Best Dedicated Servers for Australia
From a web agency’s perspective
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Author: Matthew Rogers
Last Updated on April 8, 2021So you’ve decided shared web hosting for Australia doesn’t have the resources your project needs, even a VPS won’t do… You want real power, a dedicated server just for you, so you can do/create/run anything you want!
You’ve come to the right place, we’ve researched and analysed the best dedicated server providers for Australia, so you KNOW you’ll get the best of the best.
Each hosting company in our top 3 has their strengths, from raw power to an absurd amount of options, you’ll definitely find what you need!
Dedicated Server Hosting: Our Top 3 for 2021
#1 Digital Pacific
Are you a techie? Do you want to have a whole array of server specs to choose from? Be prepared to suffer from choice paralysis, because Digital Pacific has a massive variety of servers!
They’re also 100% Australian with their data centres in the country.
#2 SiteGround
SiteGround phased out their dedicated servers in favour of cloud hosting. Want power combined with customised software to boost performance even further? Don’t want to be overwhelmed with tons and tons of options? SiteGround has the servers you need, it’s that simple!
#3 Fluccs
What we like about Fluccs is the nice amount of plans they have (not too many, but just enough), there’s something for everyone and they’re very affordable compared to the competition (+ they’re based in Australia)!
Dedicated Servers: A Quick Recap
There are many different types of web hosting available to a company that is building a website. One type of hosting is typically used by businesses who have high-traffic websites and run applications that are resource-intensive. Dedicated hosting is a type of website server that is dedicated to storing information for one website. Basically, it grants a website exclusive access to one computer, which includes all the storage space and bandwidth that server can offer.
Why would you need a Dedicated Server?
There are several reasons why a website would need dedicated hosting. The primary reason is that the website is too popular and uses up too much space to be used with shared servers or even a cloud server. For example, someone running an expanding online business or if the site has videos being constantly uploaded. They would need to scale up to having their own hardware in its efforts to keep running smoothly.
Pros and Cons of Dedicated Hosting:
Pros:
- You have Freedom: With dedicated hosting, you can include personalised features to your server to fit your site’s needs.
- You can expand your site: As your website grows it will need more storage and bandwidth to keep up with the websites demands. Using dedicated hosting allows for this type of expansion and if the site outgrows its dedicated server the hardware can always be upgraded.
- Sites and applications load fast: With dedicated hosting allowing for a site to have exclusive access to a server this allows for all the bandwidth that the server has, to be allocated to that one website, allowing for applications and the site to load blazing fast.
- You don’t have to worry about other customers: With your own server, you don’t have to worry about other customers complaining if you have hit a traffic spike.
Cons:
- Dedicated hosting is Expensive: While shared hosting allows for renting space to be relatively cheap because some servers can host close to 100 websites, and with free Australian web hosting it can be even more, to rent your own server is the most expensive of the web hosting options because the cost isn’t divided between other websites.
- They Can be Difficult to setup for People who aren’t Tech Savvy: Having a dedicated server means you have complete control of every application and program you decide to include on it. So, for someone unfamiliar with the technology they won’t know how to setup and run the programs they want to use for their server.
- Dedicated servers need management: These servers need someone constantly monitoring them to avoid disaster. If you don’t have the technical know-how or the time to dedicate to running the server, you might have to opt for a dedicated hosting plan that includes management.
- If the server crashes, It’s hard to get it back online: Just like any computer, server’s can crash and in that case, it takes a lot of effort to get it back online again.
FAQs:
Does Dedicated Hosting mean I own a server?
No, it is more along the lines of renting a server from a company rather than buying it outright.
What kind of equipment can I get with dedicated server hosting?
Typically, with dedicated server hosting the hosted company’s data center will allocate a heavy-duty rack mounted server to you.
What are the advantages of dedicated hosting?
The main advantages of dedicated hosting are the power and control having your server brings you. You can configure the server any way you like to run any kind of application and install anything to it.
Is there any reason to be concerned with the company’s data center?
Yes, to an extent. You want the data center to have strong security, a reliable power supply, and a strong internet connection. If anything were to affect these things in the facility it could have a major impact on your server and your website.
What about the data, does it matter where its located?
Yes, you want to have your server located in the country that it will be servicing, if you’re having problems finding a decent web host for your country, check out our following best hosting pages: Hosting Canada, UK hosting, website hosting Singapore, New Zealand hosts, Ireland hosting. Legal problems could occur from using a server located outside your country.
What operating systems does the server run?
Most use Linux distributions, but Windows is an option if you have specific server needs. However, Windows Server comes at an additional expense.
With a dedicated server, what software applications can I run?
You can run almost any software you want on your dedicated server (including the basics like cPanel).
What kinds of limitations does a dedicated server have?
Usually, the Terms of Service prohibit any kind of illegal content. That is why it’s important to have a server in the same country it is being used, because the laws could vary and what is and isn’t legal might differ.
Do I have to be a wiz with server administration to run a dedicated server?
Not necessarily, however knowing how to run your server does come in handy. Since you are the one in charge of the server, upgrades, security, and performance are up to you to maintain and manage. If the server were to crash it would be your responsibility to fix it.
What are the downsides to dedicated server hosting?
The main downside is the price. A hosting company uses the physical space and resources on your one site whether you use it a little or a lot. This is different from a VPS. As a result, the price is much steeper for dedicated hosting than any other web hosting type.
Is it possible to scale a dedicated server?
No. Though dedicated servers offer more storage and bandwidth than a VPS (Virtual private server), there are physical space and resource limits. Once those limits are reached it is time to upgrade your hardware to keep your site running smoothly.
What alternatives are there to dedicated server hosting?
The most directly comparable alternative is that of a conventional or cloud based VPS. With this type of server, you still get the freedom of a dedicated server with own equipment, but you won’t get as much storage or bandwidth.