Kategorie: Business

Now more than ever, companies are having employees work from home. With technology advances and the growth of businesses worldwide, a remote workforce can help an employer utilize employees, contractors, and even remote partners in ways that were not possible before. There are risks involved with having sensitive company data being accessed over the Internet, but having the right VPN solution can help mitigate security risks, and help keep prying eyes from seeing anything they should not while employees work from home.

6 Reasons Why Employees Need a VPN While They Work From Home

Here are 6 reasons why employees should use a VPN while they work from home:

1. Better Control Over Private Data

Managing desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones within a corporate setting can help control access levels and protect sensitive data, but once a device leaves the building, the risks of that data being seen by someone outside the company increase significantly.

Having an employee connect to the company’s virtual private network (VPN) to access the resources they need to get work done helps keep the data within the company, and helps prevent the need for local copies to be saved and transferred over the Internet. If an employee can only access the private data when connected into a workstation, either in-person or through a VPN while they work from home, then the data would not need to be publicly accessible through the regular Internet.

2. Protect Workers Devices

Remote workers may be connecting from other offices, outside companies, hotels, coffee shop Wi-Fi, public hotspots, or even just working from home. Each network could have it’s own security vulnerabilities, with a larger risk coming from any open public networks.

What are the Risks With Using Open Public Networks?

Some risks with using open public networks include:

• Packet Sniffing: If someone is listening in on the local network, they could see the traffic going to and from the device, and steal any data that is unencrypted, including logins and other private information.
• Man-In-The-Middle Attacks: Often this would be a fake Wi-Fi hotspot that is spoofing a real hotspot. When a client connects, the fake hotspot can pass along any data to the real website while saving a copy for itself.
• DNS Spoofing: If an attacker can compromise or spoof a DNS nameserver, then they could send a false IP address back during a lookup and cause traffic to go to their own server that’s impersonating another site.

Using a secured VPN can bypass those attacks with an encrypted tunnel directly through to the corporate network. With trusted certificates provided by the VPN server, the client would know they are connecting directly to the network, and any traffic that gets intercepted would just be encrypted packets that are not readable without the decryption key.

This can also be useful for workers who travel to other countries, or even if your company has teams overseas. If the VPN connection itself can be made, then it could be used to get around country blocks and filters that could inhibit access to other sites and resources needed by the worker. This can protect the company’s data from being viewed or recorded by any state or country-level monitoring.

Additionally, to help protect the user’s local machine, as well as the company’s private network, there are VPN solutions that scan the local system to make sure there is an active antivirus program running, along with a check for other possible signs of compromises. If any problem is found, it can alert the employee and prevent them from connecting to the network until the issue is resolved. More advanced solutions can monitor the network traffic itself to detect malicious activity that is already on the network. These types of solutions can also help stop it from spreading further than it already has.

3. Allow Access to Internal Systems

Depending on the amount of control allowed to a remote user, they might be able to reach computers and devices that are not available to anyone else outside of the network.

A VPN can access internal IP addresses, allowing users to connect and access internal network drives, shared folders, and local servers, as well as grant remote access to machines.

This allows remote workers to access to all of the tools and resources they need to get the job done. More control can be taken to limit what is safe to go out over the regular Internet versus what data should be protected and only accessible through a VPN connection.

4. Reduce Liabilities

Helping to prevent data from being lost, stolen, or compromised is always in a company’s best interest. A company’s records might include customer information, payment methods, contracts, financial records, and other proprietary information that should not get into the hands of anyone outside the organization.

Depending on the importance of the data, any stolen information could cause consequences such as lost revenue, lawsuits, or even lowered trust in the company itself. Setting up a VPN solution can help reduce the possible vectors of attack by substantially shrinking the number of attacks that could cause a compromise, and limit data that can be gathered from outside of the network.

5. Various Options for Various Prices

To help avoid losses like the ones just mentioned, a business should be willing to spend some amount of money to protect assets if the work is being done remotely. Even a pricier VPN service could be worth the cost if it can help prevent a loss to the company.

Luckily there is a range of products with varying prices to choose from.

• A small business with just a few employees may settle on a free, open-source VPN that is quick and easy to set up, yet will still provide strong encryption protocols to protect the connection.
• A large enterprise that has a team of network administrators might want to look into buying a managed VPN where connections are monitored, data is tracked, and usage is logged. Ensure the VPN can integrate with any existing infrastructure.

6. Test Out VPN Options

With so many VPN options available, there are a large number of guides, documentation, and videos online to make setting up and testing out a whole new system quick and easy.

If time and cost permits, try testing out an option for a week, and see how well it works for your company. If there are any problems, look for another VPN that solves that particular problem and test it out the next week.

If it is a paid service, contact the support team of the company to try to resolve the issue with them. If you don’t have the time to troubleshoot anything, then look for dedicated VPN appliances or even virtual appliances that can help get your team going quickly with minimal setup.

Top 5 Features for a VPN in 2020

Here are the five absolute must-have features for a VPN:

1. Strong Encryption: Some older and cheaper VPN options still use weaker strength encryption. If packets do get intercepted, weaker encryption might be able to be decrypted eventually, but the chances of a higher strength encryption greatly reduce the chances of anyone decoding it without the proper keys. Complex encryption used to cause delays for legitimate users, but modern computers and devices have the power to quickly encrypt and decrypt data without much delay compared to the delays that caused in the past.
2. Two-Factor Authentication: Using a password alone is not enough to properly secure a VPN login. A second method of verification is needed for additional security. Use an app based 2FA authenticator or a physical key, and avoid using text messaging 2FA, as it can be intercepted.
3. Trust in the Service: If you are going through a third-party service that isn’t completely within your own network, make sure you trust their policies, data logging, and control of encryption keys.
4. Active Security: A smart VPN can scan the local machine and help block any potential security threats from getting onto the private network.
5. Reliability: A system that disconnects, crashes, gets overloaded, or locks people out is bad for productivity, and can cost the company in revenue if there is downtime.

Get a VPN While Teams Work From Home in 2020 and Beyond

If you have any remote workers who need access to sensitive information, then you should consider setting them up to connect to a VPN. The privacy and security that a VPN provides to protect the data, the users, and the company itself from outside attacks should be worth the initial investment costs.

Normal protections alone are not always enough, but a VPN paired with security awareness training, other security measures, and set guidelines for anyone who needs access to that data can greatly reduce the risk of attacks, data loss, and financial woes to a company.

Need a VPN? Check Out Liquid Web’s VPN and Get Secure Today.

The post 6 Reasons Why Employees Need a VPN While They Work From Home appeared first on Liquid Web.

Liquid Web’s Testing Engineer on the vast possibilities made reality by tech, how they found themself at Liquid Web, and the power of following your interests.

VCR loves the multifaceted nature of technology. “It’s infinitely versatile. From infrared scanners that help doctors find veins, to prosthetic limbs that restore the sensation of touch, to viewing writings on ancient scrolls without opening and destroying them, technology gives us ways to connect with each other, our shared past, and try to plan for the future.”

That they should revel in the many avenues technology has to offer comes as no surprise to those who know them—VCR is well-versed in versatility. In between crochet projects (currently a gnoll-styled monster doll), and knitting projects including doll clothes and accessories, V also sews. But pursuits outside of their work life aren’t limited to craft making. An avid reader, VCR is also the author of niche fantasy and sci-fi. “I’m slowly learning Hebrew,” they say, “which is fun because I love languages. I always have projects that I look forward to.”

VCR marries their virtuosity to their admiration for the widespread abilities of technology in their work as a Testing Engineer at Liquid Web, where they have worked for over a decade. “I work with a great team to make sure the code we make works and looks as good as possible,” says VCR. “Typically, I define my work like this: I get to break things, duplicate breaking the things, take notes on how I broke the things, and send it back to be fixed. When that’s done, I get to test it again to make certain the problem has been resolved. I love the work.”

