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5 Reasons to Avoid Cheap Or Free Cloud Hosting

Choose the Right website hosting is crucial to the success of your online business and so is the choice of the hosting provider. A quick google search would list a number of web hosting services for you to choose. From cheap to costly the options are many and at first glance, the price can be an important factor used to convert visitors to customers. However, not everything that is cheap is wonderful, sometimes it might just prove to be not worth it in the long run.

In this article, we’ll talk about cheap or free cloud hosting and list down 5 reasons why it is best to avoid such web hosting services. So without further ado, let us begin!

What matters?

There are several features customers look out for when it comes to choosing web hosting for their website – performance and speed being the top two, with Cloud Hosting being the best bet. And in this quest of finding the best hosting service, we often times neglect another important feature – cost.

This is probably because we see a lot of hosting companies offering free or cheap web hosting with reasonable features and it seems like the best bet especially at the start. Be that as it may, a free or cheap web hosting can really mess up your website resulting in poor performance and unhappy customers.

Whether you are considering going for cheap Cloud Hosting due to limited funds or have already purchased it, we ask you to scroll down and consider the 5 reasons you should avoid free or cheap cloud web hosting for your website.

5 Reasons to Avoid Cheap Cloud Hosting

Poor Page Load Speed
Cloud Hosting, in general, is known for its fast page load speed and scalability. In fact, according to a report by Hubspot, the ideal page load speed for a website’s HTML should be less than 1.5 seconds. Given these statistics, it is evident that Cloud Hosting is the most logical choice for blazing fast website speed.
However, with cheap Cloud Hosting, there are two factors to be considered:
1. Is the Cloud Hosting cheap always or
2. Is there some promo going on
  If the prices of Cloud Hosting are always on the cheaper end, chances are the server is hosted in a Shared Hosting platform. Here multiple websites share the same server which, in turn, might impact the page load speed of your website. However, if the case is the latter then do your research thoroughly because the Cloud Hosting might be good and the provider might just be running the promo to up their sales in the competitive market.
Negative impact on SEO and rankings
Speed impacts SEO (Search Engine Optimisation). Google considers page load speed while determining the page rank it assigns to a particular page. In fact, this is of utmost importance when it comes to mobile searches.If your website speed is slow then your page will load slower from the server end which would eventually affect your google page rank. Thus, cheap Cloud Hosting has a negative impact on SEO and page rankings.
Uptime/Downtime issues
Cheap hosting spells server issues. If the server your website is hosted on is down there will be a lot of downtimes. This is mostly true because multiple websites share the same server space and there is limited bandwidth. Thus, if a particular website receives heavy traffic it might not only affect the performance of that website but also of the other websites hosted on the server. Moreover, if your server faces a lot of downtimes, it will indirectly affect the uptime and your website may not recover as fast as it should have.
Security Concerns
Everything comes with a price! Cheap or free Cloud Hosting doesn’t guarantee security. This means your website is vulnerable to security flaws, malicious viruses and so on. Furthermore, with multiple websites sharing the same server and a lack of firewall can increase your security concerns. You may have your own security in place, however, if the server is compromised all is lost.
Customer Support
Most cheap or free hosting services do not offer managed support to their clients. This means that if you are not tech savvy you might land yourself in a glitch. Before choosing a free hosting provider, make sure to check if they have good customer support via calls/emails/tickets/chats. If you feel anything is lacking then it is wise to not go ahead with the deal. After all, good support is helpful in times of need.

Conclusion:

Cheap Hosting may seem like a lucrative option at the start, however, in the long run, it is far more expensive than a slightly high priced hosting might be. So the next time you are tempted to opt for cheap Cloud Hosting we suggest you go a step further and research if it is really value for money or just making a hole in your pocket.

We at ResellerClub offer affordable Cloud Hosting that assures blazing fast website load speed with the use of varnish cache, impeccable support, 99.9% uptime, high performance and scalability. Check out our Cloud Hosting plans.

If you have any queries or suggestions feel free to leave them in the comments box below!

All You Need to Know About Hypervisors

Sitting at the core of virtualization is a well-known but little-discussed technology called the Hypervisor. The hypervisor is a layer of software which enables single hardware to host multiple, isolated virtual machines. It also helps with the management of those virtual machines. But before we talk about how the hypervisor works, the types of hypervisors and the benefits of this technology, let’s put some basic definitions in place. We’ll start with a technology that is tied very closely to hypervisors – virtualization.

What is virtualization?

Virtualization is the creation of a “virtual” form of a resource, such as a server, a desktop, an operating system, storage space, network or files. With virtualization, traditional computing is transformed, as these resources become scalable as per a client or organisation’s needs. Virtualization has been around for decades and is now split into three distinct types – Operating System (OS) virtualization, hardware virtualization and server virtualization.

