Best Cheap Web Hosting

ServerMania has commented on the huge rise in Distributed Denial of Service attacks over the last quarter, as revealed in NexusGuard's Q2 2016 DDoS Threat Report. ServerMania believes the sharp increase in attacks demonstrates the need for DDoS protection as standard for all web and infrastructure hosting.

(PRWEB) August 25, 2016

ServerMania, a leading provider of managed cloud and dedicated server hosting, has commented on the huge rise in Distributed Denial of Service attacks over the last quarter, as revealed in NexusGuard's Q2 2016 DDoS Threat Report. ServerMania believes the sharp increase in attacks demonstrates the need for DDoS protection as standard for all web and infrastructure hosting.

Distributed Denial of Service attacks bombard network interfaces with huge amounts of data. A substantial DDoS attack can degrade service and will often force websites and services offline altogether. In the second quarter of 2016, global incidences of DDoS attacks increased by 83%. The increase in the number of DDoS attacks is accompanied by an increase in their volume — attacks peaking at multiple hundreds of Gigabytes per second are now common.

"DDoS attacks are a risk for businesses of all sizes. Huge attacks are commonplace, and effective attacks are so easy to launch that they pose a risk to every business with an online presence," explained ServerMania CEO, Kevin Blanchard, "That's why we believe DDoS protection should be included with infrastructure hosting plans as standard. All ServerMania hosting plans include DDoS protection capable of mitigating all known types of DDoS attack."

Large DDoS attacks are trivial to launch because of flaws in services essential to the functioning of the internet. These flaws — especially in some DNS and NTP servers — allow attackers to amplify the volume of the data they can send. An attacker doesn't need to be able to send multiple Gigabytes per second. Instead, they can send small amounts of data to DNS or NTP servers, which will then send many times more data to the target.

The internet evolves slowly, so it's likely the well-known flaws that allow so-called DDoS Amplification attacks will be present for the foreseeable future. Any business without comprehensive DDoS mitigation between its site and the internet is at risk.

About ServerMania:

Since it was founded in 2002, ServerMania has always strived to provide its clients with enterprise-level service at an unbeatable cost. ServerMania offers a wide range of fully customizable dedicated, hybrid, cloud, VPS and colocation hosting services. All ServerMania clients enjoy a 100% uptime SLA and are assisted by a 24/7 rapid response team - one with some of the best response times in the industry. ServerMania also carries out regular surveys to ensure complete customer satisfaction and care. For more information, visit http://www.servermania.com.

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2016/08/prweb13638217.htm

This article was originally distributed via PRWeb. PRWeb, WorldNow and this Site make no warranties or representations in connection therewith.

This article was originally distributed via PRWeb. PRWeb, Frankly and this Site make no warranties or representations in connection therewith. If you are affiliated with this page and would like it removed please contact pressreleases@franklyinc.com.

Yorkshire-based web hosting company Millennia has switched to Nutanix hyper-converged infrastructure and ditched its traditional server and SAN environment. A key benefit was to end supplier finger-pointing whenever anything went wrong as hyper-converged infrastructure bundles servers and storage within one product.

By submitting your email address, you agree to receive emails regarding relevant topic offers from TechTarget and its partners. You can withdraw your consent at any time. Contact TechTarget at 275 Grove Street, Newton, MA.

You also agree that your personal information may be transferred and processed in the United States, and that you have read and agree to the Terms of Use and the Privacy Policy.

Millennia is based in Harrogate and specialises in box office services for businesses ranging from small theatres to football stadia. It delivers these remotely from its VMware environment.

Millennia had a Dell server and mixed storage environment in place with some Equallogic iSCSI arrays. It suffered nearly 18 months of problems arising from a conflict between AMD CPU-equipped Dell hardware and BIOS updates.

Every time issues arose, said IT director John Thorpe, Dell and VMware would blame each other.

