When it comes to storage servers, the options are plenty—but finding one that offers a good balance of storage capacity, performance, support, and pricing can still feel like hunting for a needle in a haystack. If you’re someone who works with large datasets, backups, video archives, or file distribution systems, you already know how critical it is to have a server that won’t slow you down—or break your budget.
Over the past few months, I explored several storage dedicated server providers while setting up a content delivery platform. I looked into popular names like Hetzner, OVH, SoYouStart, and Online.net, which are all well-known in this space. While they offer decent hardware and low-cost setups, I found a slightly lesser-known provider—RedSwitches—that honestly impressed me.
Here’s a quick breakdown of what I found.
Before we jump into the comparisons, here’s a quick refresher. A high storage dedicated server is exactly what it sounds like—a physical server with large storage capacity, often equipped with multiple hard drives or SSDs, designed to store and manage massive amounts of data.
They’re ideal for:
If any of that sounds like your use case, then you're probably looking for something powerful, stable, and cost-effective.
Hetzner is a solid option if you're based in Europe or have a user base there. Their servers are reliable and pricing is great, especially if you’re okay with HDDs instead of SSDs. That said, their support can sometimes be slow, and they aren’t known for being particularly flexible when it comes to hardware customization.
SoYouStart (a budget arm of OVH) also offers competitive pricing, and you can often find servers with 4+ HDDs for cheap. They’re great for personal projects or cold storage but not ideal if you need a lot of performance with that storage.
OVH itself is a major player, and while they offer decent options, their customer support is hit or miss. Their automated systems are efficient, but sometimes it’s hard to get quick answers if something goes wrong.
So how did RedSwitches come into the picture?
Honestly, I was looking for something a bit more flexible than Hetzner and more personal than OVH. A friend recommended I check out RedSwitches, especially since they offer high storage dedicated servers with the option to customize disk layout, RAID setup, and even OS installs.