How does a dedicated server work?

I have this abstract idea of huge machines in large, climate-controlled buildings. Then I was looking at dell.com and that didn't seem to be the case at all.

Is a dedicated server a computer...could one surf the net, write and execute scripts, etc from it?

Totally lost here (and showing it) LOL

Thanks for any info.
Sabrina :-)

Hi Sabrina,

A dedicated server is just like your home machine. But usually without Windows 98/ME, but running Linux or Windows NT/2000. It usually also doesn't have a soundcard or anything you would need to listen to music, play games, etc.

You could definately use it for surfing and other things, but they are mostly uses for running webservers, ftp servers, mail servers, etc.

Dedicated servers come in different sizes and shapes and they get smaller all the time. :)

Thanks Marc! I was just wondering...you mention Windows NT/2000. Why do they install this operating system as opposed to Windows 98/ME?

Also, is it better to have a server at a remote location (as opposed to one's home or office) in order to be closer to the net's 'backbone'?

Well personally I think any version of windows is stupid to have on a server :)

Seriously - the benifit of having at a remote location with a colocation or dedicated hosting provider is that you don't need the infrastructure. You won't need to purchase routers, switches, UPS, Backup Generators, or redudant highspeed internet connections. On top of that their server floors are locked, some with guards or video cameras, climate control, etc. The cost to do this at your office is enourmous. Plus you still need your server. With a dedicated provider you lease the use of a server. It is their equipment still. A Colocation provider takes a server you sends them and puts it in an evironment described above.

Personally I feel that Solaris is the best OS for a server as it seems to be the most stable. Most of us(me including can't afford a SPARC server, but solaris also runs on Intel based servers). Linux is a common OS used because the price is right, FREE...there are many versions of Linux as well - RedHat, Mandrake, SuSe, etc etc. These are great OSs for what you pay, but for a few bucks you can pick up Solaris which in talking with others seems to be alot more stable and realiable...a pain to setup, but once setup will run like a beast. Currently I'm in the process of switching from RedHat 7.1 to Solaris 8(7/11).

Hope this helps you out a bit.

Originally posted by sabrina
Is a dedicated server a computer...could one surf the net, write and execute scripts, etc from it?

What he said, and I'll just mention that I've used two 'servers' as home computers (just in case I needed something quick). As you can see by the attachment, a 1U fits nicely in the space right under the desk :)

It's the (gutted) black thing under the keyboard in this picture:

Solaris 8 is free to download and commercially use (or so I thought I read on their site).

FreeBSD and OpenBSD are the two OSes that I would say are the more stable and reliable. Solaris is defintely great, but as was mentioned, a pain to administer (not hard, just a pain). the BSD family is a breeze, IMO.

Windows servers? Only if you have a specific reason (MS Access, ODBC, ASP, etc). Else, Unix!

Originally posted by Kiwi
Dedicated servers come in different sizes and shapes and they get smaller all the time. :)
I'm working on some Sun Netra X1s right now, and they are a little bit bigger than my laptop. Now that's tiny. :) They could make it even smaller if they put the power supply where the second HD would go.

Dedicated servers are nothing more than regular old computer components re-engineered to fit in tight spaces. As mentioned above they either don't have or integrate stuff like video, sound, network etc into the motherboard. They call them "dedicated servers" because that's excatly what they are.. computers that are 'dedicated' solely to 'serving' webpages, ftp, DNS, mail etc. It's only the functions they perform that make them 'servers'. I'm pretty sure there are big a** servers the size of a fridges but they are complete overkill for serving webpages and the like.

Dedicated servers are nothing more than regular old computer components re-engineered to fit in tight spaces

As I thought about that.. it's kind of the other way around actually. They engineer the cases to fit all the components in as tight a space as possible.