Hi there, everyone. It’s been awhile, and in fact, this is only my second blog post. A great customer experience over the past few weeks prompted me to post, so I wanted to take a little time to relay it to you.

At The Planet, we’re not just a service provider — we’re also a customer of a several hardware, software and service vendors. Many of my recent projects have centered around our KVM offering, the Lantronix Spider KVM-over-IP unit. We’ve been searching for the best way to highlight the unique features and benefits of the Spider KVM that distinguish it from a standard KVM option.

We had a number of ideas — a demo unit, a demo video, etc. Lantronix really stepped up to the plate with an offer to produce a demo video that was custom-tailored to The Planet’s deployment of their hardware. I also deployed a demo unit that lets you see, first hand, how the Spider KVM unit functions in a real-world scenario.

Please take a moment to view the Lantronix Spider video. The Lantronix team did a really great job on short notice (it was probably seven days from concept to online publication), and it gives you a good feel for what the Spider KVM is all about.

While you’re at it, you can try out my demo KVM unit. By the way, Kevin told me that a few people have already checked out the KVM demo and requested a Windows demo box. I’m working on it. Thanks for the suggestion!

Back to my central thesis … It’s not just the work on the video: We just met with our account team and Lantronix executive management. Their openness to working with us, both to better promote their product and to build some of our user requirements back into their roadmap for future versions, was truly refreshing. More importantly, it reinforced in me the fact that we’re an important partner to all of our customers. We want to do what we can to make your business successful, so that we can grow along with you.

This is especially true within the Product Management team, since we are responsible for taking your needs and building them into our future releases. I look forward to hearing from you how we can improve our portfolio. Comment on the blog and let me know what you think.

-Aaron

Since I shy away from vending machines, trans fats, Las Vegas and scary ingredients, I will stick to my favorite topic: Storage!

It took perhaps a day for our faithful customers to give us clear feedback on our Dedicated Backup Server (DBS) line when it shipped last September, and we listened. They wanted more space, a lower cost per GB and more power. It took us a little more than a day to answer those requests, but we hope our new addition is worth the wait.

We’re proudly announcing the newest addition to the DBS family, affectionately called “The Beast” by those of us who drool over 6 terabytes (TB) of usable and abusable space, dual quad core XEON power, 8GB of RAM and 8 massive TB of monthly bandwidth!

We actually have been building this configuration for a few months on a custom basis, and so it has been heavily tested and approved by our hard-core TB drinkers: They loved it, and you will too!

The regular monthly price is $1,099, and we are going to have a promotion at the launch to make sure these Beasts do not sit around for long. For a limited time, The Beast can be yours for $999/mo … that’s around 16 cents/GB per month, if my math is any good. This is by far the best value in the line, and comes with the same unlimited pool of client licenses, Continuous Data Protection and block level performance as the humble 500GB, 1TB and 1.5TB DBS configurations we’ve had available since the product’s launch.

We did hit one problem: the dang things do NOT fit in our vending machines, and the silly machines didn’t accept $100 bills.

Don’t worry, we’ve got a call in to our facilities group.

-Brett

With Web2.0 upon us, some customers have difficulty deciding when the time is right to make a new server purchase, particularly amidst a sea of buzz words like AJAX, Ruby, and Content Delivery Network. Which server is best for you? Should you get the Celeron or the Dual Clovertown? How can you choose between them without being bitten by over- or under-purchasing? How many times have you purchased a server with your boss looking over your shoulder? Hopefully, I can share a little of my professional experience to make your next server-buying experience a little easier … maybe when your boss is hounding you about how much you are spending on your next server, you can point to this definitive guide from someone who has done a few tours of duty in the industry.

What’s Your Server’s Application?

It’s a simple and straightforward question: What is your server’s application? I’m not talking about whether you are using apache, fastcgi, php, python, lighttpd, IIS6/7, asp or .NET. I am interested in how your server is configured and its purpose: Is it a Combo (http+db), a Workhorse (http or appserver), a File Server (http, ftp, rsync), or a Media Server (http site + files)?

