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Bytemark's virtual machines are powerful enough for hundreds of small web sites, and run any hosting technology you might need. You can upgrade between plans, and even to a dedicated server, without any messy reconfiguring.
Memory
A server will need to reserve a certain amount of memory while it is processing a web page, or incoming email, so the amount of memory you need will be proportional to how busy your server is. When a server hits its memory limit, performance usually degrades sharply.
Storage
The amount of data that your server can store, of which 2-5GB is required for a Linux-based system. The rest is free for your sites, mailboxes and databases.
Cores
The number of simultaneous processing units that this server can do. Literally the number of things it can do at once. A two-core server can handle a lot of tasks literally twice as fast as a one-core server, though some tasks will make better use of multiple cores than others (processing web pages splits itself fairly ideally across multiple cores though).
Backup space
The amount of off-site storage you are allocated with this product, which is intended for you to set up backups. Backup space quotas may be pooled between different products on the same account.
Traffic allowance
The amount of data you may transfer in one month from this product before excess charges apply. Traffic allowances may be pooled between products on the same account.
- Upgrade at any time, even to a dedicated server, without reconfiguring
- Rescue, reboot and reimage without needing to call us
- Choice of Linux-based Operating Systems
- Use Symbiosis for simple system management
- Bytemark's brilliant support always behind you
Q. Aren't virtual machines different from dedicated servers?
No. You can run all the same hosting technology (Java, PHP, Ruby on Rails, Python and so on...) and have root access. We can transfer the system wholesale to a dedicated server when you're ready. You can also use our Symbiosis system for the simplest possible management of multiple sites and email addresses.
Q. Do Bytemark oversell?
Not where it's important - your memory is your own, but your VM shares 8 CPU cores with around 50-80 other VMs on the same server. We find it easy to achieve our aim of keeping server loads below 10, and that means your VM often has the full run of either 1 or 2 cores of our fast servers.
Q. What virtualisation technology do Bytemark use?
We use KVM, which is becoming the standard virtualiser for Linux-based systems. We don't use Xen because it makes building kernels much more difficult, and restricts our choice of system management software.
You can pick from any of the following OS you order your server.
Linux
- Debian GNU/Linux (squeeze)
- Ubuntu (oneieric and lucid)
- CentOS (6.0 and 5.7)
Windows is not available on Virtual Machines (you will need a dedicated server for that.)
“Bytemark give us an edge over our competition as we have direct control over our hosting servers, with the ability to configure any aspect without impediment. And their fees are so cost-effective that we can offer real value to our customers too.”
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