But it is not work they came to quickly. “Before Liquid Web, I worked in almost everything but construction,” they quip. “ Fast food, customer service, retail, apartment cleaning, hotel housekeeping, catering, floral arranging—the list goes on. But my first job was thirty years ago at Anastasia’s Greek Doughnuts & Pastries, in Okemos, Michigan.”

It was through the encouragement of their brother and a few friends who worked at Liquid Web that they finally decided to apply and pursue a career in tech. After applying, VCR was relatively certain they wouldn’t get the job, fearing a lack of the computer skills needed to work in a company like Liquid Web. “I was geeky enough, at least,” they laugh. “I learned the computery parts afterwards.”

Before stepping into the current role as a Testing Engineer two years ago, VCR worked in Support for eight-and-a-half years. (“I was on 3rd shift for about six years of that,” they say. “Shout out to 3rds!”) Working in Support, they say, was hectic, but they have a deep appreciation for everything learned from teammates during their time together.

Since taking the leap into tech over ten years ago, VCR has grown to appreciate the pace, the excitement, and the coworkers. “There’s always something new going on,” they say. “There are always improvements to be made. I love the flexibility of my hours (with two kids, random things come up 71% of the time). I also love the eternal co-geek-ness of everyone working at Liquid Web. This is the first place I’ve ever worked where I can make an obscure reference to something, and at least one other person gets it. I’m always learning new things from everyone I work with.” As for the source of motivation, VCR cites their two children, who are six and nine years old. “They get more amazing every day,” they said.

VCR is excited about what’s in store for the tech field. “I think that as more women and non-binary folks get involved in tech,” they say, “it will necessarily grow in diversity, which will provide a larger scope of view for the products and ideas developed and created. It would be nice to have a sea change in the social stigmatization of ‘otherness’; acceptance of people as they are, rather than a value they are meant to prove.”

When encouraging young women to become involved in tech, VCR points again to the power of the tremendous versatility of the field as a way to attract people to the field. “Find something that resonates with you, or that you find especially interesting,” says Collins-Ross, “and then just do the absolute hell out of it. Not sure what you like in tech? Look at what you like to do in other areas of life; there is a way to combine anything.” They point out tech pioneers like Irene Posch, a researcher and artist who has embroidered a programmable computer, and to musician and innovator Imogen Heap who has invented MI.MU gloves, a wearable musical instrument. “If Irene Posch can embroider an actual computer and Imogen Heap can make gloves that are even cooler than a theremin, there is absolutely a way to combine your specialty with some aspect of technology to make a whole greater than the sum of its parts,” says VCR. “And don’t let anyone tell you otherwise! The progression of technology is such that if an idea isn’t feasible now, it might be commonplace within ten years. You might be the one to forge that path.”

Pronouns: they/them/their

The post Women in Technology: V Collins-Ross appeared first on Liquid Web.

As many employees continue to do their jobs remotely, it is essential to ensure that everyone feels like a valued member of the team, no matter where they may be. Keeping morale high and building a strong remote work culture has never been more critical.

To keep company culture thriving, we must prioritize creating virtual work settings that are rife with connection. Below are some of the ways the Liquid Web Culture Team has been advocating to maintain a strong, vibrant, and connected company culture for remote work.

Social Interaction

Humans are social beings. Many thrive on face-to-face communication and have found it difficult switching to remote life as it eliminates most office interaction. Creating interesting and themed ways for groups to connect virtually is one of the most beneficial methods to foster remote work culture.

The Information Troll Booth

Our team decided to create an internal entertainment podcast. Each episode will have special employee guests, and showcase various topics ranging from technology and pop culture to food/drink preferences or video games. The goal of the podcast is to offer some lighthearted fun that employees can play in the background while working, which helps colleagues feel like they are back at their desks and hearing others talking around the office.

Hangout Roulette

A company like Liquid Web has workers that span multiple states. Hangout Roulette is an entertaining way to foster interaction between employees near and far. For this activity, employees sign up to participate in small, randomized groups every few weeks to have a 30-minute chat.

You can provide a list of questions and conversation starters, or people can feel free to let the conversation go where it pleases! Employees have found this to be a great way to decompress and break up their days.

Social Spotlights

Employees can submit pictures according to a weekly theme, like Mug with Your Favorite Mug, Unhelpful Coworkers, and I Like to Move It. It is an enjoyable window into employees’ lives and interests, and helps foster more connection for a stronger remote work culture.

Hobby Highlights

Everyone has a hobby or activity to help blow off steam. What better way to recognize employee greatness than by showing off that hobby or activity? Once a month, one employee is selected to show off their favorite skill or hobby in a social media post. We have writers, gardeners, woodworkers, tailors, and more!

Fun and Games

All work and no play is no fun for anyone. Happy employees are productive employees, and Liquid Web is creating new ways to build community by introducing voting championships, role-play gaming events, virtual card tournaments, and even showcasing our furry friends.

Voting Championships

When it comes to favorite foods, everyone has an opinion and wants to voice it. Increase social interaction by creating championships that require employees to vote for their favorites. It brings a bit of fun and frivolity to what can be an otherwise serious or busy day.

Company-wide voting in head-to-head matchups helped determine the best cereal (Cinnamon Toast Crunch), ice cream flavor (Mint Chocolate Chip), and movie snack (buttered popcorn)!

Acting and Role-Play Gaming Events

Several of our employees have been acting out characters and recording stories for collaborative projects with colleagues. Acting is a great way to enjoy stepping out of your usual comfort zones to pretend to be someone else, which helps alleviate stress and build remote work culture.

A group participated in a fairy-tale themed virtual mystery party where everyone played a character and had to work together to solve puzzles and clues to figure out which character was the saboteur.

We also have a group of employees doing an RPG (role-playing game) based on Wendy’s (the fast-food chain). They’re getting a real kick out of playing the characters and being part of different factions like Order of the Frosty and Order of the Baconator.

Summer 2020 Euchre Tournament

We also play card games virtually to blow off some steam. Our second Euchre tournament during social distancing is happening right now! Currently, ten teams are competing for the title of Euchre Champion. Games are played on an app called Trickster. Teams are encouraged to open their favorite chatting app for competitive chatter during games!

Vanity Fur

We all love our pets, so we decided to showcase them! Employees can submit pictures of their pets, which are then paired with the owner’s job title. Do you know how cute it is to see a German shepherd as part of our System Resources team or a salamander in Human Resources?

Health and Fitness

Group gatherings and outings have been decreased or eliminated due to the pandemic. Our employees have turned to exercising and cooking or baking activities as ways to stay engaged and healthy during this time, and showcasing fitness and health-related activities is a great way to build remote work culture.

Virtual Runs

For those feeling cooped up inside, virtual runs or races offer the opportunity for colleagues to join up and run a race near their home while still competing with others virtually. Liquid Web has graciously offered to reimburse employees up to $35 after they have completed a virtual run or race through the remainder of 2020.

Steppin’ in the Dome

Another excellent active option is to start a step-tracking group. It’s easy to participate because you are already moving around, and tracking is done automatically using an app. The top stepper each month wins a prize!

Iron Geeks (Fitness Blog)

As part of staying active and getting fit, we have started an internal fitness blog. We have various posts about topics such as training for an Ironman race, kickboxing classes, and even how to build your own gym in the basement. Any type of post showing how you stay active is welcome, which helps foster remote work culture.

Company Cookbook

We are working on putting together an everyday, healthy recipe cookbook based on recipes submitted by Liquid Web employees. A second cookbook is also in the works and will feature fall tradition and holiday recipes, which will be perfect for the upcoming holiday season.

Try Building a Remote Work Culture Using Fun Events

Strengthening remote work culture and engaging your colleagues is essential. A wide variety of activities that hit multiple interests will increase overall participation and employee interaction. Whichever ideas you try, keeping the atmosphere fun while engaging a variety of interests is crucial for successful participation across the company.

