How difficult it is to manage a dedicated server?

[Dare]

I'm on a shared hosting right now, with my websites growing, I'm considering getting a dedicated server.
My concern is that cheap dedicated servers are bare bones materials. No control panel, no PHP, no MySQL, no Apache, I'll have to install all that myself with command line instructions. I'm not used to that.
I guess I can learn though. I've learned html and php, and I've built my own CMS which is way lighter than Wordpress.
Also, regarding Control Panels, I have some experience with Plesk, but it's not free. Is there a free control panel software available? I know ispconfig, is there another one?

 

[Aryanna]

What's your server provider? Managament of dedicated servers is not hard, i've run many of them. You just need to learn basic learning curve for your provider and install any OS you want.

After that dedicated server is just a regular server/computer.

 

[Hayes]

For me, to manage a dedicated server is a hobby. I really enjoy it. After ten years of experience it's very easy.

 

[Garland]

I wouldn't want to give naive advice to a beginner that managing a server is easy because it is not.

As the great boxer Mike Tyson said, "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face." The same is true for managing a server.

It's easy to copy and paste commands from articles to install something, but that's not managing the server. When strange issues start happening, it suddenly becomes difficult.

I would recommend OP to take a bit of time and play around with a cheap VPS and maybe read some Linux management courses to understand what to do when things happen. Or.. get a managed host until OP has more experience with managing the server because if the issue becomes too complicated, the service provider can help.