A number of years ago, I moved tedm.us to a Linode virtual private server (VPS). Linode is one of many companies that use high performance hardware and virtualization to provide VPS services. In choosing a VPS setup, a system administrator is essentially outsourcing all hardware duties, while retaining control over the system software, configuration, etc.

Now, I simply log in to Linode's VPS web interface, where I'm able to install/re-install/monitor/reboot the system with just a few clicks. (Note that this access is totally distinct from the usual internet communication with the server.) As the name suggests, Linode offers many flavors of Linux for the choice of virtual OS. And their VPS service conveniently includes an integrated DNS manager and access to usage and performance metrics.