What Determines Database Server Price? – Important Factors!

Before estimating your database machine price and employing your strategy, you must consider the important factors directly impacting the cost. They range from the machine’s components, which include computing power, memory, and provisioned storage to the data transfer speed and networking.

A featured image, of a laptop showing the essential factors to consider when budgeting a database server.

1. Server Hardware

Similarly to any computer, a database machine requires everything from a central processing unit (CPU) to a random access memory (RAM). You will need the following components:

  • A central processing unit (CPU)
  • Random access memory (RAM)
  • Storage Unit (HDD, SSD, or RAID)
  • High-speed internet connection

There is only one exception that you wouldn’t need, which is a graphics processing unit (GPU), or “video card”. Well, kind of. For normal database workloads, as well as no GPU-optimized database software, you don’t need a powerful graphics card. That’s one thing that’ll probably cut down the database cost.

Important: Storage Capacity & Backup Storage

For a database machine, the best choice would be a Solid State Drive (SDD), which is much faster than regular hard drives. Alternatively, many database servers use NVMe, which is, as concisely as possible, a combination of SSD and HDD.

However, only one drive—no matter the type—wouldn’t be enough, considering the critical need for disaster recovery, which is only possible via a RAID configuration requiring at least two disk drives.

There are many different RAID configurations, but for simplicity, we can say that one drive copies the other, hence if one goes down, you can always restore your critical information. The backup retention period depends on the scale of your storage space, hence a typical server requires a lot of storage.

2. Operating System

The server system is going to be the foundation of your database server. You need to select a server system based on your requirements, the most popular of which is Windows. However, some businesses have specific needs, many of which Windows servers can’t always fulfill.

Here are your options when it comes to the operating system:

  • Windows
  • Ubuntu
  • Debian
  • macOS X
  • CentOS 7
  • Solaris

While Windows is the most preferred option, Linux comes in handy with many database instances, due to its open-source environment, making it ideal for SMBs. However, selecting the right server system depends on the data requirements, database system, and workload scale that we’ll be discussing next.

3. Database System

Once you have the foundation (OS), your database machine will need a database management system (DBMS). The DBMS allows you to manipulate and store large amounts of data effectively, making it easy for users to navigate, and provides a perfect environment for a long-term commitment.

You have a lot of choices when it comes to DBMS:

  • MySQL – An open-source database management system, widely popular because of its free version, delivering ultimate scalability, robust ecosystem, and extensive integration.
  • Microsoft SQL – Microsoft SQL is a feature-rich relation database system that provides high availability, fast data transfer, and versatility, which is often used by enterprises.
  • MongoDB – MongoDB is a NoSQL database, storing data in JSON (binary format), designed for high performance and flexibility, making it perfect for unstructured data.
  • PostgreSQL – PostgreSQL, known for its extensibility in compliance, is the perfect database choice if you’re looking for concurrency, advanced data types, and replication.
  • Oracle RDBMS – Perhaps the oldest database management system, offering extensive enterprise applications due to its comprehensive features, scalability, and flexibility.
  • IBM DB2 – IBM DB2, designed for high availability, is a cost-effective solution for DBMS, providing multi-model support, advanced security, and compatibility with Windows, Linux, and Unix.

Selecting the correct DBMS strictly depends on the essence of your workload, scale of operation, and pricing. The DBMS is very important regardless of whether you’re looking for a dedicated database server or storage through cloud providers.

Note: There are even more DBMS options, one of which worth mentioning is SQLite, which doesn’t even require a server configuration, designed for small workloads.

4. Workload Handling

The workload requirement is another crucial factor that will have a great impact on your server price. Well, the workload can be calculated based on the amount of data you need to store, the components that you will need, and potential room for upgrade.

You need to consider several aspects when it comes to workload handling:

  • The required read and write per second speed.
  • The number of requests and the response time.
  • The automated backups and backup storage.
  • Internet network speed and latency requirement.
  • The estimated input and output per second (IOPS).
  • The number of members that will access the server.

Customers often perform stress tests based on their requirements to test the server’s resources, and software, to account for any errors or potential failures. This may increase the potential costs, but will surely provide a meaningful service for benchmarking and price justification.

If the server has proven reliable, it’s ready to be put in production. However, this immediately leads to the next and final important factor, which is management. Let’s learn more…

5. Server Management

Whenever the customer’s database is ready and set up, management comes into play, which is another factor that may add to the total cost. For example, before your database is sent into production, you may need to following management:

  • Installing software, error handling, and system optimization.
  • Software and hardware inspection and replacement services.
  • Minimizing potential downtime and performance monitoring.

What’s important to note is that with renting a database machine, management comes from the server provider, but in many cases, upfront payment may be required for the initialization. The setup process of a database is complex and without the technical knowledge required, you’ll need to pay for the service.

A decorative image showing the backside of a database server, located in a server room.

How Much Does It Cost to Build a Database?

Now that we’ve gone through the essential factors, it’s time to take a look at what should you include in a budget for a new business database infrastructure. To speak in numbers, we can simplify by saying that buying a database can cost from $5000 up to $20,000 based on your business requirements.