"The problem with AMD and Dell resulted in purple screens and it took 18 months and seven BIOS releases before it was fixed. Whenever anything went wrong Dell and VMware would point the finger at someone else and, meanwhile, everything would fail.

He added: "Between that and things going bang at 3am it was a very stressful environment."

Millennia initially deployed hyper-converged infrastructure from a supplier other than Nutanix for disaster recovery purposes but that soon ran into problems. Thorpe describes the supplier as "low-cost", but was unable to name the company as a result of a mutual agreement after court proceedings.

He said: "The low-cost option simply wasn't robust enough to cope with sensitive workloads such as SQL Server, as there was a risk of data corruption, with maintenance often requiring downtime."

He added: "Some might say that's acceptable for a disaster recovery system, but at some point your DR environment could be your production environment."

That's now been replaced with Nutanix, of which Millennia runs 10 nodes comprising seven NX1000 and three NX3175 hyper-converged boxes with flash storage used as cache. In total the company has around 20TB under Nutanix with around 115 VMware virtual machines.

Nutanix was a pioneer of so-called hyper-converged infrastructure, which combines compute, storage and networking in one box. This is a trend in part inspired by the modular hyperscale architectures pioneered by web giants Google, Facebook, and so on.

The key advantage for Thorpe is the reliability gain and the need to speak to only one hardware supplier.

He said: "Key benefits are reliability and robustness and to be able to do no-outage maintenance. We're a 24/7 business and getting a maintenance slot is difficult and they are not liked. Also, if anything goes wrong it's a one-stop shop, not vendors asking for a list of everything running so they can get out of it."

Did Thorpe have concerns about moving to the relatively novel hyper-converged infrastructure?

He said: "I tend to be OK with leading edge technologies, within limits. Nutanix has been going long enough to have confidence in its stability for a production service."

Founded in 2002, HostGator has been a leading player in the web hosting service space. It has won several awards and is present through its international offices in many countries. However, it has also had its share of problems like service outages and blackout.

With more and more businesses making their presence felt in the online world, the web hosting space industry has also expanded exponentially with many new players entering the market. Today, there are many companies that provide people with HostGator web hosting alternatives to launch themselves in the virtual world. The competition is not about pricing alone but other aspects like technical & customer support, bandwidth & storage space, uptime, server performance and data protection amongst other things. Here are few of them in no particular order.

A2 Hosting

Known for fast and reliable service, A2 Hosting also provides many other tools that even a non-technical user will find fairly easy to use. The technology they use makes websites much faster even on shared hosting. It also provides free backup of your files and database and malware scanner. They provide 24 x 7 support through phone, e-mail and chat and have support forum as well.

SiteGround

With unbeatable offers and top of the line technology, SiteGround offers its customers a high quality infrastructure when it comes to web hosting. They have a wide array of shared as well as dedicated hosting plans. With free migration also provided by experts, it is not only a great option for starting a new website but also if you looking to migrate from another service provider.

Arvixe

It has been providing a reliable and affordable web hosting service since 2003. With many features like unlimited e-mail accounts and free domain for life, it has not only been attracting new customers but also drawing customers from other hosting service providers. With data centers in Dallas (N. America), Amsterdam (Europe) and Hong Kong (Asia), you can choose the data center according to your region and ensure your site is really fast.

DreamHost

With their capabilities to host, high loads even on shared hosting means that DreamHost provides truly powerful hosting solution. It offers a custom hosting control panel and a seven day trial which means you can try the service for 7 days without paying anything at all. It provides reliable customer support and also offers tools for helping you to boost the performance of your website.

HostNine

With four data centers around the world, HostNine provides unparalleled support system and robust hosting technology that makes your websites superfast. The exceedingly friendly support staff makes every effort to satisfy the customers. They offer three plans to cater to every type of customer. It is also considered low priced when it comes to renewals.

GoDaddy

With their philosophy of trying to get every online, GoDaddy is a recognized brand in web hosting around the world. The different plans they offer are constructed to meet the needs of different types of customers. GoDaddy also offers the advantage of localized support due to its presence in many countries.

