What are dedicated servers used for?

Katie Collins -

If you’re working on an ambitious project, and you know you need a server, it can be tricky to match your needs to the right type of hosting. Let’s say your project needs more firepower than shared hosting can handle, and you’ve got some budget to spare, in this instance, a dedicated server could be the perfect fit.

As dedicated servers offer robust security, impressive speed and - you guessed it - your very own dedicated resources, they’re a solid choice for a variety of different use cases. Join us as we run through the core benefits and a handful of the most common uses for dedicated servers below.

Dedicated server advantages

First off, let’s take a quick look at the main perks you can expect when opting for a dedicated server:

  • Security - unlike shared hosting, dedicated hosting means there’s no risk of sharing a server with malicious sites.
  • Speed - with more resources at your disposal and unlimited bandwidth, you can maintain your page speed as traffic spikes.
  • Dedicated resources - you’ll have your own CPU, RAM and storage for optimal performance.
  • Flexibility - you can customise your server with the extra storage and specific software your project requires.
  • Full root access - have complete autonomy to make administrative-level changes, ideal for running custom applications.

Want to learn more? Take a look at this article for a more thorough breakdown of the key benefits of choosing a dedicated server for your project. What is a dedicated server?

Dedicated server uses

So with these benefits in mind, who are dedicated servers most suited to, and what are their main use cases?

Databases

Security is a top priority for database management, which makes dedicated server hosting an ideal choice. When you’re handling large volumes of sensitive data, the last thing you want is to share hosting with malicious neighbours. Here are a few of the things that make our Dedicated Servers especially suited to databases:

  • Our packages feature ECC RAM and RAID storage to help prevent data corruption, keeping confidential files protected.
  • For seriously big databases, we offer high-capacity Storage Servers, with HDDs up to 48TB and SSDs up to 38TB!
  • The NVMe SSDs we use allow for super fast read and write speeds - so you can access and alter your files in a flash.

Gaming servers

If you’re going to provide an engaging and immersive gaming experience, you need a fast, stable and reliable connection - with zero chance of latency or lag. Dedicated gaming servers are an ideal solution for hosting private multiplayer video games, offering both the power and scalability to enable smooth, responsive gameplay on even the most resource-intensive MPGs. Not to mention, with dedicated servers you’ll have full root access control, so you can optimise your server to meet the demands of the game.

Managing multiple sites

Dedicated servers are the perfect choice for users running multiple sites - as you can add the necessary resources to manage and operate several websites on a single server. This could be particularly useful for agencies, or anyone juggling more than one project, providing the plan you choose has the right resources to support this kind of activity.

Intensive ecommerce

Ecommerce sites are often subject to huge spikes in visitors, in line with seasonal sales, new releases and more. Dedicated hosting can offer you the power you need to handle a high number of transactions simultaneously, and run resource-intensive ecommerce software without a hitch. This in turn helps to maintain crucial performance metrics like page speed, and reduce cart abandonment.

High-traffic sites

It’s not just ecommerce that can benefit. Dedicated hosting is well suited to any high-traffic website, thanks to the private resources you’ll have access to. Your site will be well equipped to cope with hordes of visitors without compromising user experience, and with our 2nd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors you can expect speedy execution rates too.

Now you’ve got the low-down on the most common uses of dedicated servers, why not see if we’ve got a plan to suit your project? Whether you’re keen to host a video game or get your ecommerce site off the ground, our range of Dedicated Server Hosting covers all the bases.