PowerXMS

[rfontaine]

Anyone here try a PowerXMS, kind of like a dedicated VPS? If so, how is it going?

[ozgreg]

Anyone here try a PowerXMS, kind of like a dedicated VPS? If so, how is it going?

Never heard of it, is this a new offering?? Charles you been holding out on us :(

[Fred]

Should be so new or so unknown that even google don't know what it is...

[charles]

Well, if you haven't figured it out yet, marketing isn't our strong suite :)

We have offered this for several months and have been only offering it to those who ask about scaling beyond our power-3, or have needs for many many VPS and are trying to save money. Unlike a VPS we don't have them prepped and ready and waiting - we setup them as needed and there is usually a few days to a week turnaround time.

The standard configs we offer are the following with a single VPS license. They are essentially exactly what you have today for a VPS, but you get the full resources of the server (minus a small amount of overhead for the virtualization). So in short, the power of a dedicated with the features if a VPS (our support, ability to migrate off if needed, backups, etc).

PowerXMS D1 Monthly $349 Setup Fee $99 -
SuperMicro 5015M-MT+ Chassis
http://www.supermicro.com/products/system/1U/5015/SYS-5015M-MT+.cfm
Intel Core 2 Duo ( Dual Core ) E6600
http://processorfinder.intel.com/details.aspx?sSpec=SL9S8
4G DDR2-667 ECC
http://www.ec.kingston.com/ecom/configurator_new/PartsInfo.asp?root=&LinkBack=&ktcpartno=KVR667D2E5/1G
2x320GB SATA HDD hardware RAID-1
1x320GB dedicated backup disk drive
http://www.3ware.com/products/serial_ata2-9000.asp
http://www.seagate.com/ww/v/index.jsp?locale=en-US&name=Barracuda_7200.10_SATA_320.3_GB&vgnextoid=2d1099f4fa74c010VgnVCM100000dd04090aRCRD&vgnextchannel=a32a2f290c5fb010VgnVCM100000dd04090a RCRD&reqPage=Model
2000GB of monthly transfer


PowerXMS D2 Monthly $449 Setup Fee $149 -
Supermicro 6015V-MT
http://www.supermicro.com/products/system/1U/6015/SYS-6015V-MT.cfm
Intel Dual Core Dual Xeon 5110 Woodcrest ( 4 CPUs )
http://processorfinder.intel.com/details.aspx?sSpec=SL9RZ
4G DDR2-667 FB-DIMM ECC Registered
http://www.ec.kingston.com/ecom/configurator_new/PartsInfo.asp?root=&LinkBack=&ktcpartno=KVR667D2D8F5/1G
2x320GB SATA HDD 3Ware HW RAID-1
1x320GB dedicated backup disk drive
http://www.3ware.com/products/serial_ata2-9000.asp
http://www.seagate.com/ww/v/index.jsp?locale=en-US&name=Barracuda_7200.10_SATA_320.3_GB&vgnextoid=2d1099f4fa74c010VgnVCM100000dd04090aRCRD&vgnextchannel=a32a2f290c5fb010VgnVCM100000dd04090a RCRD&reqPage=Model
2000GB of monthly transfer


PowerXMS D3 Monthly $599 Setup Fee $199 -
Supermicro 6015V-MT
http://www.supermicro.com/products/system/1U/6015/SYS-6015V-MT.cfm
Intel Dual Xeon Quad Core E5310 Clovertown ( 8 CPUs )
http://processorfinder.intel.com/details.aspx?sSpec=SL9XR
4G DDR2-667 FB-DIMM ECC Registered
http://www.ec.kingston.com/ecom/configurator_new/PartsInfo.asp?root=&LinkBack=&ktcpartno=KVR667D2D8F5/1G
4x320GB SATA 3Ware HW RAID 0,1,10,5
http://www.3ware.com/products/serial_ata2-9000.asp
http://www.seagate.com/ww/v/index.jsp?locale=en-US&name=Barracuda_7200.10_SATA_320.3_GB&vgnextoid=2d1099f4fa74c010VgnVCM100000dd04090aRCRD&vgnextchannel=a32a2f290c5fb010VgnVCM100000dd04090a RCRD&reqPage=Model
10MB/s unmetered monthly transfer

We have customers using these configurations, as well as in some cases customers have bought additional VPS licenses and run many VPS on each server.

We will also split these configs in two (in other words you share the server with one neighbour and split the costs). We'll do this for the D1 and above only though.

As always, please email sales if you have any questions or need more information (but believe it or not we don't have any marketing info on this - this is about as comprehensive as it gets on this).

[ikaruz]

Hi
We are interested in one of the new packages offered by Charles, but at this time only can afford a split XMS D1.
I asked sales for more deails and told us it's better in pairs (for obvious reasons) so no one loses money :)
Is there anyone that wants to buy a split?
Please PM me if you are interested.
Thanks
Gustavo

[vps-vince]

Charles, how much extra cost for another 2GB RAM on the D2 setup

I'd be interested splitting this with 2 others, as it should offer better performance than the D1 due to dual processors and hardware RAID. Cost would also be approx the same or less than a D1.

Cheers,

- Vince

[charles]

Charles, how much extra cost for another 2GB RAM on the D2 setup


We can do that for a one time fee of $250


I'd be interested splitting this with 2 others, as it should offer better performance than the D1 due to dual processors and hardware RAID. Cost would also be approx the same or less than a D1.

Cheers,

- Vince

Split 3 ways? You'd definately have to all signup at once.

charles

[vps-vince]

We can do that for a one time fee of $250

Please charles, consider adding to main monthly package. After all, it would go more in line with the rest of the server spec (dual processors and all), and you do build them to order.

Split 3 ways? You'd definately have to all signup at once.


I was hoping this would be easy move from existing VPS users here, already signed-up, and small difference in billing for those on a Power-3 for which this is targeted anyway.

Pretty please?
Or else I'll recruite ndndixie to have a word with you :D

Best wishes,

- Vince

[ozgreg]

Interesting concept to pool a few ppl together to get a better spec machine :-)

[elix]

Or else I'll recruite ndndixie to have a word with you
Hah :) I can't wait

[charles]

Pretty please?
Or else I'll recruite ndndixie to have a word with you :D


/me runs. That's extortion!

[ikaruz]

seems we started a revolution here.....
If we split in 3 the XMS that VPS-vince ask for, how much will be final price for everyone of us?
Including set up, and monthly fees?

[charles]

It's just split 3 ways, no magic :)

Monthly: $399/3 = $133/month
Setup: $(149+250)/3 = $133 one time

hth
charles

[ikaruz]

It's just split 3 ways, no magic :)

Monthly: $399/3 = $133/month
Setup: $(149+250)/3 = $133 one time

hth
charles

Thanks for the math :D
Just wanted to be sure
So, count me as one of the three
Gustavo

[charles]

Thanks for the math :D
Just wanted to be sure
So, count me as one of the three
Gustavo


Actually, I need to apologize for a glaring ommission on my part - additional license fees. We also discussed this in our staff meeting this morning, and I need to lay down a few parameters on this splitting up of the PowerXMS.

