Semi-Dedicated Hosting: A High Performance Shared Hosting Solution

Semi-dedicated hosting is a unique type of shared web hosting plan that offers increased performance and reliability to web hosting customers that require more power and resources than standard shared hosting plans provide. The main difference is semi-dedicated hosting plans have significantly fewer hosting accounts on a shared server. This means more server resources per account which increases speed, performance and overall reliability. Despite the similarities you may notice between a semi-dedicated hosting plan and other related hosting solutions, there are some notable differences you should consider.

Regular Shared Hosting Plans vs. Semi-Dedicated Hosting Plans

Most people are very familiar with shared hosting, as it’s the most affordable and common hosting solution. In shared hosting, a single server is shared by many customers hosting up to several hundred accounts in some cases. When hosting companies overcrowd their servers with an extremely large number of clients on one single server there is a reduction in performance, speed, and overall reliability. The server’s resources are all shared among the different clients, as no one client has their own dedicated memory or CPU allowance. It’s one of the reasons why there has to be limitations on the maximum server resource usage on your account. For example, HostGator shared hosting plans have a maximum 25% CPU usage limit, which you may not surpass for longer than one and a half minutes.

Semi-dedicated hosting is still a form of shared hosting, but it comes with added benefits. The primary difference is that only a limited number of clients are placed on the server. The resources are shared by other users, but due to the limited number of accounts on the server, you won’t have to compromise on performance or reliability.

In comparing the two options, a semi-dedicated hosting service will offer:

• Fewer Number of Hosting Accounts per Server
• Greater Resource Usage and Availability per Account (CPU and RAM)
• Increase in MySQL Concurrent Connections
• Increased Hosting Performance and Speed
• Better Disk I/O Performance
• Fully Managed Hosting: No Need for Special Technical Skills Required
• Same Control Panel, Tools and Applications as in Regular Shared Hosting Plans

Note: If you’re not happy with how your current shared hosting plan is performing you might just need a more reliable provider that knows how to manage their servers and doesn’t overcrowd them. Check out which web hosts I recommend the most.

VPS Hosting vs. Semi-Dedicated Hosting

A virtual private server (VPS) is a type of hosting environment where the hosting client is given a slice of a larger server. The hosting company takes a dedicated server and divides it into smaller “virtual” servers that are given to hosting clients. The VPS service gives you complete control and root access for your server. You would have full liberty to install and configure software, reboot when needed and even install your own operating system. Your resources are also dedicated to you; meaning only you have access to what is given to you. VPS hosting requires an understanding of server management and security, unless you pay extra for a fully managed VPS.

When a VPS is considered to be too much for what you need and a regular shared hosting plan is too little for what you need – you can opt for semi-dedicated hosting. A semi-dedicated hosting plan is perfect for websites that are too resource intensive to be on a regular shared hosting plan but don’t require upgrading to a VPS or dedicated server. Even though the majority of semi-dedicated hosting plans cost less than VPS plans, believe it or not, they can actually out-perform some starter to mid-level VPS plans without the hassle of having to manage a server.

Semi-Dedicated Hosting Companies

When you look at different semi-dedicated hosting plans you will notice that hosting companies are using pure SSD storage (files, server, databases), with more CPU cores, more RAM (memory), better disk I/O performance, and have significantly less accounts per server (some as low as just 15). Along with the regular services you get in a standard shared hosting plan, semi-dedicated hosting plans are more powerful, costs less than a VPS or dedicated server, and are fully managed.

Some reliable hosting companies that provide semi-dedicated hosting include: HawkHost, MonsterMegs, Squidix, and WireNine.

HawkHost Semi-Dedicated Hosting

• CPU Cores: 2 CPU cores
• RAM: 2 GB Memory
• MySQL Concurrent Connections: 50 connections
• Uptime SLA: 99.9%
• Pure SSD Hosting: Yes
• Price Range (before any discounts): $16.62 – $83.29 per month

MonsterMegs Semi-Dedicated Hosting (called Enterprise)

• CPU Cores: 2 to 4 CPU cores
• RAM: 2 to 4 GB Memory
• Average Number of Accounts Per Server: Between 15-30 accounts (97% fewer accounts than regular shared plans)
• Uptime SLA: 99.9%
• Pure SSD Hosting: Yes
• Price Range (before any discounts): $29.95 - $89.95 per month

Squidix Semi-Dedicated Hosting

• CPU Cores: 1 to 12 CPU cores
• RAM: 1 to 32 GB Memory
• Average Number of Accounts Per Server: 90% fewer accounts than regular shared plans
• Uptime SLA: 99.9%
• Pure SSD Hosting: Yes
• Price Range (before any discounts): $24.95 - $799.95 per month

WireNine Semi-Dedicated Hosting (called Managed Hosting)

• CPU Cores: 1 to 6 CPU cores
• RAM: 2 to 8 GB Memory
• Average Number of Accounts Per Server: 100 maximum
  
• Uptime SLA: 100%
• Pure SSD Hosting: Yes
• Price Range (before any discounts): $25 - $190 per month