has been on the market for almost two decades. They have proven as a reliable web hosting provider with a whole bunch of features for this period.
Their reputation generally stems from the user-friendly interface with easy migration, unlimited SSD space and transfer, WordPress optimization, automated backups, and 99.99% uptime. All of it comes at blazing speeds with 24/7/365 customer support and a free SSL Certificate.
At this point, you might have thought that A2 Hosting had reached its potential. Fortunately or not, you were wrong. Once again, they managed to surprise me with their newest release, managed dedicated servers.
Their managed servers come pre-tuned for high-performance. To be more specific, they claim to retain all features, as explained before, upgrading to servers 20x faster than their competitors.
Today, I intend to review the new plans on
briefly. Then, as I am keen on providing an objective third-party opinion, I will test one of the managed dedicated servers with all it has to deliver. So, let’s get right into it.
New A2 Hosting Managed Dedicated Servers
Once you launch their
, you will instantly spot the new service in the menu. If you click on Managed Server, you’ll see the following screen.
On the left, you can find the filter for standard and turbo servers. If you select ALL, like me, you can scroll on the arrow on the right to see all plans A2 Hosting has to provide.
A2 Hosting offers five Standard Managed Dedicated Servers:
- Warp 1
- Warp 3
- Warp 4
- Warp 8
- Warp 9
I will not get into detail for each server individually, as
has provided comprehensive guidance. You can find all specifications in the table, such as RAM, SSD Storage, Cores/Threads, Transfer, CPU, or Clock Speed.
At last, A2 Hosting has declared for which user is the particular server intended, meaning you can easily match your needs with the offer.
What the standard and turbo servers have in common is the free cPanel Control Panel License and the 100% Worry-Free Server Management. Also, all servers are available for one month, one-, and two-year terms. As usual, the longer the period, the better the discount on the monthly payment.
Other than that, I can say that the Turbo Managed Dedicated Servers take things to another level. All the features mentioned above are enhanced, and there are also the 20x faster turbo servers in the offer.
To be more specific, you can choose one of the following Turbo Managed Dedicated Servers:
- Warp Turbo 3
- Warp Turbo 4
- Warp Turbo 8
- Warp Turbo 9
Of course, these enhancements come at a price. While the standard servers start at $149.99 per month, the turbo servers’ beginning price is $269.99 monthly.
One of the features I especially like on
is the “Compare Plans” one.
It compares all managed dedicated servers in terms of:
- Storage
- Resources
- Management
- Exclusive Features
- Reliability
- Support
- Security
- cPanel
- Developer Features
- Optional Features
- Ecommerce features
- Domains
- Email Options
- Plugins
- Statistics
And now that you get the overall idea, I can get into more detail.
Getting Started With A2 Hosting Dedicated Server
You’re already familiar with the sign-up process on
. But let’s see how you can upgrade to a managed dedicated server.
I went for the Warp 1 monthly plan, costing $179.99. I went for the cheapest option as I wanted to check if they stand true to their claims. After all, it’s a new service, so there’s not someone to rely on upon a recommendation. Still, there are lots of discounts on the longer-term pricing plans.
When you select one of the orange buttons, in my case, the “Get Warp 1” server, you’ll need to choose a domain.
Here, you can choose to register a new domain, transfer your domain from another registrar, or use an existing domain and update your nameservers. I went for the latest.
Once
verifies your domain selection, it will take you to configure your desired options so that you can continue to checkout.
Here, you can recheck what your managed dedicated server has to offer.
If you scroll a bit down, you can also find the “Customize Your Hosting” section.
A2 Hosting allows you to increase the RAM to help your site run more efficiently.
You can also add secondary drives as additional storage for your site:
- 1TB SATA3 SSD
- 2TB SATA3 SSD
- 4TB SATA3 SSD
- 2×1 TB SAT Raid-1 SSD
- 2×2 TB SAT Raid-1 SSD
- 2×4 TB SAT Raid-1 SSD
The available local backup drives are 1TB SATA3 HDD and 2TB SATA3 HDD.
Next, you can choose between Free SSL as basic encryption or one of the three enhanced security features, Rapid SSL 1-Year, Rapid SSL 2-Year, or Rapid SSL 3-Year.
A2 Hosting Cloud Backup options consist of 250 GB, 500 GB, 1 TB, 1.5 TB, 2 TB, 2.5 TB, 3 TB, or 5 TB.
There’s a cPanel Solo, cPanel Premier 100, 150, 200, and 250.