The additional cost per VPS license is high enough that we need to pass this on to you. Additional VPS added will increase the cost by $25 per VPS per month. So if you split a plan 2 ways, you would need to add $25 to the monthly cost. If you split it 3 ways, thats 2 additional licenses at $50 additional per month.

The revised quote for a D2 with an additional 2G of RAM split 3 ways is

Monthly: $(399+50)/3 = $149/month
Setup: $(149+250)/3 = $133 one time

But read below, because really the splitting is going to be up to you - it is still $449/month, $399 setup for us, regardless how you split it.

Now, some parameters for the splitting, some covered already and some not.

1. We will only split D1 and above
2. We will only allow 3 VPS max per PowerXMS split this way.
3. There is one owner, and he/she is responsible for payment. This means we have one point of contact for the PowerXMS and you work out the split amongst yourselves. We will of course support each VPS, but all billing and issues related to the PowerXMS go through the owner.

So I suggest you PM each other, figure out whos joining who, and who's taking the financial responsibility and have them email sales to continue if your still interested.

hth
charles

[itwanabe]

When you say you'll support this, does this mean we get the same awesome support we get now with the P1-P3 vps we are running?

If yes, than ordering a server from you would technical be bulletPROOF

[Robert]

It's the same exact support. :)

Nothing changes for us technically in the way we support you. It's the same underlying technology. You just have more resources to play with.

[ndndixie]

HEY! I get in enough trouble without being thrown into it when I'm being a perfect angel!

[itwanabe]

Cool- Last inquiry Robert:

So i'm assuming If i get this box (pref raid), this will be totally managed? I can go sleep at nights knowing that if one of the harddrive dies- you'll replace it or if the server is down you'll bring it up?

[Robert]

Yes. If there is a node-wide issue, we will respond to it. We will have monitoring setup on the NODE itself (not the individual VPS inside of it). Just like a regular VPS. :)

[itwanabe]

Will You also backup our node? Did that sound right in technical terms? Anyhow, thanx Robert!

[charles]

Will You also backup our node? Did that sound right in technical terms? Anyhow, thanx Robert!

Yes, we backup your VPS.

hth
charles

[itwanabe]

I'm SOLD;) thankx charles

[itwanabe]

Charles/Robert(or anyone else wanting to chime in):

Since you have offer EMS:

I have a few more questions:

1) These servers are fully managed (with the EMS service it qualitifes for FULL BLOWN managed boxes because of proactive monitoring by you guys I assume?).
If a client of mine or myself, is using a script that goes out of control or hell, is compromised and starts phising and etc causing high loads- how would you handle this? Would you suspend the account and disable the script or would you just delete the account without giving time to resolve the matter?

2) If someone spams off the server- what steps would you take to remedy this? Would you just delete the account or just suspend it, than contact me, and i'll take care of the client and you can reinstate it if the client is not a fault (bad script/compromised etc).

With the Dedicated server + EMS purchased - just like the VPS packages, I dont want to know know the ROOT password and you have FULL control of it? This makes me sleep a lot better. All is left is more effort on my business. I got those two questions from httpme forums (yes I hang aournd there too heheh) which really made me requestion and confirm my above posts. Httpme ded clients dont even have root access- thats how it should be;)

Thankx

[TomK]

Charles/Robert(or anyone else wanting to chime in):

Since you have offer EMS:

I have a few more questions:

1) These servers are fully managed (with the EMS service it qualitifes for FULL BLOWN managed boxes because of proactive monitoring by you guys I assume?).
If a client of mine or myself, is using a script that goes out of control or hell, is compromised and starts phising and etc causing high loads- how would you handle this? Would you suspend the account and disable the script or would you just delete the account without giving time to resolve the matter?

2) If someone spams off the server- what steps would you take to remedy this? Would you just delete the account or just suspend it, than contact me, and i'll take care of the client and you can reinstate it if the client is not a fault (bad script/compromised etc).

With the Dedicated server + EMS purchased - just like the VPS packages, I dont want to know know the ROOT password and you have FULL control of it? This makes me sleep a lot better. All is left is more effort on my business. I got those two questions from httpme forums (yes I hang aournd there too heheh) which really made me requestion and confirm my above posts. Httpme ded clients dont even have root access- thats how it should be;)

Thankx


Hello,

The VPS packages and XMS are not "fully managed", just FYI. They are more of a semi-managed product. I want to make that clear. What does that mean? It means we are responsible for the hardware, the OS, kernel, panel and panel applications, and trouble shooting problems that may happen, etc.

Folks think by fully managed we should run their hosting operations, install their billing software, and sometimes even answer support tickets directly from their customers! :( And yes, we get dozens of tickets a day along these lines, so I just needed to put that out there.

As for your first question, if your VPS was hacked or one of your customers was doing something that broke our TOS/AUP, we would shut down the customers account, chown the files, or something along those lines - to stop the abuse. We would then notify you of that and ask that you look into the issue further and let us know the resolution. Often times customers that get hacked have a hard time finding out what the script kiddies ended up doing, and we are more then happy to assist then and investigate your VPS to see what they did and work with you to secure it so it doesn't happen again. We would never just go into a customers VPS and delete an account, abusive files yes, the account, no.

We handle spam issues the same way. If someone was sending a ton of emails or the exim queue was at 50,000 emails, we suspend the account and would notify you to see if you have a valid spammer ;) of it someone compromised your server to start sending spam.

As for your final question, if you get an XMS server, you do not get root access to the hardware node, you DO get root access to your VPS partition, which you will need to manage whm/cpanel, etc.

Pls let me know if you have any further questions!

[itwanabe]

The VPS packages and XMS are not "fully managed", just FYI. They are more of a semi-managed product. I want to make that clear. What does that mean? It means we are responsible for the hardware, the OS, kernel, panel and panel applications, and trouble shooting problems that may happen, etc.


This was sufficient. Thats FULLY managed to me... That was what I was shooting for as an answer. The rest that you said was pretty much "logic"?

A fully managed server from anywhere includes your service and what you've said in your reply. I dont expect you to answer support or trouble shoot my clients who are hosting with me- thats' just rediculous!

If you can do what I've quoted, than yes you, you are FULLY managed to me. I do not want to touch the server at all. For example, you guys install all of my scripts anyways... These scripts are serverside based like GD, apf, zend, curl, mysql and all the patches- you guys do these without a hitch! But I dont expect you guys to install phpbb, gallery, coppermine or any of the 1000's of scripts out there- if you guys provided this service- you would be the first company to provide "fully managed + be my B**CH" lol.

Your reply to both my questions is EXCELLENT. I dont have to worry anymore. So what i've said you agree?

[TomK]

=if you guys provided this service- you would be the first company to provide "fully managed + be my B**CH" lol.

Your reply to both my questions is EXCELLENT. I dont have to worry anymore. So what i've said you agree?

LOL!

