Feb 19 2007

Virtuozzo VPS Virtual Private Servers now available

Our new VZ based Virtual Private Servers (VPS) are now available.

VPS is an intermediate step between a shared hosting solution and a dedicated server, giving you a “slice” of a powerful managed server, with much greater control than could be offered in a shared environment.

More details will be available this week at UK Virtual Private Servers

Immediate benefits of upgrading from shared to VPS…

  • Ability to configure software to your exact requirements
  • Ability to have sub-resellers (under cpanel/whm)
  • Ability to use SSH for shell access

Permanent link to this article: https://blog.astutium.com/2007/02/virtuozzo-vps-virtual-private-servers-now-available/

Feb 13 2007

ICANN Says Nuclear Response Is Imminent

In the wake of the Registerfly.com fiasco ICANN anounced that they are going to use their powers and nuke RegFlys Accreditation.

RegisterFly have 2 weeks to solve the customer complaints issues or face termination.

ICANNs letter to them includes a comprehensive shopping list of complaints filed against Registerfly over the past two years and multiple failed attempts to get the company to meet its obligations.

Registerfly’s conduct has fallen far short of both its responsibilities to the public and its agreements. We therefore provide this formal notice of breach of Registerfly’s Registrar Accreditation Agreement with ICANN.
reports ICANN

900,000 domains currently cannot be managed, transferred or renewed – and over 20,000 domains has been lost already.

Yet another example of why “cheap” does not equal “best”
For those not involved in domain names a quick recap:

  • Kevin Medina starts RegisterFly, an enom reseller.
  • After getting a lot of customers by being cheaper than going to enom directly, decided they’d take on the big-boys/
  • Applied for and receieved ICANN accreditation, got a bit big-for-their-boots, p!ssed off lots of people.
  • Medina then (apparantly) gets sacked over the cock-ups
  • Letters about it originally published on the RegFly blogs are removed.
  • Due to the number of client complaints, enom tried to rescue/recovr the majority of the clientbase.
  • Medina hacks into the regfly systems locking out staff and clients from domain management
  • And now the FBI are involved, helping make a major fruckup of the whole thing.

The official rant site Registerflies.com is a worthwhile read, and they are currently warning all Registerfly.com customers to cease doing any transactions with the registration company immediately. The locked out Registerfly staff are now turning to Registerflies.com the to pass information on to customers whose domains are now in jeopardy.

Permanent link to this article: https://blog.astutium.com/2007/02/icann-says-nuclear-response-is-imminent/

Feb 13 2007

New Website Launched

Finally we have more than 75% of the old content transferred into our shiny new Etomite CMS based website. All PHP and friendly …

So in order to speed up the process of testing and tidyup we’ve put the new site live, and awaiting the flood of client complaints about the new templates and colour schemes 🙂

In all seriousness we do actually read and appreciate peoples comments about the website and services, so any comments on the new style and content of www.astutium.com would be much appreciated – just submit errors and suggestions through the support system in the client portal and the web masters and mistresses will read, decide appropriate action and process accordingly.

The remainder of the ordering and product functionality should be live by the end of February.

Permanent link to this article: https://blog.astutium.com/2007/02/new-website-launched/

Jan 18 2007

“No Frills Internet” ValueColo service closes… and Astutium Colo opens

We have decided to close our budget collocation service, formerly at http://www.valuecolo.co.uk

Due to ever increasing datacentre prices, primarily in the trebling of space costs, and ever growing need for ups (and generator) backed up power feeds, we would have had to increase the pricing for new colo’d servers, which brought the budget service almost to the entry levels of our corporate colo service.

That combined with the majority of the support being generated by the Value Colocation brand’s cheap “do-it-yourself” customers (1471 requests, as opposed to 188 for the Managed Corporate colo) meant that those paying the least needed the most handholding, but were unwilling to the premium prices for the support they required !

Effective 1st December 2006, we stopped taking new orders at Value Colo, and have now moved all of the budget and premium clients onto our rebranded UK London Docklands Colocation service, and balanced the new pricing structure between the budget and corporate services into a single set of offerings.

As part of the Astutium Colo launch, effective January 16th 2007, we have secured an additional 24 racks of colo space in London for ongoing expansions.

Astutium Ltd are the largest UK independent providers of managed collocation, with over 2000 servers under our control across 3 continents and 5 datacentres.

Permanent link to this article: https://blog.astutium.com/2007/01/no-frills-internet-valuecolo-service-closes-and-astutiumcolo-opens/

Dec 25 2006

Christmas Opening Hours

The London Admin Office will be closed until 2nd January 2007 for the Christmas break.
Sales, Administration and Development departments will re-open on the Tuesday.