Virtualization is used to consolidate workloads, systems and multiple operating environments on one single physical system. Essentially the underlying hardware is partitioned, and each partition runs as a separate, isolated Virtual Machine – which has its own Operating System. Now, this is where the hypervisor comes in.

What is a hypervisor?

The function of partitioning, or more specifically, abstracting and isolating these different OS and applications from the underlying computer hardware is what the hypervisor does. Therefore, it wouldn’t be incorrect to say that virtualization is enabled by the functions of the hypervisor.

What this means is that the underlying hardware (which is known as the host machine) can independently operate and run one or more virtual machines (known as guest machines). The hypervisor also helps manage these independent Virtual Machines by distributing hardware resources such as memory allotment, CPU usage network bandwidth and more amongst them. It does this by creating pools of abstracted hardware resources, which it then allocates to Virtual Machines. It also can stop and start virtual machines, when requested by the user.

Another key component of hypervisors is ensuring that all the Virtual Machines stay isolated from others – so when a problem occurs in one Virtual Machine, the others remain unaffected. Finally, the hypervisor also handles the communication amongst Virtual Machines over virtual networks – enabling VMs to connect with one another.

How does a hypervisor work?

To understand how hypervisors work, it’s important to understand – what are the types of hypervisors? How do they work? What is the difference?

There are 2 types of Hypervisors. They’re also referred to as Native or Bare Metal Hypervisors (Type 1) and Hosted Hypervisors (Type 2).

Type 1 Hypervisors:

Type 1 hypervisors run on the host machine’s hardware directly, without the intervention of an underlying Operating System. This means that the hypervisor has direct hardware access without contending with the Operating System and drivers.

Type 1 is widely acknowledged as the best-performing and most efficient hypervisors for enterprise computing. The ability to directly assign resources makes these hypervisors more scalable, but the advantages go further than that:

Optimisation of Physical Resources: Organisations often burn funds quickly by buying separate servers for different applications – an endeavour that is time-consuming and takes up data centre space. With Type 1 hypervisors, IT can utilize server hardware, which frees up data centre costs and real estate and cuts down on energy usage.
Greater Resource Allocation: Most Type 1 hypervisors give admins the opportunity to manually set resource allocation, based on the application’s priority. Many Type 1 hypervisors also automate resource allocation as required, allowing resource management to be a dynamic and customised option.

The best-known examples of Type 1 hypervisors are VMware’s ESXi and Microsoft’s Hyper-V.

Type 2 Hypervisors

Typically, these hypervisors are built on top of the Operating System. Because of its reliance on the host machine’s underlying Operating System (in direct contrast to Type 1), it is referred to as “hosted hypervisor”. The hypervisor runs as an application within the Operating System, which then runs directly on the host computer. Type 2 hypervisors do support multiple guest machines but are not allowed to directly access the host hardware and its resources. The pre-existing Operating System manages the calls to the CPU for memory, network resources and storage. All of this can create a certain amount of latency.

However, this is only the case for more complex and high-performance scenarios. Type 2 hypervisors are still popular home and test labs. Furthermore, Type 2 hypervisors come with their own set of benefits, like:

Type 2 Hypervisors are much easier to set up and to manage as you already have an Operating System to work with.
It does not require a dedicated admin.
It is compatible with a wide range of hardware.

Examples of type-2 hypervisors include Oracle Solaris Zones, Oracle VM Server for x86, Oracle VM Virtual Box, VMware Workstation, VMware Fusion and more.

KVM

KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) a popular and unique hypervisor – seeing as it has characteristics of both Type 1 and Type 2 hypervisors. This open sourced virtualization technology is built into Linux, and more specifically turns Linux into a hypervisor.

To be clear, KVM is a part of the Linux code, which means it benefits from every Linux innovation or advancement, features and fixes without additional engineering.

VM converts Linux into a Type-1 (native/bare-metal) hypervisor. It is a secure option, that gives you plenty of storage, hardware support, memory management, live migration of your VM (without any service interruption), scalability, scheduling and resource control, low latency and greater prioritization of apps. KVM also creates more secure and better isolated Virtual Machines, while ensuring that they continue to run at peak performance. Excited to use all of these features? Well, when you sign up for a Linux VPS Hosting plan with us, KVM will automatically become a part of the packages you create. Check out our array web hosting packages, here.

Protecting Your Business From Increasingly Sophisticated Cyberattacks

Whether you’re leading a Fortune 500 company or your own small business, cybersecurity must be a fundamental business objective. Several high-profile cyberattacks in the first half of 2017 have affected organizations of all sizes all over the world, and these attacks are only going to become more common and more sophisticated.

As a business leader, it’s important to understand that the threat is constant. Even if you’ve never experienced an attack, your servers are perpetually being scanned by hackers for vulnerabilities — and the damage can be fatal to your business. A cyberattack can result in the loss of critical information, putting the reputation of your brand at stake.

