Pro Tips
High-Bandwidth Dedicated Servers: Benefits & Use Cases
Rackdog Team
High-bandwidth dedicated servers can be an important part of the infrastructure mix for organizations serving lots of users, transferring large amounts of data, or depending on consistent network performance.
As the number of users your application serves and the volume of data it transfers increase, high-bandwidth servers can help bring infrastructure costs under control and ensure your systems are equipped for the demands of your workload.
In this guide, we’ll explain what high-bandwidth dedicated servers are, explore the benefits of this type of infrastructure, and offer tips for choosing a dedicated server capable of supporting your bandwidth needs.
What is a high-bandwidth dedicated server?
A high-bandwidth dedicated server is a single-tenant server provisioned with a suitable network interface card and delivered with the right bandwidth model to support a workload that generates high volumes of data transfer.
Also referred to as bare metal servers, dedicated servers are physical servers reserved for use by one customer. In contrast to cloud virtual machines (VMs), where a single machine’s resources are virtualized and shared by multiple tenants, a dedicated server gives your workload direct access to the underlying hardware. As a result, they can offer important advantages in performance and consistency for demanding workloads.
What makes a dedicated server “high-bandwidth”?
Classifying a dedicated server as high-bandwidth comes down to two factors: port speed and bandwidth model. Port speed determines how much traffic the server can theoretically move at once, while the bandwidth model determines how that traffic is billed, or in some cases, limited.
A server with a high-speed port but a restrictive transfer allowance may not be a good fit for sustained high-bandwidth usage. Likewise, a server with generous bandwidth on a lower-speed port may offer predictable costs but still limit throughput for demanding workloads.
What is a 10Gbps dedicated server?
A 10Gbps dedicated server is a bare metal server connected to a 10Gbps network port. The 10Gbps figure refers to the port speed of the server, meaning the server can theoretically transfer up to 10 gigabits of data per second.
For many high-bandwidth workloads, a 10Gbps port provides enough network headroom to reduce the risk of throughput bottlenecks. Higher port speeds are available from some providers, which may be useful for extremely network-intensive deployments.
It’s also possible to find dedicated servers with lower port speeds, such as 1Gbps. For less demanding applications, that may be enough. But for workloads with heavy or sustained data transfer, a lower-speed port can become saturated more easily and limit throughput.
Benefits of dedicated servers for high-bandwidth workloads
High-bandwidth workloads can run on different types of infrastructure, but dedicated servers offer several advantages for organizations that need consistent throughput, predictable costs, and more control over performance.
1. Dedicated resources for more consistent performance
Dedicated servers are single-tenant, which means the server’s compute, memory, storage, and network resources are reserved for one customer.
A high-bandwidth dedicated server pairs those reserved resources with a high-capacity network connection. The port gives the workload room to move traffic, while the underlying CPU, memory, storage, and network isolation can reduce sources of latency, contention, and performance variability that come from sharing resources in multi-tenant infrastructure.
2. Better cost predictability
High-bandwidth workloads can become expensive when traffic is billed by usage. In major cloud platforms like AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud, outbound data transfer is commonly billed separately from the compute instance itself, with pricing that varies by region, destination, service, and usage level.
For applications that serve large amounts of traffic, the cost of outbound data transfer, also known as egress fees, can make monthly infrastructure costs harder to predict.
Dedicated servers are often available with large transfer allowances or unmetered bandwidth (with no per-GB egress fees on any volume of data transfer), which can make bandwidth-heavy workloads easier to budget as traffic grows.
3. More control over the server environment
Dedicated servers offer more direct control over the machine, allowing you to tune the environment around your workload, including the operating system, kernel, storage layout, network configuration, and other server-level settings.
In a more abstracted cloud or shared hosting environment, some of that control may be limited, hidden, or standardized by the platform.
For high-bandwidth workloads, this control is useful because the server can be optimized around the workload’s traffic patterns, reduce unnecessary overhead, and make better use of the available network capacity.
Top use cases for high-bandwidth dedicated servers
High-bandwidth dedicated servers are a strong fit for workloads where large amounts of data need to move quickly, consistently, or cost-effectively.
These workloads often depend on more than raw compute power. They also require enough network capacity to support sustained traffic, frequent data transfer, or high volumes of concurrent users.
