INFOGRAPHIC: Colocation vs. Dedicated Servers – What is Best for my Business?

When it comes to choosing a hosting solution, you may feel a little overwhelmed on how to choose the best service for your business needs. There are two common hosting types that businesses often struggle choosing between: Dedicated server vs Colocation.

What is the difference?

The main difference between colocation and dedicated servers is that for colocation you rent a secured space in a in a data center facility with power, cooling, and connectivity, while retaining full ownership and complete control of your equipment, including physically maintaining the hardware.

With a dedicated server hosting, on the other hand, you are renting the server and hardware from a hosting provider. When renting a server, the provider in addition to being responsible for underlying infrastructure, is also responsible for any repairs to the hardware and providing customers with a base operating system installation that is remotely accessible. Additional options are available to outsource security and maintenance as well.

Comparing Colocation and Dedicated Servers

Pro’s Colocation:

• Greater flexibility when it comes to both your software and hardware
• Full ownership and complete control of your equipment.
• Low monthly cost

Cons Colocation:

• You have the responsibility for setting up your server and keeping it running
• Although remote hands is often available, assistance might be limited due to lack of knowledge of your environment in case of issues
• You’ll need to keep spares of your hardware in stock to ensure speedy recovery in case of issues
• Large Capital Expense

 Pro’s Dedicated Servers:

• Low initial investment costs – You do not need to purchase your own server.
• Built-to-purpose, pick the right plan at the right cost
• Scale up and down in resources by adding or removing different types of servers
• Contracts can be as short as 1 month.
• Worry free hosting, no responsibility for hardware or infrastructure
• On-site support for hardware troubleshooting
• Sufficient supply of spare parts

Cons Dedicated Servers:

• More expensive long term
• You rely on the data center’s response time for troubleshooting

Which option is best for you?
When determining which application are best suited for your business, there is no right answer. Instead, it is important to understand your options, your (business)needs and what requirements you need to create the most effective and efficient IT infrastructure for your businesses.

Netrouting is here to help you make the right decision for your business needs. Our experts are happy to assess your business needs with you to help improve your business’ IT infrastructure. Please contact us at sales@netrouting.com or +31 (0)88 270 02 00

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