You can also get one to five additional IP Addresses for your hosting.
Finally, you can go for 1, 2, 4, or 8 CPU Licenses with LiteMage as TurboBoost.
I wanted to keep things as simple (and as cheap) as possible at this point. So, I didn’t get any additional features. I just made sure to check Free SSL.
I then put in other required information, including the cPanel Username and Password.
What I liked at this point is the Live Chat button with an available team to guide anyone, beginner or expert, through the process.
To keep this short, you need to set the payment details next and choose “Check or Money Order” as the third option under “Payment Details.”
You can also select whether or not to be included on the mailing list. Once you check the “I have read and agree with the Terms of Service” box, you can click the green “Complete Order” button.
Now, let’s see where it gets you.
Setting Things Up With An A2 Hosting Dedicated Server
As soon as you log in,
will greet you with the following screen.
In the Client Area, you can find Services, Domains, Tickets, and Invoices.
In the Services section, you can find more details and the most critical aspect of hosting, the cPanel.
If you click on Manage, you can find your Server Information, Customize Your Hosting, and Additional Information.
Your hostname, primary and assigned IPs, data center, status, and power state are in the Server Information.
Customize Your Hosting consists of the same information as in the sign-up process: RAM options, Secondary Drives, Local Backup Drives, SSL Certificates, A2 Hosting Cloud Backup, cPanel + WHM, Extra Ip Address, and Turbo Boost.
Finally, if you enter Additional Information, you will find Website URL, WHM URL, Site Administration URL, SSH Port, Hostname, FTP/SFTP Address, FTP/SFTP Port, Username, IP Address, Nameservers, Custom Nameservers, cPanel Password, Admin Pass, Webmail URL, Incoming E-Mail Server, and Outgoing E-Mail Server.
By proceeding with the Site Administration URL, you will get to the cPanel.
Here, you can find Email, Files, Databases, Domains, Metrics, Security, Software, Advanced, and Preferences categories.
In Email, you can adjust all variables relating to improving your inboxes’ efficiency and functionality, such as Autoresponders, Email Routing, Spam Filters, Mailing Lists, Encryption, Calendars, and Contacts.
File Manager, Images, Directory Privacy, Disk Usage, Web Disk, FTP Accounts and Connections, and Backup are part of the Files category.
Databases contain phpMyAdmin, MySQL Databases, MySQL Database Wizard, and Remote MySQL.
In Domains, there is the Site Publisher, Primary, Addon And Subdomains, Aliases, Redirects, Zone Editor, And Dynamic DNS.
In Metrics, you can find information regarding your Visitors, Errors, Bandwidth, Raw Access, Awstats, Webalizer, Webalizer FTP, and Metrics Editor.
Security features include Autoinstall SSL, SSH Access, IP Blocker, SSL/TLS and SSL/TLS Status, Manage API Tokens, Hotlink Protection, Leech Protection, and Two-Factor Authentication.
Cloudflare, WordPress Manager by Softaculous, PHP PEAR Packages, Perl Modules, Site Software, Optimize Website, Application Manager, MultiPHP Manager, MultiPHP INI Editor, and Softaculous Apps Installer are all part of the Software category.
In Advanced, there is Terminal, WebHost Manager, Cron Jobs, Track DNS, Indexes, Error Pages, Apache Handlers, MIME Types, and Virus Scanner.
Finally, the Preferences consist of Change Language, Change Style, Contact Information, and User Manager.
Are The Managed Dedicated Servers Worth It?
A2 Hosting provides
,
,
,
, and
.
And sure, there is a significant price difference between shared hosting and managed dedicated servers. But at the end of the day, so is the target audience. Luckily,
provides clear guidance on the right customer for each pricing plan.
The only question at this point is which one is right for you?
A2 Hosting offers nine different managed dedicated servers, subdivided into standard and turbo.
The Standard Dedicated Servers are appropriate for all small WordPress sites and mid-sized with higher-level traffic and even resellers, agencies with multiple locations, or large eCommerce sites.
The Turbo Dedicated Servers, in turn, can serve all these entities, increasing their performance to another level.
If you are willing to invest your resources, a dedicated managed server might be the perfect solution for you. After all, each plan comes with a guru crew support available 24/7/365, free account migration, money-back guarantee, and a 99.99% uptime commitment.
Follow Host Advice on Facebook.
Want suggestions about Best dedicated servers hosting? Click here and read more.
