Web Hosting Box

According to a blog entry by the Guardian, Greenpeace, the environmental firm has broadcasted a new advertisement targeting Facebook, a social media enterprise, to quit the use of coal power in its data centers by April 22^nd Earth Day. This ad will be aired in California Wednesday, where Greenpeace aims to target 2000 workers in the Silicon Valley.

However, it is extremely implausible for Facebook to alter its source of power by the deadline or even at all. Greenpeace is expected to gain popularity due to its campaign to urge a popular social media website with over 500 million users all over the globe.

Casey Harrell, Senior Campaign Specialist at San Francisco office of Greenpeace reported to the Guardian, “We love Facebook. Its employees are young and share a lot of our values; they want the world to be a better place. But Greenpeace is saying to Facebook employees that you’re part of a lot of social revolutions, but you need to help join the energy revolution.”

Greenpeace has also published a research that singly pointed the coal sourced power used at the Oregon data centers of Facebook. Data Center Knowledge commented, “Greenpeace is calling data center operators to a standard the environmental group itself doesn’t fully meet” as part of the servers of Greenpeace are located in areas that use coal and nuclear power.

According to Greenpeace, the campaign targets Facebook as it has “revolutionized the way the world communicates, so it can revolutionize the IT sector’s current reliance on coal. Facebook’s reputation for innovation means that wherever it goes, other IT companies will follow.”

Greenpeace also issued an animated video in September last year on YouTube which condemns the coal-sourced power in its Prineville and Oregon data centers. The video was named ‘The So-Coal Network’ and was aired around the time The Social Network based on Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook was to be released.

Greenpeace states that 680,000 people are supporting the campaign urging Facebook “to disclose its carbon footprint and to act as advocates for clean energy.”

According to Greenpeace, coal is one of the most crucial elements affecting the climate and each data center at Facebook uses power equal to around 40,000 US residences.

According to Facebook, Oregon was selected for its data centers due to the moderate climate of the city that allows the environmental air to cool the data center and reduces the need for coolers.

Harrell commented, “Efficiency in itself is not enough to equal green considering the power that the Internet requires. We’re not asking Facebook to power their data centers with rainbows and unicorns, but we want them to ask these questions of the utility companies that power data centers.”

According to Greenpeace, the video is available in 14 different language subtitles.

Colocation web hosting is perhaps the most expensive type of hosting available, so most people don’t consider it when shopping for a potential hosting plan. In fact, most people don’t even know what a colocation hosting plan is, or what the term “colocation” means. A colocation hosting plan is a service that allows you to store your privately owned web server in a state-of-the-art data center that is secured and stabilized at all times. In essence, it is a way to save money from having to pay for an office or regular storage unit (which is really not the best environment for a web server). A colocation facility provides an ideal climate, constant airflow, and specialized server racks that are specifically configured to accommodate the hardware needs of a web server. The following are three reasons why colocation hosting is more expensive than conventional web hosting.

Futuristic Data Centers

A “colocation facility” is actually a data center, which is a large building that houses hundreds (or even thousands) of web servers in futuristic environmentally controlled rooms. Overall, a datacenter contains millions of dollars of equipment, and many of them maintain multiple high-speed Internet connections with various Internet service providers simultaneously. By providing multiple connections, colocation hosting providers can offer redundancy, so that your web server will be online at all times. Data centers are also equipped with highly effective fire extinguishing systems, professionally trained in-house Internet technology specialists, and air filtration systems that cost as much as $10,000 in each room. In order to provide this server care and service stability to customers, colocation hosting providers must charge a more expensive monthly fee.

State-Of-The-Art Surveillance

The second reason why colocation hosting is generally more expensive than conventional web hosting is the amount of effort and the monetary investments that the hosting provider devotes to keeping your web server secure. Not only are the facilities monitored by state-of-the-art surveillance technology, but all of the equipment (including your web server) is insured, so there is no risk of having the hardware damaged or stolen without it being restored or replaced. Colocation datacenter facilities are usually guarded by several tall watch posts, and barbed wire fencing exceeding the height of 8 feet around the entire perimeter the facility. Since the colocation hosting provider has a lot of expenses in terms of employee payroll and equipment overhead, these additional expenses have to be passed on to the customer to make the business profitable.

The Additional Value of Optimizing Web Server Performance

By dealing with a colocation facility you are gaining access to multiple high-speed Internet connections from various Internet service providers. Thus, you have the advantage of maintaining an optimal connection to the Internet for your web server at all times, regardless of the local or regional circumstances affecting the Internet and other hosting providers. This type of assurance is not possible if you choose to store your privately owned Web server within your home or office, because if the single Internet connection is lost, so are all of your current server tasks (such as keeping your websites online).

Online business owners usually require various services to keep their endeavors operating smoothly and supply the tools and resources needed to continually create new websites and online business opportunities. Web hosting is such a service, as it is the first thing that is needed by every webmaster. In essence, you need access to the web server if you want to host a website on the World Wide Web. However, some people choose not to utilize a conventional web hosting plan, and instead purchase their own private web server. Once the server is purchased it must be stored in a safe area that has an ideal environment for server operation, which is low in dust, has a continually maintained temperature/humidity index, and maintains constant airflow to the server at all times. Web server owners also need to consider the safety of the server in terms of vandalism, theft, and other forms of hardware damage. Fortunately, colocation hosting is a web server storage service that keeps your web server safe all times.

What Is Included with a Colocation Web Hosting Plan?