If you suffer a cyberattack and are able to react quickly, it’s certainly possible to mitigate the damage to your business and your customers, though containing an attack can get tremendously expensive. If you have a plan in place, however, you can save yourself a lot of time and money — and protect the future of your business.

Diagnosing the Threat

There are countless types of cyberattacks, including malware, phishing, rogue software, and many others. But over the past couple of years, hackers have increasingly favored distributed-denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks when targeting businesses.

There are essentially three types of DDoS attacks.

A volume-based attack overloads servers with data, rendering the victim’s website inaccessible. This is the type of attack that generally makes the news, as roughly 90 percent of DDoS attacks are volume-based. The other 10 percent are split between protocol attacks, which drain your servers’ resources by overloading them with requests, and application-layer attacks, which perform specific requests to extract important information from your servers, such as credit card details or user logins.

Good Bots vs. Bad Bots

The key characteristic of DDoS attacks is the use of bots to do the dirty work, and bots are everywhere. In fact, if you analyze a typical website, you’ll find that around 61 percent of traffic is actually nonhuman and attributed to bots.

A bot is usually a software program that runs simple and repetitive automated tasks over the internet. Google’s crawler is perhaps the most famous example. The crawler scours websites, analyzing text, titles, page speed, inbound links, and other factors to determine the ranking of the site. This is typically a good thing — as a publisher, you want the Google crawler to get on your page and rank you as highly as possible.

Likewise, communication on many websites — including news platforms, reservation sites, and shopping sites — is often conducted through chatbots. These bots allow companies to cut costs and better serve their customers.

But bots can also be used to cause harm.

During a DDoS attack, a bot herder usually controls huge botnets, or robot networks, via a control server and manipulates them into behaving a certain way to extract as much valuable information as possible from a targeted website. This is the same mechanism behind a remote file inclusion (RFI) attack or cross-site scripting (XSS) attack.

Attacks in Action

Hackers are getting more creative when it comes to cyberattacks, and the threats are becoming more serious — and expensive. For example,in 2016, U.K.-based betting company William Hill had its website knocked offline as a result of a DDoS attack. Fortunately, the attack didn’t occur during a major sporting event, but it could have cost the company an estimated £4.4 million.

Ransomware is another type of cyberattack that is becoming more common, and hackers are becoming more original. For instance, the Romantik Seehotel Jägerwirt, a hotel in Austria, was ransomed early in 2017. But rather than simply take control of the hotel’s website and demand money, the hackers took it a step further by locking guests out of their rooms and shutting down the hotel’s reservation system.

Some types of cyberattacks are more sinister in that they do more than simply knock a company’s website offline or demand money. In 2015, for example, PokerStars was hacked by a bot that gave certain players an unfair advantage and helped them win a combined $1.5 million. Because poker isn’t a completely randomized game and you can win with the right calculations, bots and artificial intelligence tactics are becoming a more common problem within the industry.

And no industry is immune to hackers — sometimes, the attacks may even come from competitors. Here at U nifyHOST we once saw a unique attack on an airline website that looked like a simple seat reservation. But as we analyzed the request, we noticed that it went through the entire reservation process of choosing a carrier, departure time, destination, and price, but then it immediately stopped once it was time to pay.

We then realized that the request was carried out by a bot, and the intent was to show the flight as being completely booked. That way, when real customers visited the site to make a reservation and saw that there were no open seats, they’d go to a competitor — which is exactly what the hacker wanted.

Albert Einstein once said, “Intellectuals solve problems; geniuses prevent them.” The same theory holds true with cybersecurity. Because cyberattacks are a growing problem across all industries, nobody is immune to threats. You can resolve them once they happen (after they’ve already cost your company a lot of money and, more importantly, potentially harmed your brand reputation), or you can create a cybersecurity plan to ensure they never happen in the first place.

3 Ways to Safeguard Your Company From a Ransomware Attack

Ransomware attacks have been around for decades, and they continue to wreak havoc on systems around the world.

However, gone are the days when biologists spread the ransomware attack PC Cyborg through floppy disks to innocent victims. Attacks have gotten bigger and more dangerous; we are now all too familiar with attacks like Osiris, CryptoLocker, and WannaCry, which collectively infected hundreds of thousands of computers in over 100 countries, costing millions of dollars in damage.

Ransomware attacks continue to be an issue due to the continual development of new techniques for infecting systems. We have seen a major increase in occurrences over the last few years, resulting in the constant development of techniques used to safeguard systems against these intrusive attacks.

How Ransomware Works

This type of malware is extremely frustrating to deal with, given its intrusive and hostile nature. This software runs illegally on systems to block users from accessing their data until they pay a ransom to the hacker.

This type of illegal threat to data often presents itself through a type of Trojan that exploits security loopholes in web browsers. Ransomware is typically embedded in plug-ins or email attachments that can spread quickly throughout a system once it is inside.

