AIT offers low-cost dedicated servers

For budget-conscious Internet professionals who want total control over their own machines, AIT http://www.ait.com/-dedspec has a limited supply of dedicated servers, starting at $39 per month.  Paul Laflamme is an AIT customer who uses multiple servers in operating dual offices in Savannah, GA and Washington, DC. 

“I use one server as a test bed, another to store customer data,” says Laflamme.  “I particularly like having root access to the machines; there are times when that level of control is a must.”  

The move comes as some hosting providers have moved away from the self-managed end of dedicated hosting, seeking the higher profit margins that come with fully-managed solutions.  Briggs says a line of Xeon-powered dedicated machines that was released a couple of months ago addresses customers who want higher-end system.  “But not everyone wants that, and even people who have a more expensive machine may want a lower cost box for secondary use,” said Briggs. 

The servers are powered by either Pentium or Celeron processors, and all machines come with 512 MB of RAM, 40GB of disk space and 2,000 GB of data transfer.  Users also get multiple IP addresses, root access, server-specific firewalls and other security measures, and redundant OC-3 connectivity.  “Our experience has been that the self-managed environment remains popular among developers and administrators who want to configure a machine to their liking and have the know-how to trouble-shoot most issues.”  AIT provides a per-incident support structure for self-managed servers.