My question is: How do dedicated servers work? Since i have a somewhat fast computer with Linux installed and since i'm sort of experienced setting up/using MySQL, PHP, ect. And all that good stuff it never came to mind, but.. I recently heard you can "rent" a server, which aparrently is called a Dedicated Server for a few bucks a month, And i heard it was alot easier to handle and maintain and use. I was just curious as to how it would work. Do you just login to their website/FTP and just upload all your files? What if you need to edit the MySQL database for some reason, will you be able to do stuff like that? Also, since the server for your website is on someone elses computer, how would you know that your website has good security? Like firewalls, protection from DOS attacks, that sort of thing. -Lice

Some info here. From what I've seen, typically if you're getting a real dedicated server package it means that in some datacenter there is a computer which is reserved for your use. You get the entire drive space, resources, and bandwidth that is provided. It's up to the host to make sure that all the services it offers are working correctly, everything from Internet connection speeds, HTTP, SQL, security, and whatnot. A dedicated server always costs more than shared hosting, but has lots of advantages. You can usually setup the system however you want. You also get full resources whereas many shared hosts will get quite upset if you start using a good portion of the CPU and RAM for extended periods of time. This makes it easier to run server applications like a Bittorrent tracker or a game server (as long as the host's TOS don't have a problem with it). You would access the server the same way as shared hosting, though (S)FTP and usually SSH. Most dedicated servers also have one or more dedicated IP addresses as well which is also very nice to have.

Any dedicated server that is worth renting, probably cost closer to a few hundred bucks per month, rather than a few bucks a month.

shared web hosting = many accounts sharing space/resources on a server. dedicated server = server owned by the ISP/company but fully administered by you colocated server = server that is owned by you and sent to the ISP/company to take advantage of their connection to the internet In dedicated/colocated servers, you are responsible for everything on it (its security, etc)