Contabo is a top-notch web hosting provider that offers German-quality services and award-winning customer support. The provider has been in the web hosting industry since 2003, constantly evolving and upgrading its services, technologies, and features. In addition to its award-winning customer support, Contabo offers global availability, excellent performance, and great development features. You can get various services with Contabo, including dedicated server hosting with bare metal or outlet servers.
Today, we will look into Contabo’s dedicated server hosting offers so that you can learn more about what you will get, how reliable the offers are, and the pros and cons. That way, you will be able to decide, with certainty, if Contabo is the right provider for you.
Getting Started with Contabo Dedicated Server Plans
Contabo’s website is quite easy to navigate and use. You can find its dedicated server plans in the menu bar at the top of the page, next to the “Cloud VPS” menu.
You can switch the website’s language from English to German, change your location, and use different currencies, including euros, dollars, or pounds. Now, let’s go deeper.
Contabo offers five dedicated server hosting packages with 100% resource allocation and individual configuration. In addition, it offers twenty one-off dedicated servers with fixed configurations. All those plans are self-managed (or unmanaged), meaning you need to configure and maintain your dedicated server, not the provider.
However, Contabo offers an add-on service, ”Managed Services”, which you can get even for your dedicated server. With that add-on, you will receive additional help from Contabo with setting up and maintaining your server. Nonetheless, you still need to possess a certain level of technical skills to be able to fully use Contabo’s dedicated servers.
Also, if you do not want to pay an additional fee for Contabo’s “Managed Services” add-on, you always hire an IT team to take care of your server. That way, your server will be set up correctly, and you will be able to focus on your core business.
With Contabo’s dedicated servers, you will get full control over your server and its resources. Thus, you will be able to customize your server and add whichever apps and programs you want. You can use your dedicated server for whatever you want, whether it is hosting multiple sites, gaming servers, databases, and other complex projects.
You can choose from numerous OS templates for your server, including Archlinux, CentOS, Debian, Fedora, OpenSUSE, Ubuntu, Windows, FreeBSD, AlmaLinux, and Rocky Linux. You can also use panels & apps like cPanel, LAMP, Plesk, Proxmox, Webmin, and Docker.
The entry-level dedicated server hosting package includes an AMD EPYC 7282 2.8GHz processor with eight physical cores, 64GB RAM, 480GB NVMe, 1Gbit/s Port, and 32TB traffic. If you need to, you can upgrade to the most powerful dedicated server hosting plan, which includes 2 x AMD EPYC 7282 2.80GHz with 32 cores, 256GB REG ECC RAM (you can upgrade it to 2TB RAM), 1Gbit/s Port (you can upgrade it to 10Gbit/s), and 32TB traffic (you can upgrade it to 324TB traffic).
To upgrade your dedicated server hosting package, you must order it via email. So, you cannot upgrade it via your control panel. Regardless, upgrading your dedicated server hosting package is fairly simple and only requires you to send one email to Contabo’s support team via support@contabo.com.
Contabo’s dedicated server hosting packages differ in the number of resources they offer, the type of processors they use, the number of cores, the storage, and the RAM they use. The entry-level plan and the two most powerful plans use AMD EPYC processors, whereas the middle two plans use Intel Xeon E5 2630v4 processors. Also, all plans except for the entry-level one use REG ECC RAM. All dedicated server hosting packages fall under Contabo’s 14-day refund policy.
Testing
And now, the time for me to do my tests has come! The best way for me to review a brand’s services is by buying them myself and testing them first-hand. For my tests, I will get Contabo’s Intel 10-core package. I won’t be hosting anything with it; I will only be reviewing it.
To buy the service you want, you need to click on the “Select” button under said plan. Once you do, you will see the following page.
Now, you need to configure your dedicated server by choosing the following:
- Your term length – you can pick from one month, three months, six months, and twelve months
- Your region – your region is chosen based on the country you set under the language settings on Contabo’s homepage
- Storage – you can choose HDD, SSD, or NVMe SSD storage
When you scroll down, you will get the following screen.
Now, you need to choose the following:
- Dedicated GPU – you can choose none or GeForce GT 1030 2GB
- Image – you can get an operating system or an OS + a control panel
By scrolling down further, you will get the following.
Here, you need to configure the following:
- Networking – here, you need to select your port, bandwidth, IPv4, IPv6, and firewall
- Add-ons – add-ons are optional, and you can get add-ons for backup space, server management (managed services), monitoring, SSL, set up, and KVM
Once you are done configuring your server, click on “Next” to continue with the purchasing process. By clicking on “Next,” you will be redirected to the following page.
Now you need to create a Contabo account or sign in with your existing one.
