EuroVPS Servers and Storage
EuroVPS Virtual
Private Servers, Shared Hosting, Reseller Hosting, and Semi-Dedicated hosting, are all provisioned on top of the line HP/DELL/IBM servers.
It is very important, to realize the large difference between desktops remodeled to fit into racks, and true servers. Unfortunately due to growing competition in the web hosting industry, many providers choose to use low quality, desktop machines as servers. These inferior 'servers' are used to store your databases, emails, and websites. Although such hardware can operate for some time, it cannot be relied on for 24/7/365 continuous operation.
True enterprise servers are designed with nonstop operation in mind, and are built to withstand hardware failure without a need to power down for spare parts replacement. For example, a true server of 'enterprise-grade' would include such features as hot-swap cooling units, hot-swap disk drives, hot-swap power supplies, as well as hot-swap memory modules in the most expensive models.
Unfortunately, we have seen some of our competitors choose to put revenue above quality with their most recent hardware designs and offers. SATA storage, is not designed to be used in a 24/7/365 high I/O environment.
Although SATA can be used as 'nearline' storage for backups and data archival, it is not suitable for use in production servers especially those hosting numerous Virtual Servers each of which are running their own applications. A 7.2K RPM SATA disk can respond to 75-100 IOPS (I/O per second), whereas a 15K SCSI or SAS disk can easily respond to 185-230+ IOPS with 50% reduced latency as well.
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EuroVPS subscribers experience the heightened reliability and increased enterprise level performance of SCSI Ultra320 hard disks regardless which service plan they are subscribed to. All of our Web Hosting, Virtual Dedicated Servers, Semi-Dedicated servers, and Reseller hosting plans are exclusively delivered on SCSI servers. Of further interest, is the controllers which actually drive the SCSI disks. Please note that it is possible to purchase RAID controllers of varying quality and performance. The most important characteristics one needs to be aware of when considering a RAID controller are, CPU (XOR) speed, cache memory, battery backup, number of ports internal and external, as well as a proven track history as a 'series'.
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In the continuing pursuit of perfection, EuroVPS has elected as of 06/07 to provide all customers, with redundant, mirrored memory. This advanced protection goes far beyond ordinary ECC Registered memory protection, which protects against single bit memory failure. Multibit failures which can cause a memory module to fail thereby creating a kernel panic or crash, can only be prevented by mirroring identical memory banks. Therefore, our servers can sustain a complete memory DIMM module failure, or even a complete memory board failure of all DIMMS in a bank without stopping. As though this was not enough, the failed memory board can be dismounted, replaced, and placed back online without even powering down the server. This allows you to maintain a high state of reliability, which translates to higher profits and a greater reputation to you and your own business. Note that this configuration creates a 2:1 overhead in memory costs, as for a 16GB usable memory configuration, we must purchase 32GB RAM.
EuroVPS uses a variety of different hardware configurations outlined below. These configurations are valid at the time of this writing, (10/07)
In the case of all Shared Hosting (Reseller/Semi-Dedicated) servers, as below;
- HP Proliant ML570 G2 rack mount server, 7U with redundant cooling and 3 power supplies
- Quad Intel Xeon MP 2.5 processors with 512kb L2 cache, and 1024kb L3 cache each
- 8192MB Mirrored Memory / 4096MB Usable Infineon DDR ECC RAM
- HP SmartArray 6402 Ultra320 RAID controller with 256M Cache and battery backup
- Disks
- 2 x 36.4GB 15K Cheetah 15K.4 for OS (RAID 1)
- 6 x 72.8GB 15K Cheetah 15K.4 for Data (RAID 6)
- 4 x 36.4GB 10K Cheetah 10K.6 for Qmail queues and Maildir (RAID 10)
- HP Lights Out Remote Access Card with HP Insight Manager
In the case of Virtual Dedicated VPS Hosting servers, servers are as below;
Linux VPS Servers, with cPanel, Plesk, or Standard Unmanaged.
Configurations available depending on availability and load fluctuations, performance is identical across our hardware. New accounts are provisioned to least-loaded servers based on 30 day historical data collected by HP OpenView agents.
