Do SSD hard drives bring advantages in hosting?
Conventional mechanical hard drives are being increasingly replaced by SSD hard drives. Nevertheless, both serve the purpose of storing large amounts of data. So what are the differences between the two hard drives and what advantages might the newer hard drives offer, especially when it comes to hosting?
Comparison of HDD and SSD hard drives
The classic HDD hard drives are based on a mechanical principle. The corresponding amounts of data are stored on magnetic disks. A read head then moves to the corresponding position on the magnetic disk and reads in the data. The SSDs, in turn, are based on an electrical principle. These hard drives do not consist of individual components, but of several digital storage units, the so-called flash memories.
This principle makes storage much faster and less complicated, which is why HDD hard drives are gradually disappearing from the market. Nevertheless, hard drives are still normally used in a server today.
Advantages of SSD hard drives in hosting
While basically SSD hard drives can have some advantages over classic hard drives, they also have some advantages when it comes to hosting. Above all, the speed aspect should be mentioned here. Because they offer faster data throughput, they are significantly faster than HDD hard drives. This comes about because the SSD hard drives read the data sets directly.
With conventional hard drives, the mechanical components that read the data sets first have to be set in motion, in this case, the reading head. As a result, SSDs can deliver up to ten times the performance of databases. In addition, they are more robust and quieter than conventional hard drives.
Another advantage is that they consume less energy and generate less heat. Especially when loading time is important, SSD hard drives can provide a significant improvement. This is especially true on dynamic websites equipped with large databases.
Are there any disadvantages?
Flash drives usually offer less space compared to conventional hard drives. This is because they are often significantly more expensive than normal hard drives. It should also be noted that the SSD option sometimes requires additional fees. This is especially true for normal shared hosting.
The costs for SSD hosting are usually only included in the tariffs for vServers, Managed Servers, and Root Servers. On the one hand, SSD hard drives offer less space and, on the other hand, the purchase or use may be associated with additional costs.
Conclusion
Certainly, SSD hard drives offer some advantages. Especially since SSDs are no longer hard drives at all, but are extremely flexible. Nevertheless, the planned use is decisive as to whether it is worth switching to or using an SSD hard drive. Since the loading times with SSDs are significantly faster, they are definitely worthwhile for very dynamic pages with large databases.
These include large Internet forums, chats, or well-visited blogs. Since there is a higher level of reliability and stability with SSD hard drives, this also has a positive effect in this case. With static or only small websites, the question arises as to whether the advantages of flash drives outweigh the disadvantages since the SSD principle is relatively more expensive.
With these projects, it is quite conceivable that classic hard drives may even be sufficient and you can save unnecessary costs as a result. However, hosting packages are also offered in which only certain parts of a website are outsourced to SSD hard drives. The remaining data can still be stored on mechanical hard drives.