Thanks for the kind words and the laugh! :)

I agree.

[itwanabe]

LOL- i'd have to be honest. I chuckle here and there makes a day go by much easier. I know where i'll be getting my deds from now:) Multiples actually.

Thanks a lot for the quick reply ****

[Nick TMC]

Just wondering if you have any plans to introduce duel core Pentium 4 processors?

[TomK]

Just wondering if you have any plans to introduce duel core Pentium 4 processors?

We use quite a few of the P4 D chips, and switched to the AMD X2 for a number of reasons (performance and heat output mainly), but if you require an Intel CPU we can custom quote it for you, just send us a sales ticket.

[Tomas]

We use quite a few of the P4 D chips, and switched to the AMD X2 for a number of reasons (performance and heat output mainly).

You forgot to say because you're an AMD lover Tom!! :D

[TomK]

You forgot to say because you're an AMD lover Tom!! :D


GASP! Neva....neva.... :p

[liam]

Hey everyone,
Would anyone be interested in partnering up to split the costs of a D2 server?

D2 Monthly $399 Setup Fee $149 - Intel Dual Xeon 3.0GHz or better, 2G Ram, 2x200GB SATA HDD 3Ware HW RAID-1, 2000GB of monthly transfer

---
If 3 of us could signup (including myself), the cost monthly would be $133, and a one-time setup of $50 each.

For this we'd each get...

Equal share of the 'DUAL' processors, 660Mb of RAM and 133Gb Harddrive... maybe we should upgrade ram by 1Gb so we all have a 1Gb block... but we could discuss this, and bandwidth would be about 660Gb per month.

Let me know by PM or on here :) - If your on a power-3 package and looking for a way up, its a small step, at just an extra $20 each month, and the resources would be better because it would be just the 3 of us on the server.

If you have any other ideas, or want to step up then let me know :)
Thanks,
Liam

[vps-vince]

Hi Liam,
I would love to, and so would many others, PowerVPS clients and from elsewhere.

The only sticky issue is point 3 from here:

3. There is one owner, and he/she is responsible for payment. This means we have one point of contact for the PowerXMS and you work out the split amongst yourselves. We will of course support each VPS, but all billing and issues related to the PowerXMS go through the owner.

So I suggest you PM each other, figure out whos joining who, and who's taking the financial responsibility and have them email sales to continue if your still interested.
http://forums.deftechgroup.com/showpost.php?p=6852&postcount=15


I believe that if this condition was removed, and just billed the same way as other VPS plans, the take-up among VPS user community would be huge. I have 2 Power-3 plans here, and would gladly upgrade BOTH for 2 PowerXMS configured with the extra 2GB RAM as already discussed.

Unfortunately, I cannot bring myself to either relying on someone else as the one point of contact for billing, or take on the responsibility for others myself.

It is a shame, because I think we all realise there is a great need for this type of VPS plan, and sure enough when there is a need, someone will provide - sooner or later.:)

I just hope PowerVPS will reconsider, as they deserve to be the leaders in the market with this offering.

Best wishes,

- Vince

[itwanabe]

Looking at PVPS's business point of view, it's very BOLD if not, very BRAVE for them to offer "joint usage" for lack of vocabulary, to any of their plans whether VPS or Dedicated.

This alone, opens up the can of worms already sorta-speak. Just my .02

[vps-vince]

Looking at PVPS's business point of view, it's very BOLD if not, very BRAVE for them to offer "joint usage" for lack of vocabulary, to any of their plans whether VPS or Dedicated.

This alone, opens up the can of worms already sorta-speak. Just my .02

Hi,
Can you explain please, as I don't quite understand.:confused:
Unless you have a dedicated server just for yourself, everyone else has "Joint usage" on all other plans.

Sorry if I totally missed your point.

- Vince

[nadzri]

Looking at PVPS's business point of view, it's very BOLD if not, very BRAVE for them to offer "joint usage" for lack of vocabulary, to any of their plans whether VPS or Dedicated.

This alone, opens up the can of worms already sorta-speak. Just my .02
If I understand you correctly, it's not joint usage. PowerXMS is just like any other vps except that there's only 1 vps on the dedicated server. However, because a PowerXMS is so loaded with RAM, CPU, disk space, they're nice enough to accommodate a couple more vps's on the machine so people can share the cost. Each vps in the machine is separate. As far as they're concerned, the server is the responsibility of one person, at least from a billing point of view.

Sorry if I misunderstood you. :)

[elix]

As far as they're concerned, the server is the responsibility of one person, at least from a billing point of view.
hit the nail right on the head there.

[liam]

I don't agree with you, if anything PowerXMS is better... because having 2 or 3 VPS's on 1 machine is much better than what PowerVPS do at the moment at about 10-20.

As long as your getting one of the dual processor machines, performance should be much better :)

I'm still looking for 1 or 2 partners to get a D2 PowerXMS with extra ram... offers are welcome by PM :)

[itwanabe]

Hi,
Can you explain please, as I don't quite understand.:confused:
Unless you have a dedicated server just for yourself, everyone else has "Joint usage" on all other plans.

Sorry if I totally missed your point.

- Vince


What I meant was that it's very BOLD for PVPS to allow "joint usage" in other words, let 2-3 people use the server while still maintaining the billing cycle as "one party".

You guys missed the point totally and I apologize I wasn't clear enough;)
All companies I know as of now, will not allow you to split a server (vps or no vps setup) 2-3 ways usage and billing. I know that they require one primary person to deal with the billing issue but thats besides the point. Most companies will just frown upon this. It's good that pvps allows this is all i'm saying.


Unfortunately, I cannot bring myself to either relying on someone else as the one point of contact for billing, or take on the responsibility for others myself.

This would be great if PVPS allows only 2-3 users per server and each billing cycle is assigned to each owner individually. I just dont see it happening as it's already pushing the envelope allowing 2-3 users "joint usage".

Granted I agree with liam- powerxms is more powerful than your regular vps.

[vps-vince]

This would be great if PVPS allows only 2-3 users per server and each billing cycle is assigned to each owner individually.

Yes, you have just confirmed what I've been saying regarding market potential.

IMHO not really pushing the envelope, or that bold, as supporting and billing each VPS user is already a core business here.

It's just a new product offering that would fulfill a market need.
Who would not agree that there is a big gap in costs to the user going from a top-end VPS plan and a full dedicated?

I'm convinced it will happen - someday:)

- Vince

[liam]

You've stole my words :p

Yes, I agree - I've emailed Tom, Charles and Rob about this and I find that if you want to upgrade from Power-3 then the only way to do this, in their opinion is to get another VPS and spread out your users.

I think that if they did have a cheaper dedicated service, it could affect their whole offering greatly, because they most likely don't have enough equipment to handle a large burst of orders for dedicated.

At the moment the only way forward in my opinion is to offer, more of a 'semi-dedicated' service, where you have a maximum of 4 users per dedicated, and the price would be somewhere around $150-$175/month each user for a fully managed, a maximum resources.