To calculate the price for your database, let’s take a quick look at everything that will be involved:

  • Components (CPU, RAM, Storage) – Capital Expense
  • Software licenses and payments – Capital Expense
  • The server’s power consumption – Operational Expense
  • The monthly network data usage – Operational Expense

Besides all of this, you may need to consider personnel expenses, for instance, training, wages, and necessary tools. The longer you operate, the more operational expenses you will have. In short, this is how much does a database server cost, but pricing may vary depending on additional expenses.

Additional Database Costs:

What’s important to note is that there may be upfront payments, that will arise during the setup stage, besides the monthly pay. The additional expenses are common for enterprises since the scale of operation may require additional resources.

Additional Storage Space

With large-scale operations, extra storage is one of the main requirements that most premade machines do not offer by default. Hence, if you need to expand and replace, you’ll need to discuss the specific organizational needs with the sales team and come up with a solution, for which you must pay upfront.

Compute Capacity (CPU)

Whether it’s a dedicated server or VM or storage from a cloud provider, computing power is the most important aspect of any database, directly responsible for the speed of operation. This is the CPU (central processing unit) and increasing the computing power may increase the server’s total price.

SQL Server Licenses

As mentioned, software licenses are a part of the operational expense, so for instance, a recurring SQL server license is going to bubble up your monthly payments. An SQL server license can cost around $300 for a standard edition and up to $13,000 for the enterprise edition.

Note: There may be even more additional costs, especially if you’re buying and not renting, where purchasing the needed hardware is necessary as well as carrying out the complex setup of a database.

How to Budget Database for Your Business?

To properly budget a database infrastructure for your business, you need to consider the scale of your operation and determine exactly what you’ll need. So, we’ve prepared quick database instances, so that you can determine which of them is going to be cost-effective as per your organization’s requirements.

Configuration for Small Workload:

For small-scale operations, you wouldn’t need ungodly equipment, hence, when renting you would pay something in the range of $400 up to $700 per month.

The hardware would consist of, or something similar to:

  • 2x 1TB SSD (2 x 1 TB Solid State Drives)
  • 128 GB DDR4 RAM
  • 8-core Intel Xeon, up to 2.80 GHz
  • 15 TB Network Bandwidth

Configuration for Medium Workload:

For medium-scaled operations, you would need to step up in storage, and computing power, and perhaps pay additionally for protection against DDoS. Such a machine would cost, for example, $600 up to $1000 monthly and will include, something like:

  • 2x 2TB SSD or NVMe
  • 128 GB DDR4 RAM
  • 10-core Intel Xeon, up to 3.00 GHz
  • 15 TB Network Bandwidth
  • 20 Gbps DDoS

Configuration for Large Workload:

For a large workload operations, you would need to step up in every aspect. The monthly pricing here can vary, strictly based on the specific organization requirements and data transfer needs. Hence, to rent a machine that can support immense workloads, you would probably go over $1000 per month, again based on what you need to store and manage.

  • 4x 2TB SSD or NVMe
  • 256 GB DDR4 RAM
  • 20-core Intel Xeon, up to 3.80 GHz
  • 15 TB Network Bandwidth
  • 20 Gbps DDoS

Renting Vs. Purchasing A Database Machine?

If you’re wondering what is the difference between renting and purchasing a database machine, and which is better for you, we will break this down.

There are 3 main options to consider:

  • Rent a server from a dedicated or cloud provider for a monthly price.
  • Purchase and build your own configuration to maintain in your office.
  • Buy a server to maintain it via a third party, using a colocation service.

Method #1 Renting

When renting a server you can either choose from a premade and ready configuration, based on your requirements and workload. Then, customize anything from storage, computing power, and memory to adjust the monthly pricing and personalize the configuration.

At ServerMania, we offer high-performance, fully customizable database servers designed to meet your exact needs. Explore our flexible hosting options and find the perfect fit for your workload today.

Method #2 Buying

When buying your own machine for hosting a database workload, you have the complete freedom to configure the server, as per your requirements in return for an initial investment. Then, you can either host the machine in your office or deliver the machine to a third-party provider, or data center to host the server for you. The colocation services, however, will add additional monthly payment expenses.

Hence, buying your own database machine would be more expensive initially, but in the long-term owning one is going to come cheaper. Both methods are entangled with a monthly payment, whether it’s for maintenance, IT inspection, or RAID storage installation, and many organizations prefer renting and leaving all the maintenance to the service provider.

A person typing on a laptop with floating digital document icons, symbolizing data management, cloud computing, or digital file storage.

How to Rent an SQL Server For My Database?

Now that you know the approximate cost of a database server, if you want to rent an SQL server, you first need to find a reliable supplier.

At ServerMania, we provide a quiz that will guide you through availability zones, DBMS, bandwidth, storage, performance, and so on, to determine exactly what you need. This will guarantee the perfect long-term environment, support, and competitive pricing to achieve your goals smoothly.

Feel free to join the ServerMania club and take advantage of our hosting resources. Recieve exclusive discounts on database servers tailored for your specific business requirements today!