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It’s safe to say most people wonder what a dedicated server actually is. In all honesty, a dedicated server isn’t that complicated a product. In simple terms, a dedicated server is a normal computer that’s hosted in a secure datacentre with a fast internet connection. The large majority of server hosting providers are experts in this. Having the right setup and environment is essential for dedicated server web. Now lets look at what a dedicated server really is. And now, the various descriptions that make a dedicated server.

A dedicated server is a computer

The main difference is the computer sits in a normal case, which sits snugly on a desk. Dedicated servers utilised special cases. Approximately 3″, 1U is a special measurement used in datacentre environments. These specialised cases are made to fit in datacentre racks. Racks, specially made for datacentre ennvironments ensure the best air flow and network cable arrangement. Probably the best known server manufacturer would be Dell. Who as you will know also provide laptops and home PC’s. So the main difference between a dedicated server and a home computer, is the case the components are housed in. While dedicated servers are generally more high powered and high end (some can have an array of multiple hard disks for redundancy), they aren’t that far unrelated from the modest home PC!

Data centres and dedicated servers

The normal hosting servers will be in a 1U case. If you imagine a pizza box, its about the same look, although longer. And of course a dedicated server contains high powered server components, and not yummy pizza! A good example is the R200 server by Dell. These consume around 0.6 amps, so in a 16 amp rack you’d fit around 26 servers- often more. These servers fit in racks via rackmount rails, so they appear to be stacked on top of each other. At the back of the dedicated server is a power port, and a network port. Each rack will have power supply units and at least one switch for the server to connect to. There will be aisels of racks in a datacentre. Some racks host specialist network equipment, switches and routers connected to the internet backbone. For this sort of setup, a provider such as Melbourne who specialise in dedicated servers would be ideal.

High powered connections for server hosting

The majority of home connections run at around 10mbs. This isn’t enough for a dedicated server. A 100mbit connection is expected for dedicated servers. Website such as video sites require this high connection. So in conclusion, the right hardware, a good datacentre and fast connection are needed for server hosting.