In order to combat this devastating situation, IT experts recommend that companies develop and implement solid ransomware protection strategies. Strategies should aim to prevent data loss resulting from Trojans like CryptoLocker and others under development.

Although several IT security professionals believe companies can enable ransomware protection by using network shares, ransomware is quickly being developed to access network shares, exploiting vulnerabilities in these systems to access information.

How to Protect Your Company from Ransomware Attacks

There may be instances where criminals attempt to attack the backup software itself. That’s why it’s important to develop a robust self-defense mechanism for backing up your file contents and preventing criminals from disrupting system applications. Some steps you can take to protect your data are:

1. Back Up Your Data with the Cloud

It is crucial for companies to routinely back up their locally stored data in order to prevent loss in the case of an attack. Traditional methods of backing up data consume many storage resources, which can negatively impact a computer’s performance.

Backing up your data is now easier due to the reliability and resiliency of cloud storage. Cloud technology streamlines the backup process, giving you the ability to back up your information frequently and easily.

2. Implement Virus Protection Programs

Active Protection programs work several ways to prevent unauthorized activity on your computers. First, they are designed to monitor the Master Boot Record in Windows-based systems. These programs prevent any changes from being made within the system, which would otherwise prevent you from being able to properly boot up your computer.

Many ransomware programs copy files and place them in AppData and LocalAppData folders while masking themselves as standard processes within Windows. To combat this, these programs prevent applications within these folders from being launched.

Additionally, it’s crucial for you to keep your operating system and applications updated. Many ransomware programs are designed to exploit software vulnerabilities, which can be closed by installing patches and updates.

3. Stay Secure With Cloud Storage

Clouds are typically just as safe and secure as private servers, and they are equipped with elaborate access control and encryption technology that can be expanded to meet all of your storage needs. In addition to protecting your data against ransomware attacks, clouds also contain security to protect your files and information against DDoS attacks.

Despite minor shortcomings in cloud storage, they’re great at protecting businesses from ransomware attacks. Clouds present scalability that allows users to keep up with constant development of malware technology. Although the nature of an attack is unlikely to change, the delivery methods used will continue to develop, and cloud services will be there to adjust quickly and provide constant protection.

Is it worth investing in Disaster Recovery?

June 26, 2019
Dedicated, Reseller, Shared, Uncategorized, VPS
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Investing upfront in the mitigation of potential disasters will save your company and network in the long run. In the world of reliable hosting, for example, each infrastructure deployment includes all kinds of high availability (HA) and disaster recovery (DR) solutions. Investing in HA and DR solutions upfront will enable business continuity, avoid a lot of stress, and save you from the potentially devastating recovery costs.

What is disaster recovery?

According to TechTarget, “disaster recovery is an area of security planning that aims to protect an organization from the effects of significant negative events. DR allows an organization to maintain or quickly resume mission-critical functions following a disaster.”

This means that implementing DR requires a different approach for every organization, as each organization has its own mission-critical functions. Typically, some mission-critical functions run on or rely on IT infrastructure. Therefore, it is good to look at DR within the context of this (hosted) infrastructure; however, it should be part of business continuity planning as a whole.

Important questions to ask when you plan and design your mission-critical hosting infrastructure include:

How much time am I prepared to have my mission-critical functions unavailable (RTO)?
How much data am I prepared to lose, i.e. the time duration for which you will not be able to recover your data (RPO). For example, if you safely backup your data once a day, you can lose up to one day of data when a disaster happens.
How much money will it cost the organization (per hour) when the mission-critical services are not available? DR measures include prevention, detection and correction.

Disaster recovery for common failures

Most hosting services include disaster recovery for most common failures such as failure of a physical disk, server, network switch, network uplink connection, or power feed. This is referred to as High Availability (HA).

A redundant setup solves failures as if an element fails, another infrastructure piece takes over. Redundant networking devices and cabling, multiple power feeds, seamless failover to battery power, and separate power generators that can run forever play an important role in keeping IT infrastructure and thus your software services up and running. Also in case of a fire in a data center, the fire is typically detected early and extinguished through gas (reduction of oxygen), without even affecting most equipment in the same data center hall. This means that most ‘disasters’ are being recovered without impacting the availability of the infrastructure services.

One of the most commonly used tools in DR is creating a frequent backup of your data. If a disaster occurs, you can then restore your backup and relaunch your mission-critical functions and other services.

For faster relaunch of your services after a disaster, replication of your application servers and data can come in handy, as it is readily available to relaunch, compared to backups that would first need to be restored (which takes more time).

Preparing for critical disasters

To mitigate risks of larger disasters which are much less likely to happen, an alternative IT infrastructure environment to run your mission-critical functions can help to enable your business continuity.

