This is my first blog post, so I thought I’d share a funny story about my first few days at The Planet. Coming from a predominantly networking background in the Internet service provider (ISP) world, I was thrown for a loop the first time I looked at our server descriptions.

As I browsed through, I noticed the labels for “bandwidth” and “uplink port speed” as two separate items. As I said, coming from the ISP side of the technology industry we defined “bandwidth” in a completely different fashion than the hosting industry. To me, bandwidth has always been defined as how big the pipe is that will transmit or carry data. So when I saw the “Bandwidth” and “Uplink Port Speed” labels, it really threw me for a loop (nothing like a routing loop to really screw up your day – HA!).

In the ISP world and more to the actual definition, bandwidth has meant the width or depth of allocated bands of frequencies in a transmission channel. It’s the width of the spectrum a signal occupies. Think of it in terms of tubes or pipes – a two-inch pipe or tube has less width or depth to carry or transmit things than say an 18-inch pipe or tube. In this example, the two-inch pipe would be an ADSL line vs. a DS-3 line.

“Bandwidth” always seems to be confused with data rate or capacity – otherwise known as how much “stuff” can I send at a given speed (usually measured in a per second time unit). This would be closely related to what we label as “uplink port speed” and “bandwidth,” respectively and as we define it, more than the definition of “bandwidth” as I have technically defined it.

So that brings me to the next thing that may come across your mind – what do “bandwidth” and “uplink port speed” mean with The Planet and the hosting industry?

Let’s hit “bandwidth” first. Most, if not all, of our listings show them in some thousands of GB (GigaBytes). Our Conroe’s come with a default of 2500 GB of “bandwidth” per month. From our definition, that means you can transfer 2500 GigaBytes of data in one month – it’s an aggregate of both inbound and outbound data to and from the Conroe server. But still, what does that mean?

We’ll, let’s say that you had a database that was 2500GB in size (massive database!). If you started transferring it from this server to say another server, outside of The Planet, and you wanted to do it over 30 days (approximately, one month), then using a nice little conversion formula (2500GB/month * 1 month/30days * 1 day/24 hours * 1 hour/60 minutes * 1 minute/60 seconds * 8 bits/1 Byte) we see that the minimum “uplink port speed” should be a 7.72 Mbps connection – a slower than 10Mbps link connection, which was the old de-facto standard that we used to use for connecting PCs and servers to LANs. But this gives you an idea of how your decision in “uplink port speed” can be directly proportional to how quickly you need to do business.

Now we all know that we have a faster connection than 7.72Mbps, especially when the Conroe is defaulted with a 100Mbps “uplink port speed.” So what does this mean when we run the formula this way? Let’s say that we use all of the “pipe” allocated to the 100Mbps “uplink port speed” for the entire month (to remain consistent with the above example). Plugging our numbers into the formula, but in reverse (100Mb/second * 1 Byte/8 bits * 60 seconds/1 minute * 60 minutes/1 hour * 24 hours/1 day * 30 days/1 month) we see that we can transmit inbound and outbound about 32,400GB or 32.4TB per month of data! WAY beyond the specified 2500GB or 2.5TB per month that we default to the Conroe server.

They are related, but do not necessarily equal one another in relation to their monthly ability. What’s important to see is that you know what both are capable of. One tells you how fast you can transmit data given the bandwidth (this is the “uplink port speed”) while the other caps or limits the amount of data that can be transmitted in a given month to and from that server (“bandwidth”).

This month, The Planet has launched its Cogent “unmetered bandwidth” offering and this is where customers can quickly learn how valuable even 10Mbps of “unmetered bandwidth” can be! A 10Mbps, unmetered “uplink port speed” would yield 3,240GB or 3.24TB of “bandwidth” per month! A very nice savings at $200/month!

- Paul

I’ve spent many years in various tech support roles throughout my career, regularly reviewing issues customers face. At The Planet, our goal is to provide excellent service for our customers, which usually comes through our support tickets. Most of our customers use the ticket system, so I thought I’d offer some thoughts on how to ensure we help you resolve outstanding issues quickly and thoroughly.

Here is an example of a support ticket that provides just about every detail that’s necessary to remediate the issue:

—–SNIP—–

Department: Support

Subject: New York City AT&T DSL unable to connect to my server in DLLSTX6

Server: servername-1.2.3.4

Body: My customer, Jon Smith, is unable to ssh into 1.2.3.4 on tcp/22 from 255.255.255.255. We have insured that Jon is not being blocked via iptables and he can connect to Apache on tcp/80.

[root@server ~]# iptables –nLChain INPUT (policy ACCEPT)target prot opt source

destination Chain FORWARD (policy ACCEPT)target prot opt source

destination Chain OUTPUT (policy ACCEPT)target prot opt source destination[root@server ~]#

[root@server ~]# traceroute 255.255.255.255

myserversgateway (1.2.3.1) 0.004 ms 0.020 ms 0.011 ms

1 dsr01.dllstx2.theplanet.com (12.96.160.9) 0.901 ms 0.944 ms 1.174 ms

2 …3 ……10 …11 255.255.255.255 (255.255.255.255) 42.211 ms 50.421 ms 45.114 ms[root@server ~]# ping 255.255.255.255PING 255.255.255.255 (255.255.255.255) 56(84) bytes of data.

