This article is to give you a more detailed background on what you can expect with our affordable UK based dedicated servers.
Hardware
One of the fundamentals of our dedicated servers which we pride ourselves on, is the use of high quality hardware. We have an excellent relationship with a UK Supermicro integrator, and therefore we primarily use Supermicro hardware. From time to time we also use systems from Dell and HP.
If you are on a tight budget and we do not have something suitable in stock, we may build a server for you. Typically these are based around a Chenbro chassis, with Intel Mainboards, which have proven over the years to be just as stable as the Tyan/Supermicro equivilent. If we are to build a server for you and you would like a rack optimized mainboard, it can be provided at additional cost.
Hardware Replacements
We do not provide a SLA (Service Level Agreement) against timeframes for hardware replacements, however we do have procedures in place if a failure should occur on your machine.
In the event of hardware failure, we have a minimum of 1 staff member at any time within a maximum of 3 hours traveling distance to the datacentre, with a selection of common components. In addition, we also have agreements in place with our hardware vendors.
If you have a hard disk failure, and it's part of a RAID array, or a secondary/backup drive, it will be replaced within 24 hours.
As a worst-case scenario, we generally have at least 1 machine on stock which we could move your disks to if a critical failure occurs.
If you are hosting something critical, or of a business nature, consider contacting us for a high-redundancy machine, with redundant cooling, redundant power supplies and "hot-spare" hard drives.
Remote Reboots, KVM Over IP and OS Reloads
Typically our Dell and Supermicro based systems also include Dell Remote Access console (DRAC) or Supermicro's IPMI system. Depending on your server we may include this free of charge, or it may be available at additional cost. If you are provided with an IPMI or DRAC system, support on unmanaged servers is strictly limited to hardware and network issues after the initial 48 hours after setup.
An IPMI or DRAC system allows you to:
- Remotley power off your server
- Remotley power on your server
- Remotley reboot your server
- Mount Virtual Media on your server, for OS reloads. i.e. mount a Network install .iso and install a different OS over the internet.
- Console Access (KVM Over IP)
- Some systems may also include Serial console for diagnostic information
- View the health of your machine (depending on which system), i.e. Temperatures / Voltages / Fan Speeds
We also provide limited manual Remote Reboots, KVM access and OS Reloads, without IPMI/DRAC
- Reboots are free within reasonable justification
- KVM and OS Reloads are both counted as an "Intervention" to your server. You are allowed 1 Intervention per month. If you need an additional KVM session or OS Reload, it will be chargable.
Bandwidth Graphs
We provide real-time bandwidth graphs inside our billing area for your servers, providing graphical results based on RRDtool, to give you current, average and 95%ile results.
Support Options
All Dedicated Servers are Unmanaged by default unless specified otherwise. We will setup your machine with your chosen OS, chosen partition layout, and hand over the details. No further support will be provided other than for hardware and network issues.
We are able to provide a full range of support options, including proactive 24x7x365 monitoring of your machine, and everything from basic management to full management.
We are more than happy to provide fully managed servers whether you are running cPanel/WHM, a basic LAMP stack or a private cloud with Xen/SolusVM. If you need something which we cannot cater for in-house, then we are more than happy to arrange the necessary support through one of our trusted 3rd parties.
Operating Systems
We can provide any operating system (within justification) including all varients of Linux, BSD and Windows Server.
At the present time we do not provide licensing for Windows Server, so you will need to provide your own license and proof of authenticity.
By default all dedicated servers will be provided with the latest release of CentOS x86_64.
Further Questions?
If you have any further questions please email sales@pcsmarthosting.com
