Both a managed hosting service and dedicated service mean running a server that is not shared with anyone else. Beyond that, the services you get will depend largely on the provider since there is no industry standards set for servers. What this means is that fully managed to one provider may mean the same as self-managed to another provider. It is the term 'managed' that causes the confusion.

Many things can be involved in managed hosting including

- Application monitoring

- System updates

- Intrusion detection

- Server monitoring

- Backups

- Database administration

These are only a few of the many items which can fall under the term of managed hosting. Because there are no industry standards, it is best to check the details before you decide on a dedicated hosting site. Managed hosting is always dedicated but dedicated hosting has different management definitions depending on the provider.

Dedicated hosting can further be broken down into different types

- Basic: This is normally is chosen if low RAM, Hard Disc and Operating System on the server

- High End: Usually involves Quad Core Configuration

- Bandwidth Dedicated

- Database Dedicated

- Server Mirroring Dedicated

You will notice that 'managed' is not mentioned in any of the categories. Management is above and beyond what dedicated servers provide. For those still learning their way around computer terminology, it can get confusing because the words are often interchanged and terms like dedicated hosting and managed hosting are often implied to mean the same thing.

Always read the fine print when choosing a server. Terminology often is misused and you may not end up getting the services you are expecting. Until there are industry standards the confusion will continue. Simply put, dedicated hosting means that you do not have to share a server. Managed hosting means whatever the provider decides it means. Therefore, even though they are used together very often, they do not actually mean the same thing. Colocation services and dedicated services are more closely related than dedicated servers and managed servers.

In summary, there are different types of dedicated servers but they all mean not having to share a server. Managed servers can mean a variety of different services in addition to having a dedicated server. When referring to web hosting; dedicated servers are basically a rented service which includes the server, the internet connection and the software whereas managed hosting refers to the administration of the website. Managed hosting goes above and beyond what dedicated servers provide. Managed hosting is an additional service with varying degrees of options available depending on the provider. While they are often used in the same context, they mean very different things. Again, managed hosting is always on a dedicated server but a dedicated server does not necessarily mean you will get managed hosting. Different providers offer different management hosting on top of the dedicated server they provide. Managed hosting and dedicated servers do not have the same meaning.