Making a decision between a cloud server and a dedicated server hosting solution is crucial for any company.
Formerly, businesses usually start off on a shared Linux server, and once when they become familiar with the web hosting solutions then they upgrade themselves to a dedicated server to support their website in traffic spike.
At present the scenario is different. Today, there is the presence of cloud hosting which means that it’s not necessary for businesses to follow the traditional path and can start building a website on a managed cloud plan along with the help of a pre-integrated platform. Previously, that would have taken several hours of developers to build on a custom dedicated server independently.
The various plans of cloud hosting offer server resource allocation which is scalable and based on hardware virtualization, whereas dedicated server plans comprise a fixed allocation of isolated CPU, RAM, and SSD/HDD storage that can provide better performance and maximize the online business applications’ security. In fact, there is hybrid dedicated cloud hosting which uses a single parent server’s resources based on dedicated hardware.
Flexible solutions of the cloud can scale to provide higher levels of web traffic support in comparison to the single dedicated server. It can provide and progressively become an important feature of keeping the most popular mobile apps and websites hosted online.
Cloud vs Dedicated Server: Definitions
Before moving towards the differences between cloud and dedicated servers, let’s have a quick look at the definitions of both models of hosting.
Cloud Servers
When a virtual server runs in a cloud computing environment then is called a cloud server. These servers provide users with on-demand virtual resources and offer incomparable scalability.
Clients do not require to purchase or maintain any hardware if they depend on a cloud hosting. To create an optimal configuration the cloud provider handles maintenance while users adjust virtual resources (RAM, processing, storage, etc.).
Benefits that you get from cloud servers in a range of businesses, including
- A pay-as-you-go method
- No initial hardware investments.
- Near-instant server deployments.
- High redundancy.
Dedicated Servers
A dedicated server is used by a single client and it is a physical device that is placed in a data center. Dedicated server are rely on actual hardware such as – CPUs, GPUs, RAM, hard drives, network cards, etc., and do not use virtualization like a cloud server.
When you set up a dedicated server, you do not need to share resources with other users, a feature that makes these servers both the safest and fastest hosting options on the market.
Benefits that you get from dedicated servers in a range of businesses, including
- You will get full freedom to customize the configuration of hardware and software.
- Single tenancy guarantees top data privacy and security.
- High levels of uptime.
- Constantly fast loading times.
Head-to-Head Comparison Between Cloud Server and Dedicated Server
A high-level overview of the differences (and similarities) between a cloud and a dedicated server is mentioned in the table below:
| POINT OF COMPARISON | CLOUD SERVER | DEDICATED SERVER |
| Type of infrastructure | Hypervisor separates the virtual servers with abstracted resources | It is a physical device with dedicated hardware components |
| Main selling point | In cloud server, clients can boost the IT performance without spending on purchasing or managing a dedicated infrastructure | Create a complete custom server with resources dedicated entirely to your use case |
| Single tenancy | No | Yes |
| Performance | Because of bare metal servers the performance of cloud server is high, but can suffer from lag if there are too many tenants or processing requests | Consistently high performance |
| Scalability | Instantaneous scaling that can quickly accommodate traffic surges | Users must set up new hardware when looking to scale up and take the hardware out when scaling down |
| Automatic scalability | Yes | No |
| Deployment time | Once you configure the unit the server is up and start running in seconds | Longer deployment times |
| Root access | Depends (if hosting is on a public cloud then no root access) | Yes |
| User/role administration | Yes | Yes |
| Customization | Restricted customization of hardware and software as providers offer only predefined packages | Fully customizable hardware and software |
| Load balancer | Yes | yes |
| Management | While your team manages the unit via dashboards, the provider maintains the hardware | You can either self-manage your dedicated server or depends on managed services from the provider |
| Uptime/downtime expectations | Excellent for consecutive hosting as there is no downtime when scaling up or down | Rely on the hosting provider (the industry standard is >99.9% uptime) |
| Redundancy | Top-tier redundancy | Depends on the setup |
| Migration | Fast and easy | To migrate the equipment takes more time and planning without causing significant downtime |
| Initial investment | No need to buy, house, or maintain hardware | Dedicated server is high for colocation and low for renting, but still it is higher than for a cloud server |
| Billing model | Billed by the hour | A predefined monthly payment |
| Cost-effectiveness | You’ll get fFlexible billing which ensures you only pay for the resources you actively use | You pay for the resources nevertheless of how many resources you use |
| Security | Generally high, but there are risk only when there is sharing of hosting space with unknown users | Single tenancy ensures security and privacy of high level. |
| VPN | Yes | Yes |
| Software support | Can have limited options when choosing software | Fully customizable |
| Tool integration | Cloud server providers offer a range of contracting tools you can add to the server | You are independent in choosing the tool you like, but integrating tools without risk requires a skilled IT team |
| Main target customer | Businesses with variable demands and workloads | Companies that require high levels of security and consistent performance |
Conclusion
Undoubtedly, both cloud and dedicated servers have their own benefits and features. No matter whether your business is small or medium, you should choose a cloud server to host your website or web app. Cloud provides you with high flexibility, scalability, and security.
Unlike a dedicated server in the cloud, you do not have to pay extra. Even big organizations are moving their online business to cloud computing, because of its exceptional features.