There’s more progress to report to you this week. This is what we’ll be covering:
Your latest installment of timely (mt) information is here. This is what we’ll be covering in this week’s (gs) Update:
In this week’s (gs) Update, we cover the ongoing progress of transitioning (gs) Clusters 1 and 2 to Gen 2 architecture, more news about Cluster 5, an update on our new Fiji and MySQL5 tech, and a bite-sized Anatomy Of piece explaining the finer details of our transition to Gen 2 storage.
We have some good stuff this week. Internal testing of two new pieces of tech is complete - Fiji Agent (automated cluster migrations) and MySQL 5 for Clusters 1-3. Our efforts to get (gs) Cluster.05 online are coming along nicely. We are making preliminary plans for a GRID-wide software update that will give our customers a refresh of popular software package versions. Various bug fixes and improvements to issue monitoring/response mechanisms are the icing on the cake. Keep reading for more details!
In this update we have a progress report on our transition to a segment-based storage model using Sun hardware, some good news about our cluster migration tool, and we’re announcing the start of our MySQL 5 Upgrade BETA program. We also have an update on the anti-spam and blocklisting front, a followup to our transparency initiative, and some stuff about our future capacity expansion plans. In addition, we’re throwing in an interesting discussion from the (mt) User Forums that our (gs) customers might find interesting.
Released in October 2006, our GRID platform was a first-of-its-kind, market-improving hosting service, created to address the limits set forth by traditional shared-hosting technology.
The GRID was successful at allowing instantaneous increases in resources when needed, but in doing so it pushed the boundaries of what was possible for a $20 monthly service plan. The rapid adoption of this platform led to numerous growing pains in every aspect of the system. In 2007-2008 we fixed and stabilized hundreds of issues and produced stable clusters for the first time.
In 2009, new customers are being provisioned on 2nd-generation systems that are reliable and stable. We regret to admit however that we continue to have 1st-generation architecture in production for a large number of our older customers.
Last weekend’s storage-related incident exposed this condition very widely so we have taken some time to explain ourselves more thoroughly with this article. (more…)
Featuring a fresh new look, the (gs) Server Guide was re-designed from the ground up with a focus on finding what you need with fewer clicks. We hope first time users and (mt) gurus alike will love the changes. We’ve also added a couple of new sections that will definitely prove to be helpful and informative. More info and screenshots after the jump…
Exciting news for Django fans today with the public “Preview” launch of (mt) Django GridContainers! Our newest Container solution has been designed for high-performance Django hosting with support from the Django project team. We timed our release to celebrate the 1.0 launch of Django.
One of the hottest features is the custom control panel which makes it easy to setup and manage applications inside your GridContainer. You can add an application in the GUI and start using the Container in a few minutes. Three different Container sizes are available and it’s easy to scale up and down between the sizes when you need to. Check out our product page to learn more or if you just want to dive in and start using it you can buy one right now inside your AccountCenter.
Hopefully you’ve noticed the decrease in spam in your (gs) Grid-Service account and its MailProtect system. The fine folks over at Cloudmark have an impressive spam killer that Nokia, Virgin Mobile, Vodaphone, Sprint/Nextel, Earthlink, Comcast and now (mt) Media Temple use.
Originally we looked into Cloudmark for our Grid successor, the (cs) Cluster-Server, but after an impressive evaluation showing better catch rates and decreased false positives, our CEO ordered its immediate deployment into our existing MailProtect system. One (gs)/(cs) engineer had it fully integrated in 9 hours with zero down time for (gs) Grid-Service users. The rollout for our (gs) Grid-Service clients will continue throughout the month of August.
That’s one of the many benefits of not buying a technology but building a system, like the (gs), in our own (mt) Labs. Our team has the unique ability to rapidly improve services, like MailProtect, with Cloudmark’s Spam killer.
We wanted to let you know about the progress we have been making with the (gs) Grid-Service platform. Coming soon we’re going to devote a section of our weblog to keep you up-to-date on what’s been keeping us busy. Have a look at what our (gs) team has been doing.