The post 12 Ways to Enhance Company Culture for Remote Teams appeared first on Liquid Web.

Have you ever wondered what a website domain is and how important it is to your business?

What differentiates a website domain from a website URL? What does the IP address of the server have to do with all that?

And in the end, how will a website domain help to bring more visitors to your site?

What is a Website Domain?

A domain name is a string that identifies a space within the Internet allocated to your website.

Since every website “lives” on some type of a server somewhere in the world, we need to have a specific way of accessing it, one way or another. Servers are another type of machine, and like any other machine, they don’t like working with words. They prefer numbers. At least one IP (Internet Protocol) address gets assigned to every server; this of this as the server’s address. If your website is the only website hosted on a web server, you could use the IP address to access it.

Take liquidweb.com for example. It’s definitely easier to say or remember than the IP address of the server it’s hosted on, which is 67.225.187.61.

Now try to imagine having to remember strings of numbers for every web page that comes to your mind. Difficult for a human, easy for a server.

Additionally, a single IP address can host multiple different websites. To access them, you’d need to remember extra identifiable information about each of those websites. It would be almost as if having to remember GPS coordinates for every location you’re trying to reach instead of knowing the street address it’s located on. It’s inconvenient, at the least. That’s where the website domain comes in.

But how are an IP address and a domain name connected?

What is a Domain Name System (DNS)?

A Domain Name System is a virtual directory for the Internet that connects domain names to IP addresses, thereby allowing browsers to load the domain successfully. The DNS also defines what a website domain should look like and what it consists of.

What Does a Website Domain Look Like?

Web browsers show the website’s URL in the address bar on top of the displayed website. The image above shows an example of a valid URL, split into 4 different sections:

1. Protocol – In this case, this is a Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) , meaning it is a secure connection between the browser and the website.
2. Subdomain – The “www” part of the URL can be used, but it’s not necessary for naming domains today. Originally, the “www” was used to distinguish a website from other potential elements of said domain. It was easily associated with the World Wide Web, so it represented the publicly accessible website, instead of other sections of the website, such as the help.liquidweb.com, in the case of Liquid Web.
3. Second Level Domain (SLD) – This is the part that most are familiar with, and represents your business name digitally online. This is the part directly to the left of the dot com.
4. Top Level Domain (TLD) – This is the ending to your URL, also known as the domain suffix.

Let’s take a look at sections 3 and 4 more closely, since the Second Level Domain and Top Level Domain are what truly make up a domain name.

What is a Second Level Domain?

Second level domains are the most important part of the URL, as that is the part visitors and customers will need to remember, so make sure it is memorable. This part represents your business online. The Second Level Domain is directly to the left of the domain suffix, also known as the top level domain.

How Do You Choose a Second Level Domain?

If you’ve ever thought about owning a website, you’ve most definitely thought about the second level domain. Choosing the best domain for your new business is a tricky process that requires brainstorming and some creative thinking.

Just like choosing the name for your new business in general, you will want your domain name (a combination of the SLD and TLD) to stand out among other competitors. You will want something professional, but also easy to remember, easy to say, and at least slightly original. Maybe catchy, too.

Additionally, for the most professional look, your website and email should use the same domain, and it should resemble the business name as closely as possible. If the actual business name is too long, abbreviations can be used as well.

The thing about domains is that you’d also need to check for the specific domain’s availability. The Internet has become a crowded place. Most of the simplest, self-explanatory domains are already taken, or up for sale, for exuberant prices. You can use tools such as Instant Domain Search to find which names are taken and which are available instantly.

What is a Top Level Domain (TLD)?

A Top Level Domain is the last portion of your domain after the period. There are many different types of top level domains to choose from, each having their own purpose.

What Types of Top Level Domains Can You Choose From?

There are quite a few different TLDs nowadays, including, but not limited to:

• .com – The most popular top level domain, initially intended for commercial websites
• .net – This TLD was created for network providers, but it’s open for other uses as well
• .gov – Used only by government offices, agencies, and agents. For example, an official website of the United States government is usa.gov
• .org – Mainly used by organizations
• .edu – Only educational institutions or universities can use this TLD
• .uk, .mx, .br – Country-coded TLDs (ccTLD)
• .music, .ninja, .store, .sports – These are some examples of newer, generic TLDs

How Do You Choose a Top Level Domain?

Newer TLDs can be more expensive than the traditional TLDs, such as “.net,” but the potential benefits for brand strengthening and market capture can outweigh the cost.

Use the following criteria to evaluate which Top Level Domain is right for you:

• Brand Strength – Owning your business’ URL on multiple TLDs across the Internet can increase name recognition in multiple markets, as well as strengthen the brand. In addition, you can prevent potential competitors from purchasing your business’ URL in combination with a new TLD. This works both for the traditional TLDs, as well as the newer ones.
• Controlling Your Vertical – If your business markets products or services in one particular vertical, such as sporting goods or music, you can capture more of that market by purchasing your domain name with the “.sports” or “.music” TLD.

How Do You Choose an SEO-Friendly Website Domain Name?

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a list of various tools and procedures that help make your website one of the first results when searching the web for a specific keyword on a search engine such as Google or Bing. One of the things that can help with SEO is the choice of a domain name as well.

Keep the following in mind for an SEO-friendly domain name:

• Keep It Short – the shorter the domain name is, usually, the easier to remember, type, or search. If you’re using social media, it’s less likely to get additionally shortened when mentioned.
• Intuitive or Brandable – Your domain name should be able to give an idea of what your site is about at-a-glance.
• Append the Name – If a domain name you’ve decided on is not available, it’s okay to add a suffix or a prefix to it such as toysonline.com or, toysonline.eu.
• “.com” or not? – “.com” is still used with the majority of websites online these days. Search engines don’t necessarily have a preference for this specific TDL, but the general population seems to “trust” sites that use “.com” more. If the “.com” TLD is not available for your chosen Second Level Domain, “.net”, or “.org” could be valid choices as well. If those aren’t available, the next best option would be choosing an appropriate ccTDL.
• Careful About Trademarks – Make sure your domain name cannot be confused with another brand, especially in your vertical, as that company can later take legal action against you.

How Do You Obtain a Website Domain Name?

Once you’ve reached a decision about the business name and potential domain names you’d like to use, it’s time to purchase a domain from one of the many domain name registrars, including Liquid Web.

Usually, to keep everything simpler, you will want to choose your web hosting provider as your domain registrar as well. They’ll be able to assist you with any potential issues or questions regarding both.

You can purchase domain name registrations for different periods (usually annually). Depending on the domain name, or the TLD, their prices can vary from free domains to those costing a couple of hundreds of dollars per year.

Choosing Your Business Website Domain Name

Choosing a correct domain for your business is obviously important, just like a good location for your physical storefront would be. You’d want to make sure that your neighbors are people you can work with, or that the banners you’d be using aren’t misleading. It’s the first impression your visitors and potential customers will get on the web.

Just like your website should be made in a professional way, either by professionals or using a professional website builder, the domain should reflect what’s happening behind the scenes effectively. In the end, your unique and clever domain name may make the visitor choose you over your competitors.

The post Domains 101: What is a Website Domain? appeared first on Liquid Web.

SSD vs HDD: The Differences and Which You Need For Your Server

Your business is growing faster than your server can keep up with, and before you know it, your infrastructure is starting to act sluggish, space is running out, and your website or application is slowing down. You have been considering switching to SSD vs HDD, but you aren’t sure if it’s worth the pretty penny.

We give you a breakdown of the pros and cons between SSD vs HDD in terms of speed, capacity, reliability, power, and price, so you can make the best decision for your business.

What is SSD?

