Dedicated Hosting and Reseller Hosting

A dedicated web server hosting involves the leasing of an entire server from a dedicated server host company. The hosting company owns, maintains, and backs up the server while providing all the security, power management, and other aspects of maintaining a data center. The site developer is responsible for all web server software issues.
The demand for dedicated hosting arises out of the expansion of the site with web developers often moving to more advanced technologies which require extensive use of system resources and increased bandwidth to serve the technology to a web browser. With this increased need for resources, having an entire server for your site is often the answer. A dedicated web server is also an option for reseller hosting businesses.
A dedicated server is the best solution for traffic-heavy businesses who lack the staff, resources, and security to build, install, and maintain an in-house solution. With a dedicated server, leasing saves on network administrator position for a company (Crowder & Crowder, 2001). A dedicated hosting account is usually cheaper overall than an in-house solution, and businesses can reap savings of up to 85% on a per month basis (TopHosts' Guide, 2001).
Financially, a dedicated server runs a few hundred dollars per month. Hosting companies often offer packages based on server configuration (space, processor speed, IP addresses, CPanel) and bandwidth allowances.

A reseller is a middle-man who sells web space on somebody else's server. Reselling schemes vary widely. They fall into the following categories:
(a) The reseller acts as an agent for the web hosting company. The service is advertised by the reseller as being with the actual web hosting company. People buy direct from the web hosting company but the reseller gets a cut if customers mention the reseller's name.
(b) The reseller acts as a marketer for the web hosting company. The service is advertised by the reseller as being with the actual web hosting company. People buy the service from the reseller but all further contact they have is direct wih the web hosting company.
(c) The reseller appears to be a web hosting company in his own right, handling sales and support but 'rebadges' somebody else's service. A customer buys web space from the reseller who buys web space (at a lower price) from the actual web hosting company. Customers contact the reseller for support.
A variant on this scheme is that customers are invoiced by the web hosting company in the reseller's name and the reseller gets a cut. Support will usually be via the reseller in order to keep up the pretence that the reseller is a web hosting company in his own right.
(d) The reseller purchases a large chunk of web space and bandwidth from the web hosting company and can then carve that into individual chunks of space/bandwidth for sale to customers. Customers contact the reseller for support.