Managed Hosting
A new trend,
appearing in the Web Hosting industry, is the concept of Managed Web Hosting.
Web hosts have been offering dedicated servers for a while now, however, because
dedicated servers can be difficult to operate technically, there has been a
demand for web hosts to provide extra services such as: reporting and
monitoring; managed load balancing; managed security; managed storage; and,
managed databases. These extra services are referred to as ?managed hosting?.
Do you need it?
Before you think about managed hosting you will first need to decide whether or
not you need a dedicated server. You will need a dedicated server if you have a
high-traffic web site. If you only have a small web site with low traffic levels
then a shared hosting arrangement should be fine. A dedicated server is more
expensive to rent and more difficult to operate than a shared hosting solution
but if your business depends on a steady service then you should seriously
consider renting a dedicated server.
The only disadvantage with dedicated web hosting is that you will have to do a
lot of the server administration yourself, and to do this you will need to
possess some technical skills; hence the demand for managed hosting. If you fall
into this category of needing a dedicated server but you need your host to
provide system administration services such as security, firewalls, monitoring
and reporting services, and data backup then most likely you will need managed
hosting.
How do you find Managed hosting packages?
Many web hosts who once provided only shared and dedicated web hosting are now
beginning to offer managed services too. A good place to start looking for
managed hosting is through web hosting directories and search engines, by doing
a search for managed hosting you should receive a good list of managed hosting
providers. Another key place to start is by contacting hosts who are offering
dedicated hosting and ask them if they can provide a managed hosting arrangement
as well.
Companies providing managed hosting will either offer managed hosting per item
or in a pre-configured plan. Per-item managed hosting gives you the freedom to
pick and choose what services you need or do not need; on the other hand, a
pre-configured plan will include the dedicated server and the managed hosting
services at a monthly fee.
What should I look for in a managed hosting provider?
When choosing a managed hosting provider it is a good idea that your host
provides the following qualities:
Reliable and fast support ? a good way to find out the response rate and the
quality of the services offered by a web host is to send them an email before
you sign up with them. If you receive a good response from your web host then
this should give you a good indication of the services they are offering.
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