Ok... basically I'm still a novice at this whole web thing... but it seems clear to me that it's better to go with a dedicated hosting plan, rather than a shared hosting plan... But can someone explain to me the difference.

Also, will I be able to get a dedicated hosting package which works the same as my shared one, ie easy to use with cPanel etc...?

Sorry for the newbie questions, but better safe than sorry!

There's the likes of HiVelocity.Net who sell dedicated servers complete with the control panel pre-installed before they hand the server over to you. You basically buy the server, spec it up, and tell them which control panel you want. They'll setup your subscription payment, and then go down to their datacenter and set it up for you. Once it all works, they'll give you the details, and the control panel administrative login. You do the rest. Plus, they have a nice selection of panels too. CPanel, Helm, DirectAdmin, and more (only because I can't remember their names!)

Generally, if you're used to a shared hosting package, you'll be used to user-level only access to the panel. If you own a dedicated, you'll get administrative-level access. You'll obviously have a lot more options and settings, and a higher chance of screwing something up if you don't really know what you're doing. It can be costly if you royally screw up your servers. Most providers charge for server re-installs (if you broke it that bad), give you x number of remote-reboots free (usually 3 or 4), and x number of minutes remote hands-and-eyes (technician's time in front of the console in the DC at your server).

But hands down though, going from shared to dedicated, for me, was the best thing I ever did. That, and you learn so much about the workings of unix/linux and stuff.

If this is still about the image hosting thing, I expect that you'd be best of with VPS rather than a Dedicates server. Dedicated CAN be very expensive and will probably be overkill for the image hosting thing, if this is what it is about (sorry if it isn't). I say go for a VPS from a reputable company and see where to go from there. Most VPS plans will give you at least 100GB bandwidth and 10GB storage and at a fraction of the cost of a dedicated server. (See here for tips on choosing a host)

Originally Posted by Spud In Disguise

Ok... basically I'm still a novice at this whole web thing... but it seems clear to me that it's better to go with a dedicated hosting plan, rather than a shared hosting plan... But can someone explain to me the difference.

Can you clarify what you actually mean by better:"more stable", "gives more control over the server performance and ability to install applications you need", "you don't depend on sluggish support team any more..." and much more than that. But, if your site is OK on a shared plan, why on earth might you need dedicated? It's only your site performance that could give you the answer to your question.

Also, will I be able to get a dedicated hosting package which works the same as my shared one, ie easy to use with cPanel etc...?

Sorry for the newbie questions, but better safe than sorry!

Yes, there are lots of managed (I presume? ) dedicated planss where you can choose the control panel to install on your server.
http://www.valuhost.com/dedicated_servers.htm
http://www.a2hosting.com/managed_dedicated_hosting.php
http://www.ahosting.biz/promotion/dedicated/
http://www.247-host.com/server.htm

Usually cpanel license will cost you around $30mo.

hmm ok... yes it kinda is about the image thing... however, if it's good enough I'll just move the whole site to the one plan.

Before we go on could someone explain VPS to me...? I'm not familiar with that term I'm afraid...

Originally Posted by Spud In Disguise

hmm ok... yes it kinda is about the image thing... however, if it's good enough I'll just move the whole site to the one plan.

Before we go on could someone explain VPS to me...? I'm not familiar with that term I'm afraid...

VPS stands for Virtual Private Server. It is almost a 'mini-server' as a main server has been partitioned into multiple parts. A VPS offers you more control over your own account (administrative options such as server reboot and installing software) and is in general far more reliable than a shared hosting account. VPS also (usually) get their own IP address so emails from them are less prone to get thrown into people's trash cans based on their originating IP - on a shared plan, a spammer may be using the same IP or IP range as your site, so emails from your site will get tossed into the trash can by default

A vps is definitely the way to go if you are not sure about a dedicated server. Great way to step up to the "big boy" at a much lower cost. Figure out what your needs are and see if a vps can handle it.

You should be able to find plenty of providers that will provide you with full support including updates for software and security.

Just use the control panel as you normally would. Areas you are not sure of, take the time to learn what the function is and what it is for. Just do not start changing settings to see "what it does". If you are sure, cannot find documentation, ask your support.

Originally Posted by timbre

Can you clarify what you actually mean by better:"more stable", "gives more control over the server performance and ability to install applications you need", "you don't depend on sluggish support team any more..." and much more than that. But, if your site is OK on a shared plan, why on earth might you need dedicated? It's only your site performance that could give you the answer to your question.


Yes, there are lots of managed (I presume? ) dedicated planss where you can choose the control panel to install on your server.
http://www.valuhost.com/dedicated_servers.htm
http://www.a2hosting.com/managed_dedicated_hosting.php
http://www.ahosting.biz/promotion/dedicated/
http://www.247-host.com/server.htm

Usually cpanel license will cost you around $30mo.

All these comapnies (valuhost.cm, a2hosting.com, ahosting.biz and 247-host.com) look O'k.
Do they all provide only Linux web hosting?