Common use cases include:
Blockchain infrastructure: Nodes, validators, RPC endpoints, and indexers that need consistent connectivity to sync data and serve requests.
Video streaming and media delivery: Streaming platforms that need enough bandwidth to serve large files or continuous video traffic as viewership grows.
Gaming infrastructure: Multiplayer games and real-time applications that need consistent network performance to support concurrent users with minimal delay.
Adtech platforms: Adtech systems that process large request volumes in short time windows, making throughput and latency important.
AI and data platforms: AI workloads and data pipelines that need to move large datasets, outputs, logs, or inference traffic between systems.
Proxies, VPNs, and network services: Network-based products that need high throughput, as moving traffic is core to the service.
Top providers for high-bandwidth dedicated servers
Top providers for high-bandwidth dedicated servers include bare metal as a service (BMaaS) and bare metal cloud providers that offer dedicated infrastructure with fast provisioning, cloud-like management experience, and port speeds and bandwidth models that enable you to transfer terabytes of data consistently and cost-effectively.
With those criteria in mind, top options to consider include:
1. Rackdog
Rackdog offers high-bandwidth dedicated servers that are ideal for traffic-heavy workloads. With Rackdog, you can deploy a 10Gbps dedicated server in minutes, manage infrastructure with cloud-like flexibility, and run bandwidth-heavy workloads with predictable costs.
Considerations:
Unmetered bandwidth is included in the monthly price of standard server configurations
No per-GB egress fees are applied to outbound data transfer
10Gbps ports are standard on most configurations, with higher-capacity options available up to 400Gbps
2. OVHcloud
OVHcloud offers dedicated servers with unmetered traffic included on standard plans. Servers include public bandwidth starting at 500Mbps, with higher bandwidth and guaranteed bandwidth options available depending on the server range and selected add-ons.
Considerations:
Unlimited inbound and outbound traffic is included at no extra cost, excluding Asia-Pacific regions
Public bandwidth starts at 500Mbps, with burst capacity available for occasional traffic spikes
Guaranteed bandwidth upgrades are available for workloads that need committed public network capacity
3. Cherry Servers
Cherry Servers offers dedicated servers with high-bandwidth configurations available in select locations. Its 10Gbps dedicated servers include 100TB of monthly outbound traffic, with inbound traffic included at no additional cost.
Considerations:
100TB of free outbound traffic per month included with 10Gbps dedicated servers
Additional outbound traffic is billed at €0.50 per TB after the included allowance
10Gbps servers are available in Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Stockholm, and Chicago
What to look for in a high-bandwidth dedicated server
The right high-bandwidth dedicated server should support your traffic without creating performance bottlenecks or unpredictable costs.
For high-bandwidth workloads, you need enough network capacity to support your current traffic, along with a pricing model that will still make sense as usage grows.
When evaluating options, make sure you consider:
Port speed
Start with the port speed. A 10Gbps port gives the server far more room to move traffic than a 1Gbps port, which can be important if your workload serves large files, handles many concurrent users, or moves data continuously.
To estimate what you need, look at your expected peak traffic, not just average monthly transfer. A workload with modest total transfer can still need a higher port speed if traffic comes in sharp bursts, while a workload with steady usage may be easier to size around sustained throughput.
Bandwidth model
Next, look at how bandwidth is packaged. Some providers include a fixed monthly transfer allowance, some offer tiered bandwidth pricing, and others offer unmetered bandwidth.
If a provider offers a monthly transfer allowance, make sure you understand the limits and how overages are billed. Confirm whether the plan can support your anticipated volume of data transfer at an acceptable cost.
If you’re not comfortable bearing the potential costs of overages and staying within a defined transfer allowance, a dedicated server with unmetered bandwidth may be a stronger option.
To learn more about different bandwidth pricing models, read our guide to metered vs. unmetered bandwidth.
Final takeaway
As bandwidth demands continue to grow, more organizations are looking for infrastructure that can support sustained traffic, consistent performance, and predictable costs.
For workloads that need to move large amounts of data, high-bandwidth dedicated servers can provide the network capacity and cost structure needed to scale with less friction.
If you’re considering bare metal for your high-bandwidth workloads, create an account today to explore Rackdog’s ready-to-deploy 10Gbps dedicated servers. You can also get in touch with an infrastructure expert from our team to discuss a solution tailored to your needs.