If you've come up to a conclusion that a dedicated server is the best choice for your website. Then you can set it up however you want and you aren't sharing it with anyone else - the next question you need to answer is whether you're going to rent it or buy it.

It is worth mentioning in this regard that dedicated hosting means you're renting a server from a web hosting company. On the other hand, your other choice is to buy your own server and pay the host to house it on their premises and connect it to the Internet. This is what is called as colocated hosting.

If experts are to be believed, Colocated hosting offers all the same advantages as dedicated hosting - you have ultimate control over your server. In addition, the extra advantage you get with colocated hosting is a lower monthly cost. It is worth pointing that because you've bought the server, you aren't paying to rent the equipment, you're only paying the host to physically house your server.

The fact remains that your initial investment will obviously be higher but if you buy a quality server, the costs will be lower when averaged over a long period of time.

How Much Does Colocation Cost

It is worth pointing that the cost will depend on how much space your server takes up. In theory, data centers normally house the servers in racks, which are then housed in cabinets.

On the other hand, a cabinet is normally 40 rack units high - each rack unit being 1.75'. Moreover, rack mounted servers are measured in rack units - 1U being 1.75'. The most general sizes for servers are 1U, 2U and 4U, so your costs will depend on how many units your server uses.

The other factor, which has a significant saying in how much colocated hosting will cost, is the bandwidth you use. As your server is connected to the internet via the data center's connection, your cost will depend on how much of data is being transferred, and how much of their connection is afforded to your server.

Colocation vs. Dedicated Hosting

With colocation, it is worth pointing that you're in charge of the hardware which in turn means you're responsible for maintaining it in case of problems. Thats why, if a hard drive crashes or a CPU malfunctions, you will need to arrange for it to be replaced. On the other hand, with dedicated hosting, the web hosting company is responsible for these things so they'll take care of any problems that arise.

Furthermore, with colocated servers you're also responsible for any software licensing costs, such as the operating system and any server-based software you need. On the other hand, dedicated hosts usually include the necessary software for you to run your server.

But in the end, you need to decide whether the additional cost of dedicated hosting is worth the time and up-front investment saved compared to colocated hosting. According to experts, if you have the resources to maintain a colocated server, and your resource requirements are high, colocation may be your best choice.

There are innumerable number of web hosting services available online, and some of them are more reliable than others. According to experts, when you are looking at the number of options available, it is easy to become overwhelmed. Thats why it is of utmost significance to look at potential problems with hosting companies prior to using them. This can save you a lot of time, money, and headaches.

As a matter of fact you should avoid hosting services which have servers which are constantly down. It is worth mentioning in this regard that a good hosting company should be able to monitor its servers and quickly fix problems. On the other hand, some hosting services may be down as long as a few days, and these are companies you will want to avoid. In theory, it is also pivotal to make sure all the features offered by the company work. In case if your email is down, this prevents you from being able to run your business. These are the things which you can't afford, and you will want to make sure you stay away from companies which do this.

If experts are to be believed, another thing which is quite mandatory for you to look at is tech support. It is worth finding how long does it take the tech department to answer your phone calls or emails As a matter of fact a good company should answer within a few hours. On the other hand, some hosting companies take many days to answer your questions, and the answers they give you may not solve the problem. Fact remains that hosting companies like this should be avoided. You should also opt for hosting services, which communicate well with their customers. It is worth pointing that a lack of communication is one of the leading causes of business failure. As a matter of fact you don't want to do business with companies that don't effectively communicate.

Thats why when you cancel your account, the hosting company will continue billing you. Fact remains that this is a very frustrating situation, and you may have to file claims with your bank in order to get your money back. Majority of hosting companies takes out automatic payments, and you will want to do research to make sure they stop billing customers once the service is cancelled. It is worth noting that when you look online at hosting companies, always look at the price. If it is too good to be true, it probably is. The prices charged should be enough to pay for their service maintenance and other fees.

Always remember that any hosting services, which advertise unlimited bandwidth, should make you suspicious. As a matter of fact if you use a lot of bandwidth, you may have your website taken down. Hosting websites, which dont look professional, should also raise red flags. On the other hand, websites with lots of spelling errors or no information about the company are unlikely to provide quality service.