It is an exciting time when you plan and finally reach a decision that makes it necessary for you to either move up from shared hosting or  having your website hosted on your own, dedicated server. But the excitement soon wears off as you sober up and realize that caring and managing your own dedicated server is a huge responsibility that, while things go right, is both fulfilling and profitable but can also end up in chaos and disastrous losses if not handled properly.

Right off the bat, you will need to base your decision on two main points:

1. Whether you will have the dedicated server management handled in-house and by your own staff. This will be feasible if:
   1. You are a medium-to-large business and have the necessary headcount to handle the job.
   2. They have the necessary skill and knowhow to tackle the task properly.
2. Whether you will outsource the dedicated server management to a third-party business. This will be the ideal way to proceed if:
   1. Your staff is too busy to take on more responsibilities or it will be too costly to give them the necessary training.
   2. You have found it cheaper to hire the out-sourcing company and are also sure that they are up to the task.

If you decide to go with choice number 1 and assuming you have found the perfect server with all the requirements that you have set, you will need to:

1. Have Out-of-Band Management: you never know when your primary network might go down. But if it does, your staff shouldn’t be locked out of the server. They need alternative ways of getting in and fixing things – especially if the problem was caused from within the server.
2. Allow Remote Access: your staff should be able to access the server, boot and reboot it as well as work on it from anywhere and at any time. Gone are the days where administrators had to sit in or near the server room (and even be connected to it physically). They should be able to connect to it from a device of their choice (laptop, tablet or even a smart phone). This also means you should make sure you provide them with a dedicated and secure connection that is up at all times.
3. Rescue Mode: just like desktop computers and laptops need bootable or recovery CDs, so too do servers. This should be one of the first things you do once the dust has settled down after all primary configurations have been completed. In case something goes wrong, you will be able to mount your disk and tweak around fixing corrupt files, removing software or files that stop your server from booting correctly and even reset your root password. Without rescue mode your only option after a crash would be to re-install everything from scratch.
4. Opt for the Operating System you are Comfortable with: the main server operating systems are Windows and Unix-based. Depending on your knowhow choose the one you can work well on. Don’t opt for a cheaper OS when you know nothing about it and don’t choose the more-expensive one because you think it will be easier to run – there are pitfalls down both paths.
5. Arrange a Backup Schedule ASAP: a typical server will have data changing right from the moment it has been connected to a network. You can’t risk being caught with your pants down. If you think you can have the backup handled in-house then, by all means, go ahead. But just remember: backup technology and related processes are in a whole different field of information technology. Backup and Disaster Recovery is a dedicated science, one can almost say. So if you have no experience doing it make sure you get someone who does.
6. Use Control Panels that will help you: there are control panels on the market that make an administrator’s life easy. Unless you know how to roll up your sleeves and reach into machine code, make use of them. Just because you are clicking and dragging-and-dropping doesn’t make you any less of an administrator – in fact, you are the smarter one.
7. Careful Configuration: your domain name, your DNS settings and your root folder management (especially if you have more than one site running on your server) are integral parts of your server because that is how it is seen and accessed by the outside world. Take extra care, or you might never be found.
8. Security: this point, although last, is actually the most important one in the list. Everything is built upon your server being secure. Spare no expenses when it comes to physical and electronic security. Your servers need to be protected, your data needs to be protected and your clients need to be protected. Although we live in times where even the most secure of servers are being breached, it doesn’t mean you should slack off and make it any easier for your server to be attacked. Again, if you do not have substantial experience in this regard, make sure you hire experts who know what they are doing – and pay them… they will always be worth it.