I think for $169/month I would expect -
A VPS with maximum of 4 users
24/7 support, and a fully managed service as we get now
60Gb harddrive
800Gb bandwidth
1Gb RAM
3Gb burst RAM
10 IP numbers
cPanel/WHM/PowerPanel/RVskin

If you think, this package is $169 (x 4 users) = $676/month for this server (they're surely making around the same or more as what they'd make by selling one of their dedicated, because you have to take in account of the VPS licences, and then the extra few tickets a month you have to pay for support. Seems like a good idea to me?

I think, most people would prefer to get that offering for at least 4-6 months before moving onto their own dedicated server, because it means you can get used to the speeds and resources you have and feel like you've got more control really.

D0: I think then the first fully dedicated server of $249/month should be $229/month, and only have a $49 setup fee... because most people who only have fairly large websites would require a server of this spec, and at $229/month.

D1: I think the $299/month server is good, as it included RAID-1, and also had a 2Gb of RAM, however setup fee should only be $99.

D2: I think this server is a good price, with dual processors, a good amount of bandwidth, good ram, and exellent harddrive... plus the backing of the support. Maybe they should consider lowering the setup price to $129.

D3: This server is perfect, and has great specs, but again I can only fault the setup fee, it should be no more than $149.

What do you all think?
Thanks,
Liam

[liam]

Hey everyone,
So is there anyone wanting to join me for a PowerXMS machine or not?

If I can't find anyone to partner up on getting one of these I'm going to move providers in a couple of months because the price of the cheapest dedicated servers here are to expensive for your first dedicated... anyone agree?

Thanks,
Liam

[andrewlondon]

Hey everyone,
So is there anyone wanting to join me for a PowerXMS machine or not?

If I can't find anyone to partner up on getting one of these I'm going to move providers in a couple of months because the price of the cheapest dedicated servers here are to expensive for your first dedicated... anyone agree?

Thanks,
Liam

I do agree that they are expensive but i guess that is because of the level of service they offer. If i can't afford it here, then when the time comes and i'm ready to set up my own server i will be looking at ev1 hosting i think.

Regards
Andrew

[nhdonny]

Hey everyone,
So is there anyone wanting to join me for a PowerXMS machine or not?

If I can't find anyone to partner up on getting one of these I'm going to move providers in a couple of months because the price of the cheapest dedicated servers here are to expensive for your first dedicated... anyone agree?

Thanks,
Liam


liam, I've had a PowerXMS for almost 2 months now in addition to my P2 account. We got this entirely for a client we are managing and we've actually marked it up a bit and not had a blink from the customer.

The PowerXMS is in a word Awesome. I have never had a server fly like this one does. If it is affordable and you need power and disk space like we do then I highy recommend it. Our customer sites are from 5 - 9 Gigs of educational video in both WMV and Flash.

We are holding final judgement tho until the customer has 700 employees in training at once. I'll report back then, Pro or Con. Main reason to go semi-dedicated.

Anyway, Liam, I have a feeling you're alot younger than me so I offer one piece of advice that applies to hosting companies.

You get what you pay for!

Here we get the fastest, most knowledgeable and skilled support I've ever had. They've rescued me from my screw ups a few times now.

Power/Defender/Charles/Robert and crew are worth every penny and more.

[nadzri]

Just a thought, how about tacking an additional $10 or $15 a month to each of the participants for billing/support issues and let these guys have their way with individual billing, with the condition being they must first get together to fill all the spots?

[attilas]

Just a thought, how about tacking an additional $10 or $15 a month to each of the participants for billing/support issues and let these guys have their way with individual billing, with the condition being they must first get together to fill all the spots?

I agree, i am interested too, but for me is not convenient to share the payment responsability with any other.

[Robert]

The problem occurs when someone leaves. So lets say you all start together, then one of you decides you want your own XMS, or you decide you want to downgrade back to a VPS or you decide to leave PowerVPS all together (as much as we don't like that option)...

We end up taking a loss ourselves on having this third or quarter XMS server open and have to take the responsibilty to get it filled or continue eating that loss.

[liam]

I think PowerVPS have solved all of our issues, with the new P4 package which will be released shortly - it basically includes the following specs (from what I've been told)...

1.5Gb RAM
35Gb Disk
1200Gb Bandwidth
12 IP's
- 4 VPS's per node (so basically if it is a dual processing machine, you'd have half a processor power which is much better, and hopefully we are less likely to have any downtime due to other VPS's messing about with hardware.)

..Just thought I'd post here so if anyone else in future wants to go for the PowerXMS, but is looking for someone to join with, there is now no need with the P4 in play :) - Unless you had a larger budget for a better machine.


:D Thanks Rob, Tom, Charles, and anyone else who developed the package :)

[vps-vince]

We end up taking a loss ourselves on having this third or quarter XMS server open and have to take the responsibilty to get it filled or continue eating that loss.

Hi Rob,
I personally believe you will have a queue of people waiting to fill any gap. Have more faith in the potential demand for this product.:)

Thanks Liam,
HD space seems a little low?
You also forgot to mention the price. :)

Cheers,

- Vince

[elix]

$200ish AFAIK

[vps-vince]

$200ish AFAIK

Shucks, too rich for me. :(
Rather have another two Power3 plans.

- Vince

[liam]

Hey Vince,
I know we spoke about merging together for a PowerXMS not so long ago, so at least the actual technical specs on this package will be suitable now, I do very much agree about the diskspace but Rob says this is all they can offer due to the space required for backups (I don't personally agree)... but I guess there much be some other things they need to take into account.

Rob said the package was set at $199/month and includes all what I stated, and the same level of support - one of the biggest selling points is you actually know the exactly maximum of VPS's running on your node.

I'm unsure of its worth the upgrade for $70 - we're a company who needs diskspace, so their generous 1200Gb bandwidth isn't very helpful, the ram is as with any host but anything over 1Gb would of been great... and then we get down to diskspace at 35Gb - if you call it 30Gb (with OS, Control Panel, etc).

But I aint going to moan at all, I asked for a P4 for ages, and its now arrived - I think diskspace should of been 40Gb personally... but thats just my feedback on it :p

What do you think Vince... will you be upgrading?
The problem is... for just $40 extra you could have two Power-3 VPS's... or for the same price you could have a Power-2... its just the deciding factor on what your personal requirements are (for example P4 = 35Gb webspace, but P3+P3 = 45Gb) We'll have to see here :p

[vps-vince]

Hi Liam,
You may have missed my previous points?
* Disk space too low.
* Price too high.

Surely a better option for the features would be a PowerXMS D2 split between two people for same price?

Heck, another $50 each between two people and you get a PowerXMS D3 !!

Sorry, no go for me at that price point.

Cheers,

- Vince
:(

[Robert]

We can't be everything to everyone unfortunately.

We're not the cheapest provider on the net. With the services we offer... with the support, the datacenter, the network, etc... there is no way we can compete with organizations like LayeredTech, etc.

