Thinking about using an automated dedicated server solution for the first time? Good news – you don’t have to invent everything from scratch. We spoke with Hagen Rother, Lead Architect and Head of IT at LiquidM, a Berlin-based company running one of the first self-service Demand Side Platforms (DSP) on the market. With high amounts of automation being done in a smart way, LiquidM has unlocked the full benefits of a Leaseweb dedicated server solution. Read on for some of their experiences and top tips for those considering an automated dedicated server solution.
1. You Don’t Have to Start From Scratch
“You don’t have to reinvent the wheel when starting out with dedicated servers,” says Rother. “There are a lot of tools out there already to help get you started. LiquidM has built an infrastructure to treat dedicated servers as if virtual, and we manage our servers with it.” This tool is open-source and can be found on Github. With it, LiquidM can manage dedicated servers as easily as virtual machines (and their tool on Github includes step-by-step documentation showing you how to do the same).
If you are hesitant about dedicated servers because you don’t know how to fix the software rate – don’t be. “I haven’t fixed a software rate in so long because I just reinstall the machine,” says Rother. “It’s easier and faster.”
2. Dedicated Servers Present Simpler Solutions
You won’t need to worry about over-complicated solutions with dedicated servers. While there are many use cases for cloud, Rother found that for LiquidM “I haven’t seen cloud make it simpler. With dedicated servers, we’re extremely lean.”
“There are use cases for cloud,” he says, “trust me – I am using cloud too. But for the normal bread and butter stuff, the only explanation I can see for cloud hype is that companies are scared of their ops people and want to outsource it.”
3. It’s the Budget-Friendly Choice
Cost-savvy techies rejoice – an automated dedicated server solution won’t break the bank. “It would be seven times more expensive to run our infrastructure on a cloud provider than on dedicated servers,” says Rother. “It’s amazing how quickly you pay through your nose if you see cloud solutions and think, ‘it’s easy and it doesn’t cost much’. But just put traffic on it and wait for the invoice after three months, then we’ll talk again.”
“My boss always likes going to panels and talking about how much it costs him to run things,” jokes Rother, “because every time I give him rough numbers of how much we’re spending on infrastructure, I see mad eyes from the competition’s CEO towards their CTO.”
Trust the experts – easy set-up, smooth operations, and low cost make starting out with an automated dedicated server solution a cinch. For more information on how LiquidM is running their automated dedicated server solution at Leaseweb, click here for the full LiquidM – Leaseweb customer case.