Support will continue to be available throughout, DataCentre staff and support teams work 24/7/365.

As always, should you need support, please login to the dedicated support section in the client portal at Astutium Client Portal and create a ticket as usual.

Permanent link to this article: https://blog.astutium.com/2006/12/christmas-opening-hours/

Sep 26 2006

New ADSL Service Launched by Astutium Ltd

ValueADSL merged into Astutium:ADSL range – ADSL Broadband Service including Max (8mbs) and ADSL-2 (24mbs)

Othello ValueADSL.co.uk has now become an integral part of the Astutium Connect::ADSL platform. Offering a fast, reliable, value-for-money quality broadband internet service with low monthly subscriptions.

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://blog.astutium.com/2006/09/new-adsl-service-launched/

Aug 21 2006

.Ax ccTLD (Aland Islands) Becomes Operational

ICANN finally announced that the Aland Islands country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) .ax has now become operational.

The announcement follows formal approval of the new ccTLD by the ICANN Board on the 9/June/2006 and addition of the .ax domain to the root zone shortly afterwards.

The Aland Islands is an autonomous province of Finland, representing a cluster of 6,500 islands located in the Baltic sea between the mainlands of Sweden and Finland.

Its population of 26,200 inhabits just 65 of the islands (the remainder uninhabitable) and has Swedish as the primary language.

Permanent link to this article: https://blog.astutium.com/2006/08/ax-cctld-becomes-operational/

Aug 13 2006

New DataCentre Builds For The Big 3 Search Engines

According to an article published in the New York Times, 8/June/2006, Google Seeks More Power, yet another new massive datacentre is to be constructed utilising the enormous power-generation capabilities of the Columbia River.

This joins MSN and Yahoo!, who already have building works underway in border towns between southern Washington and northern Oregon, all wanting to take advantage of the cheap electricity provided by the powerful mountain river.

With each of the search giants utilising many thousands of servers, availability of adequate power and connectivity are the main concerns in todays datacentre builds, with the equipment, land and staff now being cheap in relative terms. The expected increase in servers and storage systems for the main search engines is to grow from almost a million sytsems now to well over 4 million over the next 5 years.

This will make the Washington/Oregon border towns one of the most densley concentrated internet server locations in the world. During the .com boom massive trunks of fibreoptic cable were laid through the area, with many large companies grabbing as much dark fibre in the area as they can for “pennies on the dollar” of the original cost.

Exactly how these online giants will be improving access to the region has not yet been explained, with each of the datacentre facilities are in highly remote desert and mountain areas. Whilst this may be considered to add to “security” of the plant, it should mean local staffing possibilities, bringing new job prospects to the region.

The current/planned DC builds are …

  • Google will be adding to their existing facilities around The Dalles nr Portland, Oregon.
  • Yahoo are building at Quincy, Washington State.
  • Microsoft are planning theirs at Wenatchee, Washington State.

Expect to see Google sponsoring desert camel treks, and the rebranded (Y!) logo plastered all over extreme sports mountain buggies in the near future, as from looking at aerial photographs of the regions, it looks like they are the only transport methods !

Permanent link to this article: https://blog.astutium.com/2006/08/new-datacentre-builds-for-the-big-3-search-engines/

Feb 22 2006

LINX Scores a Hat Trick with Redbus Interhouse

LINX Scores a Hat Trick with Redbus Interhouse to provide the largest Internet exchange in the world

London, UK, February 22, 2006 (XTVWorld.Com) — The London Internet Exchange (LINX) today announces that its new connection point at Redbus Interhouse’s Meridian Gate has now gone live. By having LINX facilities in each of Redbus Interhouse’s London datacentres, the UK Internet has been dramatically strengthened to provide the LINX network with greater resiliency and redundancy as well as an increased level of service.

LINX enables ISPs and content delivery providers to exchange traffic between their networks. The process – known as ”peering” – allows customers of one LINX member to send and receive data from customers of other members. LINX is one of the largest exchanges in the world and handles up to 96 per cent of UK Internet traffic.

Meridian Gate provides LINX and its members with the very latest world-class resilient infrastructure with multiple levels of 24/7 security and stable high-capacity power supplies. In addition, there is a first class fire protection system, in-house support and environmental controls.

 

John Souter, Managing Director, LINX, comments:
In 2005 we witnessed a significant surge in Internet traffic. As a result the LINX grew more in 2005 than in any other year, and I definitely believe this is because we’re experiencing the beginning of a dotcom resurgence. The connection point at Meridian Gate will provide an increased level of service to both new and existing members as well as offering a more resilient network. Ultimately, it is individual Internet users who will benefit from a system which is more robust.

