Pre-Sales FAQ
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Where is the Datacentre?
London Telecity Sovereign House (also known as "Redbus III"), Marsh Wall, London Docklands, United Kingdom.
Can I install X,Y,Z on the VPS server?
Yes, you have complete Administrative control of the server, install and uninstall to your heart's content. You have your own installation of Windows to do with as you please. You also have responsibility for whatever you install, Xtraordinary will not assist with configuration of your server.
For example
- .NET framework 2, 3 or 3.5
- PHP, Perl, Python
- mysql, SQL 2005 SQL express
- Microsoft DNS server
- Apache
- Frontpage
How many IPs are assigned to each VPS?
2 included as standard. There is no charge for additional IPs provided suitable technical justification is provided.
Is the Windows 2003 VPS 32 bit or 64 bit edition?
32 bit.
Is Windows 2008 Server Available?
We expect this will be available shortly after the late February 2008 launch.
What Bandwidth is Included?
We include generous data transfer allowances with all Windows VPS plans.
| Plan Name |
Data Transfer
|
| WINVPS-512 |
500 GB/month
|
| WINVPS-1024 |
1000 GB/month
|
| WINVPS-2048 |
2000 GB/month
|
Additional transfer above your allowance is chargeable at £0.20 per GB, invoiced monthly in arrears on 14 day payment terms.
Who are your network upstreams?
We run our own multi-homed redundant BGP4 network. We utilise Cisco equipment throughout including Cisco 6500 carrier grade routers.
We utilise major carrier ISPs for Internet connectivity:
- Tiscali International 1xGbps. Major European network.
- Cogent Communications 1xGbps. Top 10 global network.
- NTT Europe Tier-1 global network
- LINX Our own 2x Gbps LINX peering with major UK IPs including Virgin Media (Telewest/NTL), Janet, Demon, Zen, Easynet, Eclipse, Bulldog, Carphone Warehouse, BBC plus many major European and global networks. See our peering website for a complete list of everyone we peer with.
The Telecity Sovereign House Datacentre is a LINX primary site.
Can I upgrade from one plan to another?
Yes, just email your request to support. The upgrade requires a reboot of your VPS server but typically only takes a few minutes to complete.
If I trade up can I trade down again?
Yes, but only at the end of your next monthly billing cycle, you have to stay at the higher level for one month.
Can I buy extra disk space or extra memory?
Only by trading up to the next plan.
How Can I firewall my Windows VPS?
The Windows firewall is enabled by default. The following ports are open as standard:
HTTP (TCP port 80)
RDP (TCP port 3389)
ICMP
You may edit the firewall rules to suit your needs but we recommend only opening ports that you require to keep your VPS secure.
How are Windows Updates handled?
Windows updates are automatically downloaded from a local Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) server. VPS servers are set to auto-update (and reboot if required) with any critical updates each morning.
If customers wish to manage the scheduling and application of Windows update processes themselves then they may disable auto-update provided patching is still carried out regularly and responsibly.
We reserve the right to enforce application of windows updates or suspend service if servers represent a security risk to the network. This would only be invoked in exceptional circumstances.
About Xen Virtualisation
The Xen hypervisor is a unique open source technology that invented by a team at the University of Cambridge and is being developed co-operatively by the world's best engineers at over 20 major data center solution vendors.
With Xen virtualization, a thin software layer (known as the Xen hypervisor) is installed directly on the hardware, or "bare metal", and sites between the server's hardware and the operating system. This provides an abstraction layer that allows each physical server to run one or more "virtual servers", effectively decoupling the operating system and its applications from the underlying physical server.
Xen's paravirtualization technology is widely acknowledged as the fastest and most secure virtualisation software in the industry, and is enhanced by taking full advantage of Intel VT hardware virtualisation assist capabilities.
Xen is exceptionally lean - less than 50,000 lines of code - which translates to extremely low overhead and near-native performance for guests.
For our Windows VPS platform we utilise the commercial XenServer product from XenSource.
Do you offer Linux VPS servers?
Yes, however different pricing structures apply.
See our Linux VPS site for more information.
What is the Specification of the Host Physical Server?
- Dell PowerEdge 2950
- 2 x Intel Xeon Quad Core Processors
- 12GB DDR2 PC2-5300 Fully Buffered ECC Memory
- Hot swap SATA disks with hardware RAID-5
- Dual power supplies
Who are Xtraordinary?
We are a well established, profitable, full service hosting company with a 7 year track record of delivering highly reliable hosting services to a wide range of customers. We have been offering Linux VPS hosting on Xen with much success for over 2 years. See our main business hosting site here.
What technical support is included?
Management of the VPS is largely a customer responsibility. Customers are responsible for:
- server operating system management
- software installation and management
- backup (unless the optional backup service is taken)
If you have evidence of VPS reliability issues due to problems with the host server,we will support you in troubleshooting those issues.
Are the servers monitored?
We monitor the host physical servers. Customers are responsible for monitoring their own VPS.
Is there a Service Level Agreement (SLA)?
Yes, a 99.9% SLA applies to VPS services.
In the event of the total periods of Downtime, due to failure of the hosting service, in a calendar month during the Term, exceeding 0.1% of time in said month a service credit will be made. One full day's credit of the Service Fee will be given for each hour of Downtime beyond the 0.1% allowable, up to a maximum credit of 100% of the month's Service Fee.
The maximum overall service credit payable due to Downtime in any calendar month will be 100% of the month's Service Fee.
Acceptable Use Policy
Highlights:
- No IRC.
- No adult content (pornography) permitted.
- No antisocial behaviour permitted (e.g. SPAM, spamvertised sites, scanning, illegal content..)
Read the full AUP here.
Setup Timescales
- VPS orders received Monday to Friday before 3pm will typically be completed the same day by 6pm.
- VPS orders received after 3pm Monday to Friday will typically be done the next business day before 12 noon.
- VPS orders received after 3pm Friday and through the weekend will typically be completed by Monday 12 noon.
All times shown are London (UK) local time.
All Orders Are Verified By Phone
Note that we phone all customer to verify order details. Your order will not be released until we have completed the phone verification.
We May Ask for Additional Proof of Identity
In some cases we will ask customers to fax or email us additional identification documents, this may delay release of orders.
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