When you were looking for a dedicated server, you could have encountered the term unmetered dedicated server and wondered concerning the difference between a daily dedicated server and an unmetered one. Simply put, a daily (metered) server means your dedicated server has a set amount of bandwidth allocated monthly. This limits the quantity of traffic, users, and activity in your site.
In case your site exceeds the allocated bandwidth limit, you will get charged overage fees. And while most hosting corporations offer bandwidth overage, it is often expensive. So is an unmetered dedicated server the best option for you? Discover now.
What Is an Unmetered Dedicated Server?
An unmetered dedicated server means there isn’t a limitation on bandwidth usage. Without bandwidth limitations, you’ll be able to give attention to increasing traffic to your website as a substitute of worrying about bandwidth overage charges.
In contrast, in case your dedicated server has a bandwidth limitation, it could slow the performance of your website and application. The quantity of traffic coming to your website will go bottleneck, progressively slowing down your website.
This is not good. But with an unmetered dedicated server, a DDoS attack won’t use up all of your bandwidth. Consequently, your site or application can proceed processing traffic. These are only a few reasons for using an unmetered dedicated server. Let’s explore more use cases.
Unmetered Dedicated Server Use Cases
There are various cases for using unmetered dedicated servers, comparable to streaming services for media, video, gaming, live events, etc. Other use cases include hosting files and backing up data. And a top use case for unmetered dedicated servers is popular, high-volume, high-traffic ecommerce web sites where hundreds of transactions occur day by day, hundreds of consumers are adding items to shopping carts, and more. Whenever you now not must worry about bandwidth overages, you’ll be able to give attention to providing services to your customers.
Are Unmetered Dedicated Servers Really Unmetered?
Yes and no. Typically, the limitation could possibly be as a consequence of your dedicated server’s network speed. So, in case your network speed is 10Gbps, it implies that although your provider shouldn’t be monitoring your bandwidth, your network can only handle 10Gbps. But even 10Gbps speed is incredibly fast and sometimes enough to power high-traffic sites.
One other difference is the incoming transfer (bandwidth) versus the outgoing transfer (bandwidth). The incoming transfer is traffic coming to your website, whereas outgoing transfer is image loading, transactions, file sharing, etc., going to your customers.
Unmetered dedicated server plans often include incoming transfer. And while a generous outbound transfer may additionally be included, it is usually limited to 10TB. That is still loads of bandwidth for a preferred site. But for extreme sites that need much more outgoing transfer, providers will often charge for extra TBs.
What To Look For
Some hosting corporations offer unmetered bandwidth but often limit the number of tourists, or they slow the connection speed on the network. Neither of those scenarios is alternative for a busy website or application. So, search for a hosting provider that provides at the very least 10TB of outbound bandwidth bundled together with your dedicated server. And for a very unmetered dedicated server experience, search for a hosting provider that provides unlimited incoming transfer (bandwidth).
Whenever you go for an unmetered dedicated server, search for information on network speed to see if the provider has set any limitations. Even when you may have unmetered bandwidth, your service provider may prevent you from truly using unlimited bandwidth. This shouldn’t be at all times the case, especially with well-known, high-quality hosting providers, as they make it easy to know. Also, it’s always easy to read the foundations and limitations, if any, on their network.
If the provider does have limitations, they’re most certainly reasonable. This keeps the network healthy and allows your unmetered dedicated server to run at optimum speed and efficiency, giving your customers a greater experience together with your website or application.
How Much Do Unmetered Dedicated Servers Cost?
Providers offer unmetered dedicated servers at a base cost where you’ll be able to add additional features or upgrade hardware, storage, drives, kind of server chassis, operating system, control panel, security (to stop DDoS attacks), network (a number of IP addresses depending on need), and bandwidth.
A basic unmetered plan range can start at around $100 and go as much as several hundred dollars per 30 days. Nonetheless, for more serious sites and applications, especially with gaming or streaming services, you could need a fleet of unmetered dedicated servers or, on the very least, a strong server at the highest end of the range, which may often run upwards of $1,000 per 30 days.
In fact, this price can increase depending on add-ons, upgrades, and any customizations needed to run your site or application optimally.
How To Select an Unmetered Dedicated Server
To allow you to determine the most effective unmetered dedicated server in your needs today, consider what you will be doing with it. For instance, in case you’re just starting out, you could wish to select a middle-range dedicated server plan.
One thing to notice is you’ll be able to at all times upgrade various points of your server even after your initial purchase, so starting with a middle-grade plan gives you adequate resources for performance with the additional advantage of upgrading as needed.
Another choice is to start out with probably the most basic and include add-ons and upgrades based on what you expect to want in the approaching weeks or months.
And in case you’re still unsure which unmetered dedicated server to decide on, ask your provider’s sales team what they recommend. Almost definitely, they are going to ask you what you intend to make use of it for. They may additionally ask for expected traffic depending in your site or application’s intent.
Final Thoughts
In case your site consistently exceeds its bandwidth limit, consider an unmetered dedicated server. You will not need to worry about overage fees with an unmet dedicated server. And while most hosting corporations do offer bandwidth overage, it’s typically expensive.
Keep in mind that with an unmetered dedicated server, you’ll be wanting to decide on a good provider with track record. You need to also expect to pay more for an unmetered dedicated server than you’d for a conventional server. But in case your site is high traffic and continuously surpasses its allocated bandwidth, an unmetered dedicated server could be the best alternative.
Liquid Web may additionally provide you with more insight into specific upgrades and hardware that suit your specific needs. And they’re going to offer you more details in your unmetered dedicated server’s incoming and outgoing data transfer must you still have questions.
Or please be at liberty to contact Liquid Web, and one among our team members can be comfortable to help you to find the best solution in your needs – there is a reason we’re often called The Most Helpful Humans In Hosting®.