While I boiled down the general “web servers” category into only those few types, I can almost guarantee that your web server will fall into one of them, and each type has its own needs.

The Combo (http+db)

While this is one of the most inefficient configurations, it happens to be the most common. Combo boxes rely heavily on CPU and RAM because they not only process the web request, but also handle the database queries. Databases queries eat up RAM and so do most web-scripting languages. The server’s CPU and hard disk access will probably be the most limiting factors in this type of application. I wouldn’t recommend spending a lot of money on RAID configurations or extra disks in a Combo machine since you would be better suited to run two purpose-customized non-RAID machines — with money to spare on backup space — for about the same price.

When you are able to break your Combo server down into separate dedicated http and database machines, you will be able to better tune and customize each server’s configuration for most efficient disk patterns, VM subsystem pressure and RAM usage. It may sound a little confusing, but I’ll explain a bit more about the different types of servers’ needs in my next post.

The WorkHorse (http or appserver)

When you don’t have a database on your http or appserver, you are looking at more of a workhorse-style server application. This configuration typically needs a focus on RAM and CPU without much demand for disk access. Typically, you will see servers like this bundled with Tomcat or ColdFusion. Most PHP applications suggest this setup because the ever-growing intensity of database queries and the amount of post processing in the scripting languages can put a strain on a box serving both the http and database requests. As a note, when you’ve set up your dedicated http or appserver box, you’ll have to decide whether to use mysql_connect() or mysql_pconnect() for your web application. A word to the wise: pconnect() is great if used in the right circumstances so don’t write it off if you don’t know how to use it or because it crashed your server last summer while you were on vacation. *wink*

The File Server (http, ftp, rsync)

File servers are the easiest beasts to set up. RAID and RAM!! RAM is for the file cache (which prevents direct disk-read requests), and RAID configurations accommodate multiple spindle heads. You will need 4 or 5 disks to make up for the RAID5 “write penalty.” I’d advise you not to get duped by reading about RAID1’s performance in reading from multiple disks. While it may be “smart” by definition, most hardware RAID controllers do not run “smart” RAID1. Don’t neglect the CPU on these toys since CPU plays an important role in bus transfers between the RAM, your disk controller and network connections. Dual processor or dual core machines would be ideal here.

The Media Server

These are the same as file servers but need a lot more CPU power and probably a separate database server (for the same reason explained in the “Workhorse” explanation). More spindles here = more better.

Do I Need to Upgrade?

Don’t rush into a server upgrade “just because” … look at your current utilization patterns — install sysstat so you can at least use SAR and make RTG’s, and estimate your usage. Is your server running at 25% or 75%? If you are at 75%, you might need to split your web and database servers. If you are at 75% and already have made that split, you may need a much better box with application-level caching and threads. I’d recommend against over-shooting your needs since the monthly cost can eat away at you in the end. If you are speculating a 10-15% increase in usage, just double up on the most important server resources go increase them by about one-and-a-half times if you already have a beast of a machine.

Don’t get caught up with RAID configurations if you would be better served with two machines with more RAM and CPU. In the end, it’s not about uptime or how much you are paying for a server each month; it’s about the most efficient way to use what you have so you can spend your money where it is needed.

Making the Move

Most of the forum posts I’ve read were about people who hate migrating from server to server or about how horrible the process is for their customers typically don’t have much experience in the process. The more you do it, the better you become at it (not really a novel idea, I know). My experienced advice: you need at least two weeks to get it done and done right. Why two weeks? Everyone knows DNS is a pain and so are custom-installed perl/pear modules … remember in ’04 when you installed Compress::LZO for that one customer?

I hope this helps!

-Kevin Landreth, RHCE
Technology Architect

At The Planet, we’re excited about the holiday season. We’ve had a great year, so this is a perfect time to look back on 2007 and store away the memories much like one would store server backups in our data centers. How’s that that for a convenient segue into a discussion about The Planet’s backup solutions?