To create your account on Contabo, you need to select your status (private or business) and provide personal information, like your name, email, city, ZIP, country, and phone number.
Once you’re done with creating your new or logging into your existing account, click on “Next,” and you will get the following screen.
You can pay for your Contabo dedicated server with a credit card, PayPal, Skrill, or via a bank transfer. Once you sort out your payment information, click on “Next.” You will see the following screen.
Here, you can review your Contabo order. Once you are finished, click “Order & Pay” to pay for your dedicated server and continue. When you click “Order & Pay,” you will see the following screen.
Now, your Contabo account is finished. To continue with setting up your server, you need to wait for an email with your login credentials. Once you receive it, you can start setting up your Contabo dedicated server plan. The email should arrive within seconds.
Setting up a Contabo Dedicated Server Plan
Before you can set up your Contabo dedicated server plan, you first need to email Contabo to confirm your personal information and provide it with a photo of a document that verifies your address, like a passport, driver’s license, national identity card, or other similar documents.
Once you provide Contabo with the necessary documents, they will send you an email with your login credentials and a link where you can log in to your account. You will be redirected to the following screen when you click the link.
After you log in to your account, you will see the following screen.
This photo shows the homepage of your Contabo control panel.
Here, you can manage your dedicated server and buy new services whenever you want. Contabo sets up your dedicated server per your instructions before providing you with your login credentials, so your server will be ready once you log in to your control panel.
Since everything is set up, let’s review what you can do via your Contabo control panel.
In the “Your services” menu, you can view all your active services from Contabo. You can also see when your next payment is due and manage your dedicated server. You can reboot or reinstall your dedicated server via the “Control” option, set up a name for your server, see what you need to do if you cannot connect to your server, and cancel your service.
In the “Customer details” menu, you can view and update your personal information, including your account type, address, city, ZIP code, country, and phone, change your email address, change your password, add 2FA for your control panel, and add authorized contacts for your control panel.
In the “API” menu, you can access API & CLI Documentation, regenerate client secrets, and access your API.
You can order a Custom Image via the “Custom Images” menu and view the Standard Images available with Contabo.
Via the “Object Storage” menu, you can access your object storage and order new storage. To do so, you first need to set a password by clicking on the “Send Password Link” button.
The “Private Networking” menu allows you to create a new private network for your server.
In the “Billing” menu, you can view all your payment information and change your payment method.
You can change your payment method in the “Payment Method” menu.
Via the “Server control” menu, you can do a soft and hard reset of your dedicated server, reinstall your server, reset your password, and check the health of your server via the “Rescue system” option.
You can order a Virtual Dedicated Server in the “VDS control” menu by clicking on “See All VDS Models.”
You can order a Virtual Private Server in the “VPS control” menu by clicking on the “See All VPS Models” button.
Via the “IP Management” menu, you can see all IP addresses assigned to your account and their configuration details. Also, you can assign additional IP addresses to specific dedicated servers, colocation servers, or VPS.
In the “OS reinstalls” menu, you can view your servers’ pending, running, and recently finished reinstallation tasks.
The “Domains” menu allows you to manage your existing domains and register new ones.
In the “DNS Zone Management” menu, you can create and manage DNS zones for your domains.
Via the “Reverse DNS Management” menu, you can manage the reverse DNS (PTR) records for your IP addresses and add PTR-Records for your IPv6 addresses.
When you click on the “Tutorials” menu, you will be redirected to a page containing tutorials and how-to guides for various tasks.
When you click on the “FAQ” menu, you will be redirected to a page containing some of the most frequently asked questions that users ask about Contabo.
Via the “Zerops” menu, you can order Zerops, an automated infrastructure orchestration platform. With it, you can automate many tasks, like building, deploying, running, and managing runtimes, databases, storage, and more.
You can order new services via your Contabo control panel, including a VPS, Storage-VPS, VDS, Object-Storage, Servers, Outlet-Servers, Webspace Packages, and Domains. No matter which service you pick, when you click on it, you will be redirected to the specific webpage where you can order the services, and the ordering process is similar to the one we covered above.
You can find company details, general terms, and data privacy information on the top part of your control panel. Also, you can contact Contabo’s customer support via the “Support” option and log out of your account.
Overall Reliability – Performance and Security
Contabo offers powerful bare metal servers with 100% resource allocation, high performance, full control, and individual configuration. It also offers outlet servers, which are dedicated servers at a discounted price with fixed configurations.