- HP Proliant DL580 G4 rack mount server, 4U with redundant cooling and 2 power supplies
- Intel Xeon MP 2.8 processors with 512kb L2 cache, and 2048kb L3 cache each
- 32768MB Mirrored Memory / 16384MB Usable Infineon DDR ECC RAM
- HP SmartArray 6404 Ultra320 RAID controller with 256M Cache and battery backup
- HP StorageWorks Dual Controller / Dual Bus 4454R 3U U320 DAS
- Disks
- 4 x 36.4GB 15K Cheetah 15K.4 for OS and Shared Software (RAID 10)
- 14 x 72.8GB 15K Cheetah 15K.4 for VPS Data (RAID 6)
- HP Lights Out Remote Access Card with HP Insight Manager
- Dell PowerEdge 6650/6850* (post 07/07) , 4U with redundant cooling and 2 power supplies
- Intel Xeon MP 2.8/3.16* processors with 512kb L2 cache, and 2048kb L3 cache each
- 32768MB Mirrored Memory / 16384MB Usable Infineon DDR ECC RAM
- LSI MegaRAID 320-2X Ultra320 RAID controller with 512M Cache and battery backup
- HP StorageWorks Dual Controller / Dual Bus 4454R 3U U320 DAS
- Disks
- 4 x 36.4GB 15K Cheetah 15K.4 for OS and Shared Software (RAID 10)
- 14 x 72.8GB 15K Cheetah 15K.4 for VPS Data (RAID 10)
- Dell PowerEdge RAS DRAC with Dell OM agents
- IBM eServer xSeries 365 , 3U with redundant cooling and 2 power supplies
- Intel Xeon MP 2.5 processors with 512kb L2 cache, and 1024kb L3 cache
- 16384MB Infineon DDR Registered ECC RAM
- IBM ServeRAID 6M Ultra320 RAID controller with 256M Cache and battery backup
- IBM EXP400 3U External Storage Expansion with redundant cooling and power supplies
- Disks
- 6 x 18.2GB 15K Cheetah 15K.3 (RAID 10)
- 7 x 72.8GB 15K Fujitsu MAX for VPS Data (RAID 5EE)
- IBM Remote Supervisor II with IBM Director 5
Windows VPS Servers, Plesk, or Standard Unmanaged.
- Dell PowerEdge 6650, 4U with redundant cooling and 2 power supplies
- Intel Xeon MP 2.5 processors with 512kb L2 cache, and 1024kb L3 cache each
- 16384MB Mirrored Memory / 8192MB Usable Infineon DDR ECC RAM
- LSI MegaRAID 320-2X Ultra320 RAID controller with 512M Cache and battery backup
- HP StorageWorks Dual Controller / Dual Bus 4454R 3U U320 DAS
- Disks
- 4 x 36.4GB 15K Cheetah 15K.4 for OS and Shared Software (RAID 10)
- 14 x 36.4GB 15K Cheetah 15K.4 for VPS Data (RAID 10)
- Dell PowerEdge RAS DRAC with Dell OM agents
- IBM eServer xSeries 365 , 3U with redundant cooling and 2 power supplies
- Intel Xeon MP 2.7 processors with 512kb L2 cache, and 2048kb L3 cache
- 8192MB Infineon DDR Registered ECC RAM
- IBM ServeRAID 6M Ultra320 RAID controller with 256M Cache and battery backup
- IBM EXP400 3U External Storage Expansion with redundant cooling and power supplies
- Disks
- 6 x 18.2GB 15K Cheetah 15K.3 (RAID 10)
- 7 x 72.8GB 15K Fujitsu MAX for VPS Data (RAID 5EE)
- IBM Remote Supervisor II with IBM Director 5
- Dell PowerEdge 2850, 2U with redundant cooling and 2 power supplies
- Intel Xeon DC/DP 2.8 processors with 2048kb L2 cache
- 8192MB Infineon DDR-2 Registered ECC RAM
- LSI MegaRAID 320-2E Ultra320 RAID controller with 512M Cache and battery backup
- Disks
- 6 x 72.8GB 15K Cheetah 15K.4 (RAID 10)
- Dell PowerEdge RAS DRAC with Dell OM agents
EuroVPS Backups and IBM TotalStorage SAN integration
EuroVPS ensures reliable, nonstop service by providing you with the most reliable, proven platforms for your web applications. However, disaster can still strike in the form of either accidental data loss, or catastrophic hardware failure.
