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Managed hosting is an important decision to make when choosing a dedicated server. Read this tutorial to find out if you really need managed web hosting.

What is managed web hosting

Managed web hosting is a dedicated hosting service where the server is not shared with anyone. Dedicated hosting gives more control and flexibility than shared hosting. Dedicated hosting is recommended as a step-up from shared hosting when websites receiving high traffic requires more processing power and storage. Typically, website owners will switch to dedicated hosting when their website becomes slow or their web hosting provider

Why should I use managed web hosting?

Unless you are an expert at server administration and have extensive experience working on servers, you should choose managed web hosting. Managed web hosting gives you:

• Server monitoring
  Many managed web hosting service will monitor your server 24/7 ensuring that it is online and stable. This service can be worth the additional fee of managed web hosting alone. With server monitoring, technicians will be warned of upcoming server problems such as high server load and diagnose the server to ensure that it is stable.
• Server updates and software installation
  Part of the benefits of managed web hosting is free server updates and software installation. When there are new updates for your server (ex. security patches), the managed web hosting team can update the server for you. In addition, when you purchase software for your server (ex. backup utility for your server), you do not have to worry about installation because most managed web hosting will do this for you for free.
• A piece of mind
  Managed web hosting can make you sleep better. You do not have to worry about your server crashing in the middle of the night while you are asleep. If something does happen, such as a hardware failure, you can be sure that your managed web hosting will be available to replace the defective hardware immediately.

Types of managed support

One of the most important factors in choosing a managed web hosting is the type of managed support they provide. Depending in your skill, you may be able to save money by choosing a lesser managed service. If you do not have server administration skills, it is important that you choose fully managed service. When choosing a managed hosting service, be sure to find out what type of managed support it provides:

• Fully managed Fully managed service provides service for everything including monitoring, server updates, software installation, and technical support.
• Managed
  Sometimes you can save a few dollars by using managed instead of fully managed. Unlike fully managed service, there are limited features and limited amount of support. For example, managed web hosting sometimes limit the number of server reboots. Be sure to find out exactly which service are provided when choosing managed hosting.
• Self managed
  Self managed is for people who have extensive experience and knowledge with server administration. Self managed hosting includes some monitoring and maintenance but you are responsible for most operations.