Cloud vs. Dedicated
Choosing a dedicated server or a cloud hosting package depends on what you wish to run. A Dedicated
Server would provide you with complete privacy, while Cloud Hosting offers you high scalability at a
fraction of the cost.
The major difference between Cloud and Dedicated hosting is that a dedicated server is a physical piece
of equipment housed in a datacenter. The typical dedicated server comes with one hard drive, which means
one disk failure and you will lose all your data. Added redundancy is expensive, and deployment is usually
not instant, resulting in disruption to your website.
Cloud Hosting, on the other hand, is a virtual server. Cloud hosting offers more or less the same features
as a dedicated server, but is much more affordable as the architecture cost is shared among other users on
the cloud. Unlike dedicated servers, cloud clusters are based on a shared hosting methodology where multiple
servers are connected in a network, and the resources of all the servers are pooled together to serve the
requirements of the websites and applications that are hosted in the cloud. With resources readily available,
users are not burdened with costly hardware, and deployment is instant.
If you are already using a dedicated server and are happy with its performance, or if you have specific requirements
for hardware or software in order for your website to function, a dedicated server would be an appropriate choice.
However, if you don't have such expectations and are more concerned with uptime, scalability and reliability,
choosing a cloud hosting plan will be the best solution.