A Solid-State Drive (SSD) is a storage device that retains data in flash memory as opposed to a magnetic-based system like a hard disk drive. By definition, “flash memory is an electronic (solid-state) non-volatile computer memory storage medium which can be electrically erased and reprogrammed.”

A solid-state drive is defined by its ability to store information using the reliable attributes of a durable cluster of semiconductors. Because solid-state drives do not depend on moving parts or spinning disks, data is saved to a cluster of memory banks or semiconductors.

What is HDD?

HDD, also known as a traditional Hard Disk Drive (HDD) or Fixed Disk Drive (FDD), is a non-volatile, hardware data storage device attached to a computer or server. An HDD magnetically stores, retrieves, and outputs digital information using a series of stacked rotating metallic disks that have been coated with magnetic material. The rotating disks are paired with an actuator arm that reads and writes the digital data to the disks.

How Much Faster is SSD vs HDD?

Regarding speed, SSD continues to dominate the growth of the hard drive market because of the ongoing improvements being made to the solid-state drive sector by the major manufacturers like SanDisk, Samsung, Sun Microsystems, and Toshiba.

In the server market, SSD offers faster read/write times, which increases server speed by an average of 95% in some cases. This increase, in turn, decreases page load times, leading developers to invest more functionality in web-based applications, which allows users to utilize more functional websites.

Using SSD, the data transfer rate will increase your servers’ overall speed and responsiveness, which provides for a more predictable lifespan.

A typical SSD has access speeds of 40 to 100 microseconds, which is nearly 100 times faster than a HDD. Increased access speed means programs can run quicker, and work gets done with less stress on the server.

Because every storage block is available at the same speed as every other storage block, the rate at which data is accessed and provided is exponentially enhanced. This means that SSD throughput is dramatically faster than a HDD.

What are the Capacity Differences Between SSD vs HDD?

There are multiple offerings when it comes to SSD storage space options: portable, pocket-sized flash drives, external SSD drives, and the server-side internal SSD drives.

Western Digital currently offers the world’s highest capacity, pocket-sized, portable SSD at 8 TB. Samsung offers an external SSD with 16 TB of available for a little over $4000.00.

When it comes to HDD, the Seagate Exos X16 HDD is the world’s highest capacity 3.5-inch 16 TB 7200 RPM drive, which comes in at just shy of $400.

Compare the two price tags with the equivalent storage. Different technologies, different speeds, and much different pricing.

Liquid Web offers multiple SSD options for our Dedicated Servers.

Which is More Reliable Between SSD vs HDD?

SSD drives have no moving parts to wear down or break, which provides better performance and improved reliability over regular hard drives. Additionally, SSD provides enhanced data integrity and endurance since they retain data even when not powered up.

Conversely, according to this study by BackBlaze, 78% of HDD drives will last at least four years, if not more, and these HDD are writing 24/7 (which is not true for the HDD on your server).

Additionally, failure rates for HDDs continue at approximately 2-9 percent per year (based on 2016 numbers) versus SSD, which only have a failure rate of 1-3 percent per year.

This being said, SSD do have a downside. There is a finite number of writes available, which will cause the eventual need for a replacement SSD drive to be employed. Some estimates place about 3,000 write cycles average per cell before breakdown.

Additionally, some drives may arrive from the factory with degraded cells, which can cause an exponentially faster breakdown and cause the early failure of the drive.

Here are a few ways cell degradation can be dealt with for SSD drives.

Over Provisioning for SSD

Modern SSD producers are keenly aware of this issue and, in response, usually add additional memory cells to compensate for this loss. This addition is commonly called over-provisioning, and is typically included from most major manufacturers. This fact implies that in a 120 GB SSD drive, an additional amount of eight GB of NAND memory can usually be added. In enterprise-level SSD drives, some makers include up to 100% of additional over-provisioned memory in order to prevent this problem.

Garbage Collection for SSD

Another technique manufacturers use to prevent issues is called garbage collection. This process identifies when pages become stale, and acts to copy an entire block that has both good data and stale pages. Garbage collection then moves the good pages to an alternate block, and finally, it erases the original block entirely.

Trim for SSD

Additionally, the OS can use a command called Trim. Trim is a command that is sent to an SSD to signal that specific pages or blocks no longer contain valid data. This command doesn’t remove the existing data, but it simply lets the OS know that data in that cluster can be overwritten. This process continually frees up space by allowing for additional writes to take place in those “open spaces.”

As with all SSD processes, the continual use of these commands increases the number of writes, which contributes to the overall decline of the drive lifespan.

Are there Different Power Requirements for SSD vs HDD?

SSD drives require less power and cooling than other types of storage media. SSD produce less heat than HDD, which lowers the need for heat dissipation.

HDD drives generate more heat by the mechanical action of the disk. Under load, SSD use anywhere from 2.5 – 3.5W of power.

Because SSD drives perform better, they spend more time in an idle state compared to a HDD This simply means that an SSD delivers an order of magnitude of increased efficiency per watt than a HDD.

Cost Differences Between SSD vs HDD

There continues to exist a significant market share for HDD. As pricing continues to fall and raid array usage provides a large amount of storage space, SMBs often take advantage of the lowered total cost of ownership traditional storage mediums offer.

Typical costs for high-performance enterprise SSD are about $0.07 per GB, and HDD at around $0.03 GB.

The lower costs associated with larger HDD versus the newer SSD medium permit a reliable alternative option for many businesses, depending on their needs.

SSD vs HDD: Who Wins?

The benefits of using an SSD drive in your current server setup will be shown in an overall increase in capacity, performance, and reliability. This means that with the addition of this type of drive, the amount of data you will be able to store will increase, with an overall lower total cost per gigabyte.

If you are rendering graphics or processing video, SSD drives provide a critical time-savings in the overall conversion time of that data. If analyzing significant amounts of information, SSD offers a drastic reduction in processing time and server load.

Additionally, the ability to stream videos in real-time will dramatically increase, which will allow for no-lag video streaming.

Finally, SSD drives provide the required speed, endurance, and stability you need to ensure your information is shared reliably.

Selecting a New Host For Your Next Web Project? Get Our Hosting Buyer’s Guide

The post SSD vs HDD: Which is the Best? appeared first on Liquid Web.

Before we explore what brand voice is all about, take a moment to picture your brand or any brand of your choice. But don’t just imagine it as a business: picture it as a living, breathing entity. See your brand as a person. In the same way people need to look decent, have a good name, and speak with a captivating voice, so too does your brand.

A brand’s voice isn’t just limited to its flamboyant name and dashing logo, but the entire spectrum of words your brand uses while communicating with its clients. Your brand’s voice is the complete embodiment of its personality, and believe it or not; customers can sense the slightest shift in your brand’s voice.

Lately, there’s been so much emphasis on brand logos and names that business owners often forget that customers also pay a great deal of attention to a brand’s voice. Lots of people would be shell-shocked if Apple suddenly changed their calm, simple, and confident nature to embrace Target’s fun and exciting voice.

Your brand’s voice is its nature, its identity, and needs to be carefully considered as you build your brand.

Why Your Brand Needs a Voice

Today, business survival isn’t only dependent on having a great product or offering outstanding services. It’s about creating brilliant marketing strategies, putting your brand out there, and showing the 4.6 billion people on social media what your brand is capable of.

How Top Brands Speak

Every brand has a voice, regardless of whether they choose to, and it can either be authentic or weak. These brands have built their voice so much that if they were human, here’s what they’ll tell you:

• Apple: Think different
• Nike: Just do it
• Dove: Put your best face forward with Dove
• Liquid Web: Most Helpful Humans in Hosting
• Coca-Cola: Taste the feeling
• Amazon: Work hard. Have fun. Make history.

The first step to seizing and maximizing every opportunity and growing your brand’s voice is by getting an awesome name, and the best place to start is with a business name generator. It’ll help you generate countless brand names in a few seconds.