Some choose to backup critical data to another location. Others replicate application servers and data to another location, with available hosting infrastructure, to be able to relaunch application services quickly or to have a seamless failover without service interruption.

In case you need to mitigate the risk of failure of the entire environment, the common solution is to include a failover data center site in your IT infrastructure setup. Disaster recovery by means of adding an alternative data center (also called Twin DC setup) also requires a tailored approach to identify the right setup for your applications and mission-critical functions.

Another important facet is to implement applications that can deal with infrastructure failures. Where in the past it was more common to trust on the underlying infrastructure for high availability, it has become more popular to implement applications in such a way that underlying (cheaper) infrastructure may (and will) fail, without impacting the availability of the mission-critical functions.

This means finding a balance between investing in more reliable hosting infrastructure, applications that deal with failures in the underlying infrastructure, and planning and preparing failover to an alternative infrastructure environment.

Making optimal use of DR investments

To make optimal use of DR investments you can choose to use the extra resources in a second datacenter even when there is no failover due to a large disaster in the primary data center location. You can spread workloads between both data centers, for example with half of the workloads running in each data center A. During a disaster, non-mission-critical services can be stopped to make space for mission-critical services to failover.

Another example is when all applications run in the primary data center, and only those applications and data related to the mission-critical functions are replicated and fail over to a second data center in case of disaster (active-passive).

The main takeaways

As every business is different when carrying out business continuity planning every organization should have their own approach to disaster recovery. The challenge for these organizations is going to be balancing the tools and methods available. The goal, however, should be clear for everyone – invest upfront to prevent higher recovery costs in case of a disaster.

E-commerce: Your website and infrastructure can make or break your business

June 26, 2019
Dedicated, Reseller, Shared, Uncategorized, VPS
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Running an E-commerce business is a daunting task, and trying to ensure its success is even more difficult due to the highly competitive world of digital marketing. Companies are tasked with determining what strategies will work best for their businesses and then need to be able to adapt to overcome various challenges to become successful.

The importance of scaling

To thrive as an E-commerce business, it is imperative to master the ability to increase traffic to your website. Successfully incorporating proper scaling into your e-commerce shop is a challenge many online store owners are unable to implement adequately. Having the ability to do so helps your store maintain loyal customers and acquire more new customers than the competition.

Your website needs to be able to scale up to handle spikes in traffic which occur around busy shopping periods. The revenue from Black Friday 2018 was an astounding $6.2 billion, a 23.6% increase year over year. The revenue made from this day alone is a significant contributor to whether an E-commerce business has had a successful quarter or not – so you don’t want to miss out on any opportunities. It is important to make sure your website is functioning properly on these promotional occasions as there might be a lot of new website visitors who are having their first encounters with your brand, so you’ll want to make a good impression. Most website visitors will be looking to take advantage of the available promotions, so you’ll want to make sure this transactional process is as smooth as possible. I remember an occasion when I was shopping online, and I wasn’t able to complete a purchase because the systems were too busy. This resulted in me getting the item elsewhere, and driving a customer to a competitor is exactly what you don’t want as an e-commerce company.

Visitor trust is important

Establishing trust with online visitors is essential. Not everyone who visits your site will be set on making a purchase. Some users will be visiting for the first time and may be hesitant to make a purchase from an unfamiliar site. Establishing trust, even in tiny increments, is the key to keeping more customers at your site during the early stages of the buying cycle.

A huge factor in gaining trust is having a system that works. If your customers leave due to busy systems or a slow-loading website, chances are those customers will not return, as they perceive you as an unreliable brand. A stable, well-performing e-commerce platform will give your customers a good experience, and they will happily return to purchase more. This means you need to support your website with infrastructure that performs well and can scale up to meet seasonal peak demands.

One more trust factor is security. As an e-commerce company, your customers trust you with their personal and payment data. Making sure that data is kept safe is vital for your customers, employees, brand, and reputation in the industry. It pays to have measures in place to ensure your infrastructure is secure and monitored.

Before you should ever consider a redesign for your site, it is important for you to analyze any potential defects in the existing conversion funnel. The lifeline of any e-commerce site can demonstrate what is causing a decrease in sales. You need to track down what is leading to the decline in sales and remedy the problem immediately in order to keep your business alive. There are several ways you can optimize your website to increase sales, and actually most of those have to do with the usability of your site, as well as the accessibility of your checkout and payment processes. If the shopping experience is tedious, your products are difficult to find, and paying for them is a hassle – your customers will go elsewhere.

Four steps to a better customer experience

Begin by making sure your website runs properly

The website should load fast, allowing customers to view products and switch from product to product without any downtime. Long waits for pages to load often cause customers to abandon their carts to find websites that function better. Kissmetrics found that 40% of consumers abandon a website that takes more than 3 seconds to load.This means you need to ensure you run your website on infrastructure that can deliver the best possible latency, but can also bring the performance and scalability you need.

