Common Managed Server Configurations and Pricing

The configurations and costs of managed server hardware and service level agreements (SLAs) can vary widely by provider. Entry level packages with basic hardware can cost as little as a few hundred dollars a month while clustered enterprise servers can bring costs into the thousands. In general, service and hardware are the largest components of managed dedicated costs.
Bandwidth usage is often is billed using the 95^th percentile method – this calculation bills users based upon the expected 95^th percentile of data transfer usage, ensuring the top 5% of network utilization doesn’t skew usage bills upwards. For users who want to hedge their data transfer costs, many providers offer unmetered hosting, which is billed based upon data transfer speed rates rather than actual volume. A top quality managed server provider will often work with direct uplink pipelines so you have improved load times even during peak traffic hours. Billing models vary widely according to providers and can often be negotiated with a structure to keep costs manageable.
Fully managed services provide hardware, support, and data transfer in a single package, making it easier to anticipate costs  To provide a better sense of the various hardware and service configurations, we provide case study profiles on managed server options for common business setups:

• Startups and Small Businesses – Entry Level Servers

For small companies and startups, entry level dedicated servers provide data security and reliable hardware to begin to grow your business. Hardware configurations include quad core Intel (or AMD) processors with 8 GM RAM, 500 GB of storage and over 1 terabyte of data transfer monthly. These servers are ideal for development, testing and basic deployment of applications, database driven websites, CRM systems as well as internal communications. Service level agreements for entry level servers generally focus on technical support, uptime assurances, standard industry patches, daily hardware replacements and root server access. Users can expect to pay between $300 and $900 a month depending on the service level agreement (SLA).

• Professional Developers & High Traffic Websites– Mid-Level Managed Hosting

Professional developer hosting generally starts at $1,000 a month, offering high levels of memory, data transfer, as well as configuration based upon your application. Most commonly these packages offer multiple Intel x86 servers with extended storage, computing power and redundancy to improve performance and uptime. With professional servers you can often expect more active management in terms of security monitoring, dedicated technical support, specialized media data transfer services as well as frequent software upgrades.

• Enterprise Hosting– Specialized Configurations

At the top end of the spectrum, enterprise dedicated server hosting focuses on managed private clouds, top tier hardware, and complex hosting solutions. The pricing on enterprise hosting varies widely and is generally a request for proposal (RFP) quote process. For companies looking to scale their data transfer rates or improve load times for their applications, enterprise managed hosting can offer caching from multiple data centers, high (or unmetered) data transfer allowances, professional consulting and advice on network performance as well as customized server hardware. Rather than investing in a pre-configured solution, managed enterprise hosting allows hardware, software and customization to help you better serve your end users.
Conclusion: Making an Informed Managed Server Investment
This guide provided an overview of the important hardware, software and service aspects of managed dedicated hosting. Before committing to a managed dedicated service provider, it’s important to identify a level of service that matches your resources and requirements into the future with business planning and infrastructure requirements. Working with a trusted hosting company can provide a partner in helping to grow your business intelligently over time.
References
cPanel, “cPanel Documentation” Retrieved April 2010 http://www.cpanel.net/developer/documentation.html
Intel. “Optimizing Hardware for x86 Server Virutalization” August 2009 http://www.intel.com/Assets/PDF/WhitePaper/IDCchoosingvirthardware.pdf
Microsoft. “Windows Server 2008 R2: Pricing and Licensing” Retrieve April 2010. http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/pricing.aspx
Microsoft. “Windows Server 2008 R2 Technical White Paper” July 2009. http://download.microsoft.com/download/5/B/D/5BD5C253-4259-428B-A3E4-1F9C3D803074/Windows_Server_2008_R2_TDM_Whitepaper_RTM.docx
Netcraft. “Most Reliable Hosting Company Sites in March 2010″. April 2010. http://uptime.netcraft.com/perf/reports/Hosters
Red Hat. “RedHat.com Enterprise Linux Open Source Application for Servers” Retrieved April 2010. http://www.redhat.com/rhel/
Software in the Public Interest, “Debian Developers’” Retrieved April 2010. http://www.debian.org/devel/
Tier 1 Research “Managed Hosting: North America Overview” Winter, December 2009
Uptime Institute. “Data Center Site Infrastructure Tier Standard: Topology” February 2010. http://professionalservices.uptimeinstitute.com/UIPS_PDF/TierStandard.pdf
Verio. “Why You Need an Infrastructure Provider” May 2009 http://www.verio.com/files/pdf/white-papers/Infrastructure_Provider.pdf

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