Dedicated Servers: 8 Key Applications in the Global Market

Find the Use Case for Your Industry: 8 Dedicated Server Scenario's

In this article, we’ll examine various business uses for dedicated servers in the worldwide market, based largely on Worldstream’s own global IaaS (Infrastructure-as-a-Service) customer base. While by no means comprehensive, this overview illustrates the importance of dedicated server solutions and their unique advantages for business users across a range of market scenarios.

Executive Summary - Dedicated servers can be crucial for businesses to operate efficiently and securely, providing tailored solutions for various scenarios such as ecommerce, multimedia streaming, artificial intelligence, database or email hosting, backup & disaster recovery, artificial intelligence, virtualization, and Content Delivery Networks (CDNs). The raw power of these servers offers resource efficiency, speed, security, compliance, and adaptability, ensuring faster website or business application performance. For audio and video streaming, dedicated servers provide real-time delivery without interruption, offering ample network storage and bandwidth options.

Dedicated servers are also useful for ecommerce systems, providing outstanding speed, scalability, and strong security protections. They can handle changes in resource needs without missing a beat, while offering strong defense against malicious attacks. Email hosting offers full control, customization, and security, while dedicated servers for backup & recovery provide reliable and efficient solutions.

Dedicated servers are also becoming increasingly popular in the field of AI and IoT, as they can handle heavy workloads, provide unrestricted resource access, while offering the highest security. They also excel in customization, allowing users to freely alter server environments, which can be crucial for AI projects.

Servers for Databases

For database hosting, using a dedicated server can be a good fit in terms of resource efficiency, speed, security, compliance, and adaptability. You may allocate resources such as CPU, disk space, and memory more efficiently and get faster website or business application performance when your database and website/application are housed on different dedicated servers.

In a shared or virtualized hosting environment, the functioning of the site or application may be impacted by resource bottlenecks, such as CPU and storage space. Hosted on a dedicated server, sophisticated database queries won’t slow down your site or application loading time since dedicated servers provide exclusive access to these resources.

Another important advantage of hosting a database on a separate dedicated server is security, while enhancing data compliance options. The isolation of a database is a fundamental component of the Zero Trust Framework, providing an extra degree of security. Maintaining this separation is essential for adhering to regulatory frameworks such as PCI for the banking industry and HIPAA for the healthcare sector. If there is a cyberattack on a web server, the isolated database should be safe. This can be crucial as the web server is often the weakest link in the system. Yet another security benefit is total control over database access. Furthermore, features like encryption, intrusion detection systems, frequent security upgrades, and personalized monitoring tools may be easily implemented on a dedicated server.

The ability to customize and allocate resources effectively on a dedicated server is also an advantage. Large amounts of server system resources are often needed for databases to operate at their best. A database may have complete access to these resources on a distinct dedicated server, preventing any performance issues or security flaws that could arise in shared or virtualized settings.

Servers for Virtualization

Virtualization is another use case for dedicated server deployments. It allows a dedicated server to be divided into multiple virtual environments, sometimes referred to as Virtual Machines (VMs) or Virtual Private Servers (VPSs). They share the resources of the dedicated server but operate independently thanks to software known as a hypervisor.

Virtualizing dedicated servers may offer some benefits. It promotes resource efficiency beyond anything else. Instead of deploying numerous physical servers, you may leverage the hardware capabilities of a dedicated server by establishing multiple virtual units. Not only does this save physical space, but it’s also economical.

Virtual servers may also improve data backup and security. Because of their isolation, when one fails, it doesn’t affect the others, adding an extra degree of protection and making data backup easier. Through workload balancing, energy saving, and cost reduction, each virtual environment’s performance is optimized by the hypervisor’s dynamic resource allocation.

Accelerated server deployment is an additional benefit. The necessity for laborious manual hardware setups is removed by the ability to replicate virtual settings. Each virtual server may be further customized with the help of solutions like VMware vSphere or KVM, while control panel software may help manage VPS hosting and website management on a dedicated server.

To sum up, server virtualization on dedicated servers combines the flexibility and efficiency of virtual environments with the reliability and control of dedicated servers, providing a powerful solution for a variety of different website hosting and hosted business application needs.

Servers for Ecommerce Systems

Demanding requirements of modern ecommerce systems are well met by the robustness provided by dedicated servers. Several aspects set dedicated servers apart from other hosting alternatives, contributing to their special applicability. The outstanding speed of dedicated servers can be crucial in the dynamic world of ecommerce, where every millisecond may have an impact on consumer or B2B client experience and conversion rates. In contrast to shared or virtualized web hosting, where server resources are shared among multiple users, a dedicated server dedicates all of its processing capacity to a single user, avoiding the chance that server resources would be throttled as a result of the actions of other users while enhancing the hosting solution’s speed.

Another feature of dedicated servers that can be essential for any ecommerce business is its scalability. An ecommerce site’s resource needs might quickly alter in response to seasonal traffic surges, the addition of new product lines, or the expansion into new markets. An ecommerce platform will be able to handle these changes without missing a beat if a user is able to scale up hosting resources quickly. A dedicated server will meet these scalability needs.