The provider’s infrastructure stretches to six different regions worldwide. It has ten locations, including New York, Seattle, St. Louis, Singapore, and England, and five data centers in Germany. You can choose the location that suits you best and is closest to you and your target audience. Contabo uses hardware from top-notch companies like Dell, HP Enterprise, AMD, Samsung, and Intel in its data centers. With Contabo, you will get 100% CPU at all times so that you can utilize your server at maximum capacity.
You can choose from a wide range of HDD, SSD, and NVMe SSD storage options. Also, you will get 32TB outgoing and unlimited inbound data transfer with a connection of 1Gbps. You can also upgrade to 10Gbit/s and get lightning-speed connections for your server.
As a Contabo customer, you will benefit from a 99.996% uptime guarantee, which means that you won’t have to worry about lags or downtime.
Each Contabo dedicated server comes with dedicated IPv4 and IPv6 addresses, and you can buy more if you need to whenever you want. Another great benefit that you will get from Contabo is its always-on DDoS protection service, which automatically detects and mitigates DDoS attacks aimed at you.
Contabo Dedicated Server Customer Support
When you get a dedicated server, you must remember that you have to take care of it yourself. So, you need to install all the apps and software you need, do the updates, and maintain your server.
However, you will still get help from Contabo. You will have access to a wide array of helpful tutorials on different topics, including how to use SSH keys with your server, how to perform backups, cPanel/WHM best practices, and more! What’s more, you can also get managed services if you want Contabo’s team to help you out with technical tasks like updates and maintenance!
You can also reach Contabo’s support team by submitting a ticket or by phone. The support tickets are monitored every day from 8 am to 11 pm CEST. Phone support is available from Monday to Friday from 10 am to 8 pm CEST.
All of that sounds great, but let’s test it out to confirm by submitting a ticket.
To submit a ticket, you first need to open Contabo’s website, then find the “Support” page at the bottom of the site, and click on “Submit Request” under the “Support Ticket” title.
Once you click on “Submit Request,” you will go to the following page.
Now, you need to choose a topic that suits your question or issue best. After you pick your topic, you will see the following screen.
Here, you need to click on the option that suits you best. After that, click on “Send a request to Contabo” below the list of questions, and you will get the following page.
Now, add your email and press Enter. You will receive the following page.
Here, you can type your question and provide more details as to why you are contacting Contabo’s customer support. Once you’re done, click on “Send a request to Contabo,” and your ticket will be submitted.
If you send your ticket between 8 am to 11 pm CEST, you will get a response to your question within one hour since Contabo’s support team will be online at that time. You will get a response via the email you provided when you submit your ticket.
The response that I got from Contabo’s team came in less than one hour and was enough to answer my question and help me with what I needed. I can definitely see why Contabo’s customer support has received so many awards!
Specific Features of Contabo Dedicated Server
Now, let’s sum up all the features that make Contabo an excellent solution for dedicated server users:
- It offers bare metal and outlet dedicated servers, which makes it affordable for people with larger and smaller budgets
- Global availability with ten locations worldwide
- It offers IPMI/iLO access via which you can remotely access, monitor, and control your server
- Connection speeds from 1Gbps to 10Gbit/s
- Award-winning customer support that responds to tickets within one hour
- Individual configuration of dedicated servers
- It offers multiple OS templates, apps, and panels you can choose from
- 100% dedicated resources and 100% CPU usage
- Custom storage configuration
- It allows you to host your own virtual machines
- Always-on DDoS protection, which recognizes and mitigates 99% of all attack patterns
Pros and Cons of Contabo Dedicated Server
Pros:
- Affordable prices
- Dedicated server options for smaller budgets
- Easy setup process
- High-performance servers which you have full control over
- The ability to adjust your hardware configuration
- The ability to add dedicated NVIDIA GeForce and Tesla GPUs
- Easy-to-use UI
Cons:
- Contabo charges a one-time setup fee which is non-refundable on all billing terms except the 12-month billing terms (but its prices are still very affordable)
- No live chat support or other forms of 24/7 human support
Summary
Contabo’s dedicated server offers impressed me a lot. Not only does it offer high-performance, powerful servers with fast connections and great uptime, but it also provides more affordable options that are ideal for those on a tighter budget. So, there’s something for everyone. With Contabo, you do not have to spend hundreds to get a powerful dedicated server, which is an amazing option to have.
Contabo offers great value for money, thanks to the power its dedicated servers offer and the features and resources included with them. Also, Contabo’s UI is easy to navigate and get the hang of since everything you need to manage your servers will be right in front of you. All in all, Contabo’s dedicated servers are excellent for those who need a lot of power, reliability, and freedom. What’s best, beginners who do not know how to set up and manage servers on their own can get managed services and enjoy the benefits that Contabo’s dedicated servers offer!