Ensure your website is easy to navigate

Visitors should be able to maneuver from product to product without any issues, and they should be able to locate what they are looking for easily. Customers need to have information easily accessible, as this will keep them happy and encourage them to buy more products and services from you.

Create a painless checkout process

Examine your existing checkout process. If you have a process that is overly complicated, requiring the customer to go through several steps just to place an order, chances are more customers will abandon carts instead of purchasing items they are interested in. Unexpected shipping costs, requiring customers to create accounts, security issues, and various other factors are leading culprits for abandoned carts. One often-forgotten aspect of the checkout process is the integration of your payment provider. If you have good connectivity, your checkout and payment processes will most probably run smoother, giving your customers a better experience.

Make security a top priority

If visitors do not feel safe using your website, they will not feel confident in providing their credit card or personal information to you in order to make a purchase. Make sure you choose a trusted hosting partner for your site.

Trust and usability are key

If you have an E-commerce aspect of your business, you need a quick and easy shopping and checkout process, and a dependable system supporting everything. Choosing the right type of infrastructure, supported with a set of services that keep things safe and speedy, can make a huge difference in the success of your e-commerce business.

How to create a 3-2-1 backup system

June 26, 2019
Dedicated, Reseller, Shared, Uncategorized, VPS
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Remind me, what is 3-2-1 backup?

The 3-2-1 backup rule means that you should have 3 independent copies of your data – 2 of which are stored on-site for fast restore and 1 is stored off-site for recovery after a site disaster. There are many different ways to create this system, particularly when looking at the on-site options. It’s also worth noting that distinction between replica ‘ready-to-run’ copies and more traditional backup copies is becoming less and less clear, and the terms backup and replication are often used interchangeably.

Backup vs. replication

The onsite copy of your data can be a backup copy or a replica of the server you are protecting. The difference between backup and replication is that backup refers to copying files (or data blocks) to some external media, while replication is the creation and synchronization of an exact copy of the server in the native server format.

A replica is ideal for direct spin-up, while a backup copy usually requires a restore process before it can spin-up. A major benefit of having a backup copy is it typically contains multiple restore points in time. You can go back to the state of the data one week ago or one month ago, for example.

Designing your 3-2-1 backup combination

At Leaseweb, there are a number of ready-to-use products which can be used to create a 3-2-1 backup of your server and data. See some examples combinations below.

IaaS	Onsite original data	Onsite copy	Offsite copy
Virtual Server	Virtual Server		Acronis Cloud Backup
Dedicated Server	Dedicated Server	other Dedicated Server	Acronis Cloud Backup
Private Cloud Apache Cloudstack	Private Cloud Instance		Acronis Cloud Backup
Private Cloud VMware vCloud	Private Cloud VM	Veeam Backup	Acronis Cloud Backup
Private Cloud VMware vSphere (single tenant)	Private Cloud VM	Veeam Backup	Acronis Cloud Backup

On-site storage

For the original data storage, the infrastructure services are already equipped with redundant storage platforms that have high availability features. Dedicated Servers are typically ordered and delivered with multiple disks in a redundant RAID5/6 setup to protect against disk failure (failed disk hardware replacement included).

For storing an onsite copy, a Dedicated Server can easily be setup with Private Networking to connect with a Dedicated ‘Backup Storage’ Server. You can choose any available OS feature (or run a software application of your choice) to manage the replication of the data. Examples are Linux DRBD (automatically replicates all data) and Linux rsync (manual file-based replication). For Leaseweb VMware platforms only, Leaseweb offers Veeam Backup which currently functions as a solution for onsite backup. This service does not require a software agent and comes with a self-service management portal.

Off-site storage

The offsite backup protects against a complete site disaster. Some backup providers give the option to test (or even run) the off-site backup copy directly within the offsite cloud environment, without the need to restore first to your onsite server infrastructure.

The offsite copy solution is offered as an add-on self-service. This service is powered by the Acronis Cloud Backup software agent and a self-service management portal.

Note, for advanced setups, some enterprise customers enable both fast restore and site disaster recovery in one through a twin data center setup, whereby an offsite/twin data center replica enables both fast restore and site disaster recovery.

Wrapping up

As you can see from the table above there are various ways to design a 3-2-1 backup using Dedicated Servers and Cloud services. Some companies employ an even more expansive backup strategy, using more than one off-site backup partner to create a 3-2-2 setup for example. There is no such thing as a perfect backup system but diversifying and having different options is only going to improve your chances of a smooth recovery from a disaster.

15 Business Problems That Can Be Solved By Moving to the Cloud

According to a recent Intel Security report, 93 percent of a sample of 1,400 IT security professionals claim that they use some type of (hybrid) Public / Private cloud service for their business operations. The cloud is rapidly becoming a popular resource for businesses from all backgrounds, and for good reason.

