As a webmaster I have my hands full with the daily monitoring and maintenance of websites. It keeps me busy enough. But before any site can hit the big time I have a bunch of setup work that needs to get done and done right. Choosing the type of hosting environment is key to the site’s success and also key to keeping my workload reasonable. Making the wrong choice in hosting environment guarantees the investment of additional time to make it right. I’d like to explain how I go about making these choices. Just maybe I can save the reader some time in the long run.

• What am I looking for in a host?

Basically, I need a webserver with enough bandwidth to serve the number of page requests I expect to receive. But, like most things in life, hosting is not quite that simple. Depending on project requirements, I may also need access to a scripting language, database, or data backup. Each of these additional capabilities will put a load on the server’s processor, so I may have a minimum processor speed requirement, as well. But before I can really shop for a hosting service, I need to answer a bigger question. How much hosting power do I need? The most common choices are shared hosting and dedicated servers. I will limit todays discussion to these two choices.

• Shared

Just like the name implies, a shared hosting environment is a machine that hosts many websites that are owned by different people. The hosting provider does general system administration and also sets privileges so that individual users have access to only their own files. The various users share the processing power and bandwidth of the single machine. The sharing of a single machine allows the hosting provider to keep costs low. The down side of sharing a machine is that the webserver must be configured generically for all users.

• Dedicated

A dedicated is the next step up the chain of hosting environments. In this scenario, a hosting company has set a single machine aside for my use. They still own it and generally still do most of the major administration, but I am the only client with access to the machine. I can set it up for one or many of my own websites. Depending on what privileges I have been granted, I may have a little or a lot of control over configuration. In most cases, if the hosting provider doesn’t give me access to a particularly configuration setting, I can request a change and they will perform it for me. Of course, I get to pay extra for this type of hosting environment.

• Now What?

It is best if I know now what all my current and future requirements will be regarding server hosting capabilities. If I underestimate my needs I may be forced to migrate up to a dedicated server at a later date. If I overestimate my needs I may end up paying substantially more than necessary over the long haul. Getting it right the first time is likely to same me time and/or money. To make that more likely to happen I usually look at the following questions:
1. How much bandwidth do I need now? How much will I need later?
A large bandwidth requirement usually dictates a dedicated server. I also want to estimate future needs. Growing out the cost effective shared hosting service after six months ends up costing significantly more in time than was ever saved in dollars.

2. Will my web application have large storage needs now or in the future?
See previous.
3. Will I need a technology that is usually only available on a dedicated server such as Java or C++? Will I want to run non web-based apps on the hosting server?
Sometimes the technology dictates the environment. If I need Java or the power of a native application I am usually forced into stepping up to a dedicated server.

4.Do I need a custom web server configuration? Am I skilled enough to handle my own custom server configuration or do I need it to be done by the hosting service?
Typical websites are well served by typical web configurations. However, not every project is typical. Sometimes the best solution is a custom web server configuration. Using .htaccess can often be used for a per-site configuration change. When it can’t, I may be forced into a dedicated server so that I have total control over the server’s configuration. If this is the route I take I need to decide whether I want the quickness and flexibility of configuring it myself, or the security of knowing I can fall back on the host’s administration team for help

How these questions are answered may lead me directly to an answer. If my project is Java based my choice is made quite easily. Often, however, the decision is not so clear cut. I must make an educated guess on future needs versus dollar savings. This is where experience helps. And that experience comes from mistakes.

And there is one more scenario to consider. If my business plan anticipates exponential growth over a long period of time, a mixture of both hosting environments may be appropriate. I may have a four year projection that shows moderate growth over the first three years followed by a much steeper growth curve during the last year. In this scenario I may find that planning a migration from shared hosting to a dedicated server at the end of the third year is the best use of my resources.

In the end, it all boils down to a balancing act. I want to save dollars spent on hosting, but I also want to minimize the likelihood that I will need to migrate the site in the near future. Having an accurate estimate of site usage and growth is the first step. Answering the questions listed above is the second. And if the decision still isn’t clear cut, I have a gut feeling (based on previous failures) to fall back on.

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