Building and Maintaining Your Brand Voice Across Several Channels

Now that you understand what a brand voice is and why you need one, let’s explore some quick steps that can help you create your voice and maintain that voice in all your platforms. This is where your branding team plays a major role.

1. Know Your Audience

Having a complete understanding of your audience is the first step to building your brand voice. Understand who your target audience is, their preferences, and how they communicate. Take note and learn whether your service is well suited for groups such as:

• Millennials or baby boomers
• Large companies or small startups
• Young singles or married couples

Next, study the psychographic and demographic data of your audience, as this will help your content creators write content that better resonates with them.

2. Create a Short Description

Get your branding team and key members of your business to take a long look at all your previous content and learn which pages got more reader interest. Find out the page’s tone and which personality it communicates because that’s the one your customers have connected with.

You can further simplify this personality so you can see exactly how your future content should sound like. Think of the mood that the words invoke.

Here’s examples from popular brands:

• Authentic: Trustworthy, Direct, and Confident. E.g., Apple
• Passionate: Expressive, Excited, Fun, Action-Minded. E.g., Liquid Web
• Friendly: Happiness, Experience, Joy. E.g., Coca-Cola

You’re not in a competition when it comes to finding your brand’s voice, so there’s no need to copy or sound like your competitors.

Create a Brand Voice Chart

Using the brief descriptions above, you can build a chart similar to the one below. It’ll help you know what direction to take when defining the voice of your brand.

Creating a brand voice chart simplifies the processes involved in establishing a brand voice, and it’ll make it a lot easier for your content creators to maintain one standard across several platforms. When it comes to branding, consistency is key.

Source: Marketects

Write Uniformly

Your content team needs to work with clear guidelines that reflect your brand’s voice. It also helps if you set the standards by creating a bunch of content that reflects your brand personality for several situations and platforms. This would help ensure your voice is uniform across these platforms.

Constantly Review

Don’t make the mistake of abandoning your brand voice. As time goes by and the market changes, take the time to review your voice chart and alter any brand description that hasn’t worked well over time. Over time, your audience will show you what brand voice is compelling and true for your brand.

Two Things That Makes a Brand Voice Compelling

In executing an effective marketing strategy, you need a brand voice that speaks to your target audience and captures your business’s mission and values.

Here are some things that make a brand’s voice sweet to the customer’s ears.

1. Having a Solid Brand Personality Tailored To A Specific Audience

Having a great personality makes a brand’s voice compelling to its target audience, and the easiest way to choose your brand personality is to understand the personalities of your target audience and pick a personality that matches theirs.

A brand hoping to target Millennials would need to have a confident, tech-savvy, and goal-oriented personality.

Your brand must stay true to its personality while it adapts to changing times. Remember, your brand should maintain a constant brand message. Don’t alter based on brand giants or your competitors.

2. Understanding Brand Tones

Content creation is one primary way a brand speaks, and some of the best ways customers get to hear that voice is through:

• Blogs and web content
• Social media content
• Emails

How your message sounds is a lot more important to the customer than what you’re saying.

The best way to reach your customers and grow your business is to set the tone for your brand and communicate emotionally.

You’ll want to make sure that, depending on the niche, your brand’s message is communicated to your customers in either a pragmatic, classic, modern, playful, or emotional tone.

Know that whatever tone you choose must fit your brand’s voice.

Selecting a Brand Tone

One of the best ways your marketing team can set your brand for success is to carefully select the best tone that’s consistent with your brand’s personality. To do this effectively, you must know why customers are excited about your brand.

Understand that a brand’s tone isn’t the same as a brand’s voice. For one, a brand tone can change depending on the message being communicated. A brand’s voice cannot, and should not, change based on message.

Share Your Brand Voice With Everyone

Communicate the voice of your brand across all channels by sharing your brand voice guidelines with all employees across the business. This is a crucial step, as customers will notice if the voice is uniform across the sales team in chats and phone calls, but not when they talk with billing or support.

Ensure all customer-facing teams are aware of brand voice and values.

With all teams in alignment with how your brand is perceived, your customers will enjoy your brand voice across any team they interact with.

The post How To Create Your Brand Voice appeared first on Liquid Web.

With much of our world shifting online in the past few months, reliable web hosting has become a critical business necessity. Whether you are hosting websites, applications, or office infrastructure, it is vital to have the right plan with the right resources.

But how do you choose from the different types of web hosting?

Web hosting options abound and can be overwhelming for the average user.

There are undoubtedly many things to consider outside of the hosting choices themselves. Business owners need to consider budget, age of the project, third party software licenses (where applicable), and the list goes on.

Business owners need to evaluate their needs when it comes to specific web hosting offerings.

We seek to ease your stress by noting the different types of web hosting available and for whom they work best.

What are the Types of Web Hosting?

Shared Hosting

Shared hosting is web hosting where single sites get placed on a single server with other websites, all sharing RAM, CPU, storage, and bandwidth resources. These types of web hosting plans are typically the least expensive of the hosting options. Because of the sharing of resources across multiple websites, performance and security can also suffer.

For those just starting with a brand new site, shared hosting is a good starting point. The low cost is attractive but is only fit for static websites with not a lot of traffic. Businesses that aim to scale quickly should consider other hosting options with independent resources.

VPS Hosting

Virtual Private Server Hosting (VPS) is a dynamic virtualized hosting server within a parent server on cloud infrastructure. While many VPS servers can exist on the parent server, the resources get explicitly dedicated to the user, unlike shared hosting.

A cluster of servers makes up the cloud infrastructure behind VPS servers. The server instances themselves are independent partitions of the parent server with a set allocation of resources to each server instance.

They are single-tenant, which means the RAM, CPU cores, and storage is specific to a single user instead of being shared among many users.

A central feature of VPS hosting is root access. Users have full control of the environment and can carry out more configuration tweaks.

Liquid Web’s VPS Hosting offers all of this in upgradeable instances with packaged bandwidth. In addition to root-level access, users also get Secure Shell (SSH) and Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) access. InterWorx, cPanel, and Plesk are the available control panels for Linux, and we offer Plesk for Windows servers.

A VPS solution is a great option if you are hosting a few websites and applications that are not resource-intensive. They are also the perfect solution for file storage and sharing.

Cloud Dedicated Hosting

Cloud Dedicated hosting is a single-instance dynamic virtualized hosting server on a parent server on cloud infrastructure. Both exist on the parent server, and the resources get explicitly dedicated to the user. The primary differentiation is the fact that a Cloud Dedicated server is the only server instance on the parent server.

Often called Hybrid Dedicated servers, Cloud Dedicated server hosting also gets backed by clustered cloud infrastructure.

Cloud Dedicated servers from Liquid Web provide options to fit the needs of business owners, Resellers, and agencies needing dedicated resources in an easily scalable virtual server. Whether you’re hosting resource-intensive websites and applications, multiple sites and apps, databases, or want simple upgrade options, Cloud Dedicated servers will work for you.

Dedicated Hosting

Dedicated hosting is a single-tenant environment where physical server hardware and resources belong to a single user. Primarily, the owner of the dedicated server operates off of the physical components with the operating system, web server stack, and optional control panel for their hosting environment.

Dedicated servers are popular among resellers and agencies hosting a large number of small websites and applications. They are also great for more significant sites and apps that need more resources.

Liquid Web has been in the industry for several years, offering Dedicated Hosting solutions. We have everything from smaller, single processor options to larger configurations with dual processors. And customizing your server hardware is easy to do with multiple options available from storage, RAM, chassis, and bandwidth.

Cloud Hosting

There are many implementations of cloud hosting environments. Cloud Hosting in general refers to a network infrastructure that includes multiple physical servers connected via software. Both the private and public clouds are forms of cloud hosting.