These are just a few HostGator web hosting alternatives. However, when you are comparing web hosting service providers for a new website or for migrating form one provider to another, do keep in mind the following:

Ø Pricing: Always read the fine print as sometimes the prices shown in bold are not inclusive of taxes and other surcharges. Also, their renewal prices may be much more than their startup prices.

Ø Number of domains to be hosted: Plans include hosting only single domain to multiple or unlimited domains. Check the plan details thoroughly in case you have or plan to have multiple domains.

Ø Data back up and Security: Another important aspect is back up of data that is so crucial to run your website and probably your business. Many service providers give this service free while others charge. Also, many hosting service providers free malware protection, spam protection, etc. while it is a chargeable add on with many.

Ø E-mail addresses: An important tool that is often forgotten. How do you stay connected in the virtual world without an e-mail address? While all hosting service providers this facility, the number of e-mail addresses in the different plans vary. Some offer only two or three while some may offer unlimited accounts. Also, the space allocation for e-mail accounts needs to be looked at.

Other factors like the technology used by the web hosting service providers need to be looked at with the purpose and intent of your website in mind.

Bérénice Magistretti

Crunch Network Contributor

Bérénice Magistretti is a Swiss freelance writer based in San Francisco. She focuses on startups in Saudi Arabia, Switzerland and emerging markets.

How to join the network

As the Rio Games draw to a close and the competing athletes pack up, leaving the Brazilian metropolis behind, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is already hard at work laying the foundation for the future spectacle of Olympic games.

Throughout the Games, the IOC's Olympic Games Knowledge Management program has been collecting data and compiling reports to share knowledge of the Games with future host cities.

The program, which was created to help prep the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, has added an immersive and interactive video platform to its numerous management initiatives by collaborating with Teleport, a Swiss-based startup that launched a few months ago.

The Teleport team has developed a Random Access Video Encoding (RAVE) algorithm built in JavaScript using the Meteor framework.

"We are always looking for ways to contextualize our content to make it more intuitive," said Christopher Payne, Head of the Olympic Games Knowledge Management program. "The Teleport platform is an excellent way to do this as it positions content with an obvious visual reference that transcends language barriers."

This will obviously come in handy when sharing knowledge with future host cities like Tokyo, PyeongChang and Beijing.

The meeting between the Swiss startup and the Lausanne-headquartered IOC was a fortuitous one — and the Swiss connection certainly helped. "We were in the right place, at the right time," said Cem Sever, co-founder and Business Development Manager of Teleport.

Their collaboration began with a proof of concept for the Youth Olympic Games, which took place in Lillehammer, Norway in February.

Satisfied with the result, the IOC decided to use Teleport for the Rio Games as well. But the Committee has chosen not to open up the platform to the general public at this stage, using it only internally as an educational tool.

"We're using it for B2B projects with future organizers," said Payne. "We hope that Teleport will innovate our information management services, illustrating the many challenges of operating the Games."

For the Rio Games application, the IOC created three Teleport environments focused on different types of venues, which the observers will be able to reference when they plan their own Games.

"For the first time, we will connect the huge volume of content we have about the specifics of operating the venues to ensure that the operational requirements of every space are well understood," said Payne.

Featured Image: David Ramos/Getty Images

Source link

WordPress is the backbone that supports millions of websites, so it's not surprising that dozens of Web service providers focus on hosting one of the world's most popular content management systems—WP Engine among them. Unfortunately, WP Engine (starting at $29 per month) isn't a beacon of WordPress hosting excellence, as it doesn't offer much beyond the basics. That's not to say that it's a total dud: WP Engine offers attractive, basic features like unlimited monthly data transfers, automatic daily backups, automatic plug-in updates, and malware scanning. But it's simply outclassed by the more versatile 1&1, our top pick for WordPress hosting.

