The Difference Between Collocated and Dedicated Servers
There are many companies that will offer their customers the use
of either a dedicated or collocated server and there are several
advantages and disadvantages to each type of service.
Ultimately, the decision rests with the website developer and
their needs for the website.
The main difference between a collocated server and a dedicated
server is the ownership of the server. With a dedicated server,
the user is provided with exclusive use of a server that is
owned by another entity, generally the hosting provider A
collocated server is owned by the user and is housed in a rental
space along with the servers of many other companies and
individuals. In other words, with a dedicated server you rent
the server and with a collocated server, you rent the space to
house your server. Each option is more cost effective than
purchasing and housing the server on your own, but there are
major differences in what you can and cannot do with the
equipment.
With a dedicated server, the individual has exclusive access to
the server and can place any software, content, or applications
on the server that they wish. Websites that use dedicated
servers also have a higher reliability and can handle a great
deal more traffic than sites that are hosted on shared servers.
With a dedicated server, any issues that arise with the server
are the responsibility of the company that the individual is
renting the server from, which could be a good or bad thing. One
of the biggest disadvantages to a dedicated server is that the
individual only owns the data on the server, not the server
itself, so if they are dissatisfied with the service they are
being provided, they have little recourse until their contract
expires.
One of the biggest advantages of a collocated server is that the
individual owns and has full access to the server at any time.
The applications can be run from a remote location while the
server is housed in a secure facility with an uninterruptible
power supply, internet connectivity, and increased security
features. Allowing the server to be collocated frees up valuable
space in the home or business that would be needed to house the
server and allows the individual to split the cost of utilities
between all the individuals with servers housed in the area. The
biggest disadvantage to collocated servers is that all issues,
maintenance, and needed repairs to the server must be handled by the individual.
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