If your organization hasn’t yet tapped into the power of the cloud, here are some detailed benefits of (hybrid) cloud computing technology that are worth considering.

1. Importance of data and where it is stored (GDPR)

Your business should have a clear concept of the value (and sensitive nature) of the data that is critical for operations. The inherent need to undertake efforts to assess risks and costs involved with current data storage practices is real (GDPR). Especially in an international business organization, deciding where to house data is a complex question that is largely determined by how that data will be utilized.

Many CIOs prefer to keep their companies’ data relatively nearby, and some of them will only work with companies that house data domestically. That is often difficult for large companies with offices in multiple locations, so it’s important to look at what you’re using your data for to decide where it should (legally) be stored.

Businesses have access to more data than ever, but storing it can be tricky. While some businesses choose to only store their data on local servers, using a hybrid approach (using both bare metal servers as well as cloud services) can provide a more flexible option for storing data.

2. Hosting

When you’re not sure where to host data, a cloud platform is a great way to minimize uncertainty. A hybrid cloud portfolio can support locally hosted options in either the UK or elsewhere in the EU, and cost-effective cloud options will help mitigate the risks associated with long-term investments or expensive migrations.

Global adoption of cloud is likely to increase. In particular, companies can expect the demand for cloud computing to continue to rise in a post-Brexit Europe. In the UK, Brexit will likely give a push for more locally stored privacy data.

3. Security

Cloud technology has advanced greatly and now it is actually more secure and reliable than traditional on premise solutions. In fact, 64 percent of enterprises report that the cloud is more secure than their previous legacy systems, and 90 percent of businesses in the USA are currently utilizing a (hybrid) cloud infrastructure.

Many business owners who are accustomed to using local servers hesitate to transition to the cloud for fear of security risks. They worry that having their information “out there” on the cloud will make it more susceptible to hackers.

As scary as these fears are, however, they are unlikely to happen. In fact, your data is just as secure in the cloud as it is in bare metal servers. Because cloud hosting has become so popular, it has quickly progressed to the advanced stages of security. In other words, because so many businesses are using cloud hosting in some form, it has been forced to maintain high levels of security to meet all the demand.

4. Vulnerability to disasters

If you’re only storing your data on local servers, you may be more susceptible to having your data affected by a natural disaster. Certain precautions may help alleviate this risk — such as backing up data, for example — but utilizing the cloud can provide even greater protection.

While the cloud is not without its risks — after all, the cloud is essentially a few servers united together on a software level — it does create another layer of protection in the event of a disaster.

Leaseweb provides access to our partners industry leading solutions, companies that specialize in these areas, so for backup solutions on Dedicated servers, VPS, Apache CloudStack we have partnered together with Acronis & to offer backup solutions for VMware & Private Cloud offerings, Leaseweb have partnered together with Veeam.

5. Benefit for disaster recovery

Hosting systems and storing documents on the cloud provides a smart safeguard in case of an emergency. Man-made and natural disasters can damage equipment, shut off power and incapacitate critical IT functions. Supporting disaster recovery efforts is one of the important advantages of cloud computing for companies.

These improvements in security can also come with an attractive reduction in cost.

6. Increased long-term costs

Not moving to the cloud could cost your company money in the long run. While you do need to pay for equipment with the cloud, costs are often more flexible because you can pay as you go depending on how much storage space you need, ‘On Demand’. Using this hybrid approach of combining cloud services and local dedicated servers, you can ensure you’re not paying for more storage than you need.

7. Boosts cost efficiency

Cloud computing reduces or eliminates the need for businesses to purchase equipment and build out and operate data centers. This presents a significant savings on hardware, facilities, utilities and other expenses required from traditional computing. Also, reducing the need for on-site servers, software and staff can trim the IT budget further.

8. Provides flexible pay options

Most cloud computing programs and applications, ranging from ERP and CRM to creativity and productivity suites use a subscription-based model. This allows businesses to scale up or down according to their needs and budget. It also eliminates the need for major upfront capital expenditures (OPEX vs CAPEX).

9. Architecture

For businesses wanting to take advantage of new services such as analytics, AI, and the possibility for secure collaboration outside the business premises, an opportunity lies in adopting a cloud architecture. To CIOs, moving to the cloud is a chance to overcome previous internal limitations and improve their value proposition.

Because so much about Brexit remains up in the air, businesses will need to be prepared to adapt rapidly to whatever policies and regulations result from the move. Instead of undertaking a costly move to a more advantageous location, cloud adoption can provide the ideal solution to data storage and accessibility issues and is one of the most effective ways for IT leaders to prepare their companies.

10. Lack of flexibility

Businesses have historically been tethered to wherever their equipment is located, because that’s where they need to access all their information. This becomes a problem, though, when employees need to work outside the office because it may limit or eliminate their ability to work from home, meet with clients out in the field, or network away from their workspace.