The prices are what it costs for us to offer the service. So while I understand it may not be in your budet, each of us who work here also need to bring home a paycheck to feed our families. Companies we purchase services from enjoy being paid for their work for us too. hehe. :)

[elix]

I agree, just the costs of being in EQX alone are quite substantial.

[liam]

Hello Rob,
I accept this, and its understandable... as we've discussed only fault IMO was diskspace, price is great because ram is high - and the limit of 4 VPS's per node... is it possible to test this out for a couple of days to see the difference?

I think if I do get this package, the best move to make it worth it would be to get 10 or 20Gb of extra diskspace.

Cheers,
Liam

[Robert]

Extra disk space is available. For those that 100% TRULY need it, the space is $18 per month for 10GB.

The push behind the P4 plan was not for those that need a lot of disk space and such. It's geared towards folks who need the CPU/memory. :)

[SlAiD]

We can't be everything to everyone unfortunately.



Yes, you cannot.
But i give you this suggestion for a future "allmost dedicated server":

- Use this: PowerXMS D0 Monthly $249 Setup Fee $99 - Intel Pentium 4 3.2GHz or better, 1G Ram, 200GB SATA HDD (non-raid), 700GB of monthly transfer

- Slitp this into 4:
* P3 3.2 for 4 users, "big vps" if you like this name :P
* 256mb RAM for each one
* 50gb for each one
* 175? not, give 500gb for each one

How can this coust? If you sell "big" VPS, users can buy small "allmost dedicated servers" with a litle low coust.

Understend that one hosting company cannot buy that on the first month. Like me.

And if we have 6/7 VPS, this will be hard to mantain all updated, or manage all at the same time.

SL

PS: check your inbox. i send you a mp a few days abo about an error on your pvps page.

[liam]

Check other posts... they will be releasing something much better soon...

1.5Gb RAM
35Gb Diskspace
1200Gb Bandwidth
cPanel/Fantastico/WHM
- 4 VPS's per dual xeon (so half a processor)
- Burstable upto 2.5Gb
- Same support as now

For - $199/month

I think this will solve most of our problems... from the limits that the P3 package gives us all.. I would love to test one out! (just imagine how speedy that'd be!!)

Liam

[elix]

Yes, you cannot.
But i give you this suggestion for a future "allmost dedicated server":

- Use this: PowerXMS D0 Monthly $249 Setup Fee $99 - Intel Pentium 4 3.2GHz or better, 1G Ram, 200GB SATA HDD (non-raid), 700GB of monthly transfer

- Slitp this into 4:
* P3 3.2 for 4 users, "big vps" if you like this name :P
* 256mb RAM for each one
* 50gb for each one
* 175? not, give 500gb for each one

How can this coust? If you sell "big" VPS, users can buy small "allmost dedicated servers" with a litle low coust.

Understend that one hosting company cannot buy that on the first month. Like me.

And if we have 6/7 VPS, this will be hard to mantain all updated, or manage all at the same time.

SL

PS: check your inbox. i send you a mp a few days abo about an error on your pvps page.
You are not accounting the disk space used for Virtuozzo itself and file system overhead.

256MB RAM is not even close to a dedicated server.

[ikaruz]

Hi
Is there any option to have a PowerXMS with a different OS distro?
We actually have 3 Power-2 VPS's, one of each flavor.... (RHE, Fedora and Centos) but our favorite distro is Debian.....
If we buy a a PowerXMS, can we have Debian? is possible?
Thanks

[TomK]

Hi
Is there any option to have a PowerXMS with a different OS distro?
We actually have 3 Power-2 VPS's, one of each flavor.... (RHE, Fedora and Centos) but our favorite distro is Debian.....
If we buy a a PowerXMS, can we have Debian? is possible?
Thanks

Sorry, this is not possible at this time.

[ndndixie]

The more I look at this, the more I think it may be what I need for that deal I pulled the ticket on Tom. There's no hurry, it will probably be about 4 weeks before the committee meeting but if you will, look at what I need and see if you think think this would work.

[Atomm]

Is this offer still valid?

Thanks....

[SlAiD]

This? http://forums.deftechgroup.com/showpost.php?p=6778&postcount=4

Yes, I think.


SL

[Nick TMC]

I'm still dreaming about getting one of these :o

Are you guys testing or planning on testing the conroe chips?

I did get beaten up before for mentioning intel :p but their new line of chips are expected to be a lot better?

[elix]

but their new line of chips are expected to be a lot better?
The woodcrests you mean? If so, yup...they are supposed to be much better.

[TomK]

I'm still dreaming about getting one of these :o

Are you guys testing or planning on testing the conroe chips?

I did get beaten up before for mentioning intel :p but their new line of chips are expected to be a lot better?

We have Woodcrest systems under stress on VZ now, a week or so and no problems, will most likely put one in production this week for customers.

The Conroe (core 2 duo) will be tested when Supermicro or Dell come out with a server platform supporting this cpu.

Tom

[Martin]

Sorry if this is a stupid question :)

but...

If we get a PowerXMS, aka a dedicated server so, why we need a vps license for people who are not splitting the server ?

My question is... If I buy a powerXMS for me, and if I understood what you said, it include a 1 VPS license...and vps licenses costs $25/month.... so, I want use it as a dedicated, not to host vps servers, why I need a VPS license ?

....... my point is, it can cost (for example for D0) $249 - $25 ? :)
It MUST be setup as a VPS ? what are the advantages between a BIG FULL SERVER VPS and a DEDICATED server ?

I'm completely crazy with this ? ;)

please illuminate my mind.

[SlAiD]

Hi,

If you've a VZ Licenc, you can transfer your data usnig VZ and not cPanel/Plesk/whatever.

Its more quick and stable. And you will be down only for 5/10 minutes.


If there is another plus, some moderador/staff will say it. ;)


SL

[Robert]

Martin,

Sure, we can remove Virtuozzo from the node, but then you lose access to support, and then you have to add in the cost of whatever control panel (such as cPanel or Plesk) because non-VPS licenses are more expensive that VPS panel licenses. (A standalone cPanel license costs $25, so honestly it's not worth it. lol.)

In addition, having Virtuozzo allows you to keep your same IP, same setup/config, etc as well as have access to rebooting the VPS should it get locked up since you would still have access to the PowerPanel.

Hope that helps.

[albatroz]

Suppose I order a Linux XMS with Virtuozzo (1 license) and then need to add more Virtuozzo licenses for isolating applications or resell VPS. How much would it cost? Are there Virtuozzo license packs?

[Daniel]

Suppose I order a Linux XMS with Virtuozzo (1 license) and then need to add more Virtuozzo licenses for isolating applications or resell VPS. How much would it cost? Are there Virtuozzo license packs?
Each VZ License is an extra $25/month, and this includes a panel of your choice.

[dexus]

Hello,

Do we get access to node root and VPS root, or only the VPS root?

Do we get access to some other Virtuozzo top level control panel that we could use to administer all VE's, (change resources, add new VPS etc.) or we have to contact you every time to add a new VPS or just change resources...

Thanks.

