Managed Hosting

Managed hosting is defined as a dedicated server that is supported by a suite of monitoring and maintenance services. The level of service is higher that ordinary dedicated Web hosting, where you are provided with your own server but still have to handle almost all administrative and maintenance tasks.

Managed hosting is meant for websites that are designed to host high traffic web sites like e-commerce sites as well as other database driven web sites. Outsourcing the hosting is the perfect solution for organizations that don't want to spend their own recourses in server administration.

 

Managed Hosting

Administration Services

Dedicated Server

A managed server comes with all the usual features of a dedicated server, in addition the administrative tasks are taken care of for you. In most managed hosting companies you get your own dedicated service contact who will handle your server along with a few others.

Managed hosting includes a number of services like application and database management, high-availability services and load balancing. The hosting companies operate under strict quality control systems and will make sure your server is up and running and the data safe. They handle things like testing and management of networking and server hardware, system maintenance, security patches, and software installation. They also maintain the hardware itself to ensure maximum uptime and performance.

In comparison, the unmanaged hosting services give you as the customer a complete freedom and and remote access to all server administration. The problem is that this requires a lot of time and knowledge. You are then held responsible for software instillation and other management tasks.

If a problem occurs with your managed server, the support technicians will take care of it. This makes it much easier for you if you don't want to hire a tech or don't have the time or knowledge yourself.

Most managed hosting companies take care of installing and maintaining server-based applications for you. Things like databases, security systems, scripting languages, email servers, shopping carts etc.

They will also monitor your web site's traffic and storage usage for you. A traffic spike or a gradual increase in number of visitors or users will alert them to adjust your bandwidth and storage to support the additional resources required.

Working with a managed hosting provider means you have to work closely with them. It is therefore vital that you make sure they can meet your needs and that you have complete trust in the company. Talk to them about how they make sure nobody can get to your data and of course discuss the amount of traffic and resources you need and make sure they can offer you a server to meet those requirements. Also check out how they plan to handle future growth.

It is easy for you to do simple internet research and best if you can talk directly with customers you know hear what kind of feedback you get on the hosting company.

Your managed hosting company should provide you with:

• Dedicated server - that you can be certain is not used by anybody else.
• Operating system support - for installing patches and updates.
• Dedicated account manager - that you can contact with any requirements or problems.
• Enough bandwidth - to handle spikes in traffic.
• Knowledgeable technicians - that can handle difficult situations with confidence.
• Fast response time - for handling problems.
• Certified quality control system - to secure the smooth running of all systems.
• Efficient and reliable servers - with guaranteed uptime.
• Solid backup plan - to keep your data safe.

Dedicated server

Dedicated server is a type of Internet hosting where you lease an entire server that is not shared with anyone. This is more flexible than shared hosting, as organizations have full control over the server, including choice of operating system, hardware, etc. Server administration can usually be provided by the hosting company as an add-on service. In some cases a dedicated server can offer less overhead and a larger return on investment. Dedicated servers are most often housed in data centers, similar to co-location facilities, providing redundant power sources and HVAC systems. In contrast to co-location, the server hardware is owned by the provider and in some cases they will provide support for your operating system or applications.

 

Operating system support

Availability, price and employee familiarity often determines which operating systems are offered on dedicated servers. Variations of Linux (open-source operating systems), are often included at no charge to the customer. However, Microsoft requires additional license fees on all their products, thus increasing the monthly cost of a dedicated server running a Windows operating system. Commercial operating systems include Microsoft Windows Server, provided through a special program called Microsoft SPLA. Red Hat Enterprise is a commercial version of Linux offered to hosting providers on a monthly fee basis. The monthly fee provides OS updates through the Red Hat Network using an application called up2date.

Support for any of the operating systems above typically depends on the level of management offered with a particular dedicated server plan. Operating system support may include updates to the core system in order to acquire the latest security fixes, patches, and system-wide vulnerability resolutions. Updates to core operating systems include kernel upgrades, service packs, application updates, and security patches that keep server secure and safe. Operating system updates and support relieves the burden of server management from the dedicated server owner.

Bandwidth & Connectivity

Bandwidth refers to the data transfer rate or the amount of data that can be carried from one point to another in a given time period (usually a second) and is often represented in bits (of data) per second (bps). For example, visitors to your server, web site, or applications utilize bandwidth as the traffic moves from your server to the Internet and vice versa. Connectivity refers to the “access providers” that supply bandwidth, or data transfer rate, through various connection points across a network or footprint to one or multiple data centers where dedicated servers are housed.
 

Administration Services

To date, no industry standards have been set to clearly define the management role of managed server providers. What this means is that each provider will use industry standard terms, but each provider will define them differently. For some managed server providers, fully managed is defined as having a web based control panel while other providers define it as having dedicated system engineers readily available to handle all server and network related functions of the dedicated server provider.

Server management can include some or all of the following:

• Operating System Updates
• Application Updates
• Hardware Monitoring
• Software Monitoring
• Technical Support
• Firewall Services
• Anti-Virus Updates
• Security Audits
• Backups and Restoration
• Disaster Recovery
• DNS Hosting
• Load Balancing
• Database Administration
• Performance Tuning
• Software Installation, Configuration
• Intrusion Detection
• User Management
• Programming Consultation

Conclusion on managed hosting

Choose managed hosting if you have a complex system with many users and little in-house knowledge how to run it. Choose managed hosting if you want to outsource the responsibility of running a secure system and spend your time doing something more valuable. The costs are usually high but can be lower than hiring a full time technician and buying your own server and software. For mid size to large companies outsourcing these services can be quite cost effective.