The Planet Blog

What defines “value” in hosting for you? Is it all about price? The quality of the server? The quality of the network? Is it an intangible peace of mind? Where do great service and support fit in?

In 2010, The Planet is raising the bar. We are on a quest to bring our customers the best hosting value, and we’ve started making some big changes. We’ve lowered many of our regular server prices and added new server lines to our product catalog, including a low-end model with Intel’s newest Pentium G6950 processor.

You shouldn’t need a special deal to get a great server at the best price, and our new approach to pricing guarantees that for you.

While lowering prices is a good first step in becoming a leading provider of value hosting, it’s just that — the first step. We know that you want to run and maintain your server with as little interference as possible, so we just launched a value bundle program to empower you with the tools you need: With every new server you purchase from The Planet, we’re going to provide a free control panel, 10 GB of free cloud storage and free Symantec antivirus software. That’s not for a limited time — it’s a permanent value-add.

Thus far, we’ve only talked about a few of the server-side changes we’ve made, and that’s only the tip of the iceberg. Value hosting is not defined by bottom lines and add-ons. The most valuable hosting offering is the one that provides the best data centers, network and support for a given budget, so we’re investing in those areas of our business.

Since value is perceived on a customer-by-customer basis, your experience is our focus. In the coming weeks and months, you’ll hear about some of the huge investments we’re making to increase your satisfaction. The Planet has always been known for the quality of our service, and we’re not resting on our laurels. We want your experience to be even better.

If you’re interested in learning more about our new offerings and Twitter-exclusive deals, be sure to follow @ThePlanetSales.

2010 is already an exciting year at The Planet!

-Kevin

We don’t often post promotions on our blog, but the deal we launched today is worthy of an exception: Until July 31, 2009, almost every new dedicated server ordered in one of our Houston or Dallas data centers will include ten terabytes of bandwidth at no additional cost.

Yes, you read that right … ten terabytes of bandwidth for no additional cost on The Planet’s network.

When you’re evaluating a new server or hosting provider, one of the most important deciding factors is bandwidth. From the hosting provider’s available bandwidth to your server’s uplink port speed — or the server’s bandwidth — to the volume of bandwidth allotted to that server for a given month, the general rule is that more is better … being able to accommodate more traffic at a given second or over a given month without worrying about the additional cost is peace of mind in the hosting world.

This limited-time bandwidth promotion tacks on the 10TB data transfer allotment to our current server special pricing, so you don’t have to weigh our current deals against this offer to decide which will work better for you. You get the best of both worlds.

There are some limitations, of course: This offer is for our standard dedicated servers, and certain models like Monster configurations and ready-to-go servers are excluded, but with the range of servers we offer, you’re still sure to find a model that meets your needs perfectly and takes advantage of this phenomenal deal.

Get all the details here: http://www.theplanet.com/10TB-Bandwidth or chat with one of our representatives, and they’ll get you set up. Remember, this offer ends on July 31 – so don’t miss out.

– John

You’re wrapping up a successful trip to the electronics store: You escaped the television section without submitting to the “need” for a 76″ LCD with no interest financing until 2144, you convinced yourself that if you bought Rock Band 2, you would officially be dead to the outside world for at least 2 weeks, and you made sure to stay away from the computer peripheral aisle after you reminded yourself that it took seven months to pay off the credit card debt amassed the last time you walked through to “browse.” You’re a pillar of self control as you wait in line to check out with an 8-pack of Double-A batteries and the two-disc special edition Iron Man DVD.

Then it happens.

A flash of red immediately draws your eye away from the queue of four customers in front of you. Instinctively, your head turns to see your nemesis … the bargain bin. Relatively unassuming in stature, the chaotically-piled merchandise strikes a deep chord in your soul. You know the checkout line isn’t going anywhere, so you nonchalantly meander over to the bin. All 8 seasons of Full House on 40 convenient VHS tapes, Richard Simmons: 80’s Blast Off on limited-edition DVD, a keyboard with Russian characters, a circa-1997 Giga Pet … could you get any luckier?!

Your sub-$30 mission may have hit your wallet a little harder than anticipated, and you’re not sure how long it’ll take to recover the pride you lost as you sheepishly dragged the entire bin into the checkout line, but you are victorious: When you compare the price you paid with the retail cost of all of your goods, you averaged an 86% savings!

