be taken offline while the physical components are upgraded. In terms of cost, speed and potential downtime, therefore, scaling dedicated servers does have its drawbacks.
Companies that need to scale up rapidly and frequently to cope with demand often prefer to use the cloud for these kinds of workloads. With the redundant resources of their provider’s huge data centres at hand, scaling up can be done instantly at the click of a button. Indeed, tools are now available that will monitor demand and automate scaling based on need. The result is that businesses will always have the resources they require whenever they need them.
While these pay-as-you-go resources are charged for, the other advantage of a cloud solution is that customers can avoid wastage and reduce costs by scaling down during less busy periods. This too, can be done at the click of a button or autonomously. In this sense, the cloud offers a more cost-effective way to manage resources as you only pay for what you use, whereas with horizontal or vertical scaling, expensive resources may be purchased but seldom used.
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Performance
Both dedicated servers and cloud servers offer incredible performance that is suitable for most business needs. As the market for these solutions has evolved, service providers now offer customers a range of server options for both cloud and dedicated servers. At Webhosting UK, for example, both solutions feature the latest Intel Xeon processors, SSD storage and DDR4 RAM with options for storage and RAM capacity and the number of cores.
The key difference between cloud and dedicated servers is the level of customisation that can be achieved when creating servers for specific needs. Customisable cloud servers are a relatively new product and while they enable customers to build extremely large and powerful virtual servers (e.g. up to 16 cores, 128GB RAM and 2Tb storage), they are still not at the level available with dedicated servers. Offering more cores and threads, faster processing speeds, greater RAM and storage and the latest, superfast NVMe drives, companies can create the dedicated server specifications they need to handle the most demanding workloads while ensuring consistent performance.
Reliability
The quality of components used in modern hardware means dedicated servers and cloud servers are both highly reliable. In reality, virtual cloud servers are housed on physical machines anyway. The key difference is that virtual servers can be moved instantly from one physical machine to another. This means that if there is a hardware failure, a cloud server can continue to run on another machine without interruption to service. As a result, the cloud can offer 100% uptime guarantees, making it ideal for critical applications. If there is a hardware failure with a dedicated server, it will need to be taken offline for repair, resulting in downtime. This, however, can be minimal if there is a backup server that can take over at short notice.
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Costs
When looking at costs, besides considering the basic price differences between dedicated servers and the cloud, it is important to look at some of the choices available within each of these solutions. For dedicated servers, the big choice is whether to rent a server that’s hosted in your web host’s data centre or buy and operate a server on-site. As extremely powerful machines, the costs are not cheap when compared to other forms of hosting, however, there are significant differences between provider-hosted and self-hosted costs. With a provider-hosted solution, there are no upfront costs, but there is an ongoing monthly bill. This, however, is usually fully inclusive and includes server rent, maintenance and all the costs of running the infrastructure.
With a self-hosted solution, there will be a significant upfront cost, including the cost of the server and software, setting up costs and cooling equipment. And while there is no monthly rent to pay, owners will need to cover the costs of power use, maintenance, server admin and insurance. Furthermore, there may be a need to regularly upgrade hardware to keep up with technological advances. Companies with multiple dedicated servers also need to factor in the costs of housing their own data centre.
An additional and often unconsidered cost of self-hosted servers is a backup server. Web hosts have the additional infrastructure to replicate customers’ servers to ensure continuity in the event of a disaster, to do this on-site would mean purchasing an additional server, effectively doubling the cost. With such high on-site costs, most businesses today opt to lease dedicated servers rather than self-host.
The cloud also offers companies a way to acquire infrastructure without upfront costs. Like a hosted dedicated server, it too is paid for by a monthly fee for the chosen package, though in addition, there may be pay-as-you-go costs for any resources used through scaling up or data transfer. Again, the monthly fee includes standard operating costs (maintenance, power, etc.) as well as the cost of upgrading the hardware. While the monthly fees for cloud hosting tend to be less expensive than renting a dedicated server, the costs of data transfer and scaling, etc, can, in some cases, make it more expensive than a dedicated server. Similarly, different types of cloud solutions, such as private clouds, SaaS and PaaS, can affect the overall cost.
Security and compliance
Security and compliance are vital considerations for businesses given today’s threat landscape and strict data privacy regulations. Service providers have to comply with stringent regulations themselves and this means that robust security is in place for both cloud and dedicated server solutions. This usually includes physical security at data centres, encryption and the deployment of advanced security tools, like firewalls and intrusion and malware prevention.
For organisations that store, handle and process sensitive information, the multi-tenancy nature of cloud hosting has caused concerns over compliance. While a dedicated server offers a single-tenancy solution for this, so too does a private cloud. Moreover, both of these options can be built into hybrid cloud infrastructures, thus giving customers a wider choice of options.
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App options
Generally speaking, both dedicated and cloud servers enable businesses to run the software they like, and most applications can easily be migrated from one solution to the other. Possible exceptions to this are legacy applications that were not developed for and thus may not work in cloud environments. An additional consideration is that many of today’s apps are cloud-native and are designed to work in the cloud. Many of these are also open source, which can help keep licencing costs to a minimum.
Conclusion
Dedicated servers and cloud hosting are both reliable, secure, high-performance solutions. In terms of making a choice, either is capable of handling most of the tasks that businesses require, however, cloud servers have the edge in terms of reliability, scalability and cost-effectiveness, while dedicated servers offer better performance and enhanced single-tenancy security.
Considering a dedicated server or cloud hosting? Visit our Dedicated Server and Cloud Hosting pages for more information. Alternatively, get in touch with our sales team via live chat or phone (0800 862 0890) for expert advice on the best options for your needs.