Originally Posted by annylurk

All these comapnies (valuhost.cm, a2hosting.com, ahosting.biz and 247-host.com) look O'k.
Do they all provide only Linux web hosting?

247-host.com is NOT A GOOD HOST:

http://www.webmaster-talk.com/web-ho...ler-plans.html

Whichever you choose, make sure you do plenty of research. VPS is probably the best option rather than dedicated server anyway

hmm I see. Ok, so the two final questions, which would be best linux or windows hosting? Remembering that so far I've only dealt with windows hosting...

And secondly, who would you recommend? Preferably a UK based company as that's where I'm from.

Thanks for all your help, you've all been really helpful and I greatly appreciate it

Originally Posted by Spud In Disguise

hmm I see. Ok, so the two final questions, which would be best linux or windows hosting? Remembering that so far I've only dealt with windows hosting...

If you're used to windows hosting, then maybe you should stay with it. I'm using Linux reseller hosting at the moment and happy with it, but it doesn't really make that much difference - whichever you're most experienced with.

Originally Posted by Spud In Disguise

And secondly, who would you recommend? Preferably a UK based company as that's where I'm from.

I recommend eUKHost as their support have been very good and I've had good uptime. Servint is based in the USA I think but my friend strongly recommends them and I tested it out with him for a while as he set up.

Originally Posted by Spud In Disguise

Thanks for all your help, you've all been really helpful and I greatly appreciate it

No problem

Whym, thanks for the tip. Just a few final question (I mean it this time!!).

What does it mean by "Guaranteed RAM" and "Burstable RAM"? I know what RAM is, but in this context specifically...?

Also, will it be possible for me to simply start using my webspace. By that I don;t mean waiting for a set up time (as I know I will get this) but I mean will I need to manually set everything up to work?

When moving up to a virtual private or dedicated server you really should be very careful with the plan you select. If you are not a confident server administrator I would always recommend getting a managed package or find a company willing to setup the server for you, and help you fix things when stuff hits the fan.

If you are confident in server administration a self-managed package can be a good way to cut cost.

Some will say that your server should always be in the country you wish to market to for best serps.

One ram is your continuos amount you are provide. When your server is underload, the burtsable will give a short extra burst of ram to get you through the drain.

The cpanel on a vps will be similar as on a shared. But it will have a lot more features and options. Just do not make any changes you do not fully understand. Ask support, read the manuel.

I would use Linux. Seems like a lot more applications run without problems than for Windows. But that is just my observations.

Your vps or server should be completely setup when you recieve it. How long that takes would depend on the company and how busy it is at the moment.

Best would be to get the new server/vps and keep the old account and give yourself a little time to get to know it.

Also, many host will make the site(s) migration for you if the control panels are the same.

Originally Posted by Spud In Disguise

Ok... basically I'm still a novice at this whole web thing... but it seems clear to me that it's better to go with a dedicated hosting plan, rather than a shared hosting plan... But can someone explain to me the difference.

Also, will I be able to get a dedicated hosting package which works the same as my shared one, ie easy to use with cPanel etc...?

Sorry for the newbie questions, but better safe than sorry!

There's no such word as "better to go", if shared is enough for your web site needs, go with it, and spare yourself all that hassle with server management, as you say you are still a newbie. as weel as costs.

As for the panel questions, a good host usually has a number of panels on dedicated plans for you to choose from.

It's always easy to transfer your site within one company, but it's not a big deal to move from one company to another.

I second ahosting.biz plans, they have some affordable dedi plans.

ahosting.biz plans, they have some affordable dedi plans

Agree with you. Seems Ahosting.biz provide wide choise of dedicated servers and they are great so far with their support and quality. I have dedi for my scripts there.

Given that you're still new to this, I'd probably expect that shared hosting is what you should be looking at; a sports car is "better" than a bicycle - but not if you only need to travel around the corner, and only have £100 to spend...

The obvious difference is cost; shared hosting typically costs around say £5/month, but a dedicated server will cost you more like £200/month. Since VPS's have come into it... a 'typical' VPS may cost you around £15/month.

The differences in price are related to what you get:
Shared

• You get a control panel to configure hosting/email etc. for your domain name, perhaps with the ability to host multiple domain names too.
• Many other customers also access the same server / control panel (only with access to their domains - not yours too!), and everyone will share the hardware and software resources of the server; you all use the same processor, ram etc. but also the same database server software (e.g. MySQL) and the same web server (e.g. Apache) etc. This can cause problems from time to time if someone else has a very busy website, badly written website code, or someone attacks their website; your website can be affected by these problems too.
• Shared hosting gives everyone access to a big pool of hardware and software resources that every customer can access - potentially up to 100% utilisation for a single customer. Obviously this can cause a problem for other customers, and a good provider carefully monitors for this scenario to take appropriate action - therefore ensuring all customers get a good level of service.
• You have absolutely zero responsibilites with respect to the upkeep of the server - all security, upgrades, software updates/patches etc. are handled by the service provider (host), and you can just use it... and ask for their support when things don't work right!
• You (usually) have no say in what versions of software are running on your server. This may be a problem if you need a newer (or older) version of something to use your script. E.g. you may require PHP 5 but they're only providing you with PHP 4, or it might be the other way around. However, in most cases providers will have some flexibility on this - perhaps they can move you to another server with the versions you need etc., but it's a consideration...
• Typical space: 1GB
• Typical data transfer: 10GB / month