The experienced engineers who have worked in Information Technology know, that regardless of what precautions are taken at the hardware level to prevent downtime, data loss can still be a frightening experience. Data could be lost through accidental deletion, security breach, or hardware related failure. Further, data could also be lost through physical plant disaster such as fire, earthquake, or other type of disaster. Therefore, it is important to maintain a minimum of two geographically separate backups in at least two mediums.
EuroVPS network and infrastructure architects, have in excess of 25 years experience in designing and administering advanced corporate networks. Our experience is priceless to our subscribers, who have been saved countless times by our extremely reliable backup systems. We backup data on a daily basis to multiple IBM DS300 1701-2RD SCSI U320 based SAN systems, with weekly off site replication to the same model IBM DS300 SAN in a location 35 kilometers from the primary datacenter in Schiphol-Rijk, The Netherlands. Monthly full backups are taken by way of a Compaq (Quantum OEM) DLT tape backup system using Veritas BackupExec. Digital tapes are stored for 6 months in Athens, Greece and then recycled into active backup pool after this time or longer depending on usage.
EuroVPS Datacenter and Network Capacity
Easynet: Schiphol-Rijk, The Netherlands
Just as important as the hardware your server is hosted on, is
the datacenter in which the servers are located. EuroVPS owns
over 300+ IBM, Dell, and HP/Compaq servers, all centrally located
in Amsterdam's top datacenter; Easynet NL. Our Datacenter's
network is 100% Cisco powered, from the switch to the core routers.
Our multi-homed European network offers 37Gbps total network
capacity using 14 network carriers. EuroVPS is connected to the following networks, using the BGP-4
protocol to select the fastest connection available, and also
serve as redundant routes in case of network failure:
Network Capacity
- AMS-IX 4 x 10Gbps
- BNIX 1 x 10Gbps
- DE-CIX 1 x 10Gbps
- Abovenet 7 x 1Gbps
- Global Crossing 2 x 10Gbps
- KPN Eurorings 1 x 10Gbps + 2 x 1Gbps
- Teleglobe / VSNL 1 x 10Gbps + 2 x 1Gbps
- TeliaSonera 2 x 10Gbps + 4 x 1Gbps
- NYIIX 1 x 1Gbps
- VIX 1 x 1Gbps
- NETNOD 2 x 1Gbps
- PL-IX 1 x 1Gbps
- Swissix 1 x 1Gbps
- NIX 1 x 1Gbps
We employ Cisco 12400/12000/6500 routers to ensure that our network
stays up, 24/7/365. Unlike many datacenters, network downtime
is a non issue at Easynet.
Physical Characteristics and Security Features
The British Standards Institute has issued EasyNet the ISO 9001:2000 status in eight of its sites in Europe. By achieving this status EasyNet has proven their devotion to exceed the high standards of customer service and support. The high standards are reviewed on a regular basis.
Data floor
- Total data floor measures approximately 5000m2
- Shared or dedicated partitioned areas
- 780kg/m2 ground uniform floor slab loading
- 300mm raised floors
- 3.2m from floor to ceiling
Power and air conditioning
- 4 x 2000 kva Generator back-up @ N+1
- UPS system – redundant parallel formation @ N+1
- Close control downflow air conditioning units to guarantee stable temperature and humidity @ N+1
- 2 independent AC chilled water systems @ N+1
- 6 MVA of UPS conditioned power @ N+1
- Diverse Power Supplies with diesel generator backup
Security
- Aspiration Smoke Detection Apparatus (ASD) installed
- Very Early Smoke Detection Apparatus (VESDA) installed
- MIST fire suppression system
- CCTV system covering all entrances/exits and main areas
- 24-hour video recording
- Full perimeter alarm
- Security card access system
- Visual verification of all persons entering the data floor
* Note that all hardware photographs on this page represent equipment fully owned and operated by EuroVPS Internet Services
