Selecting The Datacenter For Your Dedicated Server
Dedicated Servers > Guide > Data Center & Network Connectivity



Find Out The Facilities That Your Data Center Provides

How your server is connected to the Internet backbone will undeniably affect its performance and speedy delivery of requested pages/files. To begin with, we must look at where our server is stored and what facilities does that place provide.

In today's web hosting arena, web servers are stored in gigantic facilities known as data centers. These centers keep the servers connected to the internet 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and that with high speed lines.

Does the data center that hosts your server offers redundancy in the multitude of services it offers or not is the key issue. To keep things running, a data center must be equipped with surplus power grids, UPS systems, redundant internet connections, additional forms of backup etc. As Robert Marks says in his article "A Glimpse Inside The Data Center":

"When one contemplates the number of things that could possibly go wrong, from hacker attacks to power failures to fires, keeping applications running without interruption becomes a twenty-four hour job. Having your data center built like a nuclear power plant is not only desirable, but necessary."

When it comes to server connectivity, there are a bunch of variations T-1, T-3, OC-3, OC-256, etc. A server that possesses a T1 connection to the Internet can only allow 1.544 Mbps (Megabits per second) a T3 can allow up to 45 Mbps. Then again an OC-256 can allow 13,000 Mbps, giving the ability to transfer much more information at a higher rate of speed before getting bogged down.

Make sure you inquire your dedicated host about the server connectivity lines they offer at their data center, prior to placing any order for the dedicated server.

Other Sections In This Guide:
Server OS ... Before Anything Else, Hardware Issues, Managed VS Unmanaged Server, Considering A Virtual Private Server, Data Center & Server Connectivity Issues, Web Server Administration, DNS & BIND Overview, Remote Administration