With the cloud, however, users can bring their data with them wherever they go. The cloud not only makes businesses more flexible, but it allows them to use their personal devices to access this information if need be.

11. Promotes collaboration

It’s hard to collaborate when your partners are all over the map. If your employees are outside the office or your clients are not physically accessible, it can be difficult to work on the same task when everyone is limited to their own local workspace.

With the cloud, however, your business can use file-sharing applications to collaborate effectively, even if everyone is geographically separated. Clients, vendors, and employees can all work together in real time, making enhanced communication one of the best ways to combat the risks of not moving to the cloud.

12. Increases mobility

One of the advantages of cloud computing for businesses is how easily team members can work from anywhere. This is particularly valuable in an era when employees desire flexibility in their schedules and work environment. Businesses that operate on the cloud can provide staff with options to work on the go or at home, from their desktops, laptops, smart phones and tablets.

13. Reduced agility

The ability to scale up or down can be critical for a business to stay agile and competitive. While local servers may fit your needs now, what if you need to scale up as demand increases? By adding cloud services, you can add storage as you need it and pay as you go. This type of hybrid approach can adapt to your business’s needs quickly, making it easier to meet demand as your company grows.

14. Frequent disturbances

Disasters aren’t the only things putting your data at risk. Power outages, hardware problems, or general network issues can prevent you from getting your work done. Even disruptions like installing an update can cause downtime, which costs your business money. While these issues can affect the cloud as well as bare metal servers, a hybrid approach can help minimize these risks by backing up your data in multiple locations.

15. Limited technical support

Outside the cloud, your organization is limited to whoever is working inside your office. In the case of an emergency, you either have to hope your local professionals can get the job done or hire a third-party company to help, which could be costly.

This risk is reduced in the cloud because you’ll have the built-in support of experienced professionals, and you won’t have to rely on anyone with minimal experience.

Moving to the cloud may seem complicated at first, but the transition can help mitigate a series of long-term problems. The use of public and hybrid cloud services is becoming the new norm. In fact, the cloud services industry is expected to become a $411 billion industry by 2020 — up from $260 billion in 2017 — according to research from Gartner. By joining the crowd, your business can avoid some of its most pressing technological problems.

Mail Server 101: POP3 vs. IMAP

June 25, 2019
Dedicated, Reseller, Shared, Uncategorized, VPS
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When it comes to technology, there are many things that many of us never stop to think about. Like how a microwave heats food so quickly. How in the world a Keurig works. Or the process by which email ends up on your phone, computer, or tablet each morning. Luckily, this post is here to dispel some of the mystery behind at least the last of these technological enigmas.

Email gets transmitted amongst and between servers and ends up in your inbox through one of two processes: POP3(Post Office Protocol version 3) or IMAP (Internet Messaging Access Protocol). While you may have seen either of these two terms before when setting up mail on a a new device, we’ll break down for you exactly what is happening with these two distinct actions.

POP3
POP3, which was the first of the two, downloads information from the server onto your personal computer and subsequently deletes the data from the server. Though this process is great at conserving space on your server, it makes it pretty difficult to access your data across multiple devices.

IMAP
Inversely, while IMAP requires significantly more disk space on your machine than POP3, this process also provides increased flexibility when it comes to accessing your email across devices. IMAP leaves information on the server and synchronizes read and unread messages, folders, and spam across any device in which you’d access your email.

While IMAP has emerged as the leading method for mail delivery, both processes have their advantages and disadvantages. Read more about IMAP vs. POP3 in our Knowledge Base.

Hosting 101: VPS vs Dedicated

When it comes to hosting, there are lots of acronyms and terms that get thrown around. However, when it comes to the ABC’s of web hosting, it’s important to understand the difference between VPS and dedicated hosting. In this post, we’ll break down these terms and explain how even you can become a hosting provider.

Everything on the internet exists on and amongst servers. Sometimes it’s multiple servers (cloud hosting), sometimes it’s a single machine, and sometimes, it’s a portion of a CPU. Hosting providers use these servers, and dashboards like cPanel & WHM, to provide a space for everyone on the internet to blog, game, post, create, and host all of the information that exists on the interwebs.

Dedicated

Dedicated hosting means that a hosting provider has access to a full computing machine in which they provide hosting. This is often a more secure and controlled hosting environment. However, because owning, renting, and maintaining a full machine, or several machines, can be costly and cumbersome, often times dedicated hosting is an option primarily sought out by enterprise-level hosting providers or companies managing large amounts of information.

VPS, or a virtual private server, is an allotted amount of space on a machine that a hosting provider can rent out to provide hosting to their clients. (Think of it like renting business space in a high-rise versus actually owning the building.) VPS is the most affordable of the two and is often the best start for companies, or individuals like you, to begin their web hosting business or add hosting to their current list of web offerings.

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