 

Mike Tobin, CEO, Redbus Interhouse said:
We view LINX’s decision as a great vote of confidence in our services and facilities and we look forward to continuing to support the organisation to deliver its offering to its members, who are also our customers. Now with LINX’s presence in all three of our London sites we see enormous value in strengthening our relationship with them and this reinforces our position as leading colocation providers, enhancing the service we provide our customers.

Customer comments:

Meridian Gate takes the number of sites at which LINX has peering facilities to seven, all of them in London. LINX operates two separate, but parallel, networks linking all these sites, ensuring peace of mind and high security for its members.

 

Within this first week of live connection we’ve been able set up over 40 peering relationships. WFCS is committed to increasing its network outreach and has been very impressed by the service that both LINX and Redbus Interhouse have provided us,
comments Paul Sillars, Managing Director, Wyre Forest Computer Solutions Ltd.

 

Rob Golding, Managing Director, Othello Technology Systems Ltd said,
LINX has already enabled us to forge peering relationships with over 100 other members. Being part of LINX allows us not only to improve network interconnections and redundancy, but provides the opportunity to take an active part in the essential working groups and forums deciding the future of the UK internet.

 

Joining LINX enables us to further develop our OHTele.com network thus improving the service we offer to our 3,500 customers, and the opening of the LINX PoP in Redbus Interhouse’s Meridian Gate has made this far easier for us to accomplish,
commented David Buckle, OHTele.com

Permanent link to this article: https://blog.astutium.com/2006/02/linx-scores-a-hat-trick-with-redbus-interhouse/

Jan 28 2006

Famous (dead) comedians best sketches redone for the techno-age

If Bud Abbott and Lou Costello were still alive, their infamous comedy sketch “Who’s on First?” might have turned out something like this …

Costello telephones a computer retail chain picked from the Yellow Pages

ABBOTT: Super-Duper Computer Sales. How can I help you?

COSTELLO: Thanks. I’m setting up an office in my den and I’m thinking about buying a computer.

ABBOTT: Mac?

COSTELLO: No, the name’s Lou.

ABBOTT: Your computer?

COSTELLO: I don’t own a computer. I want to buy one.

ABBOTT: Mac?

COSTELLO: I told you, my name’s Lou.

ABBOTT: What about Windows?

COSTELLO: Why? Will it get stuffy in here?

ABBOTT: Do you want a computer with Windows?

COSTELLO: I don’t know. What will I see when I look at the windows?

ABBOTT: Wallpaper.

COSTELLO: Never mind the windows. I need a computer and software.

ABBOTT: Software for Windows?

COSTELLO: No. On the computer! I need something I can use to write proposals track expenses and run my business. What do you have?

ABBOTT: Office.

COSTELLO: Yeah, for my office. Can you recommend anything?

ABBOTT: I just did.

COSTELLO: You just did what?

ABBOTT: Recommend something.

COSTELLO: You recommended something?

ABBOTT: Yes.

COSTELLO: For my office?

ABBOTT: Yes.

COSTELLO: OK, what did you recommend for my office?

ABBOTT: Office.

COSTELLO: Yes, for my office!

ABBOTT: I recommend Office with Windows.

COSTELLO: I already have an office with windows! OK, let’s just say I’m sitting at my computer and I want to type a proposal. What do I need?

ABBOTT: Word.

COSTELLO: What word?

ABBOTT: Word in Office.

COSTELLO: The only word in office is office.

ABBOTT: The Word in Office for Windows.

COSTELLO: Which word in office for windows?

ABBOTT: The Word you get when you click the blue “W”.

COSTELLO: I’m going to click your blue “w” if you don’t start with some straight answers. What about financial bookkeeping? You have anything I can track my money with?

ABBOTT: Money.

COSTELLO: That’s right. What do you have?

ABBOTT: Money.

COSTELLO: I need money to track my money?

ABBOTT: It comes bundled with your computer.

COSTELLO: What’s bundled with my computer?

ABBOTT: Money.

COSTELLO: Money comes with my computer?

ABBOTT: Yes. No extra charge.

COSTELLO: I get a bundle of money with my computer? How much?

ABBOTT: One copy.

COSTELLO: Isn’t it illegal to copy money?

ABBOTT: Microsoft gave us a license to copy Money.

COSTELLO: They can give you a license to copy money?

ABBOTT: Why not? THEY OWN IT!

Fast Forward to a few days after delivery…

ABBOTT: Super-Duper Computer Sales. How can I help you?

COSTELLO: How do I turn my computer off?

ABBOTT: Click on “START”…….

Permanent link to this article: https://blog.astutium.com/2006/01/famous-dead-comedians-best-sketches-redone-for-the-techno-age/

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