So you have already used shared hosting and you don’t need those “low end” or “starter” plans anymore. Well congratulations you’re no longer a newbie webmaster and your getting to be an intermediate webmaster. You have probably seen the words managed and unmanaged floating around the internet. It would be advantageous to know beforehand the difference between a managed and an unmanaged VPS or dedicated server.
In maintaining a site, especially with a large and complex website, you have to make sure that your site is always hacker free through constant updates of your security software, manage your database and at the same time monitor your storage spaces. And since there are lots of site being hosted, managing a site is important to make a site competitive, ensuring a constant amount of traffic directed to it.
But keeping a server running in top condition can be a time consuming task. Also, take note that an adequate amount of knowledge is needed in maintaining a site. And because of such responsibilities, there are users, who either lacks one or both, that look for someone trusted to manage their site. Who else can manage the site and make sure the person or entity is trusted, other than the web hosting company. Thus managed servers were born. But, which of the two would you need most?
- New to running a VPS or dedicated server.
- Don’t want to managed your server resources.
- Don’t know how to install software updates.
- Don’t have to manually install SSL Certificates.
- Don’t want to migrate your data.
- Don’t want to backup your files daily, weekly, and monthly.
- Don’t want to manage mySQL databases or SQL databases.
- Don’t have the extra time.
Although you might not have the ample time to manage a site, but with appropriate knowledge you can easily segregate a small amount of time in managing your site. Or you can have a lot of time, yet you are having difficulties in acquiring or learning the skills needed in managing a site, like constant updates on your security features. Then it would be better for someone with a better technical know-how to manage your site. Look at it this way, you could be spending a little more on managed hosting solution, but if all hell breaks lose you could be losing $50-120/per hour getting technical support.
Some companies that offer managed servers are InMotionhosting.com, A2Hosting.com, and MDDhosting.com.
- Save extra money (monthly).
- Want to learn to managed a server on your own.
- What full control. Root access to your SSH.
- Much more customization.
But with managed server, expect that the cost would be more expensive than that of unmanaged server, since the hosting company will provide you additional service necessary to maintain your account or site. And it is true that unmanaged server is definitely cheaper, but bear in mind that you need to invest time to maintain your server on your own and possess the technical knowledge to carry out the task needed for your site to survive. Since with just a simple DDOS attack, and without time or knowledge, your site is doomed.
Although there are other options like hiring staff to manage your site, which is cheaper than the hosting company managing it, but make sure you trust the person and do a constant monitoring to ensure your site is safe and sound. Some companies that offer unmanaged solutions are A2Hosting.com, Lunarpages.com, and Dreamhost.com.
Overall, you have to weigh your options on whether going for a managed or unmanaged server. Here are the factors you have to consider:
- The complexity of your site – determine whether your site has a large amount of pages that needs constant updates. Unmanaged server is advantageous for a simple site like a blog site, whereas managed server is good for a company website.
- Time – determine whether you can allocate your time to maintain a site.
- Technical skills and knowledge – you need to consider if you or your staff possess the adequate knowledge in maintaining a site to be on its peak condition.
Such factors will help you see the difference between managed and unmanaged servers. Do you have any questions or concerns that are not answered in this article. Please leave your comments down below.
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