64 bytes from 255.255.255.255 (255.255.255.255): icmp_seq=0 ttl=43 time=49.0 ms

64 bytes from 255.255.255.255 (255.255.255.255): icmp_seq=1 ttl=43 time=45.4 ms

64 bytes from 255.255.255.255 (255.255.255.255): icmp_seq=2 ttl=43 time=45.5 ms

64 bytes from 255.255.255.255 (255.255.255.255): icmp_seq=3 ttl=43 time=54.0 ms

64 bytes from 255.255.255.255 (255.255.255.255): icmp_seq=4 ttl=43 time=46.1 ms

— 255.255.255.255 ping statistics —

5 packets transmitted, 5 received, 0% packet loss, time 4003ms

rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 45.453/48.060/54.077/3.277 ms, pipe 2

[root@server ~]#

[customer@remoteserver ~]$ telnet 1.2.3.4 80

Trying 1.2.3.4…

Connected to myserver.tld (1.2.3.4).

Escape character is ‘^]’.

HEAD / HTTP/1.0

HTTP/1.1 404 Not Found

Date: Fri, 06 Jul 2007 17:34:37 GMT

Server: Apache/2.0.52 (Red Hat)

Connection: closeContent-

Type: text/html; charset=iso-8859-1

Connection closed by foreign host.[customer@remoteserver ~]$

ssh 1.2.3.4ssh_exchange_identification:

Connection closed by remote host[customer@remoteserver ~]$ telnet 1.2.3.4 22

Trying 1.2.3.4…

Connected to myserver.tld (1.2.3.4).Escape character is ‘^]’.

Connection closed by foreign host.[customer@remoteserver ~]$

You can login to my server with the credentials listed in Orbit. You can reach me any time at (555) 555-5555.

Thank you,Bob

Customerbob@remote.tld

—END SNIP—

Without ever logging into the server, our trained technicians are able to immediately identify the problem. The issue in this case is that either through a script(bfd) or other means, the remote user is being denied by TCP WRAPPERS (man 5 hosts_access). We are able to see that iptables are not blocking any connections, and we are able to reach the server without issue on another TCP port that’s not typically controlled by the wrapper. The customer ensures that the ticket subject was descriptive so that our technicians are able to evaluate the ticket in the support system queue. Each technician typically has a different area of expertise, so we work to steer the ticket to the right person for the job. Here is a list of subjects that provide helpful information for the support techs responding to the ticket:

1. cPanel: WHM is not responding. Server is accessible via SSH
2. Apache: My .cgi is giving a 501 error
3. cPanel: Apache is segfaulting after I upgraded PHP
4. Exim: User so-and-so cannot send outgoing form mail after tweaking security in cPanel
5. Server kernel panics daily. Need to have the RAM tested/replaced
6. MySQL: forums refusing more than 100 concurrent users
7. Reboot Request**
8. Network: San Jose, CA – 350ms RTT via Sprintlink

** #7 should not be a Support Ticket but a Reboot Ticket.

At The Planet, tech support is always eager to help resolve issues quickly and efficiently, so when customers add a bit of detail in the subject line, we’re able to ensure the ticket is routed to the most appropriate individual.

Just a few tips to help bring a quick resolution to a number of support issues. Thanks for stopping by.

- Anthony

Hello, world! I’m Jason Mathews, the dayshift supervisor for technical support. I’ve been playing with computers since 300 baud and in the industry since 1992. I’ve been a network engineer, systems administrator and all around go-to guy for anything powered by electrons. So I have a lot of personal experience helping customers deal with issues when they arise.

Managing dedicated servers and the associated infrastructure can be pretty complex, and we’re here to help with that.

As an example, cPanel has gone to version 11, and there have been some support requests since the upgrade. This is no slight on cPanel — I’m not picking on them. It’s typical to see some initial discomfort when new versions come out, and usually there are some easy fixes. Since we’ve heard from some customers about this recent version, I thought it might be helpful to provide some tips in our blog to help:

1) Find your current version of Perl. You can do that by typing in:

perl –v

at the command line. Make sure that your servers have Perl 5.8.7 at a minimum. 5.8.8 would be better, and to get the installer package for that, run this in SSH asroot:

wget http://layer2.cpanel.net/perl588installer.tar.gz

tar zxvf perl588installer.tar.gz

cd perl588installer

perl install

This will get perl up-to-date and recompile a whole lot of perl modules that cPanel depends on. cPanel isn’t updating perl directly, and if it’s anything below 5.8.7, many modules won’t work, recompile at all or will provide strange output.

2) Run this script and check the output: /scripts/updateuserdomains

This will read the user files in /var/cpanel/users and make any needed synchronization with other system files, such as Apache and ftp.

