Dedicated IP address Tips

The Importance of Having a Dedicated IP Address

If you are running a web site that will be doing business with the public, it is important to have your own dedicated IP address. In fact, if you are purchasing your own SSL certificate, it will be absolutely required that you have a dedicated IP address in order to install the certificate. Most web hosting companies will make this option available as an add-on, but the best ones will offer this as part of their standard features for business hosting. If your current hosting company doesn't offer dedicated IP addresses, it may actually be cheaper to find a new company that will. Some hosting companies will charge as much as $50 a year for a dedicated IP address, which can really add up over time.

What Can I Expect From My Virtual Dedicated Server?

A virtual dedicated server is generally loaded with the basic software required for a Website‘s hosting and operations, including:
- http-server
- DNS-server
- mail-server
- DBMS
The included software does not take any extra space from your virtual dedicated server. The service provider continuously replenishes the software stock and updates the installed codes to stable versions. This allows you the freedom to be worry free from updating your own server. Each virtual dedicated server has its own IP-address, which is not shared with any other Website.
A virtual dedicated server will work great for any small business involved in the development of Websites. The database capabilities that a virtual dedicated server has will allow you to host any of your customers' Websites, while making sure that the client is free to choose the technologies, software, and scripting languages.

What is a Dedicated Hosting IP Address?

A dedicated hosting IP is the numeric value of the IP address that is set aside specifically for one domain. An IP address, a.k.a. the Internet Protocol address, is a unique number that computers use in order to identify and communicate with each other on the World Wide Web, utilizing the Internet Protocol standard (IP).

Whenever someone inputs a certain dedicated hosting IP address value in the address bar of a search engine browser, they will always be directed towards same domain name. This is possible by using dedicated server hosting, where the server hosting your Website has reserved space for your Website.

A dedicated hosting IP address is best for websites where there are many users, where there are many transactions, or where sensitive information may be accessed. It is also the safest option as far as search engines are concerned. Dedicated server hosting is expensive, so a dedicated hosting IP is advisable only if you need to accept credit card payments, need private name servers, or need extensive search engine optimization.

Running & Administering Your Own Windows Dedicated Server

Windows based servers are an excellent option for dedicated servers. Recent advent of .Net technology has allowed the windows dedicated servers to become more useful and efficient.
If you plan to run and administer your own dedicated server, windows based servers are a better option when compared to other servers. Windows dedicated servers come with excellent support, security and integration for products that are released by Microsoft.
It is strongly recommended that you go for a Windows dedicated server if you need to link a Microsoft-based service to your Internet hosting. However, remember that Windows based dedicated servers are rather complex and do require some labor.
It's best that you go for these only if you have some experience as a webmaster who has maintained Windows systems in the past and have worked on product/Web integration/dedicated IP addresses. You need experience not only as a webmaster – but as a system administrator.

Simple Shared Hosting vs. Virtual Dedicated Server

In a simple shared hosting situation, the resources are shared among several users, but are not distributed evenly. With virtual dedicated server hosting, the resources are also shared, but are distributed evenly.
Each user of a virtual dedicated server will have the same amount of CPU, memory, and bandwidth allotted to them as every other subscriber. This allows consistency of the service and ensures that you have a chance to “own“ the same amount of resources as the next person.
Virtual server hosting is also a cheaper way of obtaining and maintaining a dedicated hosting IP address for your site, instead of renting your own private dedicated server.

The Accessibility of a Windows Managed Server

With the help of your Windows dedicated server, you can change, install, update and upgrade applications any time you want to. The application configurations are open for you to change whenever you feel it is required.
A Windows dedicated server is designed so that it can implement advanced Microsoft applications and integrate back end software, such as FrontPage, Access and MS SQL. It also offers specifically targeted programming languages, such as Active Server Pages (ASP), Visual Basic Scripts, and Cold Fusion.

The Accessibility of a Windows Managed Server

A Windows managed server can be accessed through remote administration packages, such as PCAnywhere, or through a customized control panel, which is graphic user interface enabled. The beauty of these packages is that you can log on to the dedicated Window server desktop as an administrator, as long as you have full control over your managed Windows server. This allows you to modify your site, accessible by a dedicated IP address.

Simple Shared Hosting vs. Virtual Dedicated Server

A virtual private server gives users the chance to operate their own system for each web hosting account they have. However, you still share the costs with other uses which makes it easier on the wallet. A virtual private server acts as a separate operation within a Web server and provides root access in privacy.

More Security in Virtual Servers

A Virtual dedicated server is more secure than a shared server due to the file system setup. Even though all users share CPU, memory, and network connectivity, they need not share the same file system. This implies that if someone else's virtual dedicated server gets messed up, there is no way they can jump from that virtual file system onto your virtual file system.
In a shared system, there is only one file system and users can jump anywhere they want to see who else is there. A virtual dedicated server thereby offers more security then shared hosting and is the next best thing to a fully dedicated server.
You can find virtual dedicated server accounts for as little as $40 a month. Some virtual server providers will guarantee minimum/maximum RAM amounts. This small amount will also get you a much larger chunk of bandwidth compared to shared hosting.

Sharing Resources on a Virtual Dedicated Server

If you have decided to use a virtual dedicated server, instead of a regular dedicated server, you may be surprised to find that you must share system resources (like the CPU and memory) with other users.
The good news is that, with virtual dedicated servers, the file system is setup in such a way that you cannot distinguish if someone else is currently using the server and it will act pretty much like a dedicated server.
The CPU, Memory, and other resources on a virtual dedicated server are setup in such a way that each user is only allowed to use a certain percent of them. This way, you can always access your resources anytime and they are always available to you.

What is a Virtual Dedicated Server?

A virtual dedicated server is where the physical server space is divided virtually into several parts. It is possible to get all the uses of a dedicated server using a virtual dedicated server. There are two main benefits of this option:

The first benefit of a virtual dedicated server is that they allow root-level access to individual clients without needing any physically dedicated servers. If your needs can not be taken care of by shared hosting, and you need a dedicated IP address, then a virtual dedicated server is the best solution.

The second benefit of a virtual dedicated server is that this hosting solution is cheaper than fully dedicated servers and also provides similar services as said dedicated servers.

The only real catch when it comes to using a virtual dedicated server is that you will have fairly limited options and will not be able to tweak the operating system or server itself.

What Can I Expect From a Windows Dedicated Server?

A Windows dedicated server will usually come with bundled basic services, including:
- ASP.Net components
- PHP
- Perl
- server-side XML
- CGI-BIN directories for scripting
Furthermore, as an end user, you can expect support for FrontPage (all versions from 97 to 2005), as well as complete integration with:
- .Net,
- Macromedia Dreamweaver,
- NetObjects Fusion and,
- Macromedia Flash
These features should be included with any Windows dedicated server, regardless of where you purchase your hosting from.