Difference between Cloud hosting and Dedicated Hosting


Hosting

When the user or customer wants to host a website or any web application which can be accessed using an Internet connection and this hosting service is done by the server. A server is a system that provides the user with data storage space, resources, software tools, interfaces, etc., and when the web page gets hosted on the Internet and people can interact with it.

An individual website that is stored on the server and hosted on the web platform has a unique address, and when a user searches for a specific URL then they are navigated to the server where the website is hosted. After the website is ready to be displayed as a live page in the internet browser, the individual or organization has to wisely choose the hosting platform.

Based on the company or user requirements, choosing the right hosting plan for the created site can vary liable on various factors like the necessities of the website, server access, data traffic, budget, security risk, maintenance, backup methods, performance, etc.

Cloud Hosting

Cloud hosting is the method of hosting web pages or websites by sharing or dividing the data over several machines than storing it in a single server. This hosting service works with interconnected servers that are connected to the wider network and allow the data to be shared among the distributed virtual servers.

Cloud servers run on multiple servers over a different network and if any server fails due to any major issue in the network, then the data can be shifted or migrated to another server on the cloud and this in turn increases efficiency and improves redundancy of the website in providing data access to the customers without any delay.

The cloud platform has all the hardware and software tools or applications needed and can work as an independent server system. Cloud services allow users to expand their resources on demand on multiple servers connected to the host server and give better performance even during traffic spike so this type of hosting is chosen for websites which has a higher volume of traffic each day. Cloud hosting systems has expanded their popularity in recent times in larger business areas where organizations with wider network started using cloud services provided by popular companies like Amazon, Microsoft, Google, etc.

Dedicated Hosting

Dedicated hosting of the webpage or website is done by the dedicated server which is a physical unit at the data center location and can be used by one client. It can be purchased or rented for business applications. These do not provide any virtualization options for the hardware and the interface tools for remote users. These are located physically only in one location but cloud services can be installed in multiple data units.

It provides a high level of security in hosting the services and the hosting provider offers full freedom over administration and management of the server rights only to one customer who purchased the dedicated server. A dedicated server can be built based on the configurations needed by the client with specifications in RAM, processor versions, software, or applications as per their requirements to the organization.

Large Organizations, IT companies, and eCommerce sites can afford dedicated hosting services where security is a major concern and server capacity is in demand.

The table below defines the major differences between Cloud hosting and Dedicated hosting

Basis of difference

Cloud hosting

Dedicated hosting

Functions

Website information is hosted on multiple servers that can be hosted together.

Resources are available or hosted on a single server as a physical device located at one central unit.

Cost

Cost efficient where user can pay for resources and space as needed.

Payment has to be made for specific ranges. Expert professionals are needed to manage the server functions, which makes it expensive.

Availability of resources

Resources needed can be got on demand from the server.

Resources stored on the dedicated server can be accessed by the owner who has access permission.

Performance

As multiple servers are deployed, data sharing and accessing is not an issue when network traffic is high and provides better performance than shared.

All the resources are stored in a single server control unit, which can efficiently perform for larger traffic flow and provides better performance than Cloud hosting.

Scalability

Resources and space allocation range can be scalable as per user needs at any time.

Configurations cannot be changed in the dedicated server because the hardware is already designed as per customer needs.

Security

Security measures are provided to the sites that are hosted on the cloud server using advanced mirror options but it is less than dedicated hosting.

Dedicated hosting is mainly used by organizations because hacking a dedicated server is a tedious task as it provides a higher level of security options.

Used by

Wider area networks like multinational corporate companies where traffic is high each day.

Large organizations, and e-commerce websites where security breach is a major factor.

Customization

Full control is not given to the customer so the cloud server cannot be customized as per needs.

The owner of the dedicated server has full control so customization can be done as per needs.

Maintenance

Cloud-hosted pages are managed by cloud servers which are virtually located. Maintenance of storage, tools, and backup is taken off the server itself.

Dedicated hosting services provide full control to the owner to manage and maintain the server, but highly qualified experts are needed to understand the server configurations and perform the maintenance process.

Conclusion

Choosing which type of hosting service for the website is based on the customers' necessities. When pricing to resources and space is not a big deal then dedicated hosting can be preferred as it provides higher performance, reliability, configuration control, and security to the websites that are hosted on a single hardware server.

Updated on: 03-May-2023

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