How Do Hosts Provide 100% Uptime?

By Author: Edmund Brunetti
Total Articles: 753
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If you’re looking for a dedicated web host, you’re going to hear a lot about “uptime.” This term refers to the amount of time your website will be up and running; and it’s usually given in terms of percentage. So you could have 90, 95, or even 100 per cent uptime. 100% uptime is the very best, as it means your website will be up 100% of the time, and that it will never be down. As you look around for a dedicated host, you’ll find that many of them offer just that; and that others say this is impossible. So who are you supposed to believe?

Technically, both sides of the argument make a very good case. You should look for a dedicated web host that will be able to provide the most uptime possible because you want your website to be live as often, and for as long, as possible. Going by this line of thinking, 100% would be very good. However, some say that it’s impossible to offer 100% uptime, and that you shouldn’t believe web hosts that offer it.

Arguers of this statement also have a point. After all, any server that’s being used to store website data will have to be shut down at some point. Maintenance ...
... needs to be done, upgrades need to be installed, and security measures often require a brief shutdown period. Because of this, it’s logical to see why maybe it is impossible for web hosts to offer 100% uptime.

But it’s not.

A good dedicated web host will be able to have backup servers in place, that contain all the information of your website, and that will be able to kick in when the primary server needs to be shut off. Before a shutdown, the second server would be set up to take over, and when it’s confirmed that this server has taken over, the primary one could then be shut down briefly to have maintenance and other tasks performed on it. Having this practice in place allows the web host to give the customer the best of both worlds – a server that’s properly maintained, and a website that’s always live and ready to use.

However, not all web hosts utilize this practice and they’ll either not offer the amount of uptime that you want, or your website could be in jeopardy of crashing. And even if that’s just for a few minutes, if you have an e-commerce site or one that’s highly commercial, that could mean a lot of lost profits. Make sure that when you’re choosing a web host, you ask how much uptime they offer, and what systems they have in place to ensure that they’re able to offer that uptime.

It’s logical to think that you should choose a dedicated host that will be able to give you the most amount of uptime possible. And it’s also logical to think that because servers need to be shut down at some point, it’s impossible to offer 100% uptime. When it comes to uptime, the most important thing is that you know what questions to ask so that when it comes time to speak to a web host, you’ll get the answers you need to make an informed decision.

For more information about Carat Networks, please visit caratnetworks.com.