VPS

• A number of customers share the same physical hardware ("node"), but each VPS runs its own software - i.e. software is not shared between customers. You have your own instances of server software such as Apache, MySQL, PHP, Qmail, Bind etc.
• You have guaranteed hardware resources for your own personal use, so as a minimum you know that you will be able to access x amount of RAM etc. This prevents the resource starvation issue which can affect shared hosting - i.e. where a single shared hosting customer takes all of the resources, so others have none.
• You may have exactly the same (or similar) control panel as your shared hosting service, although you'd usually have a lot more flexibility about how this is branded/skinned etc. and would have full access to it (i.e. administrator login).
• You may also have an additional VPS control panel which enables you to stop/start your VPS (e.g. reboot), install various software packages/updates, monitor resource utilisation on your VPS etc.
• Typical space: 10GB
• Typical data transfer: 150GB / month

Managed VPS

• What's included in your "management" will vary depending on the provider - check with them... this is only an example!
• You will usually have a choice of control panel software, either included or available for a small additional fee. This allows you to use the control panel software you prefer, but (IMO) that shouldn't be a deciding factor since most control panel software offers very similar features, and just as with shared hosting you can find providers offering almost any control panel you want!
• Management should include everything that you need to operate your VPS effectively; anything software included/offered by your provider should be maintained, including support for bugs/troubleshooting, and server admin work for upgrades/patching etc.
• You may or may not have SSH access with a managed VPS - this will depend on the provider. In most cases you shouldn't have a need for it since the provider should do everything for you requiring SSH!

Unmanaged VPS

• Usually the provider would only be responsible for hardware/network problems; anything else you would need to login to the VPS (e.g. via SSH) to fix.

Dedicated Server

• These are available as managed/unmanaged just like VPS's and are essentially the same to use in all (most) aspects.
• The main difference between VPS/dedicated is how things are divided between customers, in that a dedicated server is a whole physical server for your own use - no other customers come anywhere close either in terms of hardware or software... the only thing shared is the network, which of course everyone shares anyway as that's kinda how the Internet works
• Typical space: 500GB
• Typical data transfer: 2000GB / month

Finally, I wanted to add a little bit about hosting in UK / US etc.

In terms of search engines, localised results use two factors:
1. IP address location (determined according to physical address of IP owner);
2. Domain name extension

IP address location might not be the same as the physical location of the server, since a provider may register all IPs under their head office address - making this inaccurate.

Therefore, the best way to get into the localised results for the market that you want is to use the appropriate domain name. A ccTLD (e.g. co.uk .fr. .ie .us) strongly implies localised content - and therefore if you want to target the UK, use a .uk domain name! Since this is the most accurate way for search engines to try to determine localisation, it's the one I'd be most inclined to rely on...

Another possible way (although I haven't seen any examples of this) that search engines could use would be to look at the WHOIS of the domain name itself - and use the country of the domain registrant.

So that leaves the consideration of speed... well contrary to what some will tell you, there's actually very little difference (potentially) in general browsing speeds for UK and US hosting. Please compare our UK and US websites for an example of that (IMO).

The main difference will be latency, which is only a consideration for latency sensitive applications like online gaming, VoIP, (live) streaming etc. If your website doesn't include any of these (of you'll use a difference service for them) then you shouldn't have a need to concern yourself with a 70ms difference.

However, it's also important to notice that not all US hosting is the same (well.. obviously, but I'll explain!). What I mean is that if you have a server on the west coast of the US, traffic has to travel further than on the east coast. Since the US is pretty big (compared to what we're used to in the UK especially) this can make far more difference than you might think. Even so, the most important factor remains network quality...

As with anything, if it's cheap - it's bound to be low quality in at least some aspects to be able to undercut competitors by so much. If you want trouble-free hosting then you need to be prepared to pay a fair price for it. So shop around, but not necessarily for the cheapest you can find.

Also (on a related point) note that shared hosting providers in particular have a tendancy to oversell a lot more than they should - i.e. they sell you 100GB data transfer for a $10/mo plan, in which case they're only really able to provide you more like 5GB transfer... otherwise they're losing money on your account.

Depends on what you think you need. In most cases a VPS is enough..

yes, VPS is good for starting out. VPS are for people who need more space and bandwith with the security of a good server to work for them for their personal site, or wanting to resell hosting. After a VPS you would then move onto a Dedicated Server.