Managed Hosting Services

Are Managed Hosting and Dedicated Hosting the Same?

By Amy Nutt

Both a managed hosting service and dedicated service mean running a server that is not shared with anyone else.  Beyond that, the services you get will depend largely on the provider since there is no industry standards set for servers.  What this means is that fully managed to one provider may mean the same as self-managed to another provider.  It is the term ‘managed’ that causes the confusion.

Many things can be involved in managed hosting including

-  Application monitoring
-  System updates
-  Intrusion detection
-  Server monitoring
-  Backups
-  Database administration

These are only a few of the many items which can fall under the term of managed hosting.  Because there are no industry standards, it is best to check the details before you decide on a dedicated hosting site.  This type of hosting is always dedicated but dedicated hosting has different management definitions depending on the provider.

Dedicated hosting can further be broken down into different types

-  Basic:  This is normally is chosen if low RAM, Hard Disc and Operating System on the server
-  High End:  Usually involves Quad Core Configuration
-  Bandwidth Dedicated
-  Database Dedicated
-  Server Mirroring Dedicated

You will notice that ‘managed’ is not mentioned in any of the categories.  Management is above and beyond what dedicated servers provide.  For those still learning their way around computer terminology, it can get confusing because the words are often interchanged and terms like dedicated hosting and managed hosting are often implied to mean the same thing.

Always read the fine print when choosing a server.  Terminology often is misused and you may not end up getting the services you are expecting.  Until there are industry standards the confusion will continue.  Simply put, dedicated hosting means that you do not have to share a server.  To have a hosting service that’s managed, means whatever the provider decides it means.  Therefore, even though they are used together very often, they do not actually mean the same thing.  Colocation services and dedicated services are more closely related than dedicated servers and managed servers.

In summary, there are different types of dedicated servers but they all mean not having to share a server.  Managed servers can mean a variety of different services in addition to having a dedicated server.  When referring to web hosting; dedicated servers are basically a rented service which includes the server, the internet connection and the software whereas managed hosting refers to the administration of the website. This type of hosting goes above and beyond what dedicated servers provide.

Managed hosting is an additional service with varying degrees of options available depending on the provider. While they are often used in the same context, they mean very different things.  Again, managed hosting is always on a dedicated server but a dedicated server does not necessarily mean you will get managed hosting.  Different providers offer different management hosting on top of the dedicated server they provide.  Managed hosting and dedicated servers do not have the same meaning.

PCI compliant, state of the art data center in Toronto provides businesses with solutions for managed hosting, business continuity services, managed security, disaster recovery.

There are different degrees of managed hosting; it is not just a matter of your hosting being managed or unmanaged. Different aspect of your hosting will be, and will not be managed, depending on the specific package.

It is important to know what is included, and not to just assume that everything is fully managed. Different people have different ideas of what managed hosting entails. In the eyes of a host they may feel they are offering a managed service, but this may not be the same as your idea of managed. If you require fully managed hosting it is important to make sure that is what you are getting.

Hosting can be either fully managed or partially managed, or of course, not managed at all. In theory fully managed should mean absolutely all areas of hosting are covered, but as mentioned above you should make sure this is the case. With fully managed hosting you shouldn’t have to worry at all and should be able to assume your hosting is in the capable hand of the hosting company’s experts.

Partially managed means that some aspects are managed for you, while others are not. Sometimes there will be different packages available, with different aspects included depending on which of these you choose. Other times though, you can simply pick and choose different options, paying for each of these you decide to have included. Some clients may only want one or two areas managed, while others may require their hosting to be more extensively managed.

There are many elements that may be included in a managed hosting package. These include security, maintenance and monitoring. Security gives website owners piece of mind knowing that everything will be secure. This protects from hackers and physical break-ins, as well as fire and other elements. Maintenance means that hosting clients do not need to worry about updating the servers. Solving any problems that arise also comes under this umbrella. Some choose not to pay for maintenance not foreseeing any issues, but then often expect these to be solved when they occur – something that they have not paid for. You could think of maintenance as an insurance policy, but in most cases problems will occur at some point. Whether maintenance should be chosen depends on the clients own ability to problem solve. If monitoring is purchased, then any problems should be quickly established as the hosting of websites is always being watched. Many choose 24/7 monitoring to give then this security.

Every client is different, as is every website, and the type of managed hosting chosen should be decided depending on these factors. For those with simple websites and/or good hosting knowledge partially managed hosting, or other forms of hosting, might be all that is required. For those who require complex hosting and have little experience fully managed hosting may be necessary.

Andrew Marshall

Interoute is a pan-European telecommunications company, who offer Managed Hosting amongst other services.

As a small business owner I have been looking into the different types of host packages and services available. I have decided to go for a managed hosting service. Managed hosting refers to a hosting solution for a website where the site is housed and managed on a dedicated secure server. The customer leases a server for their own use and therefore they do not have to share the server with other clients. Having your server has a number of advantages in terms of security and management. Below I have listed the five main areas I feel you need to consider before deciding on your managed hosting provider.

Operating System

One of the major advantages of having a dedicated server is that you can chose which operating system is used to manage and run the server. The operating system depends on personal preference, its worth talking to you web development team and asking them which one is the best for your website. Linux operating systems are often bundled in free with the hosting plan, Microsoft SPLA or other Red Hat systems may require extra payment. You need to ask the hosting provider if the package includes updates to the OS, service packs, patches and software upgrades.

Management

Managed hosting as the name suggests will include a degree of management but there is no industry wide standard to clarify what the management element will contain. For some providers it is having a full team of service engineers waiting to sort out any issues that arise for other it is simply having a control panel that you can access yourself. Depending on your own experience and skills in website hosting you need to ensure that the service level won’t leave you in a blind panic if something goes wrong. Managed hosting is normally set at three different service levels:

Self Managed – This is the basic or bronze level package that would include some maintenance and updating but customers manage most of the services themselves.

Managed – The next level up, the silver level package would normally contain monitoring, updates and limited levels of support.

Fully Managed – The gold standard of management hosting. A fully managed service should be like having your own IT department. You should get monitoring, reboots, security, OS upgrades, customer support and software updates.

Security

Dealing with issues of security and keeping all the software and operating systems patched and updated is one of the great advantages of managed hosting. You shouldn’t have to worry about the security of your site as the security measures provided by your hosting provider should be the most current. You need to check that security updates are included in the service level you have signed up to.

Software

Much like the choice of Operating System you can also chose the software that will run on your managed server. You can pick and mix your database software and other applications that might be required to run video and audio on your website. The choice of control panel software is important as these can be as simple of complex as you require them to be. They can be configured to allow you to control all aspects of the server remotely via a web based interface.

Bandwidth

You will also need to set and pay for the amount of bandwidth you think you are going to use. Purchasing bandwidth via a managed server provider often works out cheaper than attempting to purchase the service in isolation. Economies of scale allow managed hosting providers to get discounts on the base cost of bandwidth. There is no industry benchmark or pricing structure for bandwidth. It can be sold as part of the package or as add on depending on projected usage. It is worth setting the bandwidth limit higher than you think you will use as most providers will pile on the cost if you go over your allotted usage.

Once you have addressed these issue you can then think about making a choice about which managed hosting service provider best fits your requirements. You need to make sure you have sorted out which OS and software is running, how secure the server is, the level of management involved and the provision of adequate bandwidth. Take you time and make sure you are completely comfortable with the service. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and get clarification on technical issues.

Tony Heywood (C)

I am a small business owner an thought I would pass on the question that where raised when I first looked at managed hosting.