BUYING GUIDE

Dedicated server or cloud instance?.

There is no universal winner. Compare the operating model and workload constraints, then estimate the full cost over the time you expect to run it.

Illustration of digital infrastructure planning

General information only. Confirm technical and commercial details with the relevant provider and qualified advisers.

Compare resource model

Dedicated hardware reserves a physical server for one customer. Cloud instances allocate virtual resources with service-specific sizing and control planes. Confirm the actual contract and isolation model rather than relying on labels.

Review operating effort

Consider who handles operating-system updates, application security, monitoring, backups, hardware replacement, and incident response. Managed-service scope varies by provider and should be written down.

Model costs over time

Include recurring service, setup, bandwidth or data transfer, storage, licensing, backup, support, and migration effort. Ask what changes at renewal or if you cancel.

Test the workload fit

Use representative CPU, memory, I/O, and network measurements. Consider burst patterns, maintenance windows, scaling plans, and recovery objectives.