Dedicated Windows hosting is not always easy to find. When you do find a dedicated Windows host, you often discover that there are negative points or fewer options that you would have if you selected Linux.
For example, you will usually find that dedicated Windows hosting deals are more expensive than their Linux counterparts. Even where a web host offers both options, there will usually be a higher price for the Windows server.
The main reason for this is that Linux is free, open source software while Windows is strictly licensed by Microsoft. In the same way, many of the services that run on Linux servers such as PHP based applications are either free or cheaper than their asp.net alternatives for Windows.
However, most PHP applications will run on Windows servers. On the other hand, if you want to build sites and applications based around Windows software such as ASP, .net programs, or an Access database, you will probably be better off with dedicated Windows hosting.
So where can you go for Windows dedicated hosting? If you are going to simply rent a server and manage it yourself, including managing the operating system, you should be able to install Windows on any server. However, most people looking for dedicated Windows hosting want some kind of a managed plan where the operating system is already installed.
In fact, in many cases, when you take up a managed hosting plan for your dedicated server then you will have everything up to a web based control panel provided for you. However, there are no industry standards to define what ‘managed hosting’ means, so it can be interpreted differently by individual hosting companies. Read the fine print or ask the question before you sign up.
LiquidWeb is one company offering several different dedicated Windows hosting packages. They have excellent customer feedback and many favorable reviews on forums and other sites. Support is excellent with 24/7 technical support from engineers who know what they are doing and a fast response time.
The packages offered fully managed with a choice of Windows or Linux server are:
- Webmaster plan, quad core Pentium or Hexa core processor, 6,000 GB monthly bandwidth
- Professional plan, multi-core Xeon or dual AMD x8 Opteron processor (16 core), 8,000 GB monthly bandwidth
- Enterprise plan, similar to Professional but with other processor choices, 10,000 GB monthly bandwidth.
Hardware support is important too. What if your dedicated server fails? It happens to most hardware sooner or later, although in most cases your hosting company will upgrade their servers long before that time. LiquidWeb’s dedicated server service agreement offers a 30 minute hardware replacement guarantee. This means that they guarantee to replace any failed hardware within 30 minutes of identifying the problem, or offer you credit for 10 times the amount of additional downtime.
LiquidWeb also offer a 100% uptime guarantee on their dedicated servers. Of course this does not cover such things as planned maintenance, software updates or downtime due to hacker attacks on your site. But it means that LiquidWeb is one of the most reliable and popular companies offering dedicated Windows hosting deals.