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100% Uptime Hosting: Don't Believe it.
You may have received email advertising hosting with a 100% uptime guarantee. I’m responding to this promotion because I've received numerous questions about it. Questions like, ”Steve, why do you not provide mirrored server hosting and is it possible to have 100% uptime hosting?”

The short answer is expense and no, it isn’t possible to provide 100% uptime hosting, even with a mirrored server and no matter what supposed new technology is in play. Using a server mirror isn't new and if it took the author ten years to develop technology to do this he may want to look up the phrase "reinventing the wheel".

My first advice is do not believe this type of marketing hype. If you read the sales letter circulating for mirrored hosting, or, excuse me, "Failover Hosting, it clearly promises 100% uptime. "Your website will NEVER GO DOWN". If you click on the link to the actual hosting sales page, notice the subtle change in wording. Now it’s 99% uptime and “avoid prolonged downtimes”. 1% can cover a lot of downtime and avoiding prolonged downtime is an admission of truth that downtime will likely occur. FACT: A mirrored server may reduce downtime for some issues or after a catastrophic failure but there will be measurable downtime eventually. All servers experience it.

No one can guarantee 100% uptime. When you see that offer, think about the unsinkable Titanic. It's irresponsible to tell a hosting customer "your site will never go down".

Here is why there is no such thing as true 100% uptime hosting.

If the only issue that caused servers to stop serving your web pages had to do with hardware or server software failure, a mirrored server would be much more important.

Servers become unavailable for many, many reasons that a mirror is not going to prevent.

1. Network Failure.

2. Router Failures at the datacenter or elsewhere.

3. It’s still a shared server with the potential for:
a. Script conflicts
b. Script overloads
c. Denial of service attacks and other exploits
d. Hacked accounts from poorly written php scripts
e. And many other possible scenarios that probably will not cause the server to “fall over” to the mirror but will cause your site to become temporarily unavailable.

4. A responsible hosting provider will reboot servers periodically, many times as part of a monthly maintenance schedule. There goes your 100% uptime.

5. What happens if the server falls and there is a problem with the mirror? Oops. Yes it happens.

Oh and please don't fall for the unlimited domains gimmick. They are offering unlimited ADDON DOMAINS. Let me translate that for you. The package includes the ability to create subdirectories with domain names pointing to them. These are not true top-level hosting accounts and it costs nothing extra for a host to offer you this. The way it's presented however makes it appear as if you are getting free additional accounts. Addon domains have their place. But think long and hard though about using addon domains. There are negatives when it comes to SEO and moving or upgrading your addon domain accounts at a later date.

As a rule you should not be using addon domains unless you have a specific reason to do so. Top-level domains are usually a better choice.

Ok, so now you know that anyone that tells you they can deliver 100% uptime hosting lacks understanding of the big hosting picture or is intentionally trying to mislead you to make that hosting sale. And you know not to fall for the "Unlimited Domains" scheme when in reality you are being offered addon domains to one single account.

Do mirror servers have a purpose? Sure they do. A good mirror setup can rescue you from a catastrophic hard drive failure. Sophisticated systems can increase your uptime under certain situations. If you are willing to pay increased hosting costs then a mirrored server may make you feel more secure about your web site safety. It isn’t that a mirror is not a viable hosting solution worthy of consideration. It’s the misinformation and unrealistic guarantees of 100% uptime that obscure the truth. The same goes for addon domains. The vendor is counting on your ignorance about the way hosting works to make you feel like you are getting more than you really are.

Not long ago we all endured countless promotional email for "Lifetime Hosting". Pay once and keep your site for - "someone's" lifetime. That company went out of business a short time later and left its customers stranded. It was a very short lifetime. I place this latest "no downtime" "unlimited domains" hosting offering in the same category. Too good to be true and taking advantage of you.

Hosting that never fails, unlimited domains, lifetime hosting... don't believe the hype and proceed at your own risk and with realistic expectations.


06/10/2007

Attention All DataWebPRO Hosting Customers.
A new Data Center Facility has been opened and all servers are being moved over the next few weeks. Most moves are scheduled during evening or early morning hours Eastern Time. Servers will experience a 60 minute or less downtime. We are not sending individual server notices as there are hundreds of servers to move and there is no way to pinpoint the exact move times. If you have questions or you feel your server is down longer than the estimated time, or if you have questions, please send a support ticket at http://support.dtw88.net. Thank you, DataWebPRO Management
20/09/2007

Invoicing and Subscriptions
During the transition to the new hosting management center you may receive old and new invoices. In some cases the invoices may exhibit incorrect dates and payment information. We are working to correct these problems. As long as you have a recurring subscription you can ignore the invoices until further notice. If you have questions about invoicing or the current migration, please submit a ticket at the help desk: http://support.dtw88.net
28/08/2007

New Portal Construction

Attention Hosting Customers.

If you've found your way to this new hosting portal at datawebpro.com, please know that it is still under construction and may not have all functions enabled. This does not effect your hosting account. The new portal and client management area will be finished soon. If you have questions or concerns during this transition submit a ticket to the help desk at http://support.dtw88.net.

Thank you,

DataWebPRO Hosting Management.

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