A dedicated hosting service is a kind of internet hosting where the client or customer rents a service for the sole use of his or her business. This leasing arrangement gives the company more flexibility and control of its internet presence. Server administration is sometimes provided by the web hosting company and it can be a very hands on administration or not depending on what just how much control is included in the contract.
Dedicated hosting service is usually conducted from a separate data center that includes back up power sources, and HVAC systems, as well as other support systems to keep everything functioning around the clock. The hosting service may provide operating system support that includes the latest security patches, fixes and software updates. Whatever happens between the dedicated hosting service and the client must be spelled out in the contract because there is no industry standard on the terms of service. The client pays what the market will bear according to the demands of the dedicated hosting service for its various levels of support
Now what this means is each provider will use the same terms to describe their services and levels of support. However, they always define those terms differently and thereby get away with charging what they will. That is why it is so important to do your homework as a client to find that better deal out there. Otherwise you may end up paying through the nose for many things you may not even need to conduct web business.
So first, figure out what it is that your company needs to present a quality web image or presence, figure out your budget for acquiring this presence and then start contacting dedicated hosting service companies and start asking questions, before making your decision. You should ask about operating system, and application updates. What exactly constitutes 24/7 monitoring. What does technical support entail. What about backups and system failures and how are they handled. What about disaster recovery in the event of failure. Who administers the database.
There are many other questions to ask, but these will at least get the conversation started. Understand that dedicated hosting service companies define their level of management solely based on the services the can provide. By comparison there is some uniformity in a fully managed situation. Be sure to asked the web hosting provider to explain the difference.
