Choosing the right dedicated server specs can severely challenge the uninitiated. However, there are so many hardware and networking configurations to choose from that you can easily pick the server specifications that match your requirements.
When deciding the server specs, many users get stuck with questions such as: How much RAM will I need? Is 4TB of storage enough? Do I need unmetered bandwidth?
Don’t worry; we’ll answer all these questions and help you pick the right dedicated server specifications. Read on to learn how to choose your ideal server configuration.
Table Of Content
What Is a Dedicated Server?
A dedicated server is a type of web hosting used by a single tenant. The main difference between dedicated and shared servers is that you can access the server’s computing resources with dedicated hosting. There are no other users, and you have considerable control over server specs.
When you get a dedicated server, you can also choose its hardware components and the software that goes on it. And with root access to your dedicated server, you can configure it to accommodate the projected number of visitors and user requests.
On top of everything, dedicated servers are more secure than any other hosting solution because they aren’t shared. You don’t have to worry about other hosting tenants creating vulnerabilities that hackers can also use against you.
If you want to learn how to secure your dedicated server, check out our guide that covers the 11 dedicated server security best practices!
How To Choose Your Dedicated Server Specs
One of the most significant dedicated server advantages is customizing your server’s hardware configuration.
However, picking the correct dedicated server specifications can be difficult if you aren’t sure how much computing power you need to host your web services. If that’s the case with you, here’s what you should look for in an ideal dedicated server.
#1. CPU
The central processing unit (CPU) is the heart of any server. When choosing a CPU for your dedicated server, you should consider: the number of cores and their frequency (also known as clock speed). CPU is often the starting point of deciding appropriate dedicated server specifications.
There are also two significant brands of CPUs: Intel and AMD. Both make excellent processors, and you can choose the one that best fits your budget.
In general, a CPU with a higher core count and frequency will deliver better performance. But remember that a multi-core processor will be more powerful even if it has a slightly lower clock speed than a single-core CPU.
Any CPU with 8+ cores and a frequency higher than 3GHz should be sufficient for hosting most web services.
#2. RAM
Random Access Memory (RAM) is as important as the CPU in a dedicated server. The more RAM you have, the faster your server will perform. In extreme cases, with insufficient RAM, your hosted services can get very slow and even halt.
If your web service receives lots of traffic, you should rent a dedicated server with at least 16 or 32GB of RAM. And if you find it’s not enough, you can always upgrade it. The cost of RAM has significantly decreased over the past couple of years, and now it won’t cost you a fortune to get 128/256GB of RAM for your servers.
#3. Storage
When choosing a dedicated server, you’ll need to determine what storage you’ll use and how much storage space you’ll need. Storage is often the most overlooked part of server specifications because not many users consider the app’s storage requirements.
On the one hand, you have the classic hard disk drives (HDD) that are cheap and have a lot of storage space. They are great for dedicated servers for backup because you can get terabytes worth of storage for just a couple of dollars per TB. The downside is that hard drives have relatively slow reading and writing speeds because mechanical parts are fragile after continuous use.
On the other hand, you can opt for solid-state drives (SSD). They’re pricier than HDDs, but they are lightning fast in comparison. With SSDs, you’ll get less storage for your money than HDDs, but they don’t contain moving parts, making them very fast and durable.
Another option is to combine SSDs and HDDs in your dedicated server. You can use hard drives to store your data and solid-state drives to load your server’s software & keep important information safe.
#4. Network Speed
You don’t want your website visitors to wait long for your pages to load. Similarly, no one likes buffering when they come to your dedicated server for video streaming.
Hosted websites will load faster, and videos will play without buffering if you have a high-speed connection. Most hosting providers offer 1Gbps and 10Gbps network speed servers. To be safe, choose a 10Gbps dedicated server to get the best hosting experience.
#5. Bandwidth
Server bandwidth determines how much data your server can transfer at a time. All users of your hosted services send and receive data through your server. You need to make sure you have enough bandwidth to accommodate everyone.
In addition to the number of users, you should also consider the type of data hosted on your server. For example, emails take up very little bandwidth, while video files are huge and will use more bandwidth.
Generally, if you’re hosting a smaller website, you can choose a dedicated server plan with 10-100GB bandwidth. However, if you’re operating a video streaming server, an online education platform, or a large e-commerce site, you should choose an unmetered dedicated server. As mentioned, video files take up a lot of space, and streaming will chew through a metered plan quickly.
#6. Server Location
When discussing server specs, you should always choose a server location closest to most of your clients. The closer your users are to the physical location of your hosting server, the better the connection and data transfer rates they’ll have. If your website users are far from your server, they’ll often experience site latency and slow website loading speeds.
Conclusion
Deciding on the correct server specification can often prove challenging for many first-timer server owners. However, the good thing about server specs is that you can pick and choose the right combination of CPU, RAM, Storage, and Bandwidth that work perfectly for your hosted applications.
If you need help selecting the correct server specification for your projects, get in touch with RedSwitches engineers NOW and get excellent advice.
FAQs
#1. What are good accurate server specs?
A good starting point when choosing reliable server specifications is a quad-core (8 threads) Intel Xeon processor, 32GB of DDR4 RAM, 8TB storage space, and a 1Gbps internet connection.
You should upgrade the storage space to 16TB for IPTV streaming servers and opt for a 10Gbps connection and unmetered bandwidth.
Upgrading the CPU to 12 cores and getting 64GB of RAM is recommended for demanding hosting services, such as e-commerce websites or SaaS applications.
#2. How much RAM do I need for my dedicated server?
The minimum amount of RAM you should go with is 16GB. If you want to improve the performance of your hosted services, consider getting at least 32GB of RAM. And, if you’re hosting enterprise services on your dedicated server, you will need 128 or even 256GB of RAM.
#3. How much does a dedicated server cost?
The price of a dedicated server starts at $100/month. The cost can increase based on your choice of server specs (CPU, RAM, storage options, and network configuration).