While I can’t say that scenario was entirely fictitious, I can explain its significance to the world of hosting and hope no one questions me further about which aspects I’ve experienced personally.

Today, Planet Alpha announces our own Bargain Bin!

The Planet Alpha Bargain Bin is our new real-time searchable repository that features overstocked and clearance dedicated servers in a variety of configurations. The servers are available on a revolving basis, with prices starting at $45 per month.

Bargain Bin servers are selected from the Planet Alpha dedicated server fleet, and they continuously rotate based on availability, demand and data center space. When you visit the Bargain Bin, you can search for servers by processor and drive-controller type, hard disk space, memory capacity and price. The servers come with The Planet’s full range of software options, including operating system and control panel choices, though the server’s hardware must be purchased as it is configured and displayed. New servers are constantly added and others run out of stock. Think of it like Woot! for your server needs.

Bargain Bin servers are backed by The Planet’s Service Level Agreement, 24/7 support, and world-class network and data centers … the only distinction from our normal product catalog is that changes cannot be made to existing hardware for the life of the server.

The key purpose of the bargain bin is to provide you with super-affordable servers while extending the server life of hardware. The primary difference between changes cannot be made to existing hardware for the life of the server.

Buying from the Bargain Bin is a great way to add to your server portfolio at The Planet, and with the money you save, you’ll still be able to afford that pink silicone first-generation iPod case when you go back to the electronics store.

- Kevin

You’ve just rolled out a new version of your software for download, and the announcement hits the front page of Digg. You added a few new products, and they’re flying off your Web site’s virtual shelves. Your forums have reached record numbers of visitors the last four days straight. You are living the dream: You’re an Internet success. You treat yourself to a celebratory dinner and fall into a deep, contented sleep.

When you wake up, the sun isn’t shining and the birds aren’t chirping — your cell phone pierces the serenity of the night, and you answer, only to be treated to an exasperated monologue from your CEO, who says something to the effect of, “The Internet on our site is broken.”

Your site crashed an hour after your head hit the pillow, and the fields of green you painted in your dreams are immediately transformed into desolate wastelands of headache and heartache. You lost sales and visitors, and your online reputation took a hit … it’s all too much to think about. You wonder how this could have happened. You wonder why you didn’t get any alerts about the IP address not responding to pings. You wonder why your other sites and servers on the same rack were not affected. You wonder what you could have done differently.

If you’ve been in a similar position before, you can vividly recall the pain. If you haven’t been in a similar position, trust me … it’s not any fun. I ran a Web hosting company in college and occasionally the server would go down at 4 a.m. I’d wake up the next day to find a slew of angry customer e-mails. I desperately needed to monitor individual services on our servers, beyond whether or not the server is still responding to pings. So as I began to specialize in server management and support, I made sure my team focused on creating and maintaining a monitoring service to keep the horror story you just read from ever happening to our customers. The Planet Alpha Server Monitoring service was born.

Why AS Monitoring?

What are the advantages of Alpha Server Monitoring over standard server monitoring like IPAlert? IPAlert only provides e-mail and SMS notifications for down servers. Alpha Server Monitoring checks individual services on machines to make sure they are responding to requests and opening sockets, and it generally verifies service performance rather than its existence. Then, a highly trained Advanced Services administrator investigates the issue and takes corrective action.

We have a dedicated staff of 11 Systems Administrators who keep a vigilant eye on servers 24×7x365. Many of these SysAdmins have been in the hosting industry since before you could really consider hosting an industry, so our Advanced Services team has an exceptional amount of experience, from answering straightforward technical support requests to researching and solving complex problems.

How Does AS Monitoring Work?

Our custom monitoring system will check up to 15 services on your machine every five minutes. If there are any unresponsive services, your server will be flagged on our system. Our Systems Administrators will respond promptly with a service restart, server reboot, or we can follow a custom response procedure as you request or as needed.

Instead of losing sleep at night, worried about getting another frantic call from your CEO, you can rest assured knowing that the Alpha Advanced Services team is watching your server. With Alpha Server Monitoring, your night might look like this:

2 a.m. You finish coding and post your new update after a 22-hour marathon session. You go to bed.
3 a.m. The server starts to slow down and becomes unresponsive following a huge surge of traffic when you hit the front page of Digg.
3:03 a.m. Your server is checked by the Alpha Server Monitoring system, and an “HTTP down” alert is created because services are not responding as expected.
3:08 a.m. An Advanced Services Systems Administrator investigates an “HTTP down” alert.
3:12 a.m. The administrator finds that your MySQL database server and Apache have crashed so he restarts them both.
3:13 a.m. Your site is back online and responsive.
10 a.m. You wake up from your coding-induced coma to find a whole bucket of new orders to process and an Orbit ticket telling you what happened and what the Advanced Services team did about it.