Private Cloud

Private Cloud hosting solution is a single-tenant environment. A single organization can take advantage of a cluster of servers in a private cloud environment and use the combined resources to fit their needs.

By leveraging software like VMware, businesses can create as many virtual machines as can be handled to run their SaaS applications, websites, or other projects. Liquid Web’s Private Cloud powered by VMWare and NetApp provides business owners and digital agencies a premier private cloud solution to stand up to today’s demands.

Public Cloud

On the other side of the spectrum from the private cloud is Public Cloud Hosting. Public cloud is a multi-tenant hosting environment where multiple organizations reside in the same hosting environment, siloed from one another.

It is elastic and scalable, much like a private cloud, but the infrastructure is not specific to one organization. The cluster is much more robust and managed by the provider, offering business owners the ability to deploy scalable solutions quickly. It is also more cost-effective than a private cloud since the provider removes the burden of organizations paying for an individual cluster.

Liquid Web is proud to bring our Cloud Servers solution to the masses. For customers looking to move their workload to the cloud and eliminate in-house hardware, this is the solution. Customers can reduce hardware costs for their websites and applications while gaining redundancy and high availability.

Specialized Hosting

Several other solutions exist within the realm of the above-mentioned hosting options. They are either built on top of, or combinations of, traditional or cloud solutions to create a complex infrastructure that meets your specific hosting needs.

Enterprise Hosting

Enterprise customers have needs that go beyond basic hosting. They deal with large amounts of traffic and need highly available solutions with no downtime. Disaster recovery is a must.

For Enterprise customers, Cloud Hosting is not always what they want. They often prefer dedicated infrastructure, running their sites and applications directly off of physical server hardware. They then duplicate it, and failover to another replicated setup should something happen to the production environment.

Liquid Web offers hosting for the Enterprise, including dedicated server clusters, high-performance setups equipped with load balancing, and high availability environments with failover.

HIPAA Compliant Hosting

HIPAA Compliant Hosting is dedicated hosting secured behind lock and key that can only be accessed by specific users with logs maintained, and specific processes followed to ensure data integrity and security at all times.

For business owners dealing with Protected Health Information (PHI) or Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI), it is essential to have hosting that meets HIPAA requirements. The fines for loss or compromise of PHI can be steep, so it is imperative to ensure proper implementation of HIPAA hosting.

An independent auditing firm validated and confirmed that our data centers are compliant with HIPAA security and privacy guidelines. Their findings include administrative, physical, and technical safeguard measures.

Liquid Web has HIPAA Compliant dedicated server packages specific to the needs of those hosting PHI and ePHI. Speak with a hosting advisor today to ensure that you have the right solution and the information you need to get your HIPAA environment set up.

How Do I Choose Which Type of Web Hosting is Right for Me?

With the plethora of web hosting options available, how do you choose which hosting is right for your business? Keep the following guidelines in mind as you make your choice:

• Choose VPS Hosting if you are hosting a few websites and applications that are not resource-intensive.
• Choose Cloud Dedicated Hosting if you are hosting resource-intensive websites and applications, multiple sites and apps, databases, or want simple upgrade options.
• Choose Dedicated Hosting if you are a reseller or agency hosting a large number of small websites and applications or have significant sites and apps that need more resources. Also, choose this hosting option if you need more customizable storage options.
• Choose Private Cloud Hosting to leverage the cloud to create as many virtual machines as can be handled to run your SaaS applications, websites, or other projects.
• Choose Public Cloud Hosting if you are looking to move your workload to the cloud and eliminate in-house hardware. Also, choose this option to reduce hardware costs for your websites and applications while gaining redundancy and high availability.
• Choose Enterprise Hosting for complex needs requiring dedicated server clusters, high-performance setups equipped with load balancing, and high availability environments with failover.

Ready to get started? Speak with a hosting advisor today to set up the hosting environment that’s right for you.

The post What are the Different Types of Web Hosting? appeared first on Liquid Web.

VMware is a global leader in cloud infrastructure. VMware, founded in 1998, brought revolution to the IT industry with its virtualization and cloud solutions. Today, the company has 75.000 partners across the globe. These partners are coming from various industries such as banking, healthcare, retail, telecommunications, and other various industries.

We are proud to be one of those VMware partners.

In this article, we will introduce you to VMware Private Cloud Hosting, a revolutionary cloud solution for business owners seeking to consolidate infrastructure and gain high availability.

What is VMware Private Cloud?

VMware Private Cloud is a service through which you have the ability of connecting two or more physical servers into one. All of the resources from physical servers or nodes are joined together into a single pool of resources which can be distributed across virtual machines (VMs) that you deploy on your nodes.

Think about Private Cloud as a massive pool of resources which is capable of spreading those resources on-demand. When you need them, where you need them.”

Are There Different Types of Private Cloud?

Just like any other hosting solution, private cloud has three different types of the services.

Virtual Private Cloud

A Virtual Private Cloud is a remotely-hosted private cloud instance located within a public cloud. This type of Private Cloud is a bit different from the rest, because it exists in a separate area of public cloud instead of being hosted on-premises.

Hosted Private Cloud

A Hosted Private Cloud is a type of cloud hosted by a cloud service provider on-premises, most likely in a data center. This type of cloud isn’t shared with other organizations, and the cloud service provider is the one who manages the network and takes care of the hardware that is behind the cloud. Software updates are also taken care of by the cloud provider.

Managed Private Cloud

A Managed Private Cloud is the type of private cloud that we are offering. A Managed Private Cloud hosting provider is responsible for networking, hardware, software, and day-to-day operations of the private cloud. With this being a managed service that has few different deployments, we are also offering a couple of additional perks with our product, including our dedicated vCenter to safeguard your data, and VMware backups that are powered by Acronis Cyber Backup. The Managed Private Cloud can save businesses considerable time and money in the long run.

Liquid Web Private Cloud Powered by VMware and NetApp

Our Private Cloud solution gives you all the benefits of a public cloud with the sheer strength, flawless performance, and fortress-like security of an isolated infrastructure on dedicated hardware.

Specifically, we are offering a managed VMware environment that uses ESXi to virtualize two or more physical servers and create guest VMs that operate on a hardware cluster backed by NetApp SAN.

The number of virtual machines that you can create depends only on the resource that you have at your disposal.

Before we explore the technology further, let’s explore the terminology and technology behind VMware.

ESXi

ESXi is a bare metal hypervisor. A hypervisor is a virtual machine monitor, or a virtualization software, that allows you to create and manage your virtual machines. ESXi is installed directly onto the physical server.

Some of the features that ESXi is offering are:

• User-friendly experience due to modern user interface based on HTML5
• Enhanced security because of the powerful encryption capabilities
• Reliable performance because you are able to apply individual solutions to each of yours virtual machines

If you are considering a managed private cloud, Liquid Web can provide you with an unmanaged private cloud which can be used for custom licensing.

Hardware Cluster (HW Cluster)

Hardware clustering is a hardware-based method to combine two or more servers (nodes) into a cluster that will work as a single system.

NetApp Storage Area Network (SAN)

A NetApp Storage Area Network (SAN) is the most used storage networking architecture when it comes to enterprise setups. SAN stores your data within centralized shared storage, and all data travels through the network. That way you get much better performance, latency is lower, and it costs less than to run old fashioned hard disk drives (HDDs).

How Does VMware Private Cloud Work?

Everything starts with the NetAPP Storage Area Network (SAN), your storage entity that is operated by System Manager software. The NetAPP SAN array then sends the data to storage switches.

A storage switch is a device which is routing traffic between your clustered servers and your SAN.

The storage switches then route data to your nodes or clustered servers. Each of the servers (nodes) can have unlimited numbers of virtual machines running on them; your resources limit the amount of virtual machines possible.

Once your nodes, and the virtual machines on them, receive the data from storage switches, your developers can apply necessary patches or tweaks to your application or website. After that, they can deploy to a live environment.

