Breaking Down the Barriers: Cloud vs. Dedicated vs. On-Premises

Cloud servers, hosted dedicated servers and on-premises dedicated servers are all powerful and reliable solutions capable of carrying out the same tasks. The reason for choosing between them is that some are more suitable for different purposes in terms of performance, availability, scalability, security and cost-effectiveness. In this post, we’ll compare these three solutions to give a clearer idea of the circumstances in which one might be a better option.

To avoid duplication later on, we also note that hosted dedicated servers and on-premises dedicated servers are technically the same thing. When choosing between them, it’s not the technology that matters so much as the environment they are housed in and the implications for costs, security, maintenance and administration.

1. Performance
   For most types of workloads, both cloud servers and dedicated servers are equally capable of delivering exceptional performance. In terms of specification, both offer large numbers of high-performance CPUs, plus significant RAM and either SSD or NVMe storage. However, businesses with significant processing demands will find that higher-spec dedicated servers outperform the top-end cloud servers. For example, here is a comparison of the highest-spec cloud server and dedicated server at eukhost:Specifications comparison: Cloud vs Dedicated Servers

   Bespoke configurations with even greater capacity are also possible for dedicated servers.

   If businesses require more power than cloud servers can offer, dedicated servers – whether hosted or on-premises – will be the better option.

   For more information, read: eukhost Unveils New Range of Next-Gen Dedicated Servers

2. Availability
   While performance is crucial for some workloads, availability is vital for others, particularly critical applications like websites, customer-facing apps and operational software that need to be online all the time. Dedicated servers can offer exceptional availability, upwards of 99.9%. However, as physical machines, they occasionally require rebooting after updates and are susceptible to hardware failure, which can cause downtime.As cloud servers are virtual, they are hosted across a network of physical machines rather than being tied to a single physical server. This means that they are unaffected by hardware issues as systems can migrate to other machines if a problem occurs. Additionally, live patching and rolling updates prevent the need for downtime during operating system updates. As a result, the cloud is able to offer 100% uptime, making it ideal for businesses where even minimal downtime would cause issues.
3. Scalability
   Scalability ensures your workloads have the resources needed to perform effectively, even under changing circumstances. For example, if your website’s traffic surged during Black Friday, scalability would prevent high demand from making it crash.With dedicated servers, scaling can be achieved horizontally (adding more servers) or vertically (upgrading existing hardware). Vertical scaling is more affordable but requires downtime while the new hardware is installed. This makes it of little use for dealing with unexpected demand. The horizontal scaling of hosted servers is faster, as web hosts have spare servers readily available. On-premises, however, businesses will need to purchase, ship and install new servers, which can take days.Cloud hosting offers the fastest and most flexible way to scale. Resources can be added instantly, either manually or via auto-scaling, and the vast capacity of data centres means there is virtually no limit to the resources available. For these reasons, the cloud is the best choice for businesses that need to scale up on demand.
4. Cost
   With the rising costs of digital operations, businesses need to minimise their IT expenditure while ensuring that operations remain effective. Dedicated servers can be hosted either with a service provider or kept on-premises. When hosted on-premises, the options for businesses are to hire-purchase, lease or purchase the server outright, the latter requiring considerable capital expenditure. Hosted servers are paid for monthly and plans typically cover not just hosting services but also power, cooling, insurance, physical security and maintenance. Businesses with on-premises servers will need to pay these additional costs.Businesses also need to consider the lifespan of a server. The pace of technological development means servers quickly become outdated, making upgrading necessary to run more advanced applications and stay competitive. Upgrading with a hosting provider is often more cost-effective than having to replace expensive on-premises hardware every few years.Scaling costs are another important consideration. With dedicated servers, vertical scaling is the cheaper option but how far you can scale is limited by the server’s capacity. Horizontal scaling offers greater resource capacity but purchasing new servers can be expensive for both provider-hosted and on-premises options. There is also the risk that you may be paying for resources you will seldom use. Cloud hosting’s pay-as-you-go model can be the most cost-effective scaling option as you only pay for the resources you use – however, high levels of data transfer and data egress can see costs mount up.

   For more, read: How to Achieve Cost Optimisation through Managed Cloud Services?

5. Security
   Given today’s threat landscape, security is a critical consideration when choosing an IT solution. A major factor is the cost of implementing security. On-premises servers require significant investment in security expertise and tools to ensure protection. Hosting providers, however, include comprehensive security measures in their plans. Cloud servers and hosted dedicated servers will therefore be protected by measures such as firewalls, intrusion prevention, anti-malware and anti-DDoS tools as standard. Additional protection, like automated backups, next-gen firewalls and even security audits, can be available as optional services.For businesses that handle sensitive data, the isolation of dedicated servers offers additional security and can help with compliance. As dedicated hardware is solely used by a single entity, it cannot be impacted by threats that affect shared, multi-tenancy environments. As a result, it offers a robust option for storing and processing sensitive data.

   Keep up to date with security, read: Web Hosting Security: Future Trends and Best Practices

6. Conclusion
   Cloud servers and hosted or on-premises dedicated servers are all reliable, high-performance solutions for businesses. Which is the right option depends on whether you prioritise performance, reliability, scalability, security or cost-effectiveness. Hopefully, the information provided here will help you make a more informed decision. Our affordable cloud and dedicated server hosting solutions come with managed services, 24/7 technical support and advanced security. For more information visit our Cloud Hosting and Dedicated Server pages.