Choosing the right hosting platform is one of the most important decisions you‘ll make when launching or expanding your online business. A managed dedicated server provides the power, resources and expertise needed to ensure your site stays fast, secure and always online.
In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll explore what sets managed dedicated servers apart and review the top 8 providers that deliver exceptional performance and support.
What is Managed Dedicated Hosting?
A managed dedicated server is a physical server leased from a hosting provider that is fully dedicated to your business. This guarantees resources like RAM, storage, bandwidth and processing power are available only to your site and applications.
In contrast, shared hosting plans place your site on a server shared with hundreds or thousands of other sites. Activity from neighboring sites can slow down server performance and impact your site speed and uptime.
With managed dedicated hosting, you get:
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Guaranteed server resources – No competing sites eating up RAM, storage or bandwidth. Resources are dedicated to your business only.
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Powerful performance – Cutting-edge processors, high RAM configurations, SSD storage and gigabit networks provide incredible speed.
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Enhanced security – Dedicated IP addresses and servers isolated from other sites improves security.
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Expert management – Hosting providers configure, monitor, maintain and support your server so you can focus on your business.
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Scalability – Easily upgrade server resources like RAM, processors and storage as your traffic grows.
For resource-intensive sites that demand optimal speed and reliability, managed dedicated servers are the premier hosting solution.
Key Benefits of Managed Dedicated Hosting
Deciding between managed or unmanaged dedicated hosting? Here are the biggest advantages of having an expert hosting provider manage your server:
24/7 Monitoring and Maintenance
With managed hosting, server maintenance tasks are performed for you including:
- OS and software updates
- Security patching
- Performance optimization
- Troubleshooting any issues
Server health is proactively monitored 24/7 to identify and fix problems before they impact your site.
Enhanced Reliability
Expert teams working behind the scenes to monitor and optimize your server provide greater reliability and uptime. Managed support dramatically reduces downtime risks.
Improved Security
Hosting providers implement advanced security solutions including firewalls, intrusion detection, DDoS mitigation and regular patching to better protect your server from threats.
Technical Support
Managed hosting providers offer 24/7 technical support should any issue arise. This gives you peace of mind knowing expert help is available if needed.
Time Savings
You gain back all the time previously required to administer your server. The hosting provider takes care of management and maintenance so you can devote focus entirely to your business.
Cloud-Based Server Management
Many managed dedicated server providers implement intuitive cloud-based management platforms. This allows you to monitor, configure and control your server using your browser.
8 Top Managed Dedicated Server Hosting Providers
1. Liquid Web
Liquid Web is one of the most well-established and highly-reputed managed dedicated server providers. They offer excellent performance and reliability.
Key features:
- 100% network uptime guarantee
- Options for both Linux and Windows servers
- Top-tier dedicated server hardware
- High performance SSD storage
- Intuitive server management platform
- Hands-on expert support
Liquid Web provides DDoS protection, SSL certificates, offsite backups and other security solutions inclusive with managed dedicated server plans.
Their servers are housed in SSAE 16 certified data centers located in Michigan, Arizona and the Netherlands. Customers can choose the data center location ideal for their target audience.
Prices start at $179 per month for an entry-level managed dedicated server.
2. Rackspace
Rackspace is another industry leader renowned for their managed hosting expertise. They offer two levels of management service.
Key Features:
- 100% network uptime guarantee
- Managed and Intensive service plans
- Fanatical 24/7 support
- Sophisticated cybersecurity protections
- Global data center locations
- Cloud-based server management
The Managed plan provides monitoring, maintenance and technical support with a 1 hour response time SLA starting at $149 per month.
The Intensive plan adds a 15 minute response time SLA, quarterly account reviews, architecture advice and other benefits starting at $299 per month.
For the most mission-critical sites, the Intensive management service ensures optimal server performance and reliability.
3. Hyve
Hyve takes a consultative and flexible approach to managed dedicated servers. Each server is custom-built based on your specific technical requirements and budget.
Key features:
- Customizable dedicated server configurations
- Worldwide data center locations
- Proactive server monitoring
- Easy scalability as needs grow
- Strong security provisions
- Expert IT team provides hands-on support
Hyve utilizes enterprise-grade hardware, networks and data centers to deliver excellent performance and uptime. Clients have access to the Hyve technical team for ongoing management and maintenance.
Offsite backups, DDoS mitigation and high availability options provide robust protection and redundancy. Hyve‘s consultative sales and support results in managed dedicated servers tailored to each client‘s technical needs.
4. InMotion Hosting
InMotion is a fast-growing player in managed dedicated server hosting. They offer customized servers with up to 16 cores and big RAM allotments perfect for resource-intensive sites.
Key features:
- SSD enhanced storage
- Up to 16 CPU cores
- RAM configurations up to 64GB
- Built-in DDoS protection
- Launch Assist onboarding service
- Expert server management team
- Choice of US data centers
InMotion Launch Assist provides new clients with a detailed consultation to determine server specifications that best meet their technical needs. Custom configurations help optimize performance.
Their team of Linux, Windows and application experts monitor, maintain and support your server via their proprietary Server Management Platform. This dashboard allows you to monitor your server from anywhere.
Managed dedicated server prices start at $105 per month for quad core servers and scales up from there. InMotion is a great choice for highly customized, high performance dedicated hosting.
5. HostDime
HostDime delivers robust managed dedicated servers with a choice of Linux and Windows operating systems. They utilize premium Dell hardware.
