Big data is becoming more important than ever. Companies will spend over $274 billion big data this year.
However, big data won’t do much good for your business if you don’t have the means to store it. You need a solid server with a great database.
In today’s article, we will look at how to configure a dedicated server database. If you have already purchased a dedicated server, you can proceed to the configuration part at once. But if not, and you are considering whether the dedicated server is the hosting solution you need or not, we have prepared a quick review of what a dedicated server is and why you would need one. You may also want to read this article if you want to see if a Linux dedicated server is right for your business. You will get a better idea of how to build a server and then create a database to host on it
What is a dedicated server and how do you create a database for it?
Modern websites require reliable databases. Your database will be needed for everything from hosting data for your WordPress site to maintaining data on customers.
Starting a website is always connected with choosing the right solutions for its different aspects. Apart from creating the website itself, the second most important problem to solve is finding the right hosting solution to meet the needs of your website. When you make the right hosting system, you can create a reliable database to store important data.
There is a whole range of possible solutions. What you should choose depends first and foremost on the needs of your web presence, that is, on the one hand, on the performance you need and, on the other hand, on your budget. Among available options – shared hosting, VPS, or dedicated server – the latter is the most powerful solution and subsequently the most demanding in terms of budget. These will help you create a great server and use it to host your database.
To make it more clear, let’s take a closer look at the particular advantages of a dedicated server.
Advantages of dedicated hosting for your server and database
Why is dedicated hosting so powerful? This is because, with dedicated hosting, you get an entire server at your disposal. As a result, you can create a database with a nearly infinite storage capacity.
With shared hosting and even a VPS, you rent only a fracture of a single physical machine. That means that whatever your security measures are, you remain vulnerable to hacker attacks that can be caused by your neighbors on their own or by somebody who hacked them before. On the other hand, you don’t have to worry about a data breach since your database is much more secure.
It’s also pretty much natural that on the dedicated server, you get the maximum of your servers capacities that results in a brilliant performance that also remains stable and reliable because, again, no one could interfere and damage the server’s operation, guaranteeing you 99,99% uptime.
Configure your dedicated server and database with these steps
Step 1. Operating system
The first step of configuring your dedicated server is choosing the operating. There are many options to choose from. First, you should choose between a Linux-based operating system or Windows Server. This choice has many aspects so we won’t pay too much attention to it. Generally speaking, Linux-based operating systems are more flexible for being open-source and free of charge, while Windows Server is better for certain corporative solutions.
As for Linux, there are also a vast number of different distributions – Debian, FreeBSD, Ubuntu, and CentOS, which have rather subtle differences, so we’ll dedicate another article to them.
Step 2. Secondly, you have to ensure that the operating system is up-to-date. If not, do it.
Step 3. Install the web server. A web server is a software responsible for accepting requests via HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) or its version with increased security HTTPS. There are two most common solutions – it’s either Apache or Nginx. Both web servers are open-source and free with some particular distinctions, advantages, and disadvantages.
Step 4. Install MySQL database server. This one is a powerful tool for managing the content of your website, which allows you to structure the data used on your website to handle it more quickly and efficiently.
Step 5. Install PHP. PHP is a free open-source scripting language, an essential tool for producing web pages.
Step 6. Install Bind DNS Server. This one is perhaps the most popular, free, open-source DNS (Domain Name System) distributed under Mozilla public license.
Step 7. Install FTP server. FTP, which stands for File Transfer Protocol, as you see from the name, is a protocol that is responsible for transferring files.
Step 8. Take care of security. It is obvious that security is one of the critical elements of your server’s successful operation. For your dedicated server to be fully protected and secure, there are many things you can do.
First, take care of the firewall. A firewall is a tool that monitors incoming and outgoing traffic, protecting your server from unauthorized access according to your security policy.
Second, use strong passwords. Simple as this. This is the essential security measure that is, however, partially ignored by numerous users. You don’t want to be one of them. Use reliable passwords to ensure the basic security of your server.
Third, turn off the processes you don’t need. There are many services that may work on your server, even if not necessary at the moment. Check what you need right now and disable unnecessary tools to improve performance and security.
Take the Right Steps to Create a Reliable Database on a Dedicated Server
The dedicated server is the most potent server solution for your web presence. One of the biggest benefits is that you can use it to host a versatile database. Some web hosting companies have these, so you should research your options. However, sometimes you want to build a dedicated server from scratch.
It is offered for is your final choice, then we hope that this guide was helpful for you and now you know how to start working with your new dedicated server. If you haven’t made up your mind yet, then we highly recommend you to check out Hostzealot, especially in case the US is your target audience. Take care!