WordPress PlansWP Engine offers four WordPress hosting plans, all of which boast unlimited monthly data transfers, automatic daily backups, and malware scanning. They're of the managed variety, so WP Engine's technicians give you installation the white-glove treatment. The plans are all Linux-based, so if you want Windows-based hosting, you must look elsewhere.

The most basic plan, Personal (starting at relatively pricey $29 per month), supports one WordPress installation, 25,000 monthly visitors, and a scant 10GB of storage. This is the plan I used to test the service. Professional (starting at $99 per month) offers 10 WordPress installations, 100,000 visitors, and 20GB of storage. Business (starting at $249 per month) has 25 WordPress installations, 400,000 visits, and 30GB of storage. Premium offers 150 WordPress installations, 1 million visits, and 150GB to 300GB of storage. You have to call for pricing for the Premium plan, as you must for the customizable Enterprise plan.

Competitor 1&1, on the other hand, has no such cap on visitors and has a $7.99 per month starting price. In fact, its $14.99 per month Unlimited plan boasts unlimited WordPress installations, storage, and email. WP Engine tasks you with signing up with a third-party to get email, a noteworthy omission.

A speed-enhancing content delivery network (CDN) is included with the Professional, Business, and Enterprise plans, but not with the basic Personal plan. If you'd like to add a CDN to the Personal package, you'll need to pay an additional $19.95. Rivals Pagely and Pressable offer CDNs at every managed hosting level.

The WP Engine ExperienceLike Pressable, WP Engine is a managed hosting environment specifically designed for WordPress installations and plug-ins. In fact, you don't need to install WordPress as you do with most other Web hosts; the content management system comes preinstalled. It was refreshing to open my introductory email, view my log-in credentials, and then get started without any additional setup.

In terms of creating content, WP Engine functions as any other self-hosted WordPress installation. It's a breeze to create posts, pages, and galleries.

WP Engine is compatible with a wide range of WordPress plug-ins. That said, the company maintains a small list of plug-ins that it doesn't support, due to their negative performance impact or duplication of built-in WP Engine features.

Unlike 1&1, WP Engine doesn't offer traditional Web hosting, so you can't upload your Linux- or Windows-based non-WordPress site and related apps. The upside is that WP Engine automates many functions, including daily site backups and plug-in updates. It also features proprietary Evercache technology that combines caching and proxy servers to make pages quickly load. The Staging Area is pretty cool, too. It takes a snapshot of your website so you can tinker with pages without affecting the real site.

Given these useful features, the holes in WP Engine's offering seem all the more glaring. In addition to not offering email, it also doesn't sell domains (your default URL is in the format of http://name.wpengine.com) you need to sign up with a third-party company like GoDaddy for those features. I can't help but wonder how many potential users don't come back once they've gone to a do-it-all Web hosting service to sign up for a domain name and email.

Security FeaturesWP Engine safeguards your site with daily malware scans and a firewall that's updated daily to block the latest threats. The Web host states that if your site gets hacked, it'll repair the damage free of charge.

Customer ServiceI contacted WP Engine several times during testing—early morning and midday—to get a sense of its support team's effectiveness. I called to discover how to install new WordPress themes, and then used the Web chat to contact a representative who would explain CDNs. The team answered both questions, and a few miscellaneous others, accurately and quickly, after negligible wait times.

Unfortunately, toll-free telephone support is only available during limited hours: Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. CST. WP Engine compensates with 24/7 email and ticketing support, so you aren't totally left out in the cold if you can't call within those hours.

Money-Back GuaranteeIn addition, WP Engine offers a healthy 60-day money-back guarantee that's far superior to Pressable's 15-day trial period. That said, InMotion has a very generous 90-day money-back guarantee that bests most other Web hosts' refund policies.

Decent, but There Are Better OptionsWP Engine offers a basic level of managed WordPress functionality with some useful features, but the visitor and data caps, as well as the lack of email, domain names and Windows servers, hurt its rating. For a more complete WordPress hosting experience, check out 1&1, PCMag's Editors' Choice in WordPress hosting.

Source link