Next, the data is sent from the virtual machines on your nodes to firewall switches and through the hardware firewall.

A firewall switch is a device similar to the storage switch. The purpose of a firewall switch is to route traffic from your virtual machines and nodes to the hardware firewall, and vice versa.

A hardware firewall is a physical device that filters traffic that is coming and going from your cluster with rules set to block malicious traffic from entering your server.

Once traffic reaches a hardware firewall and it is filtered, it is ready to be served on the Internet.

What Features Come With VMware Private Cloud?

VMware vSphere High Availability (HA)

This is pure gold when it comes to making sure that your application or site runs all the time, no matter what happens. vSphere HA monitors all server hosts that are running in ESXi, and it is detecting for critical failures.

In case one of the virtual machines goes down for any reason, vSphere HA will immediately failover anything that was going on in that VM to another VM that is up and running. On top of that, vSphere HA will check if there are enough available resources to restart the VM that is down. If there are enough resources, the VM with the critical failure will be restarted.

Distributed Resource Scheduler

A Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS) makes sure that all virtual machines that are deployed always have enough resources to run properly.

For example, let’s say that your VMware setup includes two nodes, with each node running five virtual machines. Suddenly, one of the virtual machines on one of the nodes starts to get overloaded with traffic and thus begins to consume more resources. DRS will notice the resource imbalance due to increased traffic, and will move the VM between hosts to make sure that resources are balanced.

vMotion

VMware vMotion is used to perform live migrations without service interruption. You can migrate everything that you deployed between the hosts, and everything will be accessible during the migration.

Yes, zero downtime during the process! vMotion is today’s standard when it comes to live migrations.

Migrations are performed through a migration wizard, which quickly identifies the best host to migrate your virtual machine to. It uses real-time information gathered by the migration wizard. You will always know how much resources you have, as well as how much resources the VM that you are migrating to will have.

vMotion can also run multiple migrations at once.

Storage vMotion

Storage vMotion works very similar to vMotion. The main difference is that vMotion moves workloads between hosts, while Storage vMotion is moving virtual machines between your disks and storage media in your SAN with zero downtime.

vSWAP

This technology comes in handy when you are working with limited resource and constrained workloads. vSwap allows your virtual machines to use the memory of the hosts on which they are running instead of the disk memory, which can improve performance dramatically when your disk memory is having a tough time with the workload.

VMware Snapshots

With VMware Snapshots, you can make any changes on your setup without the fear of completely destroying months and months of work. Just save a snapshot of your virtual machine before you make changes, and if something goes seriously wrong, you can roll back to the snapshot. You can have multiple snapshots stored at once (up to 32 snapshots total), but VMware suggests that you do not keep a single snapshot for more than 72 hours.

Enhanced vMotion Compatibility

Enhanced vMotion Compatibility (EVC) makes sure that you avoid any failures during migrations or upgrades due to incompatible CPUs. EVC achieves this by ensuring that all hosts in a cluster present the same CPU feature set to virtual machines, even if the actual CPUs on the hosts differ. To put it simply, EVC is masking the CPU that is showing to the virtual machines.

Thin Disk Provisioning

Thin Disk Provisioning ensures that virtual machines that you deploy use the amount of disk space that they actually need, no matter how much disk space you provision for a virtual machine during the deployment. This type of disk provisioning is enabled because we are using ESXi for our hypervisor.

In the image below you can see an example on how disk space is utilized with Thin Disk Provisioning.

Liquid Web’s VMware Private Cloud Packages and Management

With Liquid Web’s VMware Private Cloud, all of the technologies above are included in all of our plans. Best of all, our Private Cloud is a fully managed product, which means that we take care of everything for you, giving you more time to focus on growing your business.

Below is a complete breakdown of what we are managing for you, and what you have access to, in your Private Cloud.

As you can see, all the major aspects of the private cloud are handled by Liquid Web.

Please note: Liquid Web only supports CentOS 7 and Windows 2016 operating systems at this time. You do have the option to use other operating systems if you prefer, but we will not support those. Also, we support cPanel and Interworx on CentOS 7, as well as Plesk on CentOS 7 and Windows. Core managed and unmanaged versions of CentOS 7 and Windows 2016 can also be applied on your virtual machines, if you so choose.

What Are Some Real World Use Case Examples of VMware Private Cloud?

Point-of-Sale (POS) Software

Let’s say that you have developed a point-of-sale (POS) software which will run on Mac, Android, or PC. Let’s also say that your software plugs into WooCommerce directly. Your whole product would have to be composed of a bunch of smaller components. Ideally, you would want to run web servers, java application servers, a database server, and additional various services. All of these components would have to be logically separated with uptime as a key component, since POS systems need to be online at all times.

Liquid Web’s Private Cloud is the perfect solution for this type of setup! If anything goes amiss, the VMware software that is running on our Private Cloud will move all VMs to another node, and uptime will continue to be achieved.

Business-to-Business eCommerce Application

In our second scenario, let’s say that you are running an application that is constantly creating small virtual machines on your nodes. Those virtual machines are constantly gathering data which is stored and written in a database. Now, imagine if your database server goes down while a massive query is underway.

On a dedicated or VPS server, a database server going down would probably corrupt the database, and restoring the server would cause some downtime. However, with VMware Private Cloud, you have nothing to worry about. VMware can sustain these types of issues and you won’t have to rebuild your application on the virtual machine. You may see a moment of downtime, and then your query will continue to run just like it did before the database server went down.

Booking and Client Management Software

Now imagine that you are building a booking application for a client that is running a chain of Spa Salons across the state of Michigan. This means that your software has to be quite big to manage such high numbers of clients in several different locations. Suddenly, the booking application receives a spike of 400 new bookings for the next two days at one of the locations. All of those bookings have to be processed, and at this point the Distributed Resource Scheduler kicks in and redistributes resources from other virtual machines to assist. Additionally, vMotion will come in handy for setups like this because VMs will run out of space eventually and upgrades can be done with no downtime.

Is VMware Private Cloud Right For Me?

In today’s hosting world, high availability and resources on-demand are something that will keep you in front of the competition. VMware Private Cloud provides all the tools necessary for your business to host successful websites and applications for years to come.

The post What is VMware Private Cloud? appeared first on Liquid Web.

The needs of businesses and corporations are rapidly changing. A global pandemic has changed how we do business, how we live, and how we work. More than ever, we are looking to managed hosting providers and cloud computing to meet the demand for quarantine and work from home orders. But how can you compare one vps hosting provider to another?

More than ever, we rely on virtual and cloud computing to connect teams of all sizes to complete our day to day tasks. We also rely on cloud servers to keep our websites and applications running. Our businesses need servers that offer the best performance for the platforms that keep sites going.

Fortunately, there are many VPS hosting providers to compare from to meet your pricing needs. But, where performance is concerned, there is one clear winner: Liquid Web.

Liquid Web’s VPS Hosting Outperforms Its Closest Competitors in LAMP Stack Performance

Cloud Spectator conducted performance studies on four major cloud service providers. The report breaks down performance in five categories: Virtual Processor (vCPU) Performance, Random Read/Write IOPS, Apache Web Server Performance, MySQL Mixed Workload, and PHP Performance.

We must keep in mind that this comparison is a server-side performance test. Your mileage may vary when it comes to the site or application you have developed. The VPS hosting comparison performed by Cloud Spectator tests server performance for platforms that rely on the LAMP stack. Such platforms include WordPress, Joomla, or other commonly used CMS and eCommerce software.

What is the LAMP Stack?

The LAMP Stack is the collection of web service software for Linux servers. LAMP is an acronym for the original four software components that make up the “stack” or suite of software:

• L – The Linux Operating System
• A – Apache Web (HTTP) Server
• M – MySQL relational database management system
• P – PHP programming (scripting) language

The components of the stack are interchangeable with other options that exist. These are the necessary components with which most Linux servers start.

