Two weeks ago while attending LISA (the Large Installation System Administration conference), I heard many times that open source software is the way to go; after all, “you can’t beat free”. During one of the classes, someone from a university IT department pointed out that open source software is “free like a free puppy”. To the bemusement of the attendees, he explained his point. A free puppy still comes with costs –training, shots, food, etc.
Most IT decision makers understand that “free” software really isn’t free, so what factors go into the decision to use open source software over something proprietary?
Numerous surveys have been done to try and determine why someone would choose open source software. Surprisingly, few people rank cost as the number one reason (this figure varies, but is often around one in five). Although the software comes with no initial upfront fee, it still needs to be supported and maintained. Factors like staff training can add significantly to the cost of supporting a platform, as can the need to develop management tools that integrate into the infrastructure. Vendors, like Red Hat, offer training programs and certifications to help companies find staff with the necessary skills. Red Hat also offers tools to help manage an enterprise built on their flavor of Linux, along with their own technical support. None of these options are free, even though the core operating system is open source.
That said, one area where lower costs can be seen is in scalability. Once you have the staff at your disposal, you can rapidly scale out an open source platform without additional license fees (assuming you go with a truly free OS). Proprietary software (such as Windows) comes with a per-instance cost that grows with your server population. This is also true for a “supported” open source OS like Red Hat.
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The PCI Council introduced the PCI version 1.2.1 specification earlier this year, and there has been a lot of clarification done so the specification makes more sense; however,, there is still a lot of help needed in deciphering exact needs and next steps. Face it: it all comes down to what you have to do to be compliant. Well, a Managed Host can offload some of that confusion. At INetU, we can work with you and provide guidance to the 12 section PCI specification. Here is a nice little overview about how INetU can help you on your way to PCI compliance.
Requirement 1 – Requirement 1 deals with the network topology’s overall security, including items like Routers, switches, and firewalls. The overall security policy and implementation of those devices are key. INetU can work with you to build a strong rule set for your managed firewall, and we can secure network topology with segmentation to encompass your servers here. The rest of INetU’s network Infrastructure outside your environment is covered via INetU’s PCI Level 1 Service Provider compliance.
Requirement 2 – This requirement deals with securing the devices/systems. Items like removing default vendor supplied passwords, strong configuration standards, and encrypting administrative access are key here. INetU provides a strong configuration standard, based on NIST and SANS requirements, that includes changing default passwords. INetU can also provide VPN capable firewalls so that administrative access to your servers is encrypted.
Requirement 3 – PCI Requirement 3 deals with protection of the cardholder data that can be stored on your servers. INetU can help provides good guidelines on how to handle such information, as well as provide tools to check for this type of data on your servers, and whether it meets the correct requirements. A lot of these requirements are best practices in terms of secure data. INetU can not only work with you on best practices and options for key management, but help decipher some of the specifics in this requirement.
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LVM doesn’t have anything to do with clairvoyance, but it’s a nice idea. What LVM does do is help you to better use your space. Administration was easier when drives were small (9GB, 20GB, etc…), but now we have single drives as large as 1.5TB! Put a few of those big drives into a RAID array and you’ve got a ton of space to deal with. Even if you go through meticulous planning before slicing up your storage, we all know that storage requirements often change over time.
By managing your storage with LVM, you gain the following benefits:
- Online Resizing: You can grow and shrink storage while it’s online and in use.
- Snapshots: Snapshots can be used for consistent backups and testing. Snapshots can be read-only or read/write.
- Data Relocation: Data can be moved to facilitate efficient upgrades.
The basic storage elements used by LVM are:
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Minimizing traffic loss and preventing downtime in a server migration comes down to planning. If you do not take care when you move your website, significant outages can take place. This translates to a number of potential negative consequences for your business including revenue loss, impact on search engine rankings, and damaged customer relationships.
Most failed server migrations can be traced back to poor planning and/or a lack of careful execution of a plan. If planned and executed right, successful migrations can result in no downtime or data loss. At minimum, you can severely reduce the impact of a server transfer by following this easy 5 step approach.
What you need to pull this off:
- Server environments running parallel at your current host and new host. This is a minimum requirement to transition smoothly because taking your old servers down before uploading your data on new servers equals major downtime.
- The ability to control DNS transfer at the record level with the ability to control Time to Live (TTL) – either through a control panel or via helpful hosting company admins. This is critical in minimizing the time it takes the rest of the Internet to recognize your DNS changes.
- Attention to detail, because without it you may lose critical data.
Step 1: Setup DNS at your new host before the cutover.
A great way to execute this transfer is to set up DNS at your new host before the “real” DNS cutover. In the new host’s name servers, point the appropriate DNS records related to what you are moving (http, etc.) to your current servers at your current host and set TTL reasonably low (about 10-60 minutes). Most networks on the Internet will recognize DNS changes based on Time to Live, which means if you set this up right, once you make that real cutover traffic will flow to the new servers much quicker. By default, this type of transfer would take anywhere from 12-24 hours to be recognized. That is a lot of time to have customers visiting both sets of servers.
Step 2: At the registrar, point your name servers to the new host.
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FindMyHosts’ Editor’s Choice Awards for November 2009 are out, and INetU Managed Hosting has claimed the top spot for the managed hosting category!
The Editor’s Choice Award is given to hosts who are “honest, reliable, and excel in all areas” – especially technical support. We are honored to have received the Editor’s Choice award nine times, with five alone being within the past year!
Established in January 2001 to help consumers and web developers choose a host, FindMyHost, Inc, is an online magazine showcasing web hosting companies who have undergone their approved host program testing. The company also provides customer and editor reviews, hosting news, interviews, and more.
Many thanks to our excellent staff for helping us achieve this honor, and another big thanks to FindMyHost for such a great award!
