Our network operations are distributed across North America including this world class, Tier 1 Internet Data Center (IDC).

The 80,000 square foot space has capacity for 35,000 servers and meets the highest standards for "telco-grade" hosting, required by business and service providers.

IDC connects us near the top of the managed service food chain, by providing massive scalability, reliable security and service continuity which we share with our clients. It is largely due to IDC's infrastructure that SO HOST ME's web and email hosting services are so ideal for any business operation.

The centre boasts strict environmental controls, multi-level physical security and robust logical security.

Fire suppression is state-of-the-art and smoke detection can scan particles to 3 parts per million.

Power is redundant with multiple diesel and battery generated backup power supplies.


Tech-Specs

Our managed servers are designed to eliminate all single points of failure. Our Internet gateway is made redundant through the implementation of BGP4 (Border Gateway Protocol), which ensures that multiple T3 connections are always available and, in the event that one goes down, the other will seamlessly pick up the slack. Cisco routers are made redundant through the use of HSRP (Hot Swappable Router Protocol), which guarantees that our network will never skip a beat. Utilizing load-balancing hardware designed for fail over in the event of a fault, we guarantee our clustered servers will always remain up and running 99.9% of the time.

Experienced staff monitor these systems 24/7.

Cisco HSRP (Hot Swappable Router Protocol) ensures router redundancy. Our server cluster uses multiple load-balancing hardware with automatic fail over. RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) storage technology lowers the risk of failure, and improves fault-tolerance by expanding data capacity and spreading data across multiple disks.

Data integrity and speed are assured by Network Appliance Filers using RAID5 storage technology. A Redundant Array of Independent Drives (RAID) accomplishes this by copying or "mirroring" all data onto offline drives. If an online drive fails, another identical drive brings itself online to ensure the availability of its data. Backups of all data are routine, automatic and kept on-site. These backups are duplicated at two state of the art, world-class data centers that are geographically separated. All of our data centers are climate controlled, maintain extensive backup systems and employ top of the line physical security measures.

A seamless blend of UNIX and Microsoft™ technologies Our technology combines the functionality of "Windows™ hosting" and "UNIX hosting" onto one platform. You can run ASP/MS Access and PHP/MySQL based sites from the same server farm. With our seamless blending of UNIX and Microsoft™ technologies, Our hosting system is truly "cross-platform and one of the most advanced in the industry.

Scale to an unlimited number of domains on redundant servers SO HOST ME's architecture and infrastructure was designed and built from the ground up to scale to an unlimited number of domains. These domains are hosted on multiple redundant servers, which are clustered using load-balancing hardware.

Take advantage of our BGP4 technology Multiple redundant Internet connections, currently provided by UUNET, LOOK Communications, Telus and Sprint, are implemented through the use of BGP4 (Border Gateway Protocol). We monitor and upgrade bandwidth as needed.

Security

Data integrity and speed are assured by multiple Network Appliance Filers using RAID technology. Three back up systems are in place; one is on-site and two are off-site at geographically separated data centres. The systems are continuously monitored for reliability and performance by our NOC staff. Our new state of the art data centres are protected through electrical power backup, independent air conditioning units and physical security measures.

SO HOST ME's applies Symantec™, a world-leader in Internet security to provide virus scanning for your email accounts. Email Virus Scan virus protection service from SO HOST ME secured by Symantec™ provides a powerful solution to protect your email against viruses. By utilizing all of Symantec™'s key anti-virus technologies including Bloodhound™ for heuristic detection of new or unknown viruses, Email Virus Scan will significantly reduce the chance that your email account will become infected as the result of a virus, worm or Trojan Horse.

The Internet Data Centre contains a robust reliable and high quality network. It operates on a SONET ring, diverse redundant fiber-optic network connections with a capacity capable of OC-192 (10 Gigabits) connected by the latest switching and high-speed routing equipment. Perimeter security via multi-tiered firewalling SO HOST ME servers are protected with software-based firewalling. These look at source and destination addresses, and source and destination ports. Security administrators handle all aspects of firewall management. Our engineers are familiar with many types of firewall applications, including CheckPoint, ipchains, ipfw, ipfwadm, etc. We are able to modify response packets with masquerade responses to the remote initiator. Our systems are secured using the latest security methods including router access list filtering on inbound carrier feeds and firewalling at the SYN level on internal devices.

All security systems are tested on a monthly basis. Security scanners include Nessus, (www.nessus.org), and SAINT, (www.wwdsi.com/saint). Automatic updates are instantly made with the latest exploit/DOS, (Denial of Service), check codes. This provides us with an accurate and detailed report on systems. Security team are also subscribed to all the major security mailing lists, including BUGTRAQ from securityfocus.com. These lists provide access to the latest security information, which enables new patch installation within hours of discovering new exploits.

Intrusion Detection: A number of intrusion detection applications such as TRIPWIRE are also used, along with BLUEGENESIS proprietary monitoring and logging systems. These systems notify security response teams during scans and potential DOS attacks. ACLs are modified as needed. In certain cases rules are implemented automatically during detection. All suspicious activity is logged hardcopy directly to a printing station which is monitored closely. This ensures there is no tampering with conventional softcopy logs.

Anti Virus Measures: Our systems are protected against viruses by extensive built-in access controls. Regular users are unable to access or damage system files.

Passwords: All passwords must be changed from vendor-supplied defaults upon initial use. To ensure the effectiveness of security parameters, we recommend a combination of uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers and symbols for each password. Employee passwords are regularly tested to ensure that they are not easily compromised.