By knowing exactly what you want, should prevent you from getting plan that you do not want or getting frustrated because you do not get the service that you want.
Below are few points that you should be concerned about when looking for a dedicated hosting plan:
Operating System/Platform
Deciding your operating system is one of the most vital task, you have to make certain that the operating system is suitable with your requirements. If you want to operate sites coded using PHP scripting language, then you ought to choose Linux/BSD as your operating system for a less expensive fee. Although Windows can also operate those programs, Windows server are more costly than the Unix one that is because Linux/BSD are free operating system while Windows are commercial operating system, the fee to obtain a Windows license will also have an effect on the overall operating cost when buying a dedicated server plan. Even though Windows will have no difficulty to operate those sites, the cost for Windows hosting is more pricey compared to Linux/BSD this is because you must to pay for a Windows license and this will add up to the overall price when purchasing a dedicated hosting plan.
The story would be different if your website is coded using ASP/ASP.NET or you are using Microsoft SQL Server, if this is the case then Windows woud be your single option the support for those programs only exist in Windows. If you are planning to use dedicated server for hosting email accounts or used as a firewall, then you should pick which one you are most happy with.
Managed or unmanaged service
You have to know what managed service and unmanaged plan are, in a nutshell managed service means that the dedicated server service provider will administer the dedicated server for you. This plan could include operating system update, network maintenance, security update, backup data and other server maintenance duty.
While unamanaged service means that the dedicated server plan provider will only offer minimum to no support for your dedicated server, all maintenance duty and updates are in your hand. In unmanaged service the dedicated server plan provider, typically will only provide redundant power and HVAC (Heat, Ventilating and Air Conditioning) support.
Bandwidth
Bandwidth are getting cheaper these days and also larger in size. Few dedicated server plan provider even present unlimited bandwidth, but not because they offer "unlimited" bandwidth means that they can make available such bandwidth. So be wary about this, don't just buy a dedicated server plan simply because the plan offers unlimited stuff.
Server Hardware Specification
The hardware specifications of the dedicated server also plays an important task, if you host a high traffic website that gives multimedia contents, you don't want to employ a server with only 512MB of RAM and a single core processor because this type of mission is too much for hardware with that specification. You have to be sure the dedicated server is up to the job, but don't go overkill.
This is a Guest post written by ravi the admin crazyblogger.net