Where is your website hosted?

Christian HenningConsultant
I've been involved in Web Hosting since 1997 and love it. Cloud computing, marketing, sales, infrastructure are passions of mine.
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Knowing where your website is hosted is as important as the features you receive, the monthly fee, and the support you receive. Due diligence should be done when choosing your next hosting provider.
It’s important you know where your business is hosted. Very important.
 
Why?
 
A few years ago, I toured two data centers. One was owned by a major player in web hosting for more than a decade. The second data center was owned by a smaller web host I had not heard much about.
 
Both of these data centers were located in the same city just a few miles apart.
 
The first data center showed promise, it was inside of an old bank building. The tour was met by security at the entrance. We then proceeded to the data center area.
 
Once in the data center, it was clear this was setup by amateurs.
 
Cables were everywhere. It looked terrible and worse you had to dodge cables as you worked your way through the facility.
 
At the back of the DC was an employee with the back door wide open smoking a cigarette.
 
Anyone could have walked through the back door and had immediate access to the DC. After walking around the building itself, it was clear there was not a backup generator available.
 
Just a few weeks later, we heard news that this data center was robbed. Someone broke in the back door and removed servers and other equipment. So much for security.
 
The second data center we toured was located in a bad part of town. This DC was next to a bar and a motorcycle shop.
Nothing special here, just a stand alone office building. The building was divided and on one side of the building was the DC and the other an insurance agency.
 
During the second tour, we were met by the owner and taken to a back room inside his share of the office building. The DC was nothing more than a back room. The DC had carpet flooring. There was no backup generator. No security to speak of.
 
The cooling unit? An A/C window unit.
 
Security? The owner told us the biker shop guard dog would bark (he said this jokingly).
 
Unfortunately for his customers, this was not a joke.
 
Worse, the owner didn’t host his own website in this ‘data center’. He hosted it at a competitor.
 
Why is this important to you? Because, it is VERY IMPORTANT you know exactly where your business is hosted.
 
If you do not host currently with Superb Internet, you need to start thinking about switching over immediately. If you already host with Superb Internet, I’ll show you shortly why you have made a very wise decision.
 
First of all, location is everything.
 
Location, location, location. You hear this saying all the time for brick and mortar businesses. The same is true for where your business website and applications are hosted.
 
  • Located in a safe section of the city where the DC is located.
  • Located in a DC close to backbone connections and peering points.
  • Let’s not forget about technicians located onsite and ready to help should you need support.
  • Further, security located onsite 24/7 and  guarding access to the data center.

So let’s take a look at what it takes to deliver a first-class Data Center as I give you a brief tour of our SEA2 DC located in Seattle, Washington.
 
Every picture below are real photographs of the Superb Internet SEA2 Data Center and NOT stock images.

Seattle is one of the best connected high-tech cities in the entire United States. Our SSAE 16 Audited data center, known as SEA2, has multiple diverse-path fiber transport circuits with stable carriers. Security is always a top priority, with leading-edge biometric access control and continuous live video surveillance. In addition, the SEA2 Netwrk Operations Center (NOC) is staffed around the clock with highly experienced Systems and Network Administrators.
 
Network
Superb Internet’s core network and backbone connectivity consists of 11 core network sites, located in five different states, with three SSAE 16 Audited data centers from coast to coast.
 
We are ISO 9001:2008 certified, registered and have a ITIL certified staff.
 
With direct connectivity to all major global Tier 1 backbones and major networks & ISPs, our network has no single point of failure, and offers extremely low latency and no packet loss—resulting in the best efficiency and performance available anywhere.
 
Our network is fully redundant at every level and entirely fault tolerant, able to withstand major disasters.
 
superb-network
Like all our other data centers, the SEA2 network is fully fault-tolerant, with redundant carrier-grade Cisco 12008 & 12012 GSR core routers, Catalyst 6500 MSFC distribution B switches, and Catalyst 4912G distribution ‘A’ switches. Separate, redundant power circuits provide both DC and AC power.
 
Cooling
Keeping the server your business is hosted on is very important. For this reason, the SEA2 DC has a secure outside enclosure, where you can see over 600 tons’ worth of dry coolers for the data center’s air conditioning units. Proper cooling allows processors to perform better and increases longevity of the hardware.
superb-coolingOnsite Security & Support
Closed-circuit, live video surveillance is monitored 24-x7x365 by experienced, vetted personnel only.
 
Access to servers is controlled using advanced biometric security systems.

Further, SEA2 is staffed 24x7x365 by senior system & network engineers.

Power
Reliable power ensures maximum uptime. Power is one of the highest expenditures for a Data Center, and this is one area Superb Internet will not take lightly.
 
Some of the power features of SEA2 include:
 
  • Power feed provided through a dedicated transformer exclusive to the data center
  • Three 500KVA UPS systems
  • 5MW Caterpillar diesel generator

One of the highlights of SEA2 is the 2000 Amp, 480 Volt, 3-phase, reliable utility power feed and the three N+1 redundant 500k VA UPS & maximum capacity battery systems.
 
superb-power
Servers
You’d be surprised if you saw what some of our competitors use to host their customers. At Superb Internet, we only use industry standard servers and components.
 
superb-servers
Staffing
We believe that people make all the difference. Our team consists of network engineers who oversee our entire coast-to-coast backbone network, and technical support engineers. SEA2 data center onsite staff are always available to help you, any time of the day or night.
 
The data center is sized to house well over 5000 servers. From the office, our onsite staff can get a clear view of the data center floor 24x7x365.
 
superb-staff
As you can see, there is a lot more to consider than price when you are deciding on where to host your business. Of course, these are just a few highlights of the SEA2 Data Center.
 
If you aren’t currently with Superb Internet and would like to test drive our Data Centers and our Transparent Cloud, here’s how to test us our for only $2…
 
Test Drive Superb Internet’s Transparent Cloud and Network
Why not perform a NO RISK test of Superb Internet’s Transparent Cloud? You can test drive our cloud platform featuring 2GB RAM, 2 Cores, 20GB SDD for just $2 for 2 MONTHS!
 
Better yet, every 20th customer will get 20 YEARS HOSTING at NO COST.
 
Click the link below to lock your cloud server down for just $2 for 2 months :
=> https://www.superb.net/cloud-hosting/dedicated-cloud#cloudservers
 
And to be clear, you’ll get 2GB RAM, 20GB SDD, 2 CORES (CS1-312) for just $2 for 2 MONTHS… that you can use as a:
 
… backup server
… dev / test server
… replacement for your current server at your existing host
… or upgrade from shared hosting to a FASTER and more reliable platform
… emergency cutover server

Put Superb Internet to the test and I’m sure you’ll be pleased with our network, data centers, and support staff.
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Christian HenningConsultant
I've been involved in Web Hosting since 1997 and love it. Cloud computing, marketing, sales, infrastructure are passions of mine.

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