We currently offer NAS, DiskSync, Dedicated SAN and Dedicated Backup Server options, and as the resident backup and storage guru on the Product Management team, I love sharing backup knowledge with our customers. What question do I get most often? Easy: What is the difference between

What is the difference between NAS, DiskSync and the Dedicated Backup Server?

NAS (Network Attached Storage) is storage space allows you access over FTP. You write or provide the software to create and send backups to your NAS, and it functions as a reliable external disk to protect your data and store information separate from your server. Think of it as a target disc, albeit a pretty small one. You can buy NAS space from The Planet in increments ranging from 20GB to 200GB, and our typical NAS setup accommodates many users on each of our available NAS devices.

Our DiskSync product offers a much more complete SAN (Storage Area Network) infrastructure backup solution with the ability to schedule full backups and perform restores in our managed environment. Rather than having to create the backup software, our DiskSync solution enables you to quickly and easily monitor and track your data backups. On the infrastructure side, we host the large storage network and maintain the integrity of all DiskSync user data. The SAN structure is significantly larger than a NAS device and is much more scalable. It’s able to accommodate a considerably higher number of DiskSync users and any additional space you may want or need. DiskSync backups are available in 10GB increments with unlimited capacity.

With our new Dedicated Backup Server (DBS) solution, you become the admin for the entire system. You get a dedicated server with the R1Soft CDP Server software/license installed, and full root access. You have the ability to manage backups and delegate authority to users and sub-users, and you manage the OS, which allows for true customization for any of your more complex backup needs. We’ve found that many customers want this complete control and the peace of mind that each DBS is individually encrypted for data security since no other users access your DBS. Our most popular Dedicated Backup Servers come equipped with 500GB, 1TB and 1.5TB of data, but we’re always open to a challenge if you need more.

While that’s a quick rundown of our three main backup solutions, it succinctly explains a few of the key differences I like to communicate when asked to run through the options. We feel this array of products can meet the needs of almost any user, so if you have additional questions about backup solution implementation or if you would just like a little more information, visit our Backup page or post a quick comment to let me know.

-Brett

Are you a shared or dedicated hosting reseller? If I told you about a reseller program with increasing monthly discounts, easy account management and a free month to start, would you be interested? If you’ve screamed “Yes!” at the top of your lungs in response to any of these questions, I’m excited to share the launch of The Planet’s brand new Reseller Program … and I’d also recommend speaking with someone about that whole “yelling while reading a blog post on the Internet” problem you’ve got.

If you know The Planet, you know that we’re the largest privately held dedicated server hosting company in the world. What you might not know is that more than half of our business is made up of Web hosting resellers of various shapes and sizes … from garage-based operations reselling a few servers to close friends to multi-million dollar companies seeking market share in the global shared hosting arena. We provide the back-end network, hardware infrastructure and support to keep those businesses online and thriving. To accommodate the unique needs of these customers, we reinvigorated our reseller program to feature a customized control portal, enhanced discount structure and a free month of service for our charter members on all new server orders.

What Participating Resellers Get

• Monthly discount on already competitive prices
• A dedicated sales team with extended hours
• A custom portal with reseller-specific functions
• Ability to order online with discounts 24×7
• The Planet’s enterprise-level data centers and network
• The freedom to focus on your core competencies without worrying about your infrastucture

How the Program Works

When you join the program, you are eligible for a free month of service on every new server order, and as you grow your business, you will be eligible for our three tiers of membership: Tier 1 ($500-$2,500 per month), Tier 2 ($2,501-$5,000) and Tier 3 ($5,001+) levels each entitle you to larger monthly discounts on your server orders. Every member of the program will have full access to The Planet’s marketing resources, frequently asked questions, and account management staff to be sure that you have all the information needed to help ensure your business can to grow quickly.

After you sign up (hint, hint), we’ll fill you in on all of the details. We are excited to offer you an enterprise-level program at small business prices!

-Todd