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Education Host

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Research Hosting

Managed server infrastructure for universities, research teams and academic projects that need reliable hosting, dedicated resources and education-sector support.

Overview

What is research hosting?

Research hosting provides dedicated or managed server environments for academic projects — research applications, data collection platforms, dashboards, web applications, APIs, databases and dissertation or research workloads.

It is for teams who need more control, support and reliability than ordinary shared hosting, but do not necessarily need a full enterprise cloud procurement project. Education Host runs and maintains the infrastructure, so research teams can focus on the work.

Research computing infrastructure
Who it supports

Built for research teams and academic projects

  • University research teams
  • Academic departments
  • Dissertation & postgraduate projects
  • Funded research projects
  • Research websites & applications
  • Databases & data collection platforms
  • Dashboards, APIs & project portals
  • Collaboration platforms for research groups
Use cases

Practical research hosting use cases

Reliable, managed environments for the kinds of projects research teams run.

Research project websites

Reliable hosting for project sites and public-facing research output.

Secure project portals

Access-controlled portals for research groups and collaborators.

Database-backed applications

Host research applications backed by databases such as MySQL.

Data collection & dashboards

Run data collection forms and dashboards for live projects.

API hosting

Host APIs and services for research tools and integrations.

Dissertation & postgraduate environments

Dedicated environments for postgraduate and dissertation work.

Academic prototypes

Application hosting for academic prototypes and proofs of concept.

Managed Linux research servers

Managed Linux servers with a choice of distribution.

Temporary project infrastructure

Project-duration environments scoped to budget and timeline.

For workloads involving sensitive or personal data, requirements should be scoped and agreed before deployment.

Managed research servers

What managed research hosting includes

Dedicated, supported server infrastructure — run and maintained by an education-sector provider.

Dedicated resources

Dedicated vCPU, RAM and SSD storage for your project.

Linux operating system choice

AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux, Red Hat Enterprise Linux and other Linux distributions.

Enterprise SSD storage

Enterprise-grade SSD-backed storage for responsive performance.

UK-hosted infrastructure

Cloud-based servers hosted in a UK data centre (6DG Birmingham Central).

Managed patching & updates

Managed kernel/OS patching and updates handled for you.

Root access where required

Full root access for teams that need direct control.

cPanel/WHM where appropriate

cPanel/WHM is available where a control panel suits the project.

DDoS / attack monitoring

Network-level DDoS monitoring and mitigation where available.

Responsive support

Support requests handled by the team that runs the infrastructure.

Flexible project terms

No long-term contracts — terms scoped around the project.

Education-sector support

Support from a provider that works only with education.

Managed, but flexible

Control for researchers, maintenance handled for you

Research hosting balances researcher control with managed support, so projects stay productive without becoming a long-term maintenance burden.

  • Researchers keep control of their environment, with root access where needed.
  • Education Host handles server maintenance, patching, monitoring and infrastructure support.
  • Institutions avoid unmanaged research servers becoming a long-term security and maintenance risk.
  • Environments are scoped around project duration, budget and technical requirements.
Managed cloud server infrastructure
Example packages

Example research server packages

Research hosting is scoped around the project. Example packages are available for smaller research workloads, with larger managed environments available by discussion.

Research Server — Small

Example from £55/month

  • 1 vCPU
  • 2GB RAM
  • 60GB SSD

Research Server — Medium

Example from £65/month

  • 2 vCPU
  • 4GB RAM
  • 100GB SSD

Research Server — Large

Example from £95/month

  • 3 vCPU
  • 8GB RAM
  • 140GB SSD

All packages: ~15TB/month bandwidth · 1,000Mbps (GigE) uplink · 1 usable IP · cloud-based · managed support

Larger managed research environments are available by discussion.

Compare platforms

Research Hosting vs other Education Host services

Where research hosting fits alongside the rest of the Education Host platform.

You are here

Research Hosting

For managed servers supporting research projects, applications, databases, APIs, dashboards and academic project infrastructure.

Managed Infrastructure

For larger hosted platforms, institutional systems and bespoke managed environments.

Learn more

Cloud Pulse

For on-demand teaching labs and virtual machine environments for students and classes.

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Student Web Host Manager

For managing student web hosting cohorts, Microsoft Entra SSO, teaching blocks, assessment windows and lifecycle automation.

Learn more

Running an academic research project that needs managed hosting?

Talk to our team about scoping a managed research server around your project, budget and technical requirements.

Talk to Education Host

Research hosting — frequently asked questions

Answers to common questions about managed research servers for universities and academic projects.

What is research hosting?
Research hosting provides managed or dedicated server environments for academic projects — research applications, data collection platforms, dashboards, web applications, APIs, databases and dissertation or research workloads.
How is research hosting different from shared hosting?
Research hosting gives you dedicated resources, operating-system choice and root access where needed, with managed maintenance and support — more control and reliability than ordinary shared hosting, without a full enterprise cloud procurement project.
Can Education Host provide managed Linux research servers?
Yes. Education Host provides managed Linux research servers with a choice of distributions, including AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux and Red Hat Enterprise Linux, with managed updates and patching.
Can researchers have root access?
Yes. Full root access is available where required, while Education Host can still handle server maintenance, patching and monitoring.
Can research hosting support databases and web applications?
Yes. Research servers can host databases, web applications, APIs, dashboards and data collection platforms.
Is research hosting suitable for dissertations and funded projects?
Yes. It suits dissertation and postgraduate environments as well as funded and departmental research projects, with terms that can be scoped around the project.
Where is the infrastructure hosted?
On UK-hosted, cloud-based infrastructure in the 6DG Birmingham Central data centre, with enterprise SSD storage and a 1,000Mbps (GigE) uplink.
How are research server requirements scoped?
We scope requirements around the project — duration, budget, operating system, resources and technical needs — before deployment. For workloads involving sensitive data, requirements should be scoped and agreed first.
What is the difference between Research Hosting and Managed Infrastructure?
Research Hosting provides managed servers for individual research projects and applications. Managed Infrastructure is for larger hosted platforms, institutional systems and bespoke managed environments.
For universities & research teams

Managed research hosting, scoped around your project

Talk to Education Host about reliable, managed server infrastructure for your research — or explore Managed Infrastructure for larger hosted platforms.