When to upgrade from dedicated web server to server clustering
Saturday, October 11th, 2008When should you Upgrade from Dedicated Web Server Hosting to Clustered Server Hosting?
Dedicated web server hosting gives you much greater flexibility and control than virtual hosting, but it still has volume constraints and failures can be caused by a single point of error. Here are questions that should help you determine if it is time for clustered server hosting:
Are the services on my web server so critical that I can not afford them to be down even an hour or two? Dedicated web server hosting is much more robust that a virtual hosting, but there are still many single points of error that could cause downtime.
Are so many people trying to access the applications on my dedicated hosting server that it is becoming too slow? Good applications get a lot of use, however as you get many people using them at the same time the system slows down and productivity suffers.
Are so many people visiting my web site or trying to download information that it is becoming too slow? Getting a lot of visitors to your web site is great, but a single dedicated server only can handle so many requests for information before response time slows and potential customers leave.
Would placing applications on different web servers simplify troubleshooting performance issues? When too many things get loaded onto a single dedicated web server it is very difficult to tell what is causing the problem when troubles start.
Does the traffic volume or system load fluctuate greatly from high to low in unpredictable ways? Trying to handle wide swings in volume on a single dedicated web server is very difficult as you end up with too much or too little capacity.
Is my business growing so rapidly that I need an easy way to scale my web servers? Adding more web servers to handle growth to a properly configured cluster is very easy.
If you answered yes to any of these questions it is probably time to seriously consider migrating to clustered hosting.