Given the vast amounts of sensitive client data they manage, security is also of the utmost importance for ecommerce companies. Most shared web hosting solutions would probably not be able to support extensive security protocols and setups, whereas dedicated servers provide strong security protections. Higher levels of security, including stronger defense against DDoS attacks, malware, and other possible security risks, will sure be advantageous for any ecommerce platform.

Servers for Email Hosting

Email hosting is a significant use case scenario for dedicated servers. In the era of cloud-based email services, one might question the need for dedicated email servers. However, the level of control, customization, and security that dedicated servers may provide can be the deciding factor for many businesses.

Dedicated servers provide users the option to exert full control over email usage. As a server administrator, you can fully determine the rules for email use within an organization. This could mean setting restrictions on the types of content that can be sent, offering a way to enforce company policy on data sharing, or it could mean placing limits on the volume of emails that can be sent within a certain time period in order to prevent the server from becoming overloaded.

Another advantage of using dedicated servers for email hosting is the ability to set a maximum file size for attachments. Not only does it assist in the effective management of the network bandwidth and the prevention of unnecessary strain on the server, but it also encourages users to make use of more appropriate methods for the transmission of large files, thereby promoting improved IT practices within an organization.

In addition, when you host email accounts on a dedicated server, as a server administrator, you have the ability to implement high security measures such as advanced spam filters, detailed firewall settings, and full customized encryption methods. These measures ensure that an organization’s sensitive email communication is kept private and secure.

Servers for Backup & Recovery

Data can be as valuable as gold. Therefore, losing important information unintentionally may have disastrous effects on both people and companies. A catastrophe may be accelerated by things like power outages, RAID array failures, software bugs, hard disk failures, cyberthreats, and even simple human error. When faced with such situations, recovery operations may be both time- and money-consuming, underscoring the urgent need for a solid backup and restoration plan.

Using distinct dedicated servers for backup is one of the many backup and recovery options available, but it is becoming more and more popular among businesses. To store data backups off-site, this entails renting a secondary server. The clear benefit in this case is the unmatched security and compliance that these dedicated servers can provide. These servers for backup, housed in cutting-edge data centers with strict security standards at known locations, as those operated and used by Worldstream, can become bastions of data integrity. Due to their intrinsic isolation, these servers can be very well protected from external interferences and weaknesses. Their isolated nature shields them from external disruptions, while a feature like DDoS protection may fortify this data haven, building a stronghold to safeguard data continuously.

Technological developments have also made it easier to automate backup procedures on dedicated servers. This advancement may ensure consistent and reliable backup routines by significantly reducing human error which is often the weakest link in a security chain.

To sum up, using a secondary, off-site dedicated server backup proves to be a very helpful back-up & recovery strategy in contemporary data management, especially as data continues to increase in importance. Not only does a backup on a distinct dedicated server provide unparalleled automation and security features; its geographic isolation provides an additional degree of redundancy, making it a complete solution for protecting sensitive data. The advantages of this approach only become stronger as data vulnerabilities are on the rise.

Servers for Artificial Intelligence (AI)

In an era where artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming the backbone of many businesses, the need for robust computing infrastructures has never been more pronounced. As industries produce more data and design increasingly sophisticated AI models to derive insights, it is becoming clear that shared or virtualized hosting setups might be hindering AI’s full potential.

Dedicated servers, often touted as the heavyweight champions of the hosting industry, will definitely be able to bring those heavy workloads to fruition. Unlike shared hosting setups, with the right server configurations, these raw power systems may offer unparalleled strength, security, and adaptability - all crucial ingredients for making AI applications thrive.

A significant challenge faced by many organizations as they dive deeper into the world of AI is the training of intricate machine learning and deep learning algorithms. Shared hosting infrastructures may easily become overloaded when trying to accommodate the computational needs of advanced AI operations. With dedicated servers though, businesses can harness the full might of a server’s resources, including CPU, RAM, and storage. This unrestricted resource access translates to more processing power and ample storage - essential for handling the hefty requirements of AI model training.

Dedicated servers are also an ally that can be relied upon for security, particularly when handling large volumes of potentially sensitive data. Since all resources are dedicated to a single user, potential vulnerabilities associated with shared resources are eliminated. But that’s not all. In terms of customization, dedicated servers excel as well. Users may freely alter almost every element of the server environment, from the operating system to the hardware selection. When it comes to AI, this kind of control is crucial since various AI projects may demand different things from a server.

As AI projects mature, there’s an inevitable surge in data volumes and model complexity. Thus, scalability also becomes a critical factor when aiming for AI’s full potential. Dedicated servers ace this test as well, offering rapid and efficient scaling that may ensure smooth operations even as data and computational demands soar.

