Choosing the right software for a dedicated server can have a huge impact on the quality of your experience and the way you will be able to use it for your needs. There are quite a few options and they all imply a trade-off between price, ease of use, and quality of service. Many providers of dedicated servers will charge along with their regular price to include some specific software. Relatively recently, hosting services have started to include software packages in their servers. By charging the right amounts, they can buy and sell software along with their hosting services. A dedicated server presents many advantages. Having the ability to customize it with your choice of software is probably the most important.
While most dedicated servers can be purchased with free Linux-based software, buying proprietary software is a whole other matter. This is the case with Microsoft. They offer licenses through a model they call Service Provider License Agreement (SPLA). The Service Provider License Agreement gives Microsoft a monthly payment. The software included here is Windows, Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Sharepoint, Microsoft Exchange Server as well as several more of their software that is targeted towards servers. Most server providers will offer the customer the option of choosing the software they want in their machine. Different users will have different needs. The choice of database and operating system has a direct impact on how often and how much use you can give your server. It affects the downtime needed to give it maintenance and the ease at which you will be able to upload information. It is also common to add other applications according to each business model and the use that the server will get.
Another kind of software usually available when purchasing a dedicated server is control panels. These are a specific type of software for servers that will help the user automate and customize all manner of features on their computer in an accessible user interface. Control panels can link servers to specific tools, languages and applications that are used for web site creation and automation. It is important to distinguish between control panels and a specific server management tool that some services also provide for an extra fee.
There are some common limitations to the content that is allowed on many servers. For example, IRC (Internet Relay Chat) is commonly disallowed on some providers. This is because some users can use it to start DDoS attacks against the service host. This kind of attack can quickly bring down their whole network, ruining their service and causing huge expenses due to the lack of service.
Some providers also prohibit adult material, as it is not legal in some parts of the world and is also a big hog on data transfer limits. One more limitation to be aware of with many hosting services is the enforcement of copyright laws limiting content to material that you own. All of this should be covered in the terms of service, which should always be read carefully.