How to choose a server location and what it affects

Hosting providers offering VPS/VDS and dedicated server rental services always provide an opportunity to choose the location where the server will be physically located. Further in the article, we will tell you about the influence of geolocation and why it is so important to choose the right location.

Server location: what it is and what it affects

Talking about a certain city that houses the equipment of a hosting provider implies a particular data center. The data center is a facility equipped with sophisticated engineering equipment:

• permanent and backup power supply systems;
• air conditioning and climate control systems that maintain a certain temperature (usually 22°C);
• security systems - from fire detection sensors to video surveillance cameras.

Every self-respecting data center cooperates with several backbone providers providing high-speed Internet connectivity. For this purpose, dedicated and publicly available Internet networks with a wide bandwidth are provided. At the same time, all channels must be redundant, which minimizes the likelihood of problems with access to servers on the part of clients.

Here we come to one simple fact - the more developed the city in which the data center is located and the more complex the network infrastructure there is, the better for business. The high level of civilization always serves as an additional incentive for the inflow of capital and investments, so data centers strive to provide the best conditions in terms of security and fault-tolerance of servers.

Based on all of the above, it is important to choose the right server location, because it affects a number of aspects in the future:

1. Page loading speed. Studies show that about 30% of all Internet users are not willing to wait more than 10 seconds for the resource that interests them to load. A simple conclusion follows from this: you have to do everything possible to reduce the time it takes for pages to load. The point is that the distance to the server also greatly affects the time it takes to load sites because the speed of light is not infinite. And if, for example, you create a site with the aim of the American audience, it would be logical to rent a VPS somewhere in Seattle or Ashburn, rather than in Nigeria. While with conventional sites it all depends on the waiting time, then for the developers of network video games, it is essential – because the farther the server is located from the player, the higher will be the ping and the delay. In general, you should always try to choose a location close to your target audience.
2. Privacy of personal data. On this issue, it is necessary to rely not only on the policy of the data center in respect of the protection of personal data but also on local law. If you want to protect your business from unwanted attention or want to engage in the distribution of content that is not allowed in all countries, it would be reasonable to rent a server in a country where the legislation will provide the best climate for long-term business development.
3. Search engine optimization. In the end, no one knows exactly how search algorithms work, but many experienced professionals in practice are convinced that the location of the server in developed European countries has a positive effect on the rankings. It sounds logical – notional Germans are first shown by Google those resources that are located either in Germany or in neighboring countries. Just to increase the relevance of extradition. And if SEO optimization in your business plays a significant role, it is important to choose the right location to host the server.

Thus, we derived three key aspects that are affected by the location – these are security, page loading speed, and SEO-promotion efficiency.



What does HostZealot offer?

We provide VPS/VDS and dedicated servers for rent with quick setup and the ability to quickly scale to any level. Today we cooperate with many data centers, providing our customers with access to such locations:

• Seattle (USA);
• London (UK);
• Hong Kong (China);
• Amsterdam (Netherlands);
• Dallas (USA);
• Toronto (Canada);
• Tel Aviv (Israel);
• Stockholm (Sweden);
• Chicago (USA);
• Tbilisi (Georgia);
• Tallinn (Estonia), etc.

This list is constantly growing as we strive to maximize our coverage of key cities and metropolitan areas around the globe. Cooperating with us, you are guaranteed to get a reliable service provider. Wide range of tariff plans will allow everyone to choose optimal server configuration for their tasks. Contact via Livechat for more information.