Key features:
- Custom server configurations
- Intel Xeon processors
- SSD disks for faster I/O
- MySQL, MSSQL and PgSQL databases
- cPanel and Plesk control panels
- Cloud server management portal
- Proactive resource monitoring
- Expert support and maintenance
HostDime‘s technical team handles onboarding, optimization, patching, troubleshooting and ongoing management of your dedicated server. Clients have access to a real-time dashboard showing the health and performance metrics of their server.
Their global data center locations provide low latency web hosting in the Americas, Europe and Asia. HostDime supplies the hardware, network, security, uptime and support required for optimal dedicated server hosting.
Managed dedicated server pricing starts at $99 per month. HostDime delivers robust performance, reliability and support.
6. A2 Hosting
A2 Hosting offers excellent managed dedicated servers inclusive of their “HostGuard” management package. They have data centers strategically positioned around the globe.
Key features:
- SwiftServer platform accelerates performance
- Easy scalability for growing sites
- HostGuard proactive management
- 99.9% uptime guarantee
- Anycast DNS and DDoS protection
- Centrally managed updates and monitoring
- Intuitive control panel
A2 Hosting leverages their scalable SwiftServer platform, SSD disks, and other technology to improve server speeds. HostGuard management provisions servers, monitors site health around the clock, and keeps software updated.
Their global data center locations provide hosting options in the Americas, Europe and Asia to reduce latency. A2 delivers the speed, security and support required for successful managed dedicated hosting.
Prices start at just $99 per month for entry-level dedicated servers. A2 Hosting supplies excellent value given their robust feature set.
7. SingleHop
SingleHop takes a high-touch approach to managed dedicated server hosting. Each client has access to a team of experts that become intimately familiar with their infrastructure and needs.
Key Features:
- Fanatical Support methodology
- Performance oriented configurations
- Proactive server monitoring
- Granular server analytics
- DDoS mitigation
- Block storage options
- SSAE 16 data centers
SingleHop emphasizes customer service with each client having a dedicated account manager plus access to a team of subject matter experts. They provide hands-on help with architecting, migrating, optimizing and managing your environment.
Their managed dedicated servers enable PCI, HIPAA and other compliance standards. You have visibility into real-time server performance through their management platform.
SingleHop operates multiple data centers located across the USA along with an Amsterdam location. Their expertise and high-touch support make them stand out.
8. ServerMania
ServerMania excels at delivering robust, high performance dedicated servers. With a 20+ year history, they have deep technical expertise.
Key features:
- 100% network uptime guarantee
- High memory and processing configurations
- Bare metal or cloud servers
- Managed Kubernetes clusters
- Block and object storage options
- Server optimization and monitoring
- Choice of US-based data centers
ServerMania provisions servers featuring the latest generation Intel Xeon scalable processors with big RAM allotments ideal for memory-intensive workloads. Their SAN disk arrays provide excellent I/O performance.
Experienced server engineers proactively monitor and fine-tune your environment. Load balancing, CDN and DDoS protection provide enhanced performance and security.
ServerMania specializes in powering sites that demand high resources and low latency across North America. Their managed dedicated servers deliver rock solid stability.
Finding the Right Managed Dedicated Hosting Provider
With this overview of the top managed dedicated server hosting providers, how do you select the right one for your business? Here are key factors to consider:
Server Management Expertise
Look for established providers with deep technical expertise supporting business-critical workloads across their customer base. The quality of the engineering team has a huge impact on your server’s performance and reliability.
Service Levels
Evaluate management response times (15 minutes, 1 hour etc) along with uptime guarantees. Prioritize providers that offer guaranteed uptime of 99.9% or better.
Security Capabilities
Assess security provisions like firewalls, DDoS mitigation, intrusion detection systems, backups and disaster recovery provisions. Your provider should implement defense-in-depth.
Performance
Factor in server specs (CPU cores, RAM, disks), network capacity and locations. Test site speed using performance monitoring tools.
Scalability
Look for flexible server upgrade options that allow scaling RAM, storage and other resources as your needs grow.
Reputation
Research experience, customer reviews and satisfaction reports. Established managed hosting providers with proven track records make great partners.
Support Responsiveness
Evaluate support channels (live chat, phone, ticketing), availability and response times. Prioritize providers with 24/7 tech support.
Cost
Compare monthly management fees, server specs and optional add-ons like backups to gauge value. Balance cost, capabilities and service levels.
Doing thorough pre-purchase due diligence ensures you select the managed dedicated server provider best meeting your specific requirements and budget parameters.
Migrating to Managed Dedicated Hosting
Once you’ve selected a hosting provider, they will migrate your site and data from your current environment onto your new managed dedicated server.
Reputable managed hosting providers have extensive experience migrating sites from other hosting platforms including:
- Shared hosting
- VPS hosting
- Unmanaged dedicated servers
- On-premise environments
They will work closely with you to architect your new environment, recommend optimizations, pretest and validate the migration process, schedule cutover and finally migrate your production site and data seamlessly onto your new managed dedicated server.
Get the Power, Performance and Reliability Your Business Needs
A managed dedicated server provides your business with its own high performance server environment capable of powering the most demanding web applications with speed and stability. Offloading management to a team of experts allows your staff to focus on business priorities rather than server administration.
This guide reviewed top managed dedicated hosting providers proven to deliver exceptional infrastructure, performance, security and support. Partnering with the right provider will ensure your online business has rock solid managed dedicated hosting tailored to your technical requirements and budget.
