This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Subham Ray
*What is a Dedicated Host (DDH)? *
When businesses migrate to the cloud, one big question often comes up: Should we share cloud servers with other customers, or should we have our own private, dedicated resources? For enterprises with strict compliance needs, predictable workloads, or specific licensing requirements, the answer is clear—go dedicated.
That’s where Alibaba Cloud’s Dedicated Host (DDH) comes in. It’s a cost-effective hosting solution that gives you exclusive access to the physical server hardware, offering the best of both worlds: the performance and control of on-premises infrastructure with the scalability and convenience of the cloud.
What Exactly is a Dedicated Host?
A Dedicated Host is a single-tenant physical server in Alibaba Cloud’s data center that runs one or more Elastic Compute Service (ECS) instances. Unlike shared (multi-tenant) environments, you are the only tenant on that hardware. All CPU, memory, and network resources are yours alone—no noisy neighbors.
Why Choose a Dedicated Host?
Exclusive Physical Resources
You get the full power of the underlying hardware, without competition from other users. This means consistent performance and better predictability.Compliance and Licensing
Some industries require strict data isolation or have specific server-based software licensing (like Microsoft SQL Server). DDH makes meeting these requirements straightforward.Cost Optimization
While “dedicated” may sound expensive, DDH can actually lower your total cost of ownership (TCO) compared to running equivalent physical infrastructure on-premises.Flexibility in Deployment
Deploy multiple ECS instances on the same host, or even choose the exact ECS instance family that matches your needs.
This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Subham Ray