THE INFRASTRUCTURE / FIND THE RIGHT LAYER
Choose the responsibility you want to keep.
For a website, start with the application, content system, storage, traffic pattern and email needs. Confirm domain registration details, DNS authority, certificate renewal, backup coverage and how you can export the site. A domain, an email account and a website are separate services even when purchased together.
Ask who maintains the application and plugins. Hosting management does not automatically include your website code or mailbox migration.
Define compute, memory, storage performance and network requirements around a representative workload. Confirm the guest operating system, licences, privileged access, patching and monitoring owner. Establish whether backups cover entire images, application data or both—and test the recovery sequence.
A virtual machine offers control with operational responsibility. A private-cloud proposal should state its isolation model, management boundary and capacity rather than relying on the label alone.
For your own equipment, specify rack units, dimensions, weight, power draw, power feeds, ports and remote-access needs. Confirm the actual facility, operator, access process, delivery arrangements, remote-hands scope and support contacts. Resilience depends on the complete service design, not a rack in isolation.
| Model | Useful starting point | Confirm responsibility |
|---|---|---|
| Web hosting | Publishing a website and related services | Application updates, email, backups and renewals |
| Virtual machine | A controlled operating-system environment | Guest security, licences, resource limits and restore |
| Dedicated server | A workload with hardware-specific requirements | Hardware ownership, replacement, management and access |
| Colocation | Housing your own physical equipment | Rack space, power, connectivity and on-site work |
Agree bandwidth, addressing, routing, cross-connects and the recovery path. Describe recovery objectives in terms of the application and business process. Confirm backup retention, restore access and testing. Exact availability, facility location, prices and support arrangements require a project-specific proposal.
Discuss your infrastructure ↗