While the initial investment in dedicated servers might be a bit steeper compared to shared hosting, virtualized, or cloud-based solutions, businesses would do well to consider the long-term payoffs. The unmatched performance, security, scalability, and customization these servers provide can be game-changers in the world of AI, ensuring that businesses remain agile, efficient, and ahead of the curve.

Servers for Content Delivery Networks (CDNs)

The demand for instantaneous access to websites, applications, and multimedia content requires a robust infrastructure that can meet user expectations for quick load times, regardless of their geographic location. With the right configurations, dedicated servers are eminently suitable to bring the power to high-performance CDNs (content delivery networks).

Unlike shared or virtual private servers where resources like CPU, RAM, and storage are divided among multiple users, dedicated servers are fully committed to a single client or task. In the context of CDNs, this translates to an undivided pool of resources aimed at accelerating content delivery to end-users. When milliseconds can significantly impact user engagement and conversion rates, the ultra-low latency and high throughput provided by dedicated servers become vital assets, adding to a CDN’s technological success.

Again, one of the standout features of dedicated servers is their customizability. Those managing CDNs can configure server specifications according to the unique needs of their network. Whether it’s a high-capacity SSD for quicker data retrieval or a specific GPU setup for complex data processing tasks, the server can be tailored to meet those requirements. This is especially important as CDNs handle diverse forms of content, from static images and HTML files to dynamic video streams and API calls.

Another compelling advantage is the scalability that dedicated servers offer. As a CDN grows, whether in terms of content volume or geographic reach, server resources can be seamlessly added or adjusted to handle the increase in load. This means that businesses can start with what they need and scale up as they expand, without worrying about performance bottlenecks or service interruptions.

Security is another domain where dedicated servers excel. Given that CDNs often cache sensitive information from origin servers, it’s critical to maintain a secure environment. With dedicated servers, there is less chance of resource conflicts and data breaches, which makes it easier to put strict security measures in place.

Servers for Internet of Things (IoT)

Internet of Things (IoT), typically a complex network of linked devices, is causing an unprecedented increase in data creation, ranging from smart home appliances to wearable fitness trackers. As devices accumulate enormous volumes of data that need to be processed, dedicated servers are becoming the mainstay for handling this enormous inflow of data.

Internet of Things devices tend to record, monitor, and send data on a continuous basis. Think of a fitness tracker that monitors heart rate, steps done, and sleep cycles, or a smart thermostat that adjusts the temperature in the room depending on occupancy patterns. When you multiply each of these unique data points by millions of devices, you can clearly see the enormous amount of data that is produced every day.

Dedicated servers meet the specific requirements of Internet of Things data processing, which sets them apart from shared or virtual servers. The first benefit is performance alone. Because of its complexity and volume, IoT data necessitates servers with large amounts of memory and processing power. Data processing is guaranteed to be quick, reliable, and efficient with dedicated servers designed to satisfy these demands. With full access to all of the server’s resources, the user can guarantee a steady and uninterrupted flow of data.

The fact that dedicated servers are customizable further improves the cost-benefit analysis. No one is forced into certain setups. As an alternative, they may adjust server settings to scale up or down in response to the constantly changing requirements of IoT data processing. IoT is a dynamic environment, and dedicated servers provide an adjustable foundation that’s essential for modifying processing power and storage capacity.

When it comes to IoT, security is often of utmost importance. This is significantly enhanced by dedicated servers. There is far less chance of data breaches or interference since these servers are only available to one customer. This exclusivity guarantees that the vast amounts of private information gathered by IoT devices are secure, together with cutting-edge encryption and security procedures.

All things considered, the backend infrastructure that supports the IoT ecosystem must be reliable, scalable, and secure as it continues to develop rapidly. Dedicated servers are well suited to handle the enormous task of processing IoT data because of their unique combination of raw power, agility, and security. Dedicated server purchases will surely be a wise strategic choice for companies looking to fully use the potential of IoT to handle the mounting IoT data volume.

Worldstream's Dedicated Server Offering

Worldstream was founded in 2006 by childhood friends with a shared passion for gaming. Dissatisfied with the high costs and unreliability of game servers, they came up with the idea of offering better solutions. Since then, the Westland-based IT company has grown into an international player of IT infrastructure (IaaS).

Worldstream aims to uncomplicate the lives of IT leaders at tech companies. As a provider of data center, hardware, and network services, Worldstream serves various business markets, including Managed Service Providers (MSPs), System Integrators (SIs), Independent Software Vendors (ISVs), and web hosting companies. The key business objective of Worldstream is to give IT leaders peace of mind by providing high-quality infrastructure, industry-leading service, and strong partnerships that will get them excited about their IT infrastructure again.

As a global IaaS provider, Worldstream offers dedicated servers in two varieties: fully customizable servers and fixed instant delivery server setups. We currently have more than 15,000 dedicated servers installed for our clients in Worldstream’s data centers in the Netherlands (Naaldwijk) and Germany (Frankfurt). These dedicated servers are backed by Worldstream’s proprietary global network. The maximum bandwidth consumption on this network is only 45%, giving server users optimal scalability and DDoS defense guarantees.

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