There are many types of servers for small businesses. Knowing the pros and cons of each of them is essential to make a conscious choice according to the actual demands of your micro-business.
Servers are solutions that connect a company’s services or departments. They support multiple clients on a computer network, managing traffic, hosting data, and storing or performing other computing activities.
“Clients” is the name given to all computers and devices on a network managed by a server. Servers can be physically located in the business to support local network services and private or public online servers (used by several different companies or individuals).
Types Of Servers For Small Businesses: Cloud And Rental
Let’s now learn about the types of servers for small businesses in two categories: cloud and rental. These solutions are recommended for outsourcing the operation for those who do not want a server within the company. Below are the main types of servers for companies available in these categories:
Online Shared Server (Web Hosting)
The online shared server is the most used by small companies because some service offerings are free or cheap. A specialized enterprise maintains and offers the service shared by several business clients.
This service is suitable for companies that don’t use complex applications, as some files are never accepted on shared servers – which generally only offer a limit of 12 gigabytes. Also, consider that access takes place via the internet. Therefore, the data is not 100% safe from breaches by hacker attacks.
Grid Hosting (Cloud Hosting)
It works similarly to web hosting (shared server). Your company does not need to have the expense of installing and maintaining physical equipment because everything is online.
These servers for companies have a fundamental difference for those who value security. They are interchangeable and work as if they were a single server and not something shared, offering more capacity and security in daily operations.
Use grid hosting if company data is essential and challenging to recover in cases of loss or damage. It’s not free, although it is cheaper than installing a physical server, whether for reasons of time or money.
It is a virtual service that works more privately and securely. It is widely used by small companies that need to share large volumes of data with less chance of operational errors due to server instability.
This is all possible because, although the use occurs on the same server, there are different partitions – divisions made on an HD to separate data into different disk units. Charges for the service are higher as the operations of a network’s customers grow.
Reseller Hosting Server
The main advantage is that as a contractor, you can rent part of your space to other clients, representing a way of having a quality server for various computing activities and reducing costs simultaneously.
A disadvantage of these servers for small businesses is that if operations grow overnight, it will not be possible to use the part of the rented space.
This solution is valid for micro-enterprises that want a capable server and are sure that data generation or heavy files should not increase too quickly.
Physical Dedicated Servers
These options are available for rent: the contracting company rents the device and installs it at its headquarters. You have to pay a monthly fee in addition to maintenance and installation costs. Still, the advantage is that you and your team have full access to the server so that you can run different applications without any problems.
Colocated Servers
For these types of servers for companies, the contracting business inserts its server into the web hosting company. This solution is valid for microenterprises to save when carrying out complex operations in networks that need autonomous and expensive infrastructure, in addition to offering gains in scale (increased production) due to the robust data processing center of the enterprises that offer this service.
Also Read: How A Server Works And Equips Your Company