In essence, a colocation hosting plan is simply a service that allows you to store your private Web server in a data center that is connected to the Internet via multiple high-speed connections. Thus, the colocation hosting plan you will receive access to state-of-the-art facilities, a fully customized private server rack for your Web server’s, multiple connections to the Internet, automatic server backups and redundancy, and (with some more comprehensive plans) technical support. All collocation web hosting plans include 24-hour security, and the facilities are protected by both digital surveillance and state-of-the-art fire extinguisher systems. Without a co-location hosting plan you be forced to store your private Web server in your home, office, or in a storage space (none of which are an ideal location for an operating Web server).

What Are the Advantages of Colocation Hosting?

The main advantages colocation hosting is the safety and stability it provides for your Web server, giving you access to facilities and stability that would otherwise be unobtainable without spending millions of dollars. For a nominal monthly fee you’ll receive full support from trained technical staff, and your Web server will be stored in environmentally controlled server rooms. Many colocation hosting providers also ensure the web hosting equipment, so that if your Web server is damaged in any way while it is being stored at the facility it will be replaced immediately. Colocation hosting providers also make automatic backups of your entire Web server on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis, in order to provide complete redundancy that will ensure your websites are online at all times.

Freedom and Flexibility of a Colocation Hosting Plan

Perhaps the most appealing advantages of colocation hosting is the ability to do whatever you would like that your web server in terms of software and hardware configurations. Regardless of how many web servers you own, or what type of operating system you prefer to use, you’ll be able to do it all collocation hosting, as you are not forfeiting your ownership of the web server. By having complete control over what your web server you can eliminate many of the conventional limitations and restrictions placed on bandwidth, disk space, databases, and other aspects of server expansion.

InterXion, a colocation web hosting provider, recently announced the completion of the second of three phases in the ZUR1 data center based in Zurich-Glattbrugg, Switzerland. The expansions were implemented as a result of the high level of growth and increased customer demand. The initial phase was completed only four months ago and added 2,297 square feet of new data center space.

Additions from the Second Phase

The completion of the second phase adds 2,100 square feet of expansion to the total data center space of 13,123 square feet. The newly added 4,400 square feet of space from the first two expansions provides a secure, energy-efficient, standards-based environment for accommodating client equipment with 2N UPS and n + 1 backup generators and free air cooling. This combination allows for almost 100 percent uptime.

The Current Data Center

Internal connectivity selections encompass over 30 ISP’s and the Swiss Internet exchange known as SwissIX. The data center and systems have been assessed individually and are accredited for ISO 27001 and BS25999 standards which standardize information security and business continuity. Additionally, the ZUR1 data center fully complies with the Swiss Financial Markets Authority directive.

Improved Positioning

InterXion executives report that through this expansion program, the organization is in a better position to add the most advanced web hosting technology while giving customers the confidence that the infrastructure is scalable and hi-tech, both of which are a requirement for a growing internet business.

Significant Performance Improvement

The facility now offers up to 2.5 kVA’s per square meter allowing for high-density racks and power supplies which significantly improve performance within the smallest amount of space possible.

Timing is Everything

The expansion of this data center could not have come at a better time. The company is at a rate position for considerable growth since they launched their initial public offering at the New York Stock Exchange within the past few months. Also, earlier in February 2011, InterXion announced their expansion plans in the coming months for another data center in Dusseldorf, Germany.

It appears as if the company is taking the bull by the horns at the precisely right time. It is rare to see such growth in a short amount of time in the current global economic climate. However, when that opportunity does present itself, it is important to take full advantage to position the company ahead of the curve.

With so many people getting involved in the web hosting industry there are new resellers being born every day. Unfortunately, this saturates the market with unfair prices and practices that are often difficult to spot for the untrained eye. If you’re shopping around for the best price on a hosting plan, and the most reliable service, then you probably do not want to deal with a middleman, which is why it is important to know how to tell the difference between a hosting provider and a hosting reseller.

The following information can help you steer clear of companies that are trying to profit from the hosting resources of larger providers, and find the companies that can give you the best price possible.

Do They Have a Data Center?

If the company is an original hosting provider then they should have access to their own data center. In most cases the hosting provider will advertise this on their site, and many even have an entire page devoted to their data centers. If the hosting company does not mention a data center on their site then chances are they do not own one, and they cannot provide the most reliable service available. Data centers are state-of-the-art facilities that cost many millions of dollars, so only the best and most reputable hosting provider will be able to afford one.

Do They Have Many Reviews?

Web hosting reviews are extremely common on the internet, and many sites are solely devoted to this purpose. There are also a lot of online forums in which people discuss the best and worst deals in the industry. If you’ve conducted extensive research and cannot find a  lot of reviews about the prospective hosting provider then they may be an independent reseller. If there are a lot of negative reviews about the company then this all the more reason not to deal with them. All of the top ten hosting providers have a plethora of reviews online for worthy customers that are happy with their service.

Are Their Plans Structured Similarly to the Competition’s?

If your hosting provider has plans that are oddly structured, in sizes and configurations that are being offered by other hosting providers, then they may be a reseller. Many times resellers use this trick to differentiate themselves from conventional hosting providers, in order to gather novice customers that may have a hard time comparing differently sized plans. While not all hosting companies have the same size hosting plans, most of them offer similar services in order to give the customer a clear picture of what they have to offer in comparison to other providers, If your provider offers ‘custom’ or ‘personalized’ solutions based on your needs, or if they are bundling the hosting service with other web-based services then there is a good chance they are a reseller and not an original hosting company.

Why Avoid Resellers?

It is important to realize that resellers are capable of providing quality service, and in some cases resellers will offer you better deals than hosting companies if they are comfortable taking a minuscule profits. However, in many cases resellers cannot provide the reliability, affordability, and performance that an actual hosting provider does.