To measure the performance of websites for this study, Cloud Spectator examined the performance of Cloud Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and each piece of the LAMP stack.

How Testing Was Done and the Data Collected

Cloud Spectator collected data on entry-level virtual machines (VMs) across Liquid Web (VPS), Amazon, Rackspace, and DigitalOcean for 48 hours. In those 48 hours, Cloud Spectator ran multiple types of performance tests. The median results are in their report.

The VMs tested with each provider were as follows:

• Amazon AWS: C5.Large with SSD EBS – US East
• DigitalOcean: 4GB Compute Optimized – US East (NYC)
• Liquid Web: 2GB SSD VPS – US Central (Zone C)
• Rackspace Cloud: Compute Optimized 4GB – US Central (Dallas-Fort Worth)

The Linux operating system used in this testing was Ubuntu 16.04 LTS.

LAMP Stack Performance Results

vCPU Performance

The virtual processor (vCPU) of a VPS what a standard CPU is to a physical computer. The vCPU performs the server’s processing tasks, such as reading and writing data, compressing images, or encrypting data. It aids in delivering the desired website experience to the user.

The faster a processor completes its tasks, the better the performance users will experience. Cloud Spectator ran several processor-intensive jobs across Amazon, DigitalOcean, Liquid Web, and Rackspace VMs. The results show Liquid Web leading in the rankings for single-core vCPU performance.

Random Read/Write IOPS Performance

To measure Disk I/O (input/output) or storage performance, they looked at the results for Random Read/Write IOPS (input/output operations per second). IOPS is a metric commonly used to measure disk I/O performance.

When it comes to blogs, eCommerce sites, and mobile apps, a considerable amount of files get stored. These files need to be updated or refreshed periodically, which means faster read/write performance directly impacts your website or application’s responsiveness.

Random read/write performance can have a notable impact on any I/O intensive application’s performance. Some such applications are Magento, WooCommerce, and many other eCommerce content management systems (CMS). While it is essential to have fast read performance, what matters most to business owners when traffic is high is how many orders your CMS application can handle. Liquid Web provides the top disk performance no matter what the application requirements are.

Apache WebServer Performance

Apache Webserver is a widespread web server that handles client request traffic to your website or application. Other commonly used web servers are Nginx or LiteSpeed. For this test, each server was running Apache.

The more per second requests Apache can serve, the more responsive the website or application is. The number of website requests depends on the vCPU performance, examined previously.

Performance data for Apache was collected by running Apache and Apache Benchmark on the same VM (localhost) to isolate VM performance. Liquid Web’s VPS offers the best raw Web server performance.

MySQL Mixed Workload

MySQL is a database management system that stores all of the critical information that a website needs to deliver a fully dynamic and vibrant Web experience to your end-users. If a user is required to login to access specific parts of your website, the user identity and credentials would presumably get stored in a MySQL database. Additionally, customers who purchase something from your online store will search (reads) and refresh (writes) the online store’s database.

Cloud Spectator created a test for MySQL databases to examine the performance of each server type. They included both reads/writes to the database. The database comprised roughly 5 million rows and was reviewed with 24 simultaneous threads to ensure requests were coming in and out continuously, stress-testing the system. The results illustrate Liquid Web’s superior database performance.

PHP Performance

PHP is a programming language commonly used by many popular Content Management Systems. One of PHP’s most prevalent use cases is to generate the dynamic content on a website and query MySQL for precise data. For example, PHP will produce the registration page and transfer it to MySQL, which will store that information in the database for long-term retention and future transactions.

Apache and PHP must perform as quickly as possible to avoid website performance degradation. eCommerce stores rely on transaction speed and response time. PHP performance is measured by testing numerous aspects of the PHP interpreter used by VMs to execute PHP code. The PHP interpreter performance is directly affected by the vCPU. Better vCPU performance translates to high PHP performance, although various other aspects of the VM and operating system (OS) may also impact performance.

In the tests performed by Cloud Spectator, Liquid Web’s PHP performance topped the competition.

VPS Hosting Comparison: Why is Liquid Web Better?

What sets Liquid Web’s performance apart is a combination of best practices and ingenuity. Our servers, built specifically for high performance and incredible speed, are the direct result of our team’s technical prowess, technology knowhow, and a drive to implement the best products for our customers.

We’re incredibly proud of the performance results we see from our VPS Hosting. The performance comparison showcases the real power of our Cloud Platform. Liquid Web’s VPS Hosting surpasses our competitors in vCPU Performance, Random Read/Write IOPS, Apache Web Server Performance, MySQL Mixed Workload, and PHP Performance.

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Disclosure: Bolden Beauty: By Black Girls, For Black Girls contains press samples provided by the Bolden. In addition, this post contains affiliate links. Bolden is a skincare brand founded by two black women. Their brand carries products specifically for darker skin tones. Since the creation of Bolden, Target now carries Bolden, which is an amazing milestone. The brand reached out Fall 2018 to try a few products from the line. Check out what claims the brand makes and my thoughts and decide whether Bolden offers products that would improve your skincare routine. Skin Clarifying Cleanser, $16.50 Bolden Skin Clarifying Cleanser is described as a gentle, pH balanced formulation that addresses the needs of anyone with dull, congested and breakout prone skin. My thoughts: Cleansers go down the drain, so their importance in a routine is minimal, as you will rarely see benefits from just cleansing. Bolden clarifying cleanser is your typical cleanser that does what it’s supposed to do- it cleanses. Peeking at the ingredients list, I’d advise anyone with sensitive skin to beware, as this cleanser contains artificial fragrance and three dyes. There are also no ingredients to decongest as it claims. Does it cleanse? Sure it does. It’s a cleanser. Bolden Skin Brightening Toner, $19.50 Bolden Skin Brightening Glycolic Acid Toner is described as a toner that promises to dimish dark spots, tighten pores, prevent breakouts and control oil and shine. My thoughts: Bolden Skin Brightening Toner is a medley of witch hazel, niacinamide, glycolic acid, sodium hyaluronate, and antioxidants. One ingredient that caught my eye was corn starch, typically used skincare formulas for oily skin, which makes a good thing better. It’s gentle like a hydrating toner and powerful like an exfoliant without stinging and burning. Bolden Nighttime Repair Serum, $29.50 Bolden Nighttime Repair Serum claims to target damage caused by acne, sun exposure and aging. It features 10% glycolic acid. My thoughts: It’s rare that I run across glycolic acid serums as everyone typically adds it toners, so it was refreshing to see it in serum form. It is packaged in an airless pump (5 stars!!) and dispenses like a gel lotion and quickly absorbs. It is not greasy, so it’s not going to be heavy enough to double as a moisturizer. Always wear your AHA’s at night and follow this serum up with a good moisturizer for max efficacy. Bolden Brightening Moisturizer SPF 30, $28 Bolden Brightening Moisturizer is described as a broad spectrum sun protectant that improves skin texture and appearance My thoughts: I fell in love with the moisturizer at first sight of the ingredients list. Shea butter meets linoleic acid meets a gentle version of vitamin c meets squalane. Because this line of products was created by black women, for black women, the SPF does not leave a white cast on the skin. I would highly recommend adding a Hyaluronic Acid serum to the equation to add some hydration. Unfortunately, I have to add a buyer beware footnote, as this moisturizer does contain fragrance. If you are sensitive to products that contain fragrance, skip this one. The smell is a bit odd and lingers. I secretly wonder if they really needed the fragrance. Bolden also offers other products including: Glow Hydrating Mask Clear Skin Clay Mask Overnight Spot Treatment Check out everything Bolden has to offer by visiting their website. Target does not carry the brand’s full SKU, but they do carry the cleanser, toner, glycolic acid serum, and clay mask.

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