[Web4lib] shared hosting vs. dedicated server

[Cary Gordon]

Shared hosting is a pretty broad term. For example, my shop offers
managed Drupal hosting from our data center. It is shared hosting as
we cluster client sites that have similar base requirements. For
consideably less than what we charge -- as little as $4-5/month, you
can get commodity shared hosting. If you are fine with doing your own
maintenance, and since your are considering a dedicated server, I'll
assume you are, your primary considerations are going to be the
reliability of your host, and their ability to handle your load.

There are many commodity hosts who have decent reputations and track
records. More problematic is their load handling ability. So, if your
site only gets a few visits a day, a Siteground type host might work
for you. A dozen couple dozen an hour and Dreamhost might be a good
fit. Note that ˆ am only naming these folks to have points of
reference, not as an endorsement.

It is hard to say where the line between a site being fine on shared
hosting and requiring dedicated hosting lies, but it is a pretty safe
assumption that a small rural library is a good candidate for shared
or possibly managed hosting. If you go that route and it is
insufficient, you can always step up.

Of course, it also depends on what you are serving. A highly active
ecommerce site will be a lot more demanding than a mostly static,
informational site.

Thanks,

Cary

On Fri, Feb 18, 2011 at 4:37 PM, Morgan A. Brynnan <mbrynnan at gmail.com> wrote:
> Greetings,
>
>
>
> I'm new to the list, so hope this is an appropriate post.
>
>
>
> Has anyone had luck using a shared hosting model for the web side of their
> library page and a dedicated server for the ILS?
>
>
>
> I'm working with a small rural library in an economically depressed area.
> They currently share a dedicated server with the county government that
> hosts their site & ILS on a dedicated server. The county uses a CMS, and in
> order to escape the CMS, they must move their web site off of the county
> server.
>
>
>
> I've found some excellent prices with national hosting/domain name
> companies. Do they absolutely need a dedicated server for their site, which
> is about 10 times the cost of shared hosting? The ILS (Voyager) would stay
> on the dedicated county server.
>
>
>
> Thanks for any thoughts.
>
>
>
> Morgan
>
>
>
> Morgan Brynnan, MLIS
>
> mbrynnan at gmail.com
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Web4lib mailing list
> Web4lib at webjunction.org
> http://lists.webjunction.org/web4lib/
>
>



-- 
Cary Gordon, MLIS
The Cherry Hill Company
http://chillco.com