[TomK]

Hello,

Do we get access to node root and VPS root, or only the VPS root?

Do we get access to some other Virtuozzo top level control panel that we could use to administer all VE's, (change resources, add new VPS etc.) or we have to contact you every time to add a new VPS or just change resources...

Thanks.

You get root access to the VPS only. We make the required changes, updates, etc per your request.

[TSM]

Do you offer XMS options for MSVS hosting?

[Robert]

Yes, we do. It costs $25 more for the Windows license cost plus the standard MSVS cost for Plesk if you decide you want that.

[Ulysses]

Looking at these plans, can anyone enlighten me on the benefits of raid vs non-raid?

Also, are the plans listed at the beginning of the thread still valid, or are there now more features and better prices on offer?

Michael

[Jon]

Looking at these plans, can anyone enlighten me on the benefits of raid vs non-raid?

Also, are the plans listed at the beginning of the thread still valid, or are there now more features and better prices on offer?

Michael

Hi Michael-

No, the pricing and specs for each XMS plan have been revised.

To get the latest specs, please send an e-mail to sales@powervps.com and someone will reply back with them.

[Ulysses]

Hi Michael-

No, the pricing and specs for each XMS plan have been revised.

To get the latest specs, please send an e-mail to sales@powervps.com and someone will reply back with them.

Thanks. Though, I'm not actually after a private quote as such.

Do you know if the prices have dropped in the 19 months since the original post, or if the specs have been updated to keep up the prices?

[Jon]

Thanks. Though, I'm not actually after a private quote as such.

Do you know if the prices have dropped in the 19 months since the original post, or if the specs have been updated to keep up the prices?


Both. I'll post them below, but please bear in mind that they *are* subject to change and to get the most current it's best to e-mail sales.

PowerXMS D1 Monthly $349 Setup Fee $99 -
SuperMicro 5015M-MT+ Chassis
http://www.supermicro.com/products/system/1U/5015/SYS-5015M-MT+.cfm
Intel Core 2 Duo ( Dual Core ) E6600
http://processorfinder.intel.com/details.aspx?sSpec=SL9S8
4G DDR2-667 ECC
http://www.ec.kingston.com/ecom/configurator_new/PartsInfo.asp?root=&LinkBack=&ktcpartno=KVR667D2E5/1G
2x320GB SATA HDD hardware RAID-1
1x320GB dedicated backup disk drive
http://www.3ware.com/products/serial_ata2-9000.asp
http://www.seagate.com/ww/v/index.jsp?locale=en-US&name=Barracuda_7200.10_SATA_320.3_GB&vgnextoid=2d1099f4fa74c010VgnVCM100000dd04090aRCRD&vgnextchannel=a32a2f290c5fb010VgnVCM100000dd04090a RCRD&reqPage=Model
2000GB of monthly transfer


PowerXMS D2 Monthly $449 Setup Fee $149 -
Supermicro 6015V-MT
http://www.supermicro.com/products/system/1U/6015/SYS-6015V-MT.cfm
Intel Dual Core Dual Xeon 5110 Woodcrest ( 4 CPUs )
http://processorfinder.intel.com/details.aspx?sSpec=SL9RZ
4G DDR2-667 FB-DIMM ECC Registered
http://www.ec.kingston.com/ecom/configurator_new/PartsInfo.asp?root=&LinkBack=&ktcpartno=KVR667D2D8F5/1G
2x320GB SATA HDD 3Ware HW RAID-1
1x320GB dedicated backup disk drive
http://www.3ware.com/products/serial_ata2-9000.asp
http://www.seagate.com/ww/v/index.jsp?locale=en-US&name=Barracuda_7200.10_SATA_320.3_GB&vgnextoid=2d1099f4fa74c010VgnVCM100000dd04090aRCRD&vgnextchannel=a32a2f290c5fb010VgnVCM100000dd04090a RCRD&reqPage=Model
2000GB of monthly transfer


PowerXMS D3 Monthly $599 Setup Fee $199 -
Supermicro 6015V-MT
http://www.supermicro.com/products/system/1U/6015/SYS-6015V-MT.cfm
Intel Dual Xeon Quad Core E5310 Clovertown ( 8 CPUs )
http://processorfinder.intel.com/details.aspx?sSpec=SL9XR
4G DDR2-667 FB-DIMM ECC Registered
http://www.ec.kingston.com/ecom/configurator_new/PartsInfo.asp?root=&LinkBack=&ktcpartno=KVR667D2D8F5/1G
4x320GB SATA 3Ware HW RAID 0,1,10,5
http://www.3ware.com/products/serial_ata2-9000.asp
http://www.seagate.com/ww/v/index.jsp?locale=en-US&name=Barracuda_7200.10_SATA_320.3_GB&vgnextoid=2d1099f4fa74c010VgnVCM100000dd04090aRCRD&vgnextchannel=a32a2f290c5fb010VgnVCM100000dd04090a RCRD&reqPage=Model
10MB/s unmetered monthly transfer

[Chris]

Thanks for the updated specs.

Any discounts for paying YEARLY?

How many IP's for each or are those a separate charge?

[Robert]

Pay for a year in advance and we can do a 10% discount. 10 IPs are included with XMS servers as needed.

[mesobob]

For those using the free CE license that powervps offers, would we lose that with the PowerXMS?

[Daniel]

No you would not lose this. You still get the same support / features you would as if you had a "regular" VPS with us.

[Robert]

Anyone interested in knowing the latest pricing for the XMS, or ready to order... head over to http://www.powervps.com/xms-dedicated-servers.php.

Hope that helps!

[Chris]

Thanks Rob that's great. Now just put a link on you're main page and you're set.

Uh, any coupon codes for a 2 vps customer looking to go to a xms on yearly billing. You know . . . free setup coupon code or something like that?

Sorry, had to ask. :D


Just curious . . . why no discounts for yearly payments??

[Robert]

Why is a coupon needed for different terms?

Modernbill takes the grand total you're quoted (so already discounted rate, etc) and applies the coupon amount.

It does not make sense to have seperate coupons for different terms. :)

[SlAiD]

The fee is very... "fee".

I mean, we need to pay for you guys to mount all and wait 1w? Its a litle weird, in my point of view.

But since I will not buy it for a few months/years, I dont have any reason to say that. -_-


SL

[DavidP]

The fee and 1 week wait is because we have to order new hardware, ship it to our DC from the hardware provider, build the system, install an OS onto the system, configure the system to run MSVS/Virtuozzo, mem-test and stress-test the system, rack it, run cable for it, apply licenses, and then migrate your VPS to the new hardware and reconfigure it. It's quite a bit of work to get a new XMS provisioned and released, and once that's done we still need to maintain the hardware, replace bad hardware, etc...

We do offer the lowest reasonable price we can on these servers, and we feel that the setup fee is justified, taking everything into consideration.

[Jon]

Let me also note that is not always a week turnaround.

If we have hardware already provisioned from a customer cancellation or extra machines, it only takes a day or two.

