When picking a server, first consider how much downtime you can tolerate, then check whether there’s any support available, and only then compare prices.

11. When picking a server, first consider how much downtime you can tolerate, then check whether there’s any support available, and only then compare prices.

Cost: Cloud instances from major providers typically cost several hundred to several thousand yuan per month. VPS plans from smaller vendors start at just a few dozen yuan per month. A VPS is essentially a virtual mini‑server. Dedicated server hosting starts at several thousand yuan per year, and you must also purchase the hardware yourself.

In plain terms: The main difference among these three options isn’t price — it’s what resources you’ll have at hand when something goes wrong. Big providers offer registration pathways, publish their credentials, issue outage notices, and include compensation clauses in their contracts, so help is readily available. Smaller vendors may charge half as much, but they often over‑sell capacity, disappear without notice, or get cut off by upstream providers; in such cases you won’t know who to turn to. For static websites that contain no user data, a cheap VPS costing just a few dozen yuan is perfectly adequate.

Benefit: Again, the key distinction isn’t price but the support you can rely on during an emergency. Major cloud providers provide registration channels, disclose their qualifications, announce any outages, and guarantee compensation under their contracts, ensuring you can get assistance when needed. Smaller vendors can offer prices roughly half of those rates, yet when they over‑sell resources, shut down unexpectedly, or lose upstream connectivity, you have no recourse. Therefore, before negotiating a price, verify whether the vendor holds a valid value‑added telecommunications license via the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology database. Dedicated server hosting only makes sense if two conditions are met: the bandwidth or hardware costs are noticeably lower, and you have in‑house staff capable of managing the server. For static sites without user data, the cheapest VPS is sufficient; for sites that handle user registrations and transactions, choose a cloud instance that offers elastic scaling and snapshot backups, and store those backups in at least two separate locations.

Evidence grade: C

Notes: This entry is a guideline rather than a piece of evidence. The only verifiable item within it is the vendor’s licensing status. To save money, cut costs on configuration and bandwidth rather than on ensuring proper licensing.

Sources: author’s experience, no direct documentation; see Section 4 of this section for statutory requirements for service provider qualifications and filing, see Section 11, Section 16 for log retention for 6 months and level protection obligations