INFRASTRUCTURE ENHANCEMENTS
06/06/2008 - Git libraries added:
A version control system that is all the rage right now. Search our KnowledgeBase to Git with the program!
06/10/2008 - RubyGems Updated:
The latest versions and a much easier installation process. Get your gems all at once now!
05/27/2008 - PHP updated to 5.2.6:
The latest stable PHP release that includes all of the security patches is now available for our shared hosting platform.
05/19/2008 - Email load drastically reduced:
A more robust authentication system was brought online to get rid of those pesky errors that have plagued us in the past. The “421; too much load, try again later” errors have become a thing of the past.
05/19/2008 - @mail upgrade to 5.2:
The @mail webmail software used on the (gs) has been upgraded to 5.2. We also plan to release more frequent updates to this software in the future as they become available.
05/13/2008 - DNS gets a facelift:
PowerDNS launched. Response times have improved from around the globe for all our hosted services. Internal processes, like zone file changes, are quicker now too.
05/06/2008 - Storage keeps on getting better:
We’ve learned some things and made some changes. The result: fewer Scheduled Maintenances, the end of the “micro-outage”, stability improvements, and a re-architected method of attaching our storage arrays to clusters; this means happier times for everyone!
04/10/2008 - Subversion updated:
We bumped the version of SVN up to 1.4.2 on the Grid. We’re using the latest version officially supported by the Debian Operating System.
03/03/2008 - Improved SSH sessions:
Your connections should be more stable. In addition, we have increased our security checks to prevent DDOS attacks.
–Ongoing - MySQL:
SmartPool v2 improved:
Since launching SmartPool v2, we’ve taken our experience and combined it with consultations with the MySQL team at the 2008 MySQL Conference & Expo. We’ve made significant improvements to the SmartPool v2 system. A basic one is lower density SmartPool servers while doubling the amount of available pool servers. This has shown to improve baseline performance for pool users and brings us closer to eliminating the “bad neighbor” effect!
–Other MySQL Improvements
11/01/2007 - Tweak your MySQL easily and instantly:
Users of our (gc) MySQL GridContainer technology now have the ability to make changes to their my.cnf directly from the WebControl! This is big news for anyone who wants their database server set up just the way they like it. This new feature also includes the ability to “roll back” to the default configuration!
10/09/2007 - Multiple database users for SmartPool v2:
You asked and we delivered! Based on customer feedback and popular demand from our User Forums, we upped the limit on MySQL users for SmartPool v2 sites to 5. You can have up to 5 users without needing a container, and you have granular control over each user’s permissions.
ACCOUNTCENTER
03/31/2008 - 1-Click Magento:
“Open source e-commerce evolved.” Now just a click away!
03/31/2008 - 1-Click Upgrader for WordPress2.5:
This is just the beginning. We will implement this with our other installers soon!
03/11/2008 - uControl:
With this new feature we helped make everyone’s life easier! If you’re the “website guy/gal” for your company, you no longer need to be the one changing everyone’s passwords and email preferences; they can now do it all on their own, freeing you up to get more important stuff done…
COMING SOON
(mt) Labs
Summer ‘08 - Django:
We have gotten tremendous amounts of feedback and positive refinements from our (gc) Django GridContainer BETA program. Expect a product launch coming very soon including a couple of unexpected surprises!
Fall ‘08 - MySQL 5:
MySQL 5 is coming to the (gs)!. We’re currently getting things right for the beta and will be contacting all of our applicants with more info soon!
Winter ‘08 - Cluster-Server:
The successor to the (gs) Grid-Service. Stay tuned to the (mt) Labs page for updates, new information, and a future private BETA test!
On the Horizon - MailProtect gets tougher:
Spam is in for a bumpy ride through our pipes. Using the latest bleeding-edge tools we will take email protection to the next level!
On the Horizon - Backup Tool Restored and more:
We’re waving goodbye to the File Manager as you know it. Get ready for more functionality and operations, including the backup/restore features you’ve come to expect from us!
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