Alpha Server Monitoring: Guaranteeing your uptime, sleep and sanity.

-Sean

P.S. We’re running a great promotion on Advanced Services right now: try any service on your servers for FREE for the first month.

I know, I know … you’ve heard it before … but seriously. I (Katie) wanted to take this opportunity to let you know that we (The Planet) have brought back for a limited time our Double Down promotion.

What is the Double Down promotion?
So glad you asked! For no additional cost, double your RAM, hard drive, or bandwidth when you lease a new server. For complete details, see www.theplanet.com/double-down-promotion, and please note that …

It’s for a limited time only!

(How many marketing clichés can she cram into one blog post, you ask?)

This promotion ends on September 30, 2007 (11:59 pm CDT to be exact) – and if you’re sitting there at 11:45 pm (CDT) on the 30th thinking, “Awww, those fabulous guys and gals at The Planet will be happy to give me this promo tomorrow …” think again! We’re sticking to the deadline (it’s the end of the quarter folks!), so if you want to … double your RAM, hard drive or bandwidth … act now so you don’t miss out on this opportunity. After all, we brought it back because you asked.

By the way, we’re also running our Super September Giveaway … and everyone who leases a new server from The Planet is registered to win one of four major prizes, including a Dell laptop, Xbox 360 Elite, 160 GB & 80 GB iPods, and iPod nano or a Nintendo Wii … not to mention gift certificate drawings daily. It’s just our little way of saying “thank you” for doing business with us.

Oh, and by the way … happy “Talk like a Pirate” day matey!

(How many marketing clichés did I manage to get in? Four unique instances: “back by popular demand”, “limited time” x 2, “act now”, and “don’t miss out”.)

Interested in purchasing new servers to keep up with increased demand? The Planet recently launched two new server specials that deliver valuable savings on the latest technology and server solutions.

Take advantage of the Let FREEdom Ring special, with any new server order eligible for free setup, a free RapidSSL^® Certificate and free 2GB DiskSync backup.

For servers with a base monthly price of $150 or more, the special also includes free control panel software from a wide selection of industry leading vendors, including cPanel, Plesk, Ensim and Helm.

Sign-up soon. This offer is available on all new server orders from June 11 – July 6, 2007.*

Are your servers spread across a number of hosting providers? Send us the competitor’s invoice and The Planet will beat current server pricing by 10 percent. Running from June 11 – July 31, 2007, the Lowest Hosting Price on The Planet also delivers free setup and one month free to migrate the server(s).*

If The Planet is unable to beat the competition’s pricing on an equivalent server configuration, customers will be provided with a one-year RapidSSL^® Certificate.

Stop by again soon for the latest deals from The Planet.

- Katie

Looking for a cool deal on servers? Welcome to the inaugural edition of my “Cool Deals” blog, where I’ll highlight the latest and greatest server deals and contests from The Planet. Who doesn’t love saving and winning money?!

We’ve just launched the unmetered bandwidth deal – truly one of the best deals ever on bandwidth. For just $50 per month, you can sign-up for unlimited access to a 10 Mb/s uplink with The Planet’s multiple Tier-1 providers. This pricing is only available until Tuesday, June 12, or while capacity is available. So sign-up soon for this stellar deal.

With The Planet’s “Peer Pressure” referral program, we pay YOU to refer your friends (pressure your peers, if you will) to sign-up for servers at The Planet. For every server purchased by your friends, you’ll be placed in a random drawing for a $500 American Express gift card.

The grand prize? The individual with the most referrals leasing a server with The Planet wins a $1,000 American Express card! And if you’re a generous friend, you’ll use that newly minted gift card to take your friends who leased a server from The Planet out to dinner. Now that’s a win-win situation.

Start the “Peer Pressure” soon. You have until September 3 to sign-up as many friends as possible. The grand and first prize winners will be announced on October 31, 2007.

Stop by again soon for another update from “Cool Deals” central.

- Katie