Dedicated web hosting is one of three primary web hosting methods. Other types of hosting include virtual hosting, sometimes called shared hosting, which is the most common web hosting method; and clustered web hosting which uses a group of servers that are integrated in order to increase performance and redundancy for a web hosting customer who has unique needs. There are definite advantages and disadvantages to the various web hosting methods. Dedicated web hosting is a hosting method that many internet-based businesses find to be extremely advantageous.

Ownership of a dedicated server can b compared to owning a piece of property. You can put around a little fence and decide how much furniture and equipment you need.

You can expect your service to be much more reliable due to the fact that with dedicated server you do not share space with others. With shared hosting you may share space with 10 or even 100 other users. Not only do you share the hosting space but data transfer as well. If your average use of data transfer becomes more that 10% of allowed monthly transfer, you may be politely asked to close your account. While with dedicated hosting you are allowed to increase your data transfer if needed.

You should expect much better performance from dedicated web hosting solution. Your site should be faster since your are not sharing neither processor, disc space or data transfer with other users.

For most internet-based businesses, dedicated web hosting is sufficient; however, for businesses with advanced needs custom engineering and server design using clustered hosting may be necessary. However, clustered hosting is really pretty rare. For businesses that need custom applications and more space than what is available in a shared environment, dedicated web hosting is usually the answer.

Conversely, a server providing shared web hosting contains multiple websites on the same computer but they all have the same IP address. If you were to type in an IP address associated with a shared server, you’d get an error message or possibly would be redirected to the hosting company’s main web site. So domain names are mandatory for websites hosted on shared servers as they are the only way to access those web sites - they cannot be accessed by an IP address alone as they can be with dedicated web hosting.