Sometimes, however, the user configuration will have conflicts you may not have noticed, mostly by one account having control of a domain while that domain is still active on another account. This inconsistency can cause a lot of trouble later on, so you’ll want to edit the user files directly, remove the offending domain, then run the script again.

3) Verify all of cPanel is updated to version 11.

perl -c /scripts/wwwacct

If this command doesn’t have any errors, then everything should be at the proper version. If you get errors, something might be missing, so run this:

/usr/local/cpanel/bin/checkperlmodules

/scripts/upcp -force

This will double check all perl modules and run the update in force mode, overwriting existing cPanel functions with the latest ones. If this still doesn’t work, let us know, and we can try more detailed fixes, or we can escalate the issue to cPanel directly and they can provide a proper fix.

4) Ensure that you are using the maildir format in email. The previous versions of cPanel used both mbox and maildir formats, but mbox is being phased out, and maildir is much more efficient anyway. To check this,run:

/scripts/convert2maildir

This will tell you what your current mail format is, and offer you the chance to convert to maildir and backup current mailboxes before the change. This script is pretty reliable, I haven’t run across any problems with it. It will install the latest courier-imap to handle the new format. This will also mean that Horde and Squirrelmail will then work with the new format, and Neomail will go away, since that has long since been deprecated.

That’s pretty much it. These are the steps we would follow in looking at any recent issue with cPanel. I would welcome any comments or suggestions for the next posting. If there’s something you want to know about technical support and what it is we do, I’ll write about it.

- Jason

Before I started writing this blog post, I re-read the previous entries. Just for the record, I work with a bunch of geeks. But that’s ok, because I’m a geek myself.

I’ve invested 32 percent of my life at The Planet. Nine out of my 28 years for those who prefer hard numbers.

Having been at The Planet since day one, I often refer to myself as The Planet’s official historian. I’ve been here to experience the great success and witnessed our tremendous progress.

Back in 1998, we were seven employees strong trying to figure out a business plan and method of execution from within the confines of our 1,500 square foot office. At the time we were known as NT Access. Microsoft later gave us a gentle nudge to show their disapproval of our NT reference. Apparently they didn’t believe our story that NT referred to North Texas at an all Windows (at the time) hosting facility in Dallas.

So we became Sector 12, a reference to Toy Story, since Buzz Lightyear’s destination was Sector 12.

We kept a Buzz Lightyear action figure at the front desk as a conversation piece. Nine years later, I guess it’s still effective if I’m bringing it up. I have always liked the Sector 12 logo. Here’s a sneak peak. I’d venture to guess that only 10 of the current 500 employees have ever seen or even remember this logo.

When we first started out, I’ll be the first to admit that we didn’t have formal policies and rules in place. In fact, I still remember when we had to tell employees, “Don’t break rule #1.” I guess it didn’t matter that rule #2 and beyond didn’t exist at the time.

Thinking back through the years, it’s amazing how far the dedicated server hosting industry has come. In writing this entry, I looked in my archives for a copy of our original business plan from 1998. The biggest bandwidth option at the time was 2,500 GB/month at a rate of $12,995. The same option goes for $175 now. Just for the record, that’s 1.3% of our asking price. Wow. It’ll be interesting to see where things go from here.

In re-reading this entry, I realize it’s unfair for me to call myself The Planet’s historian. I only know half of the story. Because of our merger with EV1Servers last year, we can’t ignore the rich history of my fellow colleagues. I’ve relocated to Houston since the merger, so it sounds like I need to go in search of a fellow geek/storyteller to fill me in on the rest of the story.

-Thanh

As I prepared to contribute to The Planet’s blog, I tried to think about what topic to cover. Would I dredge up open source vs. COTS, .Net vs. J2EE or the promise of SOA? That’s when it came to me.

It really doesn’t matter about the technology topic if you weigh in on the importance of the upcoming U.S. holiday. Without the 4^th of July, there probably wouldn’t be a number of the technologies we all enjoy today. Not every technology comes from the U.S. since a great number of our customers are from locations around the world. There are brilliant people spanning the globe, and technology is responsible for opening doors and removing international barriers.

If you are an American, regardless of political affiliation, you understand how fortunate we are in the U.S. We have the freedom to pick our favorite sports team, programming language or auto manufacturer. And we can fuss and fight with our peers about which is the best. Even if you don’t agree with me completely, we have the freedom to discuss it vigorously.

I look forward to celebrating the birth day of the United States on the 4^th of July. My family and I are planning to meet friends at the lake. I’m sure I’ll to eat too much and will do something stupid like attempt to water ski beyond my ability. Most of all, I look forward to spending time with family. And for a brief time I don’t have to think about technology.

After all, technology is what I do for a living!

The 4^th is a good time to think about those who came before us and sacrificed so much for our country. Based on what this holiday represents, you have the freedom to disagree with me too. I invite you to add to the conversation.

- Bryan