How to Choose a Dedicated Server: A Practical Guide for Businesses

A dedicated server gives you an entire physical machine — no neighbours, no shared resources. It is the ultimate solution for performance, control and security, but also the one that demands the most careful purchasing decisions. Here are the criteria that truly matter.

CPU: cores or clock speed?

The right CPU depends on your workload. Web applications with many concurrent requests benefit from more cores, while single-process intensive workloads (builds, certain databases) prefer higher per-core frequency. Check the processor generation — a modern CPU with fewer cores can outperform an older many-core one.

RAM and storage

Insufficient RAM is the most common cause of poor performance: the database cannot keep data in memory and hits the disk constantly. Calculate your applications' needs and add at least a 30% buffer.

For storage, NVMe is the recommended standard for databases and active applications. For archives and backups, high-capacity HDDs remain cost-effective. A mixed configuration is often ideal.

Network, location and reliability

•      Bandwidth: check the port speed (1 Gbps or 10 Gbps) and the monthly traffic limit.

•      Data center location: the closer to your visitors, the lower the latency.

•      Redundancy: dual power feeds, RAID for disks and an SLA with guaranteed uptime.

•      DDoS protection included or available as an add-on.

Managed or unmanaged?

An unmanaged server costs less, but all responsibility — updates, security, monitoring, incident response — falls on your team. A management service shifts these tasks to the provider's specialists, letting you focus on your business.

CLIQHOST offers dedicated servers with optional full management: monitoring, security updates and technical support. Configure the right server at my.cliqhost.com or ask for a personalised recommendation.