[Chris]

Hey,

Don't take my post wrong David or Rob, I think the pricing is fine. Your service alone (in my mind) is worth every penny. I was just after 2 things:

Perhaps a coupon code that was being offered to others via avenues I haven't explored . . . WHT, etc.

and (more importantly)

Why isn't there a discount for yearly payments compared to monthly. I went through the process and the 12 month price is nothing more than 12 times the monthly charge. I currently pay for my 2 VPS' with you on a yearly basis because I want the discount and I'm not going anywhere. To me the discount is worth the cash flow. I think Rob indicated months ago in the post a couple above my one on the previous page that there would be a 10% discount for yearly payments. Evidently that has changed . . . that's fine. Just asking. It's your business . . . you all do what you want.

You'll get my business whether I have a coupon or a yearly discount . . . but like so many . . . I like making sure I'm getting the best deal I can before I click the "submit" button. :D

[SludgeMeister]

I agree on the setup fee. Thats a big turn-off for me.

I'm not saying the prices aren't good, they certainly are for the spec offered and no doubt the service on these boxes will be as stellar as the service received on the vps servers....But for $99 I could hire a lowergrade machine for a month, possibly 2 if one fishes around ;)

That said, the set-up fee for a few providers of dedicated servers I've looked at in the past has been around the same as this - That alone is the reason I've not given them my business.

T.

[DavidP]

There are a lot of companies out there that buy old, end-of-life hardware that has been decommissioned from other companies, or that has been pulled from their own production setups, and then resell that hardware as cheap dedicated servers. Our dedicateds are new systems matching the specifications on our order form at: http://www.powervps.com/xms-dedicated-servers.php.

I've seen some of the "lower-end boxes" and I wouldn't recommend using them in a production environment.

Remember, you get what you pay for.

[SlAiD]

If there is 3/4 more users (including me) willing to pay a dedicated server for all (split memory, disk, resources... and money) it will be more cheaper instead of buying a power2 for each user for example.


SL

[vps-vince]

I just wish the 'PowerXMS Starter' was under $200 price point, as it's a big jump to upgrade from a Power3 VPS and nothing offered in-between. :confused:

As there has been upgrades to all VPS plans except Power3 - this puts me in a very difficult position for making decisions regarding 'cost/power' ratio.

Rgds,

- Vince

[DavidP]

Hey Vince,

Hang tight! We're working on Semi-Dedicated plans at this time!

[vps-vince]

Hey Vince,

Hang tight! We're working on Semi-Dedicated plans at this time!

Great!:D
I've been begging and waiting for ages for something affordable to upgrade my Power3 plan(s).

Can I be one of the first please kind sir - this week, pretty please?
Or if you're having a good day, how about a 'small' discount on the 'PowerXMS Starter' and I'll take one now? :)

Holding my breath ... ... (gasp!)

- Vince

[dexus]

Do you have any news about Semi-Dedicated plans. :rolleyes:

[Robert]

Not yet. When we do, there will be an announcement made. :)

Ya'll might have noticed, but we don't jump into anything lightly. We do a great deal of planning and consideration as when we do something, we have to do it so that it can scale thousands of times over.

[vps-vince]

Hiya Rob,
So how about updating the Power3 package in the meantime?
Disk space is still below par in comparison to other plans.

Thanks,

- Vince

[Robert]

All of the linux plans will change after the launch of HSPC. :)

[tsj5j]

Will the update of the VPS plans be for the better or for the worse?

Will it apply to all existing customers or new ones only?

[Robert]

We always think it will be for the better. :) It's kind of pointless for us to do something we think will be worse for people. lol

Existing packages will stay as-is.

[dexus]

But, you said before "All of the linux plans will change", and now you say "Existing packages will stay as-is". What exactly does this mean?

And can you please tell us when can we expect new plans, and semi-dedicated plans. :)

I urgently need more than 768MB of RAM on few of my VE's... :(

[Robert]

That's right... all plans will change. :) Meaning when it's done, all linux plans will be different than what you see on the site. You will not be able to buy the older plans any further, however anyone with those plans today will not see any change.

As noted earlier, the new plans will not be rolled out till after HSPC is released. We don't have an ETA on when that will happen, however the beta will last a minimum of 30 days.

[SlAiD]

Hi Rob, how are you?
Sorry, didnt catch that up.

Are you saying that people with existing VPSs will not be able to switch to the new plans if, for example, they are more cheap?


SL

[dexus]

I also didn't realy understood that...

It wouldn't be realy nice that old VPS's have to stay the same if the new plans have more resources or better prices.

[Robert]

As I mentioned before...

If you have a server RIGHT NOW... when we roll out the new plans, your CURRENT server will not be changed in any way automatically. You do not have to change to a new plan. You can stay exactly like you are.

If you order a brand new server, you will only be able to choose from the new packages. You cannot come to us and say "I want a new server, but I want the same exact setup as I do for my old VPS".

[tsj5j]

Based on what you're saying, it appears that there might be an increase in pricing for more resources because you appear to be hinting that existing customers might not want to change.

I think what most people here are really concerned about is :

1.) Can we opt for the new plans if they come out without moving?
2.) If we upgrade, can we upgrade to the old plans after the new plans are rolled out?

P.S. It would be nice if you will reveal if there is a price increase/decrease.

[Robert]

We honestly don't know yet. :)

Regarding new plans... they're going to be HSPC only most likely. It would be a lot of effort/work to go back and retrofit the old billing system with new packages, create appropriate templates on the legacy hardware nodes, modify our in-house scripts to handle them, etc. But again... this is not written in stone yet.

Also... I'm not in any way trying to hint at anything. The same thing was done when we launched Power360. Anyone who was on a current plan stayed exactly like they were. (In fact, we still have hundreds of folks still on those plans.) With Power360, prices/specs actually DROPPED in cost from the original packages.

I'm simply saying what you have today will be the same later. We generally never just make mass plan changes across the board. We've done that only a few times.... in both cases, it was to increase stuff in your favor.

So calm down ya'll. :) This is not a conspiracy theory and we're not trying to hide stuff from ya or be secretive. We're one of the most open companies ya'll find. When we know the details, we'll pass it on to you as well. Till then, speculation does no good.

[dexus]

Sorry, we are just curious... :)

[MotoGeek]

PowerXMS plans are up! I just upgraded to a P3, Cant wait till the day I can say I have a full dedicated!

[dexus]

I am planing to upgrade one of my VEs to "PowerXMS Basic ($349 per month)" but I am a little bit worried about security of PowerXMS. As I am aware with XMS we are loosing one very important feature of a VPS - full remote server backup.

I know that backup should be taken to separate hard drive, but still if server is compromised, that also includes a backup drive, and we can loose entire server and we will not have option to restore entire server like we could on a VPS.

Even if backup drive is not compromised, we still don't have a way to restore entire server, because there will be only cPanel backups, and not entire server shadow backup, so we woud have to install new clean system and to restore accounts from backup drive and that will be a lot of downtime, lot of work, instaling tweaking addon software, etc.

Is there some other way for PowerXMS backups that will be maybe better, and that can take entire system shadow copy that will alow us to easy restore entire system to previous snapshot?

What do you all think about this?

[Jon]

Hi Dexus-

You could say the exact same thing about the remote backup servers being broken into as well. The OS running on the hardware node itself as well as our remote backup servers are secured from any remote login.

Regarding only having cPanel backups performed on XMS servers, i'm not sure where you got this idea from? The backups being performed on XMS servers are the standard VZBackup so you get an entire copy of the server, not just cPanel.

[dexus]

The backups being performed on XMS servers are the standard VZBackup so you get an entire copy of the server, not just cPanel.

Wow, that is great then, I am sorry I didn't know that. I'm not sure where I got this idea. :D

Can you please give me a little bit more info about VZbackups, are those backup storred in one archive, or just all files are copied, like rsync would do?

[Daniel]

Hi dexus,

They are stored in tar.gz archives and normally follow the rotation of one fuill backup per week, with incrementals stored separately throughout the week. You do not have access to these backups from your VPS which helps security-wise. You have to access them from the node, so you'd have to contact support.

Hope that helps.

[dexus]

Thanks. If I understood correctly now, that backup drive that my XMS will have will not be mounted inside my server, only Virtuozzo will be able "see" that drive.

[Daniel]

Correct, it will be mounted to the node itself, not your individual VPS(s). You won't be able to backup anything to it yourself manually, unless of course it is on your VPS.

[dexus]

Thanks, that is nice, but I have more questions now... :)

How are you usualy setup partitions, inside my PowerXMS, when upgrading from a VPS... Will you just leave one partition like I have now on a VPS, or you will create different partitions for /home /var /tmp etc. Is it good to do that now, or it will be best to leave it as one partition?

[Robert]

The XMS servers are literally just standard VPS but given the entire resources of the box.

There is no way easy way to have completely seperate partitions, especially if you have your existing VPS migrated into the XMS.

Think of it this way... you're getting a regular Virtuozzo hardware node to yourself. You get everything exactly like you have today with except that you get EMS included free and that you have the full resources of the box to yourself (IO, memory, cpu, etc).

[dexus]

Thank you.

I just have one more question...

Is it possible to mount some part of drive, let's say, about 200GB, and to leave other part of the drive for maybe later addition of another one or two VEs.

Also I noticed that price for aditional VPS licence is $25... Is cPanel licence with Fantastico included in that price or if not, what is the price for cPanel licence?

[Daniel]

dexus,

Sure! Just send in a ticket to support with how much harddrive space you want on the VPS and we can fix it up just like if you were adding or removing disk space normally.

Regarding the extra VPS pricing, that includes the cPanel/Plesk/whatever license.

[miguelin]

Think of it this way... you're getting a regular Virtuozzo hardware node to yourself. You get everything exactly like you have today with except that you get EMS included free and that you have the full resources of the box to yourself (IO, memory, cpu, etc).

So you do include EMS free in the PowerXMS packages?

I'm thinking about getting one of these and if you include this free it'd be a great advantage.

Second question - can I get RAID-1 with the Starter Package instead of the "one disk for use and other for backup" setup?

How much time would it take to have a server set up based on your current experiences?

[Jon]

Hi miguelin-

Yes, we do include one free EMS for the XMS servers.

To answer your second question. Yes you can get RAID with the Starter Package, however it will raise the cost pretty close ( just under $300 ) to the Basic at that point as the RAID card is one of the more expensive parts for the server.

The turnaround time can vary based on whether or not we have a machine already in stock or have to order new machines in. Typically if we have to order them in, it can be 3-4 business days for the server to arrive, be built, stress tested, OSed, and prepared for you.

[dexus]

I have one PowerXMS Basic and I will need one more soon, so I was just looking around your web site and noticed that backup procedure has changed for XMS servers, and that now "PowerXMS Basic" that I use have RAID-5 and off-server backups, so I am just curios, why did you changed that?

I realy like old setup with backup drive and VZPP because I like to see all backups in VZPP, so I can be shure that backups are regulary taken and I can't be shure about that with off-server backup.

This is also a nice setup, but just if I would be able to somehow see those off-server backups that would be great, but I think that is not possible... :(

[DavidP]

You can open a ticket at any time with support to get a list of available backups. We'll be happy to provide that for you.

[dexus]

Ok, I know that, but that is not realy convinient... I am checking backups every week in my VZPP on my current XMS, it wouldn't be realy nice that I open a support ticket every week to get list of backups... :)

Is it maybe possible to get setup like before and to use one hard drive for VZPP backups, or that is not an option?

And also I would realy like to know why did you changed that?

Thanks.

[Robert]

Hi there,

Regarding why we would change the system there have been numerous problems with the VZBackup system.

a) It's not able to be monitored well.
b) It uses more disk space.
c) It causes a great deal of IO which hurts the performance of the server.
d) It can result in much slower performance of the server.

It also allows the backups to be stored on a seperate physical hardware device, not just a drive in the individual server. If you lose that single drive, you've lost all backups. (Our backup systems are either raid-5 or 6.)

Hope that helps.

[DavidP]

VZPP backups generate a high disk I/O and are not a good option for a high-load server. The new backup system we use does not generate significant disk I/O and has minimal impact on the servers it is backing up.

It is simply more efficient, requires less disk space than virtuozzo backups, and makes it more feasible to run all XMS servers using various RAID configurations.

Unfortunately, as we are standardizing backups across our network, using another drive for VZPP backups will no longer be an option.

[dexus]

Thanks... two answers at the same time...

But they are little bit different... Rob said that "We can do it, but you'll also be losing a drive and potentially your raid status" and DavidP said "VZPP backups will no longer be an option" :)

Thanks anyway, I will take this as this is still possible as Rob said.


a) It's not able to be monitored well.
b) It uses more disk space.
c) It causes a great deal of IO which hurts the performance of the server.
d) It can result in much slower performance of the server.

I also noticed that VZbackups causes more IO usage, but that is not problem for me because those backups are performed nightly at time that my VE's usage is the least, and you can set time of those backups for me according to my time zone and server load, and with remote backups I probably can't choose the time of my backups, and they will probably be taken nightly at your time zone and that is not good time for me.

It also allows the backups to be stored on a seperate physical hardware device, not just a drive in the individual server. If you lose that single drive, you've lost all backups.
Yes, but if something happends to my server, hacker atack, or some other similar problem and I don't have a backup on remote server if backup sistem didn't take it because of some stupid glitch, I lose everithing and that RAID5 on your backup cluster will not help me than... :) And this way with VZPP backups that I am personaly monitoring there is small chance that hacker atack and backup drive failure comes at the same time.

I think that both options have pros and cons, and your new remote backup procedure and better RAID on XMS is also nice and it's also good that Starter XMS now have a RAID...

[Robert]

Rob's post was edited. :D

Rob was wrong. lol

(Quick